July’s Best Reviewed Fiction

Three notable fiction titles stood out in the July best reviewed category, according to Book Marks' compilation by Lit Hub. Colson Whitehead's "Cool Machine" from Doubleday received 17 rave reviews and 4 positive ones, lauded for its "dizzyingly brilliant measure of the versatility and depth of the acclaimed author's literary talent."

The novel is described as an intricate caper grounded in historical fact, earning the author a spot as a top-tier researcher. Leigh Haber of The Los Angeles Times hailed it as a "modern masterpiece and an ode to New York."

Next, Sigrid Nunez's "It Will Come Back to You: Collected Stories" from Riverhead garnered 10 rave reviews and 1 positive. Reviewer Hirsh Sawhney of The Times Literary Supplement noted the profound and quirky nature of Nunez's writing, which remains impactful despite the current publishing landscape dominated by celebrity culture and algorithmic shallowness. The profile emphasizes the enduring acclaim and readership for such a writer, as a hopeful sign for literature.

Lastly, Daniel Mason's "Country People" from Random House achieved 8 rave reviews, 4 positive, and 2 mixed. Reviewer Bill Kelly from The New Yorker appreciated Mason's elastic, lightly ironic voice that intertwines observation, anecdote, and reflection. He praised the narrative structure as playful, occasionally intrusive, and permissive, wandering and doubling back with fragments that may initially appear peripheral.

The Vermont setting, described as sparse and bracing, amplifies these idiosyncrasies while Mason remains attuned to the natural world. A thread of the uncanny, a local legend hovering between conspiracy theory and genuine mystery, adds to the narrative's depth.