4. An Untamed State - Roxane Gay
An Untamed State is the debut novel from Roxane Gay, but advance praise has been nothing if not encouraging. Gay is mainly known for her essays and articles, but has also had work published in the Best American Short Stories series. If the hype is to be believed, Gay may have found her true calling as a novelist. Mireille Duval Jameson is the youngest daughter of one of the richest men in Haiti, and by all outward appearances her life is perfect: she has a loving husband, an infant son, and days of unending privilege. But when she is kidnapped by poverty-stricken men angry with the decadence of families like her own, Mireille's fairy tale is shattered. It becomes clear that her father isn't so willing to pay the ransom, and the leader of her kidnappers, The Commander, grows ever impatient. An Untamed State certainly sounds like an arresting, relevant story, one that could vault Roxane Gay into the public eye in the literary world.
3. Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki And His Years Of Pilgrimage - Haruki Murakami
The first novel from the Japanese author since his incredibly successful 1Q84, the English-language version of Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage isn't due out until mid-August. But the buzz has already come from overseas, with Japanese booksellers reporting out-the-door-and-around-the-block lines not unlike those seen around the release of the latest iPhone, all to purchase the latest Murakami book. Seven days after the release, the book had already been reprinted eight times. And Tsukuru Tazaki's plight is a relatable one - his relationships with his best friends from high school have evaporated during his college years, and following that his girlfriend attempts to persuade Tsukuru to reunite with his old companions. Whether these friendships were lost to time and absence or to an event decidedly more weighty remains to be seen. Murakami is one of the most exciting contemporary authors in any language, rightfully deserving of the international fame his writing has received in recent years, and I for one am eagerly anticipating getting to know Tsukuru Tazaki.