| Beyond the Door of No Return by David Diop; translated from the French by Sam TaylorAfter renowned botanist Michel Adanson dies in 1806 Paris, his daughter finds a manuscript about his travels in Senegal as a young man. There, he met a woman who'd somehow returned home after being sold into slavery. This lyrical biographical novel follows the author's At Night All Blood Is Black, winner of the 2021 Man Booker International Prize. |
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| Wellness by Nathan HillJack and Elizabeth met as artsy college students in 1990s Chicago, eventually marrying and having a child. Now, he's an unhappy art professor, she's an unhappy researcher, and they're questioning their lives and reflecting on their childhoods in this witty, satirical novel. Read-alikes: Jenny Offill's Weather; Gail Godwin's Old Lovegood Girls. |
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| North Woods by Daniel MasonTaking place over hundreds of years and centered around the various inhabitants of one New England property, this sweeping latest by award-winning writer Daniel Mason is "truly triumphant" (Booklist). Read-alikes: The Overstory by Richard Power; The Light at the End of the World by Siddhartha Deb. |
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| The Bee Sting by Paul MurrayAlternating points of view, The Bee Sting chronicles the life of an Irish family: dad Dickie's business is dying in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis; mom Imelda struggles with money and more; high schooler Cass is drinking; and 12-year-old PJ is bullied and lonely. For fans of: tragicomic family sagas. |
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| Night Watch by Jayne Anne PhillipsIn 1874 West Virginia, 12-year-old ConaLee and her traumatized mother are left at a (surprisingly humane) mental asylum, in a story that also depicts their lives in 1864 and 1883. Author Jayne Anne Phillips is from West Virginia and her previous work includes Lark and Termite, a National Book Award Finalist also set in the state. |
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| A Council of Dolls by Mona Susan PowerBorn in 1888, 1925, and 1961, three Native American girls each have a cherished doll that comforts them in this haunting novel that examines the trauma inflicted by Indian boarding schools. Author of the acclaimed 1994 novel The Grass Dancer, Mona Susan Power is an enrolled member of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe. |
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| Evil Eye by Etaf RumA Palestinian American woman who grew up in a troubled Brooklyn family agreed to an arranged marriage. Now she lives in suburban North Carolina, teaching college art and raising two daughters. She's restless, sure, but is she cursed like her mother says? Read-alikes: Zaina Arafat's You Exist Too Much; Monica Ali's Love Marriage. |
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| Holler, Child: Stories by LaToya WatkinsLike LaToya Watkins' debut novel, Perish, the stories in this "stunning" (Publishers Weekly) collection take place in West Texas and examine themes of race, love, community, family, guilt, betrayal, and forgiveness. For fans of: atmospheric tales peopled with authentic characters. |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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