If you've got some men in your book club, or want to - or your book club is all men, this list is for you. Nothing too sappy or sweet. Perhaps a male author or male protagonist. Maybe a manly man kind of story. Check these titles out and let me know what you think!
The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga
Balram Halwai is a complicated man. Servant. Philosopher. Entrepreneur. Murderer. Over the course of seven nights, by the scattered light of a preposterous chandelier, Balram tells us the terrible and transfixing story of how he came to be a success in life -- having nothing but his own wits to help him along.
What is the What by Dave Eggers
WHAT IS THE WHAT is the epic novel based on the life of Valentino Achak Deng who, along with thousands of other children--the so-called Lost Boys--was forced to leave his village in Sudan at the age of seven and trek hundreds of miles by foot, pursued by militias, government bombers, and wild animals, crossing the deserts of three countries to find freedom. When he finally is resettled in the United States, he finds a life full of promise, but also heartache and myriad new challenges. Moving, suspenseful, and unexpectedly funny, WHAT IS THE WHAT is an astonishing novel that illuminates the lives of millions through one extraordinary man.
The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz
The most talked about and praised first novel of 2007, and winner of the Pulitzer Prize. Oscar is a sweet but disastrously overweight ghetto nerd who from the New Jersey home he shares with his old world mother and rebellious sister dreams of becoming the Dominican J.R.R. Tolkien and, most of all, finding love. But Oscar may never get what he wants. Blame the fuka curse that has haunted Oscar's family for generations, following them on their epic journey from Santo Domingo to the USA. Encapsulating Dominican-American history, THE BRIEF WONDROUS LIFE OF OSCAR WAO opens our eyes to an astonishing vision of the contemporary American experience and explores the endless human capacity to persevere and risk it all in the name of love.
I Should Be Extremely Happy in Your Company by Brian Hall
Though it joins a crowded field of Lewis and Clark narratives, this formidable third novel by Hall is not to be dismissed. Narrated in multiple distinct voices, this retelling of the story of Meriwether Lewis and William Clark's legendary expedition is less a historical blow-by-blow than an engaging character study of the two men. Hall focuses on a few significant episodes in the journey-such as the hunting accident that wounds Lewis and causes him to sink into his famous depression-as seen through the eyes of Lewis, Sacagawea, Clark and Toussaint Charbonneau, Sacagawea's French fur trader husband. The result is a memorable portrait of the expedition leaders.
The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid by Bill Bryson
From one of the most beloved and bestselling authors in the English language, a vivid, nostalgic, and utterly hilarious memoir of growing up in the 1950s. Warm and laugh-out-loud funny, and full of his inimitable, pitch-perfect observations, THE LIFE AND TIMES OF THE THUNDERBOLT KID is as wondrous a book as Bill Bryson has ever written. It will enchant anyone who has ever been young.
-- Dana Barrett, Contributing Editor
