Books: Mary Gordon

After writing the novels "Pearl" and "Spending," Mary Gordon has returned to nonfiction with "Circling My Mother," a memoir about her mom. But for her picks, she stuck with fiction.

MY FIVE MOST IMPORTANT BOOKS

"The Good Soldier" by Ford Madox Ford. The combination of complexities and emotionally intense timbre is an inspiration.

"Dubliners" by James Joyce. A granting of lyricism to lives which, to the outside, would not suggest that they are worthy of it.

"Howards End" by E. M. Forster. It manages to speak about immensely serious issues with a delightful lightness of tone.

"In Search of Lost Time" by Marcel Proust. It forces one to ponder again and again: what is it to be alive?