1 / THE TESTAMENTS BY MARGARET ATWOOD
The grande dame of dystopian fiction revisits the way-too-closefor-comfort totalitarian world of Gilead in this magnificent sequel to The Handmaid’s Tale. Filled with her signature pitch-black humor and blistering critiques of patriarchy gone wild, Atwood’s follow-up expands the universe of the original in spine-tingling ways—for starters, by revealing the backstory of the villainous Aunt Lydia.
2 / HEAVEN, MY HOME BY ATTICA LOCKE
When a 9-year-old goes missing on a vast lake, who do you call? In this scalp-prickling encore to her Edgar-winning Bluebird, Bluebird, Locke brings back intrepid Texas Ranger Darren Matthews, who tracks the boy’s trail to the town of Jefferson, a gumbo of race and class prejudices captured in vivid detail: “a Miller High Life... a premade bologna sandwich... bluesy zydeco on the radio.”
3 / WHOSE STORY IS THIS? BY REBECCA SOLNIT
In 20 essential essays, the firebrand feminist thinker probes such zeitgeisty topics as whether “the fall of men has been greatly exaggerated” and male anger is “a public safety issue.” Ultimately, Solnit concludes, we are “moving on to a future with more people and more voices and more possibilities.”
4 / THE SECRETS WE KEPT BY LARA PRESCOTT
This cinematic Cold War thriller spins a seductive spy drama from the covert mission to publish Boris Pasternak’s classic Russian romance Doctor Zhivago as a strategy to undermine the Soviets—a real-life plot unveiled several years ago in the Washington Post. Among the cast of this fictional rendering are Pasternak’s muse and mistress, and the tight-lipped ladies of the CIA’s secretarial pool who see and hear all.
5 / GIRL BY EDNA O’BRIEN
This story is from the October 2019 edition of The Oprah Magazine.
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This story is from the October 2019 edition of The Oprah Magazine.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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The BEST BOOKS of 2024
We all loved Oprah's Book Club selections this year (did you read them all?), but here are our editors' favorite standouts on the shelves-from the thoughtprovoking to the heartwarming to the hilarious.
The Summer I TOOK My Mom "HOME"
Whenever I tell people about the Last Trip Home I took to Italy with my 87-year-old mother and my older son last summer, everyone has the same response (\"Awwww...\"), which makes me feel like a fraud because I know they're imagining some gauzy scene. And to be fair, I'd tried to plan it that way.
PARIS Made ME DO IT
Travel maybe shouldn't be any different than \"regular\" life, but it is.
LOST And Found IN AMERICA
When I was 21, I spent the summer driving around the United States with my boyfriend. It amazes me, looking back, that I let myself go on that eight-week trip.
I WENT I Saw, HATE
Ten years ago, I went to Tokyo on a lark. I was invited to the opening of the 38-story Aman Tokyo hotel, a beautiful example of urban minimalism and a destination unto itself.
Trips That Changed US All Forever
Me, MOM, And A Thousand SEABIRDS
Dear Biohackers, The Secrets to Longevity Are Simpler Than You Think
In a world of health trackers built to optimize, we propose choosing joy over deprivation and community over navel-gazing. The research agrees.
The Menopause Makeover: For When "Aging Gracefully" Gets Old
Because literally everything-from eyelids to neck skin to boobs to butt-falls off a cliff. Here, a dozen interventions women in this life stage are embracing.
Why I Cut Off All My Hair
The author of City of Girls and Big Magic talks about how she made the bold decision to break out the clippers in order to find her own version of beauty.
The Perfect Gift Book for Everyone on Your List
Sumptuous reads that look as lovely on your coffee table as they do on your bedside table.