The National Book Critics Circle (NBCC) are worth paying attention to both because they are not limited to American (or British) writers like some of the other awards and because they sometimes include single out less well-known books for praise. Looking at the fiction finalists this year, both of those elements are certainly in play.
Fiction
- Roberto Bolaño, 2666 (Why Bolaño Matters, excerpt)
- Marilynne Robinson, Home (excerpt, a most anticipated book)
- Aleksandar Hemon, The Lazarus Project (excerpt)
- M. Glenn Taylor, The Ballad of Trenchmouth Taggart (excerpt)
- Elizabeth Strout, Olive Kitteridge (a Year in Reading pick, excerpt)
Nonfiction
- Dexter Filkins, The Forever War (excerpt)
- Drew Gilpin Faust, This Republic of Suffering (excerpt)
- Jane Mayer, The Dark Side (excerpt, review)
- Allan Lichtman, White Protestant Nation (excerpt)
- George C. Herring, From Colony to Superpower: US Foreign Relations Since 1776 (excerpt)
The NBCC also named finalists in the Criticism, Biography, Autobiography, and Poetry categories.
