Best of Boston

Released this winter, Dubus’s Townie was a rarity: a Bay State memoir entirely lacking in Oirish flavah and Whitey Bulger references. Instead, Dubus chronicled his days growing up in the Merrimack Valley of the 1970s, broke and in a broken home, and learning to fistfight out his frustration. When redemption comes, it’s a devastating punch to the gut, making Townie one of the best books of the year.