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Historical Fiction September 2022
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| Joan by Katherine J. ChenWhat it is: An atmospheric, lyrical account of the life of Joan of Arc, reimagined through a secular lens.
Read it for: The richly detailed world-building and the down-to-earth, humanizing portrait of a passionate young woman trying to make the most of her lot in life. |
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| Afterlives by Abdulrazak GurnahWhat it's about: The intersecting and diverging lives of three East African young people during the "Scramble for Africa" and subsequent German colonial presence in their homeland.
For fans of: A Trail of Crab Tracks by Patrice Nganang.
About the author: Tanzanian-born British writer Abdulrazak Gurnah is known for his essays, stories, and novels that examine postcolonial African society and refugee status. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2021. |
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| Fire Season by Leyna KrowThe setting: The frontier boomtown of Spokane Falls in 1889, shortly before the Washington Territory became a US state.
The people: Barton Heydale, the disaffected and impulsive manager of the only bank within 100 miles; Roslyn Beck, a local sex worker who everyone (including Barton) underestimates to their peril; itinerant con man Quake Auchenbaucher, who has his own agenda for the town, its residents, and the bank's money. |
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| Sister Mother Warrior by Vanessa RileyWhat it's about: The unlikely but strong bond between two remarkable women who played critical roles in the 1791 revolution in Haiti.
Starring: Marie-Claire Bonheur, the indomitable mixed-race wife of Haiti's first independent ruler, Jean-Jacques Dessalines; Adbaraya Toya, a warrior from the Kingdom of Dahomey (modern day Benin) who meets Dessalines after being sold into slavery and becomes a maternal figure to young "Jan-Jak." |
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| Mademoiselle Revolution by Zoe SivakWhat it is: A suspenseful, thought-provoking debut novel about the personal and political awakening of a young woman caught between two revolutions on either side of the Atlantic.
Starring: Sylvie Rogers, the daughter of a white planter and an enslaved Black woman who goes from the frying pan into the fire when she flees revolution in Saint-Domingue (now Haiti) only to arrive in Paris shortly before the Reign of Terror.
Read it for: An alternate view of important figures from the French Revolution like Maximilien Robespierre; Sylvie's flawed yet sympathetic characterization. |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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