The end of the year is approaching, and as such it is time to recount all the moments we have experienced, the smiles we give away and, of course, those new books that have arrived to enlarge our bookstores. A year settled with these best books of 2017 that can become a good way to start the next 2018 among the best stories.
The patients of doctor García: Episodes of an endless war, by Almudena Grandes
Despite interspersing individual works during her last years, Almudena Grandes has focused on perpetuating her series of books on the post-war period included by Inés and joy, Jules Verne's reader, Manolita's three weddings and, the most recent, Doctor García's patients, published in 2017. An espionage novel that links various conspiracies of World War II and postwar Spain based in Madrid, more specifically the existence of a clandestine organization of fugitives from the Third Reich in which two old friends from the Civil War they will try to infiltrate.
4 3 2 1, by Paul Auster
After seven years of silence, Auster returned this year with a new book under his arm. A tour of the racial background of the United States of the second half of the twentieth century through the eyes of Ferguson, a young man experiencing the emotions and feelings of four different lives. Trips that immerse us in the different perspectives of love, loneliness or society seen from the same character. Addictive and robust, 4 3 2 1 confirms Auster's ability to take you to his ground and make you navigate from story to story with hardly any notice. One of the best books of 2017.
The monarch of the shadows, by Javier Cercas
The last novel by Javier Cercas is the most sentimental of the writer for many reasons, especially because it speaks of the author's great-uncle, Manuel Mena, considered a Falangist and who died at the age of 17 during the Spanish Civil War. A story that reconciles Cerca with a past that he was ashamed of before beginning and that is not only a cruel account of the fight, but also a bull's eye to the internal fears of the writer himself.
Surrender, by Ray Loriga
One of the great names of the so-called spanish dirty realism, Ray Loriga, returned this year with a new book, Surrender, in turn winner of the Alfaguara Novel Prize 2017. A work in which Loriga immerses us in two worlds, one real and the other fictitious evoked by the Transparent City, whose common link is the vision of the war from abroad. Confrontations diluted by manipulation and pain experienced by a father traveling with his wife and son, little Julio.
A Pillar of Fire by Ken Follett
Over 150 million books sold, Ken Follett is one of the great names of the best-seller of our time, being A Pillar of Fire the last book published by the British author. The third installment of the well-known saga of The Pillars of the Earth chronicles the return home of the young Ned Willard, at a time when the famous Kingsbridge Cathedral is witnessing the cause that has turned all of Europe against England: the coronation of Elizabeth I, who refuses to leave the throne unfolding endless of stratagems to prevent any attack or insurrection against him.
The invisible fire, by Javier Serra
Considered one of the best storytellers in our country, Serra won the Planet Award 2017 thanks to his latest work, published last November. Following in the wake of those books that have always tried to provide answers to enigmas for which humanity has not yet found resolutions, The Invisible Fire presents David Salas, a linguist from Trinity College Dublin who is about to investigate the relationship between the Holy Grail and Spain after the disappearance of one of the students of her old friend, Lady Goodman. One of the books this Christmas, without a doubt.
Indomitable, by @srtabebi
Literature has undergone great changes in recent years thanks to the power of social networks. The microliterature, or the ability of an author to reach future readers through new and fresh ways of expression has become a reality, and one of the best examples is the success of Indomable, a book by @srtabebi conceived by this blonde and feminist emerged on Instagram as "a grenade."
The Hate You Give, by Angie Thomas
After the phenomenon Black Lives Matter Triggered by the candidacy of Donald Trump for the presidency of the United States, The Hate You Give comes at the right time to reflect on the racial situation in the United States. Necessary and tough, Angie Thomas's book addresses a shooting that will forever mark the life of Starr, a young black woman who lives between her slum and a high school in a white suburb. One of the most successful books of the year on the other side of the Atlantic and a must-read in these troubled times.
The Ministry of Supreme Happiness, by Arundhati Roy
Twenty years after The God of Little Things, The book that made her known to the world, which sold millions of copies and won the Booker Prize in 1997, Indian Arundhati Roy was returning this year with a new story. The ministry of supreme happiness speaks of everyone, everything; a mosaic of characters among which Anyum, formerly called Aftab, stands out, a member of the considered "third sex" who is established in a cemetery along with other characters that define that mystical and uneven India described without equal by which it is great Asian storytellers of our time.
Berta Isla, by Javier Marías
Any given day, a "stupid" day, will condition the rest of your existence. This is the premise of the last and powerful book of the author of Heart so white. A novel that addresses the love story of Berta Isla and Tomás Nevinson cut short when the Crown looks at Tomás, a man gifted with accents, witnessing an evolution that forever changes his relationship with his wife.
What are the best books of 2017 for you?
Dr. Garcia's Patients, a good book by Almudena Grandes, his but extends too much past two-thirds of the book and loses interest a bit. Congratulations to the writer.