9 hot books to read in October

Worlds apart

When psychotherapist Maggie Bose meets Lakshmi Patil for the first time, she finds a hopeless woman hospitalized after a suicide attempt. New to the U.S. and in an emotionally abusive marriage, Lakshmi feels completely isolated. Slowly, she begins to open up about her life in India, and the two women form an unlikely friendship that pushes doctor-patient boundaries — and ultimately leads Maggie to uncomfortable realizations about her own situation. — Lora Grady

The Story Hour, Thrity Umrigar, $26. 

The doll's house

An exquisite dollhouse, a most unusual wedding gift, is at the centre of JessieBurton’s The Miniaturist. Married off at 18, Nella arrives on her wealthy husband Johannes’ doorstep to discover a cruel sister-in-law, servants keeping secrets and a husband who, it seems, has no intention of welcoming her to his bed. Instead, Johannes gives Nella an elaborate scale model of his home. Soon after, Nella begins receiving packages from a miniaturist, a maker of dollhouse furnishings, that suggest their creator might have intimate knowledge of Nella’s new household. Are the tiny objects an attempt to provide Nella insight into life-sized problems? Or is the miniaturist actually behind the troubling incidents that have been occurring? And can Nella find the answer in time to prevent tragedy? Burton’s domestic drama illuminates the changing politics and society of 1680s Amsterdam and is a compelling read rich with atmosphere and intrigue. — Kerry Clare

The Miniaturist, Jessie Burton, $23.

Soul hunting

The Bone Clocks opens with rebellious teen Holly Sykes running away from home. As she leaves, her little brother hands her a drawing of a maze. He enigmatically calls it “diabolical” and makes her promise to memorize it, saying, “One wrong turn down a dead end, that’s the end of you.” Holly swears she will, but she soon runs into trouble, becoming entangled in what author David Mitchell calls “a murderous feud between two groups of pseudo-immortals.”

Decades pass in a series of narrative zigzags delivered by a colourful array of characters, from scheming student Hugo and worldly doctor Marinus to vengeful author Crispin Hershey, before the story circles back to Holly and the heart of the battle.

Chock full of twists that create the sensation of reading six books coiled up in one, this enthralling novel is a dazzling display of Mitchell’s virtuoso abilities. It has been long-listed for this year’s Man Booker Prize. — Laurie Grassi

The Bone Clocks, David Mitchell, $34.

Pounding the pavement

The thump-thump of shoes against the pavement is the heartbeat of Girl Runner. Its heroine, Aganetha Smart, runs from when she’s a child right until her 80s, through a difficult but enthralling life that includes her coming of age in 1920s Toronto. In flashbacks, she moves to the city to buck tradition and becomes one of the first female Olympic track stars. But as the novel opens, she’s 104, and it’s clear her adventures aren’t over: A mysterious stranger checks her out of her nursing home to take her on yet another journey.  — Vanessa Milne

Girl Runner, Carrie Snyder, $30.

Search for satisfaction

Mãn, the name of the titular characterin Kim Thúy’s book, means “perfect fulfillment,” yet this is exactly the state Mãn hasn’t achieved. In Vietnam, she survived by placing others’ needs before her own — to the point where she felt invisible. An arranged marriage sends her to Montreal, transplanting her physically and transforming her personally. Through food, friendship and, at last, a forbidden love, Mãn blossoms into a person capable of achieving fulfillment, her story made all the more poetic thanks to Thúy’s delicate prose. — Maryam Siddiqi

Mãn, Kim Thúy, $25.

True conviction

Alison Pick follows up her acclaimed novel Far to Go with a bracing non-fiction chaser: the story of her tortuous conversion to Judaism while grappling with depression and marrying a non-Jew. The author and poet plumbs the gravitational pull of her Jewish roots, revealed when she was a teenager, and her despair over relatives dying in the Holocaust. The result is a beautifully written exploration of cultural narratives, faith, family, motherhood, sacrifice and the inescapable weight of history. — Anne Kingston

Between Gods, Alison Pick, $30.

New world order

Station Eleven begins with Arthur Leander, an aging Hollywood star, dying of a heart attack on a Toronto stage while Kirsten Raymonde, a child actress, looks on in horror. Death is, in fact, sweeping across the entire city  in what turns out to be a worldwide epidemic. Through flashbacks, Emily St. John Mandel tells Arthur’s life story, complicated by numerous wives and regrets, then shifts to the dystopian present, where Kirsten has been adopted by a travelling theatre troupe and life is fraught with danger. An exciting and thought-provoking must-read that grapples with the role of culture in a post-collapse civilization. — Shanda Deziel

Station Eleven, Emily St. John Mandel, $22.

Secrets will out

The citizens of a small Canadian town struggle to create new lives from the ashes of the old after the First World War. Separated for years, young sweethearts Tress and Kenan are finally, yet awkwardly, reunited as Kenan tries to come to terms with what he has endured. Meanwhile, Tress’ Aunt Maggie and Uncle Am find themselves emotionally distanced from each other by grief after years of marriage. A heart-wrenching story of hope and sacrifice, human error and unconventional healing, in which the characters must test the strength of their love for one another in order to break free from the shadows of the past. — Anna Redman

Tell, Frances Itani, $33.

Judgment day

One night, Fiona Maye’s husband of more than 30 years informs her that it has been over seven weeks since they had sex and he has decided to have an affair. Fiona, a High Court judge in London, is accustomed to assigning blame and meting out justice in times of marital conflict but suddenly sees herself in the humbling role of defendant. Feeling powerless to decide on the outcome of her own marriage, she buries herself in a particularly complex case: The parents of a hospitalized teen are refusing his life-saving cancer treatment on religious grounds.

An impulsive visit to the boy’s bedside leaves Fiona questioning fundamental beliefs about right and wrong and the dangers of valuing religion over rational thought. It is now up to her to decide whether the family’s devotion to their faith is paramount over the boy’s right to live. McEwan explores a difficult, emotionally charged subject with care and grace, and his even, measured prose is as unhurried and methodically rendered as any court proceeding. A novel that will challenge your assumptions about the judicial process and the responsibility of the court in passing judgment, especially when it is a child’s life that hangs in the balance. — Sydney Loney

The Children Act, Ian McEwan, $30.