The novels and nonfiction we couldn’t stop thinking about this year—and in a year like this one, that’s saying something.

“Everyone Who is Gone is Here: The United States, Central America, and the Making of a Crisis” by Jonathan Blitzer (Penguin, Jan. 30, 2024) and “The Secret History of Bigfoot: Field Notes on a North American Monster” by John O’Connor (Sourcebooks, Feb. 6, 2024).

Here are the year’s notable fiction, poetry and nonfiction, chosen by the staff of The New York Times Book Review.

Viking, £16.99 For Strout enthusiasts, of which there are many, the fact that this novel weaves together the worlds of two of her most beloved characters – Lucy Barton and Olive Kitteridge – is like Christmas itself.