February’s Best Reviewed Fiction

Lauren Groff’s Brawler, Tayari Jones’s Kin, and Cristina Rivera Garza’s Autobiography of Cotton all feature among the best reviewed fiction titles of the month.

Brought to you by Book Marks, Lit Hub’s home for book reviews.

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1. Brawler: Stories by Lauren Groff
(Riverhead)

9 Rave • 1 Positive
Read a profile of Lauren Groff here

“Should come with a warning because anyone who picks up the book and idly starts reading the first story will be unable to stop without finishing it … Each of the nine rich tales has enough character detail and intrigue to fill a full-length novel … Groff also is hilarious…provocative and plenty of other adjectives. Long story short: Brawler is a knockout.”

–Chris Hewitt (The Star Tribune)

2. Kin by Tayari Jones
(Knopf)

8 Rave • 1 Positive
Read a Q&A with Tayari Jones here

“While some writers lead with a strong beginning only to grow slack as the novel wears on, struggling to land the ending, Jones is the opposite. Her momentum picks up steam as it goes … Confident … As the novel’s turbulent action finds an affecting and spectral finale, we’re left with an abiding undercurrent of platonic love as Jones forges a graceful dignity for Niecy and Annie.”

–Lauren LeBlanc (The Boston Globe)

3. Autobiography of Cotton by Cristina Rivera Garza
(Graywolf)

7 Rave
Read an interview with Cristina Rivera Garza here

“A fusion of fiction and nonfiction that excavates both national and family history. On a broad and somewhat scholarly level, Autobiography of Cotton details Mexico’s postindependence labor movements and land reforms … Gripping … This book is one of restless movement and passionate hope.”

–Sam Sacks (The Wall Street Journal)

4. Good People by Patmeena Sabit
(Crown)

5 Rave • 3 Positive
Read Patmeena Sabit’s “Five Essential Books for Understanding Afghanistan” here

“Gorgeous and powerful … They say reading is dying, and maybe it is. But works like this one will ensure there will always be a place for what novels alone can achieve.”

5. This is Not About Us by Allegra Goodman
(Dial Press)

6 Rave • 1 Positive

“Goodman has written many wonderful novels, but her 11th, This Is Not About Us, is her crowning glory. So far, anyway … No one does this shtick better than Goodman, always funny and moving, but sharp rather than sentimental, willing to leave matters as messy as they are in real life rather than tying heart-warming fictional bows … She’s the real thing.”

–Marion Winik (The Boston Globe)