'To Paradise' is an inspired and vivid puzzle that doesn't quite come together
Hanya Yanagihara's much anticipated 700-page novel is a deliberately difficult work, made of up dazzling moments that tend lose their luster when pressed together.
In 'Present Tense Machine,' the allegory of The Fall becomes a linguistic accident
In Gunnhild Øyehaug's novel, a mother and daughter are separated and forgotten to each other, yet continue to exist as thinkers and artists in their respective worlds, each missing something unknown.
(Image credit: Farrar, Straus and Giroux )
Gwen E. Kirby's stunning collection of short stories takes readers on a wild ride
While Kirby has a clear predilection for the bizarre, she plays some of her stories in her new book, Shit Cassandra Saw, straight — and those are just as entertaining as the fantastical ones.
(Image credit: Penguin Books)
'To Paradise' packs a staggering amount into its alternate histories
Hanya Yanagihara worked three centuries of imagination into this novel — undoubtedly an achievement. But the onslaught of details and stories muddle the narrative, weighing on the reading experience.
(Image credit: Doubleday)
A grief story and a love story form the backbone of 'Lost & Found'
Lost & Found is as much a philosophical reckoning with the experiences of losing and finding as it is a record of New Yorker writer Kathryn Schulz's personal grief and love stories.
(Image credit: Random House)
Legendary reporter Carl Bernstein revisits early career in 'Chasing History'
It would have been easy for the famous journalist to fall into the nostalgia trap with his memoir, which chronicles his earliest years in the newspaper business. Happily, he doesn't.
(Image credit: Henry Holt & Co. )
'The Latinist' is an academic suspense story, with just a touch of Agatha Christie
Set in the claustrophobic world of academia, Mark Prins' debut novel is saturated with references to Classical mythology and, like the best thrillers, is ingenious in its sinister simplicity.
In 'Wahala,' intimacy at times morphs into enmity
Nikki May's novel captures issues of modern city living: women's evolving roles in home and work, interracial relationships, multicultural identity, and competition that runs under many friendship.
(Image credit: Custom House)
'One True Loves' stirs a journey to a successful future with a bit of love
Elise Bryant tells a fantastic tale full of shenanigans and escapades, while also delving into deeper issues of race and the perception of a successful future for young people of color.
(Image credit: Balzer + Bray)
In 'The Maid,' a devoted hotel cleaning lady is a prime murder suspect
In Nita Prose's debut, a guest at a fancy urban hotel lies dead and the main suspect is Molly Gray, a devoted member of the cleaning staff who recognizes she has "trouble with social situations."
(Image credit: Ballantine Books )
'Fiona and Jane' is a life-sized story of true friendship
Jean Chen Ho's debut work of fiction focuses on a long-standing friendship that rings, sometimes terribly, true, as the girls-turned-women face the trials and tribulations of life.
(Image credit: Viking)
Rep. Jamie Raskin searches for answers in 'Unthinkable' journey of trauma and grief
In a new memoir, the Democratic congressman recounts a year of loss and grief after the death of son Tommy — and a motivation to right the wrongs that occurred on Jan. 6.
(Image credit: Harper)
In 'The Four Humors,' a woman delves into the past on a journey of self-discovery
Turkish American writer Mina Seçkin's debut is an engrossing exploration of national identity, the meaning of family and loss, and what happens when a family hides its central secret.
(Image credit: Catapult )
For queer Seoulites in 'Love in the Big City,' pride and shame intertwine
Sang Young Park's novel can be read as an anthropological approach to Seoulite queer lives in the 21st century: Its four linked stories capture the experience of being both visible and unacknowledged.
(Image credit: Grove Atlantic)
'Small Things Like These' add up to a seismic change in 1980s Ireland
In Claire Keegan's feminist take on Dickens, a boy born to an unwed teen builds a life as a coal merchant, husband, and father to five daughters, and faces crises of faith and conscience.
(Image credit: Grove Atlantic)
'A Marvellous Light' infuses magic and adventures into 19th century England
The 19th century historical fantasy wherein magic is a layer over the already complicated strata of society is a fairly common genre, but Freya Marske makes it feel fresh in this treat of a book.
(Image credit: Tordotcom)
'All Her Little Secrets' asks whether we can reinvent ourselves
Wanda M. Morris' All Her Little Secrets is a carefully constructed thriller wrapped in a narrative about racism, gentrification, and being the only Black person in an all-white environment.
(Image credit: William Morrow )
'Mothers, Fathers, and Others' addresses the realities of motherhood
Siri Hustvedt's essays bring into focus the profound contradictions of motherhood — often eclipsed by the cultural idealization of mothers as the model of self-sacrificing nurturance.
(Image credit: Simon & Schuster)
In 'Sea State,' life gets rocky when a journalist gets involved with her subject
Tabitha Lasley spent six months in Aberdeen, Scotland, interviewing men who work on offshore oil rigs. Along the way, she had an all-consuming affair with one of the very first men she interviewed.
(Image credit: Harper Collins)
James Tynion continues to surprise in 'Something Is Killing the Children'
The monster-fighting series has become a huge hit since its 2019 launch, so Boom! is releasing the first 15 episodes in this deluxe hardcover.
(Image credit: BOOM! Entertainment, Inc)
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