First Novels of Note:
Authors Publishing First Novels, 2006 - 2007

Titles and annotations, where included, are from Brad Hooper and Barbara Hoffert, taken from Booklist and Library Journal, respectively. Complete citation information is included at the end of this list.

2006:

Cellophane, Marie Arana
The book review editor of Washington Post Book World turns in a bewitching novel that is a clever improvisation on family history based on the life of a visionary mid-twentieth-century Peruvian engineer.(1)

Riley’s Fire, Lee Merrill Byrd

Consigned to Death, Jane K. Cleland

The Meaning of Night: A Confession, Michael Cox
This enthralling historical novel, set in London in 1854 and written in the dense and formal style of a Victorian novel, is a masterful tale.(1)

The Madonnas of Leningrad, Debra Dean
Gracefully shifting between the Soviet Union and the contemporary Pacific Northwest, Dean renders a poignant tale about the power of memory.(1)

Natural Selection, Dave Freedman
Like all the best horror authors, Freedman takes his story well beyond the safety of camp; by making it believable, he makes it genuinely terrifying.(1)

The Syringa Tree, Pamela Gien
In the tradition of such great southern African writers as Nadine Gordimer and Doris Lessing, this gripping novel tells the apartheid story through the eyes of a white child.(1)

White Ghost Girls, Alice Greenway
This is a novel about memory and loss and, most of all, yearning, rendered in poetic, finely detailed prose.(1)

The King of Lies, John Hart

Holmes on the Range, Steve Hockensmith

The Rabbit Factory, Marshall Karp

The Willow Field, William Kittredge
This luminous novel is a multigenerational saga, which has at its center a transcendent love story set evocatively in the American West. (1)

A Field of Darkness, Cornelia Read

Lapham Rising, Roger Rosenblatt

Whiteman, Tony D’Souza

The Sultan’s Seal, Jenny B. White
Customs in the sultan’s court in old Istanbul are thrillingly captured, with readers easily transported back to those days when mystery and intrigue lurked around every corner. (1)

2007:

Lost City Radio, Daniel Alarcón
This Lima-born writer’s first novel is a marvel of concision; the wife of a missing man channels her grief into an immensely popular radio show dedicated to the disappeared, displaced, and disconnected. (3)

The Blood of Flowers, Anita Amirrezvani
A No. 1 Booksense pick in June, Amirrezvani’s account of a spirited girl in 17th century Iran was pitched as “the most beautiful book, bar none” by Borders exec Ann Binkley in USA Today’s summer book preview. (2)

Finn, Jon Clinch
[This is a] reimagining of Huck Finn’s wayward father, [and] a Booksense pick that won some stellar reviews and has already gone through three printings. (2)

The Welsh Girl, Peter Ho Davies
A good showing for acclaimed short story writer Davies, this sensitive World War II drama netted Discover acclaim and was longlisted for the Booker Prize. (2)

The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, Junot Díaz
The author’s short story collection, Drown (1996), made this young
Dominican American a literary star; his long-anticipated first novel, a spectacular reward for those who waited, is a family saga set in the
Dominican Republic and New Jersey. (3)

García’s Heart, Liam Durcan

The Ministry of Special Cases, Nathan Englander
This long-awaited first novel by Englander, the author of the widely applauded short story collection For the Relief of Unbearable Urges (2000), is a staggeringly mature work set in Argentina in the 1970s, during the so-called dirty war, when the military regime turned against its own people. (3)

Then We Came to the End, Joshua Ferris
This account of the contemporary workplace earned four printings and plenty of space on best sellers lists nationwide. (2)

Volk’s Game, Brent Ghelfi
Seattle Mystery Bookshop’s Janine Wilson has proclaimed this tale of Russian intrigue the book of the year. The 75,000 copy first printing disappeared before publication.  Sounds as if Ghelfi has a winner on his hands. (2)

The Friday Night Knitting Club, Kate Jacobs
If Julia Roberts liked this book so much that she optioned the film rights, maybe you will, too.  Enough people joined the club to put this debut onto the New York Times best sellers list. (2)

The God of Animals, Aryn Kyle
“Aryn Kyle seems poised to become one of America’s next great authors” (Parade).  With praise like that – and it was pretty much all like that – it’s no surprise that his coming of age tale hit not only regional best sellers lists (after three printings) but the New York Times extended list, too. (2)

The Spellman Files, Lisa Lutz
A mystery caper, this in-house favorite was cheered by staff as it
hopped onto the San Francisco Chronicle best sellers list and New York Times extended list. (2)

In the Country of Men, Hisham Matar
The only debut novel shortlisted for last year’s Man Booker Prize and a Booksense and Borders pick as well, this child’s-eye view of repressive Libya has appeared in 15 countries. (2)

The Beautiful Things That Heaven Bears, Dinaw Mengestu
A best seller (Los Angeles Times) and a Seattle Reads pick for spring 2008, this novel got Mengestu named one of “5 Under 35” – five young authors to be honored by the National Book Foundation during its awards week. (2)

Pyres, Derek Nikitas

The Tenderness of Wolves, Stef Penney
The publisher was really excited about this UK import, set in 19th century Canada – and then it won the Costa Book Award (formerly the Whitbread). (2)

The Collaborator of Bethlehem, Matt Beynon Rees
Proclaimed an “outstanding debut” by Library Journal’s reviewer, this Middle East mystery also managed to scarf a Quills nomination, sharing the stage with folks like Michael Connelly and Laura Lippman. (2)

Name of the Wind: The Kingkiller Chronicle, Day One,
Patrick Rothfuss
After the rave reviews (Onion) and the Booksense and Borders approval, it was really nice when first fantasy novelist Rothfuss was not simply nominated for a Quills Award but actually won. (2)

The Blade Itself, Marcus Sakey
Sakey’s nail biter was plumped by Janet Maslin on CBS Sunday Morning and featured on NPR’s All Things Considered, which may explain why it was the fastest selling title in independent mystery bookstores last January. (2)

Innocent Traitor: A Novel of Lady Jane Gray, Alison Weir
With Innocent Traitor, noteworthy British historian Weir took a few big risks.  She wrote her first novel, and she undertook her first full-scale American tour.  The payoff?  A nice little visit to the New York Times best sellers list. (2)

Annotation Sources:

(1)Hooper, Brad. “Top 10 First Novels: 2006.” Booklist 103.6 (Nov 15, 2006): 27(1).

(2) Hoffert, Barbara. "First Novelists Fall 2007: Telling It Well." Library Journal 132.16 (Oct 1, 2007): 32(4). General Reference Center Gold. Gale. St Charles Public Library-LINC. 25 Sept. 2008.

(3)Hooper, Brad. "Top 10 First Novels: 2007.” Booklist 104.6 (Nov 15, 2007): 29(1). General Reference Center Gold. Gale. St Charles Public Library-LINC. 25 Sept. 2008.  

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Rev. 9/08