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Fiction A to Z September 2018
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French exit
by Patrick deWitt
Bankrupted by her infamous litigator husband's tabloid death, a scandal-fearing widow flees New York for Paris, where her deadbeat son and she navigate near-comic self-destructive choices. By the New York Times best-selling author of The Sisters Brothers.
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| Our Homesick Songs by Emma HooperWhat it is: a fable-like tale of a family -- and a community -- torn apart by their circumstances but struggling to remain together.
The setting: a desolate, dwindling fishing village in Newfoundland, Canada, where the Connors are one of the few families left.
Why you might like it: A quiet meditation on loss, sorrow, and hope, this moving tale offers moments of magical realism. |
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| The Line That Held Us by David JoyWhat it is: a bleak Southern noir in which an accidental death sets in motion an inescapable cycle of violence.
Featuring: two poachers, the loyal friend of one, and the savage but dedicated brother (with a dangerous sense of justice) of the other.
For fans of: Michael Farris Smith's Desperation Road, or the desolate Appalachian settings of Ron Rash's novels. |
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| The Incendiaries by R.O. KwonStarring: Three Korean Americans: grieving university student Phoebe, who falls in with an extremist cult; shy Will, a transfer student from a Bible college; and John, a magnetic zealot who claims to have been released from a North Korean prison.
What happens: In the wake of a violent act that leaves five people dead at the hands of John's quasi-religious cult, Phoebe disappears, leaving Will to piece together what happened.
Reviewers say: "an urgent and disarming debut" (Publishers Weekly). |
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Katerina
by James Frey
Twenty-five years after a passionate affair with a model, a successful writer is on the brink of suicide, until he receives an anonymous message that draws him back to the life, and possibly the love, he abandoned years prior.
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Presidio
by Randy Kennedy
Two brothers in the 1970s Texas panhandle steal a car to search for one's wife who ran off with their tiny amount of money and accidentally kidnap a Mennonite girl who was asleep in the backseat.
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| Octavia E. Butler's Kindred: A Graphic Novel Adaptation by Damian Duffy; illustrated by John JenningsWhat it is: a graphic novel adaptation of Octavia Butler's classic SF novel, Kindred, in which Dana, a black woman in the 1970s, is pulled back in time to a Southern plantation in 1815.
Read it for: A compelling story that examines the roles that individuals play in perpetuating systemic racism. Plus there's stark illustrations, which change in hue for the two eras, and Dana herself, a determined woman in a challenging environment. |
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Everyone's a aliebn when ur a aliebn too : a book
by Jomny Sun
"Everyone's a aliebn when ur a aliebn too is the illustrated story of a lonely alien sent to observe Earth, only to meet all sorts of creatures with all sorts of perspectives on life, love, and happiness, all while learning to feel a little better about being an alien--based on the enormously popular Twitter account, @jonnysun. Here is the unforgettable story of Jomny, a lonely alienwho, for the first time ever, finds a home on our planet after learning that earthlings can feel lonely too. Jomny finds friendship in a bear tired of other creatures running away in fear, an egg struggling to decide what to hatch into, an owl working its way to being wise, a tree feeling stuck in one place, a tadpole coming to terms with turning into a frog, a dying ghost, apuppy unable to express itself, and many more. Through this story of a lost, lonely and confused alien finding friendship, acceptance, and love among the creatures of Earth, we will all learn how to be a little more human. And for all of us earth-bound creatures here on this planet, we can all be reminded that sometimes, it takes an outsider to help us see ourselves for who we truly are"
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| Kill My Mother: A Graphic Novel by Jules FeifferWhat it is: a noirish graphic novel set on the dark, menacing streets of Hollywood in the 1930s and '40s.
Read it for: recognizably noir characters -- alcoholic PIs, femmes fatales, tough guys, resourceful widows; the twists and turns of the plot, which require close reading and an appreciation for Jules Feiffer's deft eye for the absurd. |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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