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Fiction A to Z August 2020 "The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go." ~ Dr. Seuss
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Friends and Strangers by J. Courtney Sullivan What it is: a gorgeous, compulsively-readable novel that tells the story of the complex relationship between two women, Elisabeth, a privileged new mother and writer attempting to find her footing after childbirth, and Sam, the idealistic, working-class college student she hires to nanny her young son. Reviewers say: "...a big novel with big ideas... An honest rendering of what happens behind closed doors" (New York Times Book Review).
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Sex and Vanity by Kevin Kwan What it is: a dishy, escapist read that brings E.M. Forster's A Room with a View to the modern era, complete with snobby Mayflower descendants, gauche new-money families, and all the lavish luxury (this time in Capri and the Hamptons) that author Kevin Kwan (of Crazy Rich Asians fame) is known for.
Want a taste? "We're going to start small at first and offer an Ayurvedic juice bar, qigong, puppy yoga, breath work meditation, and maybe some sound healing."
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Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia What it is: a reimagining of the classic gothic suspense novel that follows the experiences of a courageous socialite in 1950s Mexico who is drawn into the treacherous secrets of an isolated mansion. Featuring: Noemí Taboada, an unlikely rescuer who, after receiving a frantic letter from her newly-wed cousin begging for someone to save her from a mysterious doom, heads to High Place, a distant house in the Mexican countryside.
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Utopia Avenueby David Mitchell What it's about: The members of a music band in 1967 London navigate the era’s parties, drugs and politics as well as their own egos and tragedies while exploring transformative perspectives about youth, art and fame. On tour: Emerging from London’s psychedelic scene in 1967, and fronted by folk singer Elf Holloway, blues bassist Dean Moss and guitar virtuoso Jasper de Zoet, Utopia Avenue embarked on a meteoric journey from the seedy clubs of Soho, a TV debut on Top of the Pops, the cusp of chart success, glory in Amsterdam, prison in Rome, and a fateful American sojourn in the Chelsea Hotel, Laurel Canyon, and San Francisco during the autumn of ’68.
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The Round House by Louise Erdrich What it's about: In North Dakota, the summer in 1988, 13-year-old Joe Coutts' mother, a tribal enrollment specialist on the Ojibwe reservation, is viciously attacked. Traumatized, she retreats to her bed, unwilling to identify her attacker. Frustrated with the official investigation's glacial pace, Joe sets out to find his mother's assailant and deliver justice.
Why you might like it: Imbued not only with Ojibwe culture and beliefs but also with Christian ideas and the philosophy of Star Trek: The Next Generation (Joe and his friends are hooked on the show), this is a thoughtful, perceptive take on the aftermath of a violent crime. | | Women in Sunlight by Frances Mayes What it's about: For Camille, Susan, and Julia, traditional retirement communities hold no appeal; on something of a whim the four near-strangers decide to rent a Tuscan home for a year, where they meet a younger American expat and become fast friends.
Why you might like it: An upbeat, engaging novel, Women in Sunlight features lushly described settings and meals -- and brings Tuscany's best to your living room. | | Augustown by Kei Miller What it is: the recounting of Jamaica's complex history, framed by the ruthless cutting of a boy's 'locs in 1982, and the story his great aunt tells him of Alexander Bedward, a preacher who predated Rastafarianism and likewise got cut down by a repressive authority.
Why you might like it: Vivid writing elicits a strong sense of Jamaica, as does the author's use of dialect (he's Jamaican himself).Reviewers say: "...a big novel with big ideas... An honest rendering of what happens behind closed doors" (New York Times Book Review). | | Tuesday Nights in 1980 by Molly Prentiss Starring: Argentinian painter Raul, poised to make his mark, who's escaped his country's dirty war; art critic James, whose synesthesia allows him to describe art in profoundly unusual ways; and, finally, the muse -- beautiful Lucy, an Idaho native drawn to New York and its art scene by little more than faded photographs.
What happens: Over the course of one turbulent year, loss brings all three together in the gritty city they've come to call home.
Reviewers say: Marked by bold characters and vibrant details, this debut is "both ethereal and brutally realistic" (The New York Times). | | The Risen by Ron Rash Starring: two brothers, now in their sixties, have been estranged since the turbulent 1969 summer they spent with a free-spirited redhead who, it turns out, didn't leave town so much as disappear. And now her body's been discovered.
Why you might like it: Like much of Ron Rash's fiction, The Risen is a product of its setting, a small North Carolina town. However, unlike most of his oeuvre, this one offers a mystery as well. | | Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward What it is: a powerful story of how the past affects the present, and of deeply entrenched racism.
Featuring: 13-year-old Jojo, his addicted, grieving Black mother, and his incarcerated white father.
Why you might like it: A road trip to Dad's prison kick-starts the novel, which offers deeply affecting characters, a strong sense of rural Mississippi, and a touch of magical realism in appearances by the dead. | |
Contact your librarian for more great books!
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