Dervishes

The Indian-British Booker Prize-winner asks a lot from readers in his dense new novel, but there are more than a few pleasures to be had from its labyrinthine story.

Wolf Totem

A dedicated member of the Chinese Communist Party, Li Qunying's story of family, war, and suffering has more sorrow than regret for the Cultural Revolution.

Salvage

Profile: Misha Glenny

Kingwell dissects the city; Hustvedt’s worriers are endearingly human

By Mark Kingwell. Viking Canada, 304 pp, $34, hardcover

By Siri Hustvedt. Henry Holt, 306 pp, $28, hardcover

Michio Kaku's book is a great introduction to complex ideas, such as teleportation, that will face much greater scrutiny in the years to come.

Stuffed and Starved. By Raj Patel. HarperCollins, 438 pp, $29.95, hardcover

Maybe it’s a good thing that The Rain Before It Falls is relatively short as novels go, because once you begin reading it all sense of time will disappear and you’ll become useless regarding all the other things you’re supposed to be doing.

It’s quite possible to burn through Sadie Jones’s debut novel, The Outcast, in a few hours. Even if it’s the first sunny day in weeks, you’ll happily give yourself over to this obsessive little narrative.

At some point during the reading of Sharp Teeth you’re going to wake up with a sense of wonder, and not because you’ve suddenly realized that you’re reading a novel about werewolves in Los Angeles and it’s written in blank verse. No, it will be because you’ve suddenly realized that you’re reading a novel about werewolves in Los Angeles, it’s written in blank verse, and you’re really enjoying it. What the hell!

By Jacob Weisberg. Random House, 271 pp, $30, hardcover