13 blockbuster novels to look out for this fall

If there’s one consolation that summer’s almost over, it’s that the best books of the year are on their way. Take a look at this year’s dazzlingly rich fall novels, stuffed with works from Elena Ferrante, Jonathan Franzen, Margaret Atwood, and John Irving, to name just a few.

The Story of the Lost Child, Elena Ferrante

Ferrante’s final Neapolitan novel follows Lila and Elena as they wrestle with their fraught, decades-long friendship. (Sept. 1)

Purity, Jonathan Franzen

In Franzen’s long-awaited doorstop of a novel, a girl named Purity embarks on a journey through South America to find herself. (Sept. 1)

Did You Ever Have a Family, Bill Clegg

He may be better known as a literary agent and memoirist, but Clegg’s debut novel—about a woman named June who loses her entire family in one fell swoop—has been long-listed for the Man Booker Prize. (Sept. 8)

Fates and Furies, Lauren Groff

In Groff’s stunning novel, one seemingly perfect marriage (and its secrets) is shown from both sides over 24 years. (Sept. 15)

The Heart Goes Last, Margaret Atwood

Atwood trains her oft-twisted eye on a down-on-their-luck married couple who stumble upon a town where residents can be comfortably unemployed…but there’s a catch. (Sept. 29)

Gold Fame Citrus, Claire Vaye Watkins

As a drought cripples Southern California, some people are sent to internment camps while others scavenge to survive. (Sept. 29)

City on Fire, Garth Risk Hallberg

It’s hard to believe this layered, 944-page 1970s New York epic is a debut: The glitter and grime of the city’s punk heyday are captured in gorgeous detail as multiple stories converge. (Oct. 13)

Welcome to Night Vale, Joseph Fink & Jeffrey Cranor

From the creators of the podcast comes this novel about a Southwestern town full of ghosts, aliens, and shape-shifters. (Oct. 20)

The Mark and the Void, Paul Murray

The financial crisis is drenched in humor in this tale about a banker whose life becomes more interesting when a downtrodden author starts fictionalizing it. (Oct. 20)

The Japanese Lover, Isabel Allende

The global best-seller’s latest saga traces the love story between a Japanese gardener and a Polish refugee in World War II-era San Francisco. (Nov. 3)

The Mare, Mary Gaitskill

When a young girl from Brooklyn stays with a wealthy upstate New York couple through the Fresh Air Fund, she learns to ride horses, and a new world unfolds. (Nov. 3)

Twain & Stanley Enter Paradise, Oscar Hijuelos

This fictional account of the friendship between Mark Twain and explorer Sir Henry Morton Stanley is a brilliant posthumous capstone to the Pulitzer Prize winner’s legacy. (Nov. 3)

Avenue of Mysteries, John Irving