A short and simple hop from point A to point B is nice for the characters, but it makes for a pretty lackluster plot. Give me instead an unlikely quartet crossing the country in search of a slumber that brings oblivion and healing. Or a young noblewoman left destitute and for dead on a feral island in the North Atlantic. Or a Giant Pacific octopus who believes he holds the key to a missing persons case and the heartbreak left in its wake. Not only do these journeys guide the featured novels, but they ultimately change the characters, too.

Presenters: Nikki Erlick, Allegra Goodman, Shelby Van Pelt

Moderator: Terry Gamble