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Fiction A to Z January 2019
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| The Museum of Modern Love by Heather RoseWhat it's about: the many people who find themselves drawn to performance artist Marina Abramovic, who stages herself at Manhattan's Museum of Modern Art for hours, waiting to gaze into the eyes of anyone who chooses to seat themselves at her table.
Why you might like it: Abramovic's performance (which actually did take place in 2010) elicits strong responses in the audience, as returning observers connect with each other, reflect on their losses, and interact with the artist. The result is a thought-provoking exploration not just of art but of love and desire as well. |
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The only woman in the room
by Marie Benedict
A beautiful woman escapes her Austrian arms-dealer husband to become Hollywood legend Hedy Lamarr while hiding a secret double life as a Jewish scientist and sharing vital information about the Third Reich.
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The Forgotten Hours
by Katrin Schumann
At twenty-four, Katie Gregory feels like life is looking up: she’s snagged a great job in New York City and is falling for a captivating artist—and memories of her traumatic past are finally fading. Katie’s life fell apart almost a decade earlier, during an idyllic summer at her family’s cabin on Eagle Lake when her best friend accused her father of sexual assault. Throughout his trial and imprisonment, Katie insisted on his innocence, dodging reporters and clinging to memories of the man she adores.
Now he’s getting out. Yet when Katie returns to the shuttered lakeside cabin, details of that fateful night resurface: the chill of the lake, the heat of first love, the terrible sting of jealousy. And as old memories collide with new realities, they call into question everything she thinks she knows about family, friends, and, ultimately, herself. Now, Katie’s choices will be put to the test with life-altering consequences.
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Unmarriageable : a novel
by Soniah Kamal
A retelling of Pride and Prejudice, set in modern-day Pakistan, finds a practical-minded teacher from a family of sisters evaluating her resolve never to marry after encountering a brusque but compelling man during a series of lavish wedding parties
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| The Summer List by Amy Mason DoanThen: Laura and Casey were inseparable as teenagers, spending their time following elaborate scavenger hunts that Casey's young, free-spirited mother created for them.
Now: As adults, Laura and Casey are estranged, but they can't resist one last scavenger hunt. As they slowly rekindle their friendship, not only will misunderstandings be cleared up, but secrets long kept hidden will be revealed.
Read it for: themes of motherhood, acceptance, and first loves. |
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| Everything Here Is Beautiful by Mira T. LeeWhat it's about: the relationship between responsible Miranda and her irrepressible younger sister Lucia, which is severely tested by Lucia's wild behavioral swings and cycles of depression and delusion.
Read if for: an astute, compassionate picture of what it's like to struggle with mental illness or to love someone who does; vividly described settings, including New York City in the 1990s and several locations in Ecuador; the complex intermingling of cultures.
Reviewers say: "powerfully hopeful" (Bust Magazine). |
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| Fruit of the Drunken Tree by Ingrid Rojas ContrerasWhat it's about: In Pablo Escobar's unstable, violent Colombia, two very different girls form a bond that ultimately threatens to be their undoing.
Featuring: seven-year-old Chula, precocious and sheltered by her family's money; 13-year-old Petrona, who works as a maid after her family is destroyed by guerrillas.
Reviewers say: "dazzling and devastating" (San Francisco Chronicle). |
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