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Written by ABA
Last edited Mar 2023 — 3 min read
Winning an award is the pinnacle of success for any book. Generally, you’d reckon an award winning book would be quite popular – but that isn’t true for all. A lot of books win awards but never end up selling a lot copies. In this list, we have unearthed a list of 10 underrated awarding books published in the last decade.
Educated is a memoir by Tara Westover about growing up in a strict and abusive household in rural Idaho and how she went on to receive a PhD from Cambridge University. The book has received critical acclaim for its honest portrayal of the challenges of overcoming a difficult past and for its inspiring message about the power of education to transform lives.
| AGENT | Richard Pine and Kimberly Witherspoon |
| AWARD | Pulitzer Prize |
| AUTHOR | Donna Tartt |
| PUBLISHER | Little, Brown and Company |
#1 Wall Street Journal Bestseller
The Goldfinch is a novel by Donna Tartt about a young boy named Theo Decker who survives a bombing at an art museum and goes on to become entangled in the world of art forgery. The book is a sprawling, Dickensian epic that explores themes of loss, grief, and the search for meaning in a chaotic world. The Goldfinch won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 2014.
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks is a nonfiction book by Rebecca Skloot about a woman named Henrietta Lacks, whose cancer cells were used without her consent to create the first immortal human cell line. The book explores the ethical and scientific implications of this breakthrough and the impact it had on Lacks and her family. The book has been praised for its engaging storytelling and its ability to make complex scientific concepts accessible to a general audience.
1Q84 is a novel by Haruki Murakami that tells the story of two people, Aomame and Tengo, who find themselves living in a parallel universe that resembles their own but has subtle differences. The book is a blend of science fiction, mystery, and romance, and has been praised for its richly imagined world and its exploration of themes such as memory, identity, and the power of storytelling.
The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao is a novel by Junot Díaz about a young Dominican-American named Oscar Wao who dreams of becoming a writer while struggling to find his place in a world that doesn't understand him. The book is a vibrant, multi-layered portrait of a community and a family that has been shaped by centuries of colonialism, dictatorship, and diaspora. The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 2008.
All the Light We Cannot See is a novel by Anthony Doerr about a blind French girl named Marie-Laure and a German boy named Werner who become caught up in the chaos of World War II. The book is a beautifully written meditation on the power of human connection and the ways in which even the smallest acts of kindness can have a profound impact. All the Light We Cannot See won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 2015.
Bad Blood is a nonfiction book by John Carreyrou about the rise and fall of Theranos, a startup that claimed to have developed a revolutionary blood-testing technology but turned out to be a massive fraud. The book is a gripping account of the lengths that CEO Elizabeth Holmes and her associates went to deceive investors, regulators, and the public, and the courage of the whistleblowers who exposed the truth. It won the Gerald Loeb Award for Distinguished Business and Financial Journalism in the category of beat reporting, and the Barlett & Steele Silver Award for Investigative Business Journalism.
A Little Life is a novel by Hanya Yanagihara that tells the story of four college friends who move to New York City and try to make their way in the world. At the center of the novel is Jude, a deeply traumatized man who struggles to come to terms with the abuse he suffered as a child. The book is a powerful exploration of the limits of human endurance and the redemptive power of love and friendship. A Little Life was a finalist for the National Book Award and was a New York Times bestseller.
The Sellout is a satirical novel by Paul Beatty about a black man named Me who tries to save his hometown of Dickens, California, by reintroducing slavery and segregation. The book is a blistering critique of race and politics in America and a witty send-up of everything from pop culture to the civil rights movement. The Sellout won the Man Booker Prize in 2016, making Beatty the first American author to win the award.
Mandel Station Eleven is a novel by Emily St. John Mandel that tells the story of a group of actors and musicians who travel through a post-apocalyptic America, performing Shakespeare and Beethoven for small communities of survivors. The book is a haunting meditation on the fragility of civilization and the enduring power of art and culture. Station Eleven was a finalist for the National Book Award and was a New York Times bestseller.
These 10 books have been highly acclaimed by readers and critics alike, and offer a diverse range of genres and themes, from memoirs to science fiction, from satire to historical fiction, and from investigations of the human psyche to explorations of political and social issues.
If you believe missed out any, feel free to reach out to us at info@americanbookawards.com and we will update our list. Happy reading!
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