1. Freedom by Jonathan Franzen. I am not a Franzen fan, far from it, but it is all about the writing and I believe this is the best of 2010. Walter and Patty seem such nice folks, Patty strives to be the perfect Mom and Walter is so green he bikes to work in the snow. All is not as it appears, soon their son has moved in with the redneck neighbor and Walter is in trouble for getting into bed with big coal. Funny, wrenching, insightful, and brilliant.

3. Matterhorn by Karl Marlantes. There will be soldiers who fought in Vietnam who will say someone is finally telling their story. This book is visceral, powerful, real. Marlantes can write! In chapter two he describes dusk turning to dark in Vietnam. The light died. Voices were silenced. Darkness and fear replaced light and reason. The whisper of a leaf scraping on bark would make heads turn involuntarily and hearts gallop. The surrounding blackness and unseen wall of dripping growth left no place to run. In that black wet nothingness the perimeter became just a memory. Only imagination gave it form The New York Times described it as being more like a deployment to Vietnam than reading a book. It feels that true.

5. The Postmistress by Sarah Blake. Frankie is a hotshot reporter working with the legendary Murrow, she reports from Europe by radio stories that bring WWII into the living room of the Trasks, a young couple in New England. Their lives intersect and the Postmistress chooses between the rules she always followed and kindness.

7. Parrott & Olivier in America by Peter Carey. Through a series of unfortunate events Olivier, the son of aristocrats who survived (barely) the French Revolution, ends up heading for America accompanied by a reluctant servant, Parrot. Poor Parrot survived many mishaps only to be saddled with keeping the snobbish Olivier out of harm’s way.

9. The Swan Thieves by Elizabeth Kostova. Why would renowned artist Robert Oliver attack a painting in the National Gallery? It is a question his psychiatrist Andrew Marlow will have to investigate for himself because Robert isn’t talking. It is a quest that will become an obsession as Marlow follows the trail back a century to a remarkably talented woman. If you are interested in art, this is a feast! The writing is absolutely sumptuous.