|
Fiction A to Z October 2018
|
|
|
|
| Ordinary People by Diana EvansSet in: South London and its suburbs, and featuring two couples during a year of relationship crises.
Why you might like it: Pop culture and historical moments (John Legend's music, the election of Barack Obama) populate this tale of modern life.
For fans of: Zadie Smith's multicultural NW, or Richard Yates' mid-life crisis novel Revolutionary Road. |
|
| The Golden State by Lydia KieslingStarring: anxious mother Daphne, who struggles to raise her young daughter alone when her husband is barred from returning to the U.S.
What happens: Seeking solace, Daphne leaves San Francisco for the rural mobile home she inherited from her grandparents. But what she finds in Paiute County is just more loneliness and strife.
Why you might like it: From the new-mother blues to immigration issues, this insightful debut provides a sensitive -- and occasionally humorous -- glimpse of modern community. |
|
| She Would Be King by Wayétu MooreWhat it is: a dramatic reimagining of the founding of Liberia, with touches of magic and memorable characters.
Starring: West African Gbessa, shunned as a witch; preternaturally strong former slave June; and mixed race Jamaican Norman, who can disappear. In the fight for freedom, their unique traits become powerful strengths.
Why you might like it: Eloquent and perceptive, this genre-defying debut is both a brisk adventure and a thoughtful examination of colonialism and resistance. |
|
| The Dinner List by Rebecca SerleWhat it's about: In this wish-fulfillment tale, Sabrina Nielsen arrives at her 30th birthday party to see that the guests are her answers to the ice-breaking question, "Who in all of history would you like to share a meal with?"
The guests: sentimental best friend Jessica; the father who abandoned Sabrina as a child (and who has since died); her on-again, off-again lover, Tobias; a college philosophy professor...and Audrey Hepburn, who adds some class and magic to the proceedings. |
|
|
Women Talking by Miriam Toews"A major work by one of our most beloved and esteemed writers, the novel is based on real events that happened between 2005 and 2009 in a remote Mennonite community where more than 100 girls and women were drugged unconscious and raped in the night by what they were told were "ghosts" or "demons." Women Talking is an imagined response to these real events. It takes place over 48 hours, as eight women hide in a hayloft while the men are in a nearby town posting bail for the perpetrators. They have come together to debate, on behalf of all the women and children in the community, whether to stay or leave before the men return. By turns poignant, furious, witty, acerbic, tender, devastating, and heartbreaking, the voices in this extraordinary novel are unforgettable."
|
|
| I Liked My Life by Abby FabiaschiStarring: recently deceased wife and mother Maddy, who begins meddling from beyond the grave when she sees how her suicide shattered her family's lives.
Why you might like it: Sprinkled with humor, this sympathetic take on coping with death offers the perspectives of several complex characters and a moving view on marriage and parenthood.
Want a taste? "I found the perfect wife for my husband." |
|
| The Whole Town's Talking by Fannie FlaggWhat it's about: Founded in 1889, Elmwood Springs, Missouri has flourished over the last 150 years. As has the town cemetery -- everyone buried there quickly "wakes up" to catch up with long-departed friends and family members!
Don't miss: quirky characters, warm humor, and a close-knit community.
Why you might like it: This epic family saga combines historical detail with an intriguing premise and a teasing murder mystery. |
|
| Secondhand Souls by Christopher MooreThe set-up: In A Dirty Job, secondhand-shop owner Charlie Asher learned he worked for Death, collecting souls in San Francisco. In Secondhand Souls, those souls are being stolen, and Charlie himself is trapped without a body.
Is it for you? As with anything by Christopher Moore, an appreciation of the absurd, for jokes both clever and rude, and of outsize characters are all necessary to enjoy this irreverent take on life after death. |
|
|
Afterlife
by Marcus Sakey
Between life and death lies an epic war, a relentless manhunt through two worlds … and an unforgettable love story, in a book that is soon to be a major motion picture.
|
|
|
Damned
by Chuck Palahniuk
Abandoned at a Swiss boarding school while her billionaire parents pursue the adoptions of new children during the Christmas season, 11-year-old Madison dies from a drug overdose and arrives in Hell, where she forges Breakfast Club-style friendships with other dead youths and seeks a confrontation with Satan. Reprint. 100,000 first printing.
|
|
Contact your librarian for more great books!
|
|
|
|
|
|