It really was not close, although Everything Matters!: A Novel by Ron Currie, Jr. is a very, very good runner-up. Instead we have no choice but to choose Audrey Niffenegger’s follow-up to The Time Traveler’s Wife. Yes, Her Fearful Symmetry is this site’s choice as the very best book published in 2009.
How good was it? Well, we felt we needed to post three separate reviews to do the book justice. Even then we likely fell short. Our reviews were posted here on September 23, 2009 (6 days before the book’s release); September 28, 2009; and on November 7, 2009. To revisit these reviews type the following search terms into the Search It! box on the right: her fearful symmetry; take two…; what comes after. 
We can only hope that Ms. Niffenegger is now working on a third novel for release in 2011. We will wait, anxiously – helplessly hoping.
Joseph's Reviews 