| The Weight of a Piano by Chris CanderWhat it's about: quite literally, a piano. And a series of chance events surrounding that piano that bring two flawed people together.
Starring: an immigrant from the Soviet Union; an orphaned mechanic; a talented photographer. Though their time with the piano is separated by decades, their attachment to it links them together.
For fans of: Annie Proulx's Accordion Crimes; |
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| Elsey Come Home by Susan ConleyStarring: American expat Elsey, who lives in China with her Dutch husband and their kids. A frustrated painter, Elsey's also a heavy drinker.
What happens: At the request of her husband, Elsey attends a yoga retreat. There, she's forced to face her drinking and her fears about parenting, painting, and so much else.
Why you might like it: Straightforward, vulnerable Elsey is a sympathetic heroine at a crossroads. |
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| Unmarriageable by Soniah KamalWhat it is: a retelling of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice set in modern-day Pakistan.
What else do you need to know? Scene-by-scene recreations will delight Janeites, but the setting also provides both humor and thought-provoking insight into Pakistani culture.
Want a taste? "It is a truth universally acknowledged that a girl can go from pauper to princess or princess to pauper in the mere seconds it takes for her to accept a proposal." |
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| An Orchestra of Minorities by Chigozie ObiomaWhat it is: a devastating account of Nigerian poultry farmer Chinonso's attempts to win the woman he loves, as told by his chi (guardian spirit).
Why you might like it: A contemporary twist on Homer's The Odyssey, Chinonso's quest invokes Nigerian history and cosmology; this heartbreaking slow burn is both tense and tragic.
Reviewers say: "magnificently multilayered" (Booklist); "a rare treasure" (Seattle Times). |
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| Golden State by Ben H. WintersIn a world... where everything is documented and even tiny lies are a punishable offence, Golden State is an independent nation that values truth above all else, even though its history is murky.
What happens: In the wake of a suspicious death, veteran special agent Lazlo Ratesic begins to doubt the laws he's always upheld.
Why you might like it: Part police procedural, part dystopian fiction, this thought-provoking tale explores terrifying territory similar to George Orwell's 1984. |
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Focus on: Recent Short Stories
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Bizarre romance : stories
by Audrey Niffenegger
The internationally best-selling author of The Time Traveler’s Wife collaborates with the illustrator of such seminal works as From Hell to present a collection of 16 different stories that explore the idiosyncratic nature of relationships in a variety of genres. 20,000 first printing.
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| The Largesse of the Sea Maiden by Denis JohnsonWhat it is: a witty, edgy collection of five short stories by National Book Award-winning Denis Johnson, published posthumously.
Why you might like it: From mental illness and self-destruction to old age and mortality, these are melancholy and offbeat tales. And while there's a masculine bent to the collection, you needn't be a man to enjoy it.
Reviewers say: "an instant classic" (Publishers Weekly); "incisive" (Booklist). |
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| Beautiful Days by Joyce Carol OatesWhat it is: Dark and complex, this new collection from the prolific Joyce Carol Oates includes the Pushcart Prize-winning "Undocumented Alien" and 12 other devastating stories.
Featuring: awkward encounters, violent clashes, acts of defiance; broken characters and flawed relationships; secret inner lives and overweening guilt.
Fan favorites: "Fleuve Bleu," "Undocumented Alien," and "Fractal." |
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The girl of the lake : stories
by Bill Roorbach
"Nine richly varied, often funny, always moving stories that cross a range of landscapes and generations to reveal the complex workings of the human heart. Bill Roorbach conjures vivid, complex characters whose layered interior worlds feel at once familiar and extraordinary. He first made his mark as the winner of an O. Henry Prize for one of his stories and the Flannery O'Connor Award for his first collection, Big Bend. His astounding new collection, The Girl of the Lake, captures a virtuoso in his prime. Among the unforgettable characters Roorbach creates are an adventurous boy who learns what courage really is when an aging nobleman recounts history to him; a couple hiking through the mountains whose vacation and relationship ends catastrophically; a teenager being pursued by three sisters all at once; a tech genius who exacts revenge on his wife and best friend over a stolen kiss from years past; and many more. These stories--some being published for the first time, the rest originally from the Atlantic Monthly, Playboy, Ploughshares, the Missouri Review, Ecotone, and others--are as rich in scope, emotional, and unforgettable as Bill Roorbach's novels. He has been called "a kinder, gentler John Irving . . . a humane and entertaining storyteller with a smooth, graceful style" (the Washington Post), and his work has been described as "hilarious and heartbreaking, wild and wise" (Parade magazine), all of which is evident in spades (and also hearts, clubs, and diamonds) in every story in this arresting new collection"
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| You Think It, I'll Say It by Curtis SittenfeldWhat it is: a collection of both original and previously published short stories, generally focusing on white middle class characters with humor and honesty.
Why you might like it: Conversational and witty, these stories explore contemporary issues (social media addiction) and familiar quandaries (ambivalence towards motherhood).
Fan favorites: "Gender Studies," "The Prairie Wife," "Off the Record." |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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