For The Book Obsessed
[ad_1] Suzanne Scanlon’s Committed: On Meaning and Madwomen excavates some of her most formative memories for clues to her evolving selfhood. The death of her mother when Scanlon was nine years old, her relationship to literature, particularly the writings of Marguerite Duras, and her years spent institutionalized are linchpins in this layered examination of sanity … Read more
[ad_1] Yeji Y. Ham’s debut novel, The Invisible Hotel, is about the inescapable. The conflict between North and South Korea, simmering still beneath a fragile truce, looms as the perpetual backdrop for this contemporary tale about the fears that are dutifully passed from one generation to the next. Yewon is a young woman born and … Read more
[ad_1] If, in an alternate—though mostly unchanged—version of Japan, you were to peruse a certain magazine, reading carefully, your eyes might pause in their search at an ad that reads “Kamogawa Detective Agency: We Find Your Food.” No contact details or, for that matter, details of any kind would follow. But if you’re enterprising enough, … Read more
[ad_1] Abbott Kahler’s debut thriller, Where You End, follows the twenty-two-year-old Bird sisters after a car accident leaves Kat with no memories save the name and face of her twin, Jude; remnants of the unique language they have shared since childhood; and an unexplained ability to defend herself. The story is comprised of Kat’s perspective … Read more
[ad_1] The debut novel Wings of Red is autofiction penned by educator and mentor James W. Jennings that centers learning as a way forward, but not necessarily straight forward. Middle and high school students, friends, family, subway riders, “scribes,” the rich, and the poor exchange casual but poignant lessons with our nomadic protagonist on every … Read more
[ad_1] Eliza Clark’s thoughtful follow-up to her debut novel Boy Parts gives readers the opportunity to examine true crime from unexpected angles. Once-celebrated (fictional) journalist Alec Z. Carelli takes a shot at redemption after penning two commercial flops and being implicated in a scandal that hurls him out of public favor. While scouring the internet … Read more
[ad_1] In July, horror fans are spoiled for choice with the publication of a relative newcomer’s homage to classic horror as well as a new offering from a veteran of the genre. Josh Winning’s Burn the Negative is clearly the work of a horror film enthusiast, with references and tropes a-plenty for slasher buffs to … Read more
[ad_1] Poet Amy Key’s first foray into nonfiction, Arrangements in Blue: Notes on Loving and Living Alone, uses Joni Mitchell’s Blue as a foundation for a personal meditation on long-term singledom that has endured into middle age. Using the album’s tracklist as a thematic guide, Key probes her lifelong desire for romantic love from various … Read more
[ad_1] The shortest novels I have read tend to follow one of two trajectories: a steady build towards a climactic event, or regular shifts between calm and upset. Tiffany Clarke Harrison’s debut novel Blue Hour is of the latter variety, keeping you poised for disaster with the turn of every page. The multi-ethnic photographer who … Read more
[ad_1] Despite what its title suggests, Soraya Palmer’s debut novel, The Human Origins of Beatrice Porter and Other Essential Ghosts, does not limit its focus to the title character. Instead, it encompasses the family she helped create. A mysteriously knowledgeable narrator fills in some of the gaps with information about Beatrice, and her husband Nigel, … Read more