Books · 2017
A Year of Visionary Voices and Grief
In 2017, literature reflected a world grappling with deep divisions, historical trauma, and political turbulence. Authors delivered inventive ghost stories, sharp social commentary, and deeply human tales of resilience that captured the global zeitgeist.
- George Saunders · Fiction · Award-Winning
Lincoln in the Bardo
George Saunders won the Man Booker Prize for his polyphonic experimental novel set during a single night of grief in a cemetery following the death of Abraham Lincoln’s young son.
- Angie Thomas · YA · Cultural Phenomenon
The Hate U Give
Angie Thomas's explosive debut novel about a Black teenager witnessing a fatal police shooting became a defining bestseller and cultural touchstone for contemporary social justice movements.
- Min Jin Lee · Hist Fiction · Bestseller
Pachinko
Min Jin Lee’s sweeping epic follows four generations of an ethnic Korean family residing in Japan, exploring identity, endurance, and quiet heroism across a turbulent twentieth century.
- Mohsin Hamid · Fiction · Award-Winning
Exit West
Mohsin Hamid weaves magical realism and geopolitical crisis in a story of lovers fleeing a civil war through mysterious doors that teleport refugees across the globe.
- Jesmyn Ward · Fiction · Award-Winning
Sing, Unburied, Sing
Jesmyn Ward won her second National Book Award for a road-trip novel through Mississippi that hauntingly connects a struggling family to the lingering ghosts of American racism.
- Gail Honeyman · Fiction · Bestseller
Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine
Gail Honeyman’s beloved debut charmed millions with its heartwarming portrait of a socially awkward, traumatized woman finding friendship and healing in contemporary Scotland.
- Celeste Ng · Fiction · Bestseller
Little Fires Everywhere
Celeste Ng’s compelling bestseller unravels the intricate secrets of an idyllic suburban community disrupted by an enigmatic artist, probing motherhood, privilege, and compliance.
- Arundhati Roy · Lit · Influential Work
The Ministry of Utmost Happiness
Arundhati Roy returned to fiction after twenty years with a sprawling, deeply political tapestry of love, tragedy, and resistance across the turbulent landscapes of modern India.
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