Sparks' Staff Picks

Stanley Crawford's singularly captivating novel leaves me speechless. It's not for want of something to say; rather, it's that I have too much to say. But I worry I'll not be convincing enough or that I'll leave a vital part of out will otherwise fail to convince you, gentle mariner, of just how perfect a creation this book contains. Those fears aside, there are two things I can say with confidence: 1. never has a book I've recommended to so diverse a group of friends met with as much love as The Mrs. Unguentine and 2. if you've ever been in a relationship that's left you feeling both exhilarated and adrift, this is a voyage you'll want to embark upon.

Julien Gracq's first novel reads like a dream. In richly symbolic and moody prose, Chateau d'Argol tells the story of a group of three friends unable to break the erotic and gloomy spell holding them captive. Reminiscent of Borges (although preceeding him) and Jean Cocteau, Gracq's small gem deserves a wider readership, especially in such an elegant translation.

You're the last woman alive. (Or are you?) You find shelter in museums, burn artwork to keep warm on chilly nights. You travel the world, piecing together what's been lost, hoping to find evidence that you are not alone. More than anything, you remember: ancient things like Achilles' rage and personal things like the loss of a child. David Markson's profoundly unsettling and affecting masterpiece--which was rejected fifty-four times--was called upon its publication "pretty much the high point of experimental fiction in this country" by none other than David Foster Wallace.

That Rilke, one of the foremost lyric poets of the 20th century, is responsible for a novel of such sublimity is not surprising, yet I find myself surprised every time I return to The Notebooks of Malte Laurids Brigge. It's a rare book, unlike anything you've read but as familiar and haunting as your dreams. No summary can capture the novel's arc, which ranges from ghost story, evocation of a vanishing age, and a chronicle of an aspiring poet's attempts at seeing. Few books have left so deep and lasting an impression or have earned a place so close to my heart, which leaves me hesitant to offer it to the world. Nevertheless, here it is. Read it. Be astonished.