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The Other Americans: A Novel

April 3, 2019

other americans

Late one evening, Driss, an older man, is hit and killed in a dark intersection near his restaurant in a small town in California. His death is at the center of Laila Lalami’s new novel, The Other Americans. She assembles Driss’s family, the police, a potential witness, and nearby business owners—each with their own perspective—and lets them tell their story, not just of the ... Read More...

4 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: book clubs, contemporary life, literary, mystery, Pantheon, social issues

If, Then by Kate Hope Day

March 13, 2019

if then

It feels a bit as if alternate realities are all the rage in fiction this year, which is not too surprising if you pay attention to what’s happening in the real world. First, there was The Dreamers, where people fell asleep and dreamed of different lives. Dreams so vivid that upon awaking they believed their dreams were real. Kate Hope Day takes things further in her debut ... Read More...

2 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: contemporary life, debut, literary, Pacific Northwest, science fiction

When You Read This

March 4, 2019

eight

Here’s a spoiler: Iris Massey is dead. She died of cancer at 33, leaving behind an obstreperous older sister, Jade; a narcissistic abusive mother; a weight lifter boyfriend, Richie, and Simon, her boss at his PR agency. Oh, and pages from a blog she wrote up while she was dying. It’s discovered eight months after her death, in her desk drawer, and it sets When You Read This off ... Read More...

10 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: contemporary life, debut, Harper, humor

The Care and Feeding of Ravenously Hungry Girls

February 27, 2019

care and feeding

“Boys and men are earth and stone,” my mama used to say. “But you girls, us women, we’re water. We can wear away earth and stone, if it comes to it.” Althea is indeed the water in her family’s lives. She flows and maneuvers through obstacles and around immovable objects. Her principles are fluid as well, which is why, when The Care and Feeding of Ravenously Hungry Girls ... Read More...

4 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: Berkley, book clubs, contemporary life, debut, family, women

Death is Hard Work

February 15, 2019

death

Bolbol’s father has just died in Damascus. Before he did, he made one final request of his son—he wants to be buried in the family’s plot in his hometown. It’s two hours away and without thinking Bolbol agrees. It’s only as he’s contacting his sister, Fatima, and his brother, Hussein, that the enormity of his promise hits him. This is Syria, a country being destroyed by its ... Read More...

6 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: cultural, family, Farrar Straus Giroux, literary, Middle East

Sugar Run by Mesha Maren

February 11, 2019

sugar

Jodi has dealt with feeling unwanted and out of place for most of her life. As a little girl her parents decided she was best off being raised by her grandmother on a remote farm in the Appalachians of West Virginia. Later, as a teen she fell deeply in love with a woman who had a knack for playing poker and dangerous behavior. There’s passion, but the feeling is never quite ... Read More...

8 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: Algonquin Books, debut, literary, social issues, Southern life, women

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