Powell's Books Recommends

All the Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy

Cormac McCarthy is the Sam Peckinpah of writers, and All the Pretty Horses is the Wild Bunch of novels. A synthesis of Melville and McMurtry, McCarthy's starkly romantic vision of a disappearing West hearkens back to a time when dusty men meandered through vast wildernesses in search of something unnamable. It is McCarthy's gift to give such a time heft, shape and form. A real honest to God manly man western for literary snobs: a book to be cherished by English professors and longshoreman alike.

Recommended by John M.

Libra by Don DeLillo

After JFK Jr. was killed last year, a fellow employee recommended I read this book, "the greatest 'Kennedy book' of all time." In fact, Libra is more about Lee Harvey Oswald than about JFK, a sort of fictionalized exploration of the bizarre character at the center of one of the pivotal moments in American history. And as you would expect from a writer of his caliber, DeLillo succeeds in portraying this one paranoid, pathetic, lonely and ultimately sympathetic man's story as a cipher for both the American psyche at large, as well as for the larger forces running through our history and shaping our destiny. The details of DeLillo's version of the events may or may not be true, but even if not, his truth is much greater than the details. Arguably the best novel by of one of our very greatest writers.

Recommended by Farley

The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros

A Classic of Chicano Literature, The House on Mango Street is a series of vignettes that describes the coming of age of a young girl named Esperanza (which means hope) in a typical Spanish speaking working class neighborhood in Chicago. Her stories are deeply rooted in her own experience, but nevertheless, as with all great writing, have a universal appeal to people of all ages, genders and cultures, giving an unflinching glimpse of a life alternately candid, poignant, brutal, tender, and wise. That said, this novel is particularly fruitful reading for young women and is very often used in the classroom.

Recommended by Mimi

The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami
In Japan, Haruki Murakami is a bestselling novelist and has long been considered one of the greatest writers of his generation. With this book, his reputation has finally begun to catch up in the West. The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle is a mesmerizing, brilliantly-crafted portrait of 20th-century Japan, revealing a dark Japanese soul that treads just under lacquered perfection. And though this novel is very much about conditions in Japan since the war, it translates uncannily well to a Western audience. Not only is it steeped in American pop culture, combining a Beatles soundtrack with the best of hard-boiled noir fiction, but the symbolism is so direct and powerful, Murakami more than translates well across cultures, he communicates beneath it. Haruki Murakami is an absolute original.

Recommended by Fidel

The Cider House Rules by John Irving

Irving's "abortion" novel delves deep into the questions and dilemas surrounding the most controversial issues we've faced in the last 25 years. Irving doesn't take sides, instead he allows his characters to grapple with their consciences, and in so doing illuminates the psychological baggage associated with "choice." The foster home setting adds an ironic twist to a novel which may not change minds, but will certainly change the way we look at the liberty afforded by Roe vs. Wade.

Recommended by John M.