to read

As a reminder, books listed on a post titled "to read" are not books I have read but books whose listings I have come across and that sound interesting. Thus, they are "to read."

Death of an Ordinary Man by Glen Duncan

Glen Duncan is an ambitious writer who sets up premises that are not easy to pull off. In I, Lucifer, he lets Satan defend himself, and in this novel, he has a dead man narrate as he hovers above his own casket. Luckily, Duncan's talent equals his ambition, making Death of an Ordinary Man the most insightful, witty, moving beyond-the-grave novel since Alice Sebold's The Lovely Bones. An enduring, powerful exploration of life, love, and family.

Oh the Glory of It All by Sean Wilsey

Wilsey grew up in 1980s San Francisco with a germaphobe millionaire father, an erratic socialite mother, and a wicked stepmother. His memoir of them and his wild ride of a childhood is not to be missed.

The Half Brother by Lars Saabye Christensen

A rich, ambitious saga that chronicles 50 years in the life of a Norwegian family. The title character is Fred, the feisty and loyal half-brother of Barnum, who is small and quiet. The brothers' complicated relationship is the center of universe around which other dazzling characters swirl. Christensen's elegant, insightful novel is a bestseller and critical darling in Europe and in America was a Village Voice Book of the Year.