10. Strange Bodies - Marcel Theroux
Strange Bodies is the fifth novel from writer Marcel Theroux, son of the great author Paul Theroux. Already published in some parts of the world, Strange Bodies is a mix of science fiction, ghost story, literary criticism and mystery all wrapped in one binding. Theroux the Younger has dealt with such hodgepodge plots before in books like The Confessions of Mycroft Holmes (also published as The Paperchase), but Strange Bodies appears to present just what the title claims. Though he has been dead for some time, Nicholas Slopen somehow appears one day to an ex-girlfriend and brings with him a flash drive containing letters written by Samuel Johnson. Whether the man is actually Slopen, whether the letters are actually Johnson's, and whether this story has any bearing on our own lives are the central questions at the heart of Theroux's writing.
9. Carthage - Joyce Carol Oates
Another year, another book from Joyce Carol Oates. The incredibly prolific writer seems to be racing Philip Roth to see who can put out more novels - to date she has authored more than 70 books, probably 40 of which are novels, and her latest novel Carthage comes on the eve of the 50th Anniversary of the publication of her first. And as far as Oates novels go, the plot of Carthage is certainly nothing new. She likes focusing on a single family in a single town or city in America, in this case the Mayfields of Carthage, New York. Through a violent first half, a possible murder and a missing Mayfield, Oates brings us into a second half which largely deals with a reporter and his photographer working on a piece about prison, punishment, and crime in America. These seemingly disparate sections come together beautifully, and Oates somehow manages to find new territory yet again after so many novels.