House of Sand and Fog by Andre Dubus III

A modern tragedy, this deeply moving novel offers a page-turning plot, beautiful language and compelling characters while exploring so much of what literature strives to understand: poverty, patriotism, the American Dream, immigration, love, recklessness,...

Gods and Monsters by Christopher Bram

Written with a keen sense of psychology during an intriguing historical moment and featuring a page-turning plot, this gem of a novel has it all, including beautiful sentences. Bram is a master of the overt as well as the implied simile and his sense of pacing...