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It should, however, be read with a grain (a dash?)
of salt: We read a lot, but we can’t read everything!
And while one editor might have a predilection for crime fiction, the other is deep into historical romance.
The peril of curation is that it’s an act of exclusion as much as inclusion.
Are these women being taken advantage ofor are they on the ride of their lives?
This is a somewhat old-fashioned novel of manners that acutely captures the modern moment.
It captures the London fug, equal parts energy and claustrophobia, full of rich observations and emotional detail.
Shes diagnosed with Sudden Deafness, and the exact cause is unknown.
Callahans cool, all-encompassing prose brings comparisons to Clarice Lispector and Fleur Jaeggy.
Apekina expertly weaves a tale of how our long-gone ancestors actions bleed into subsequent generations.
Apekinas novel is not only a harrowing examination of generational trauma, but a damn funny one.
What makes it so unsettling?
Here, self-invention is an act of brutal violence with no discernible survivors.
A single paragraph on the difficulty of untangling bras has thrilling specificity.
We have Nathalie, a French marine biologist studying the catastrophic climate effects on coral in French Polynesia.
Pias hothouse disaffection makes the idea of political actiona homemade bomb, an act of sabotageirresistible.
In Freudenbergers worldly, sophisticated storytelling, characters who are essentially good fumble and cause accidents everywhere they go.T.A.
A minister is engaged to convince the tenant to leave.
Bravura storytelling, if not for the faint of heart.
TA
Exhibit: A Novelby R.O.
Kwon (May)
Exhibit: A Novel
Exhibit(Riverhead), R.O.
(Smells Like Teen Spirit was a phrase she wrote on Kurt Cobains wall one night.)
Hes been offered a guest cottage in exchange for making himself available for on-demand instruction.
Tennis is only part of the deal, however.
This is a pointillist novel, profound in its portrayal of strains, bonds, and heartbreak.T.A.
Kilroys novel is a story, told by a mother, Soldier, to her son, Sailor.
Sailors father is on the periphery, an almost cartoonishly inept partner who feels simultaneously extremely believable.
The book includes a strong critique of persistent gender roles, but men are not thoroughly the enemy here.
Muralis cast of characters are hopelessly adrift despite all their shiny tethers to the material world.
Its an indelible, uproarious snapshot of young womanhood during a period most of us would rather forget.
Such is the premise of Rachel Dodes andLauren Mechlings charming new novel,The Memo(Harper Perennial).
A modernizedSliding Doorsset amid a delightfully specific milieu, this is a paranormal parable with a very relatable heart.
The Most by Jessica Anthony (July)
The Most
This is a slim, delectable book.
Anthony writes characters that are both emotionally stunted and believably complex.
A stunning gem of a book.
The book is just as compassionate as it is funny.
Thompsons hypnotic prose and addictive plot moves and exhilarates in equal measure.
Burnby Peter Heller (August)
Burn: A Novel
A secessionist page-turner?
A small town is burned to the ground.
A nearby bridge has been blown up.
And is that artillery fire in the distance?
Somehow, all of them find ways to connect, to confess, to heartbreakingly endure.
Creation Lakeby Rachel Kushner (September)
Creation Lake
Some novelists have a mode, othersvary widely.
But Kushners plotat once arid and affectingasks just how much any human can insulate themselves.
Is the Irish novelist sending a message about the artist as a young woman?
A very British caper, warmly funny and delightfully involving.M.M.
One, addressed to Didion, was so eviscerating it propelled her into her next book.
Reader: dont be a baby, she warns us in the introduction.
