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Every year, as spring arrives, The New York Times immerses itself in months of passionate debate over the most extraordinary books: the endearing families we come to cherish, the captivating narrative nonfiction that transports us to different worlds, and the unforgettable fictional universes that linger in our minds.
This effort is dedicated to achieving one goal—determining the most outstanding books of the year.
Without further ado, presenting the 12 Best Books of 2023.
12 New York Times Bestsellers of 2023
1. The Bee Sting, by Paul Murray
- Book Title: The Bee Sting
- Author: Paul Murray
- Year Published: June 8, 2023
- Goodreads Rating: 3.95/5
Murray returns triumphantly with “The Bee Sting,” a tragic tale about an Irish family grappling with crises. The Barneses — Dickie, Imelda, Cass, and PJ — are a wealthy Irish clan whose fortunes begin to plummet after the 2008 financial crash.
But in addition to this shared hardship, all four are dealing with demons of their own: the re-emergence of a long-kept secret, blackmail, the death of a past love, a vexing frenemy, a worrisome internet pen pal, and more.
The novel threads together the stories of the increasingly isolated Barneses, but Murray's overall tapestry is not one of desolation but of hope. This book showcases one family’s incredible love and resilience even as their world crumbles around them.
2. Chain-Gang All-Stars, by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah
- Book Title: Chain-Gang All-Stars
- Author: Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah
- Year Published: May 2, 2023
- Goodreads Rating: 4.14/5
A new novel by Adjei-Brenyah, following his 2018 story collection “Friday Black,” presents a dystopian satire. In this story, death-row inmates compete on TV for freedom. The novel draws readers into the eager audience, making us complicit with the bloodthirsty fans watching ringside.
In his review, Giri Nathan pointed out that the book made him laugh at familiar aspects of the world being mocked but also made him wish he recognized less of it. The United States depicted in "Chain-Gang All-Stars" is like ours but exaggerated to absurd points.
The novel features a poignant love story between two top competitors who must choose between each other and freedom. The well-written fight scenes demonstrate how easy it might be to accept a world this sick.
3. Eastbound, by Maylis de Kerangal
- Book Title: Eastbound
- Author: Maylis de Kerangal
- Year Published: initially released in 2012, but published in translation in 2023
- Goodreads Rating: 3.97/5
De Kerangal’s concise and poetic novel, first published in France in 2012 and newly translated by Jessica Moore, tells the story of a young Russian conscript named Aliocha on a trans-Siberian train crowded with other soldiers.
The atmosphere is somber. Aliocha, feeling unsettled after a fight, decides to desert the train. In doing so, he forms an uneasy alliance with a civilian passenger, a Frenchwoman. The desolate Siberian landscape, described by de Kerangal as "a world turned inside out like a glove, raw, wild, empty," intensifies the high stakes.
"The uncertainty of life in this vastness and on board the train underscores the importance of human connection," wrote our reviewer, Ken Kalfus. "In times of war, this connection may bring freedom and salvation."
4. The Fraud, by Zadie Smith
- Book Title: The Fraud
- Author: Zadie Smith
- Year Published: September 2023
- Goodreads Rating: 3.29/5
The novel by Smith is based on a well-known 19th-century criminal trial in which the defendant was accused of pretending to be a nobleman. The book provides a detailed portrayal of London and the English countryside and effectively captures the social controversies of the time through a small group of characters.
Key figures include a widowed Scottish housekeeper who closely follows the trial and a former enslaved Jamaican servant who testifies in support of the claimant. Smith, who is not only a novelist but also a talented critic, uses the housekeeper's employer, a once-popular writer and friendly rival of Dickens, to satirize the literary culture of the period while reflecting on whose stories are told and whose are overlooked.
In his review, Karan Mahajan expressed his pleasure at being immersed in Zadie Smith’s mind, which he feels is increasingly becoming synonymous with London. He also commented that while Dickens may be dead, Smith is alive.
5. North Woods, by Daniel Mason
- Book Title: North Woods
- Author: Daniel Mason
- Year Published: September 12, 2023
- Goodreads Rating: 4.14/5
Mason’s ambitious and wide-ranging novel takes readers into a house in the wilderness of western Massachusetts, where they remain for 300 years across almost 400 pages.
Through sections interspersed with letters, poems, song lyrics, diary entries, medical case notes, real estate listings, vintage botanical illustrations, and assorted ephemera not typically found in a novel, readers become acquainted with the inhabitants of the place from colonial times to the present day.
These inhabitants include an apple farmer, an abolitionist, a wealthy manufacturer, a pair of beetles, a landscape painter, and a ghost. Their lives and deaths briefly intersect but mostly layer over each other in a dazzling collage.
Throughout, the natural world serves as a long-suffering, occasionally destructive presence. Mason warmly invites readers to stay as long as they like and interpret the place as they wish.
6. The Best Minds, by Jonathan Rosen
- Book Title: The Best Minds
- Author: Jonathan Rosen
- Year Published: April 18, 2023
- Goodreads Rating: 4.06/5
A detailed account of the author's long friendship with Michael Laudor, who first gained attention as a Yale Law School graduate working to remove the stigma around schizophrenia. He later made headlines for fatally stabbing his pregnant girlfriend with a kitchen knife and was then sent to a high-security psychiatric hospital.
Drawing from various sources such as clips, court and police records, legal and medical studies, interviews, diaries, and Laudor’s writings, including a book proposal, Rosen delves into the fine line between brilliance and insanity, the complex policy implications of deinstitutionalization, and the ethical responsibilities of a community.
"The Best Minds" is a well-researched critique of a society that values profit, quick solutions, and happy endings over the long-term commitment to care.
7. Bottoms Up and the Devil Laughs, by Kerry Howley
- Book Title: Bottoms Up and the Devil Laughs
- Author: Kerry Howley
- Year Published: March 21, 2023
- Goodreads Rating: 3.81/5
Howley’s account of the national security state and the people involved in it includes fabulists, truth-tellers, combatants, and whistle-blowers. At the center is Reality Winner, a National Security Agency contractor who was convicted under the Espionage Act for leaking classified information to The Intercept and was sentenced to 63 months in prison.
Howley’s exploration of privacy and digital surveillance eventually leads her into the world of conspiracy theorists and QAnon. It’s a journey that feels both surprising and unavoidable; delving into the deep state would lead her down the rabbit hole.
The result is a captivating, darkly funny book, and unique in every sense of the word.
8. Fire Weather, by John Vaillant
- Book Title: Fire Weather
- Author: John Vaillant
- Year Published: May 9, 2023
- Goodreads Rating: 4.35/5
In 2016, a devastating wildfire swept through Fort McMurray in the Canadian province of Alberta. In the book "Fire Weather," Vaillant explains how the fire started, grew, and caused widespread damage.
The book introduces us to firefighters, oil workers, meteorologists, and insurance assessors, but the focus is on the fire - a powerful and frightening force with unrelenting destructive power.
"Fire Weather" offers a gripping real-life narrative of the events and explores the contributing factors to such catastrophes. It emphasizes the ongoing risk as climate change continues and human behaviors remain unchanged.
10. Master Slave Husband Wife, by Ilyon Woo
- Book Title: Master Slave Husband Wife
- Author: Ilyon Woo
- Year Published: January 17, 2023
- Goodreads Rating: 4/5
In 1848, Ellen and William Craft, an enslaved couple in Georgia, escaped to the North by disguising themselves. Ellen posed as a sickly young white planter, while William acted as her male slave.
Ellen wore a stovepipe hat, dark green glasses, and a sling over her right arm to conceal her illiteracy. Despite facing several close calls and determined slave catchers, the Crafts successfully fled and later traveled to England to speak at abolitionist events.
They also wrote a popular account of their journey. A leading American abolitionist praised their story as "one of the most thrilling in the nation's annals." Woo's immersive retelling of the Crafts' escape is a remarkable feat of research, storytelling, sympathy, and insight.
11. Fourth Wing, by Rebecca Yarros
- Book Title: Fourth Wing
- Author: Rebecca Yarros
- Year Published: May 2, 2023
- Goodreads Rating: 4.57/5
As Conscription Day approaches, 20-year-old Violet Sorrengail, trained for the Scribe Quadrant, is ordered by her mother, General Sorrengail, to train as a dragon rider in the dangerous Rider Quadrant. Despite concerns about her small size and frailty, Violet's sister Mira helps her prepare.
At Basgaith War College, Violet encounters Xaden Riorson and survives an assassination attempt. She excels academically, forms alliances, and bonds with two dragons. She later learns of Xaden's involvement in a rebellion and faces a new enemy, the Venin.
The story ends with the revelation of her brother's involvement in the rebellion, setting the stage for the next installment, Iron Flame.
12. It Starts with Us, by Colleen Hoover
- Book Title: It Starts with Us
- Author: Colleen Hoover
- Year Published: October 18, 2022, but became a bestseller in 2023
- Goodreads Rating: 3.86/5
It Starts With Us is the second book in the It Ends With Us series.
This second book goes over the aftermath of Ryle’s abuse of Lily and how that has affected her and her choices when it comes to her new kid. Atlas’s and Lily’s points of view in the new book provide a big message on domestic abuse.
You see the contrast between the two men (Ryle and Atlas), and you start to notice the signs that Ryle exhibited. This book starts and carries through the entire book that Lily is still recovering from what Ryle did. You can sense this.
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