List
2023 Staff Picks: Historical Fiction
Our expert staff members look back at the year and share their favorite titles.
-
Lady Tan's Circle of Women
2023 by See, LisaGet this itemI loved this moving story of a female doctor struggling to practice medicine while also fulfilling her role as a proper Confucian wife in 15th century China. However, it was almost impossible for those two parts of her to exist simultaneously. It was beautiful to watch Tan Yunxian accept her whole self. Suggested by Michelle.
-
The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store
2023 by McBride, JamesGet this itemIt isn't often that you pick up a book and realize that you're reading a future classic. Working in every register from suspense to jeremiad to knockabout comedy, McBride has written a book about America and who gets to be an American. The action occurs almost entirely in the 1920s and '30s, yet he's speaking to the present day. We loved how the characters came alive, especially Chona and Dodo. Suggested by Andrew and Beth.
-
Weyward
2023 by Hart, EmiliaGet this itemI could not stop reading this intergenerational story of feminine and natural power told by three related women from 1619 to the present. A witch trial, domestic violence, childhood neglect and abuse, and the power of women and nature to rise above--spellbinding! Suggested by Christie.
-
Dust Child
2023 by Nguỹên, Phan Qúê MaiGet this itemA beautifully written, suspenseful family saga about family secrets, hidden trauma, and the overriding power of forgiveness, set during the war and in present-day Vietnam. I learned a lot from reading this novel, especially about the Amerasian Homecoming Act. Suggested by Rummanah.
-
Good Night, Irene
2023 by Urrea, Luis AlbertoGet this itemBased on his mother’s wartime service during WWII, I loved this effecting, deeply moving masterpiece of war, trauma and unsung heroes. The story of the Clubmobile Corps is not well known, and Urrea gives these women the epic telling they earned. Suggested by Lynnanne.
Bookmatch
Bookmatch allows Skokie Library cardholders to receive a custom list of titles prepared for you by the library's expert staff.
Try Bookmatch