Words of wisdom in troubled times: 10 best novels of 2016

Courtesy Penguin UK

Courtesy Granta Books

Courtesy The Borough Press

Courtesy Penguin UK

Courtesy Farrar, Straus and Giroux

Courtesy Faber and Faber

Courtesy Penguin UK

Courtesy Granta Books

Courtesy New Directions

In such a turbulent year, fiction seemed more important than ever, a means by which we might understand more deeply the world's problems and challenges. At the very least the power of a good book was a consolation in troubled times, and it was amazing how many of our best novelists seemed to hit the prevailing mood with timely stories of inequality, conflict, race and the notion of home. And yet, Ali Smith's Autumn aside, all of these books were written well before the seismic political changes across the planet – perhaps proving that it is novelists who are best placed to chronicle, and perhaps predict, our times through relatable, human stories. Here, then, is Ben East's pick of the 10 best novels of 2016.

The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead

Whitehead has been quietly gaining plaudits for his varied bibliography for years now, but none of his novels quite struck the chord of this tale of a young slave in America. Winner of The National Book Award, a New York Times bestseller and picked up by the likes of Oprah Winfrey and US president Barack Obama, Whitehead's book combined a classic hide-and-seek narrative with elements of fantasy – he imagines the real-life slave escape route dubbed the "Underground Railroad" actually exists as a train track. In a troubled year for the United States, this is not only an important novel, but a hugely readable one, too.

Autumn by Ali Smith

If The Underground Railroad seemed to reflect underlying US concerns, then Ali Smith's latest novel did the same for Brexit Britain. Except this novella was rush-written, in the main, as a horrified response to a dramatic summer in the history of the United Kingdom. Not that the speed of writing is a problem – this character study of a 30-something woman's relationship with an elderly former neighbour is richly detailed and satisfying – and not only for British readers. The nightmarish opening sequence reveals a world locked in a spiral of intolerance, fear and indifference. While there will be many readers who will empathise with the feelings of powerlessness in the face of rising hatred, Autumn is never preachy. Instead, it is beautifully written and a wonderful meditation on the nature of love, art, life and politics.

Multiple Choice by Alejandro Zambra

Admittedly, a novel that takes the form of a Chilean aptitude test for schoolchildren is going to be a hard sell. But we were really taken with how deftly Zambra plays with the whole idea of what a novel is and the form it should take. So, yes, it genuinely is a multiple-choice exercise, with boxes to tick, should you wish. But gradually, the questions and answers reveal a heartbreaking story of loss, censorship, life under a dictatorship and not a little humour. And you have to be ready to laugh at Multiple Choice's questions rather than get annoyed by its conceit – once you do, a fabulous little book reveals itself. The hour you spend taking the test means this book will be unlike anything else you have read this year.

An Unsafe Haven by Nada Awar Jarrar

It is sadly inevitable that a novel exploring the fallout of war in Syria should touch a nerve, but Jarrar found a quiet, unfussy and focused way into the conflict: a refugee boy knocked over by a car in Beirut. In doing so, An Unsafe Haven possessed far greater dramatic reach, and there is a really affecting balance here between thorny sociopolitical issues and the simple emotional need for people to feel safe. The National's Book Club choice for August, Lebanese writer Jarrar told us she wanted to tell of the human cost of the war in Syria, both on individuals and her home country, as it struggles with the influx of refugees. She does that in a way no novelist in the English language has yet achieved.

Swing Time by Zadie Smith

A new Zadie Smith novel is always a treat in pop-literary circles, and her fifth book explores the lives of two girls who live in neighbouring housing estates in London with dreams of being dancers: one is talented but troubled, the other less able but a deep thinker. Naturally, their lives go in dramatically different directions, and Swing Time becomes a really interesting study of friendship, race and identity, and the value we place on the idea of home and happiness. We called it "tender, challenging, funny, arresting, and full of intelligence and empathy" – and it is certainly one of Smith's very best works.

The Sellout by Paul Beatty

Obviously, Man Booker Prize-winning novels attract plenty of attention, and Paul Beatty's The Sellout even more so, given he is the first American author to win the most prestigious literary prize in English. But this book absolutely deserves the many garlands enjoyed this year. A searingly funny, but deeply painful, satire of contemporary America, it chronicles the life of an African-American man on trial for trying to bring back slavery and segregation to his neighbourhood – to rescue it from gentrification. The writing is caustically brilliant, outrageous and provocative, with comic riffs aimed at both black and white America.

Days Without End by Sebastian Barry

Tales of the "Wild West" can still be relied upon for a certain kind of evocative, folkloric and even cinematic vision of the early days of the US. It is irresistible source material for writers, and Sebastian Barry finds both poetry and brutality in the settlers' battles with the Sioux in the mid-19th century. That might not sound like a new story but Barry is on top form here, tying ideas of Irishness (Thomas escapes the Great Famine to become a soldier in the Indian Wars) to a story of a relationship between two men in the civil war and the Sioux orphan with whom they form a family. Unbearably savage it may be, but the glimmers of hope, tenderness and humanity make Days Without End uplifting as well as compulsively readable.

All That Man Is by David Szalay

A country-hopping exploration of maleness, taking in nine men of six nationalities, All That Man Is actually walks a fine line between short story collection and novel. In the end, it just about comes down as the latter as the thematic link becomes clear: an exploration of nine stages in man's life, from a 17-year-old inter-railing around Eastern Europe to a 73-year-old retired civil servant in Italy (we also learn the oldest and youngest are related). Different characters they may be but essentially Szalay's point is the same, his sometimes absurd protagonists drift through life preoccupied with either love or money. Yet all this is achieved without nastiness – in fact All That Man Is has a rather surprising tenderness. A grand project neatly realised.

Do Not Say We Have Nothing by Madeleine Thien

An incredibly moving story of a Chinese family from the first days of Chairman Mao to the events leading up to the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989 (narrator Ai-Ming tells her story having fled to Canada in the early 1990s), Thien expertly marries the widescreen sweep of a country’s history with a complex but intimate tale. Pieced together in the present day through fragments of old notebooks detailing the lives of three musicians at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music, the Cultural Revolution changes everything, and betrayal, courage, vulnerability and self-sacrifice are revealed. Critics hailed Thien’s third novel, with some even comparing it with the very best 19th-century Russian writers – the impressive blend of the domestic and political does indeed invoke Tolstoy.

Confessions by Rabee Jaber

It's taken eight long years for Jaber's concise insight into the Lebanese civil war to reach English readers. Kareem James Abu-Zeid's powerful translation was worth the wait – it is one of those novels that tells you more about the conflict through the eyes of its individual participants than any history book ever could. There is a brilliant, early twist as the narrator finds out a shocking fact about his "father", and the rest of this short tale is a story of identity, what passes for memory, and the corrosive effect of war. We called it "clever and illuminating" in March – and Confessions deservedly made the 2017 PEN Translation longlist this month – meaning this important translation should continue to gain traction well into the new year.