The Silver linings playbook

Matthew Quick
(Picador)

After being released from a neural health facility where he has formulated a theory about silver linings, Pat Peoples goes home to live with his parents. The former high school history teacher is under the impression that he has only been inside for a couple of months, not four years. His mission is to reunite with his wife, Nikki. He befriends Tiffany, his friend Ronnie’s sister-in-law, who is widowed and depressed, and she offers to be the go-between Pat and his wife. This compassionate, funny story was hard to put down.

– Sally Kramer