The Best Books of 2026 So Far
Key takeaways
- The Best Books of 2026 So Far Each week, our editors and critics choose the most captivating, notable, brilliant, surprising, absorbing, weird, thought-provoking, and talked-about reads.
- Questions 27 & 28 by Karen Tei Yamashita (Graywolf)Fiction Could you swear loyalty to a country that has imprisoned you, fearful of the threat you supposedly pose to its safety?
- Read more: “The Novelist Reimagining the Japanese American Internment,” by Hua HsuWhen you make a purchase using a link on this page, we may receive a commission.
The Best Books of 2026 So Far Each week, our editors and critics choose the most captivating, notable, brilliant, surprising, absorbing, weird, thought-provoking, and talked-about reads. Check back every Wednesday for new fiction and nonfiction recommendations.
Questions 27 & 28 by Karen Tei Yamashita (Graywolf)Fiction Could you swear loyalty to a country that has imprisoned you, fearful of the threat you supposedly pose to its safety? In 1943, tens of thousands of Japanese Americans who had been confined to internment camps after the bombing of Pearl Harbor were asked to do so in the final questions of a paper survey. Answering “Yes” teased a promise of freedom, but you also had to affirm your willingness to serve in the U.S. military. Yamashita’s novel threads together the stories of the prisoners and their families—many of them real—and blends genres to create a compelling picture of Japanese American experiences before, during, and after the Second World War.
Read more: “The Novelist Reimagining the Japanese American Internment,” by Hua HsuWhen you make a purchase using a link on this page, we may receive a commission. Thank you for supporting The New Yorker.