The international art market is teeming with glitz and drama. Journalist Thornton immersed herself in this billion-dollar milieu—a frenzy of auctions, bitchy gossip, and Prada-toting social climbers—and emerged with this juicy account, which includes more than 200 interviews with collectors, curators, dealers, and famous artists. — Carmela Ciuraru

We earn our livings and raise our children, but our parents continue to shape us. So when are we really grown-ups? Kelly Corrigan, 40, answers that question in her insightful, often funny memoir about surviving breast cancer only to find that her adored father has been diagnosed with cancer too.

Robinson’s companion novel to the Pulitzer Prize-winning Gilead illuminates the family of Reverend Robert Boughton in the 1950s, as two of his adult children—the wayward, elusive Jack and the quiet, dignified Glory—return to Gilead, Iowa. The author, one of America’s most quietly thrilling novelists, paints a serene landscape (vegetable gardens, Sabbath dinners, and vine-covered porches), which contrasts with Glory’s memories of Jack, her father’s ancient anger, and her struggle to make peace with two men who have kept her on the edges of their orbits. — Susan Straight

Marion Winik sees dead people. Well, so do we all. Those who’ve passed from our lives are always showing up in our heads; we still talk to them. Winik does more: She has invited 51 one of her nearest-and-dearest departed (The Neighbor, The Mah-Jongg Player, The King of the Condo) to a surprising lively gathering, devoting a short chapter to each one. Her fascinating, tiny tributes tell the bare-assed truth about relationships while coming together to create a portrait of Winik’s own imperfect, love-filled life. — Marcia Menter

Bestselling French author Ernaux has built her career on rendering almost every aspect of a woman’s experience, from the hidden contours of her marriage to the indelible loss of her mother, with unsparing honesty and insight. Her latest novella is an excruciatingly frank—and spot-on—portrait of romantic jealousy in midlife. Ernaux’s take on obsession will stay with you long after you zip through these 62 razor-sharp pages. — Dawn Raffel