Treehouse

from Valentina Cano, author of Winter Myths:

1. Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky – This book appears in pretty much all my lists of favorites. For me, this is the perfect book. It has perfect writing, perfect character development, perfect tension, perfect resolution. A must read in every sense.
2. The Egyptologist by Arthur Phillips – Unreliable narrators has to be one of the more difficult literary devices to master. This book, for me, was incredible in its intelligence. The author toys with the reader in a way that shouldn’t be permitted. Wonderful read that will stay with you for years after you finish it.
3. The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver – This author knows what it means to create characters. To give them life enough so that their voices come through. Since this novel is told from many viewpoints, it is a fantastic study in voices.
4. Caribou Island by David Vann – This novel is all about atmosphere. It oozes it from every sentence so that the reader begins to feel uncomfortable. It’s a chilling story that builds up so slowly, with such delicacy, that the brutality which you should have seen coming takes you completely by surprise.
5. One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez – Classic example of magical realism. It takes a bit to really get into it, to really appreciate it for what it is, but once you get to that point, there’s no turning back. It will wrap you up in its narrative.