17 paperbacks coming out this February.
All hail the paperback release.
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Tessa Hadley, Free Love
(Harper Perennial, February 7)
The HarperCollins Union has been on strike since November 10, 2022. Literary Hub stands in solidarity with the union. Please consider donating to the strike fund.
“The stories of break and repair in this novel are wonderfully unpredictable.”
–Minneapolis Star Tribune
Jessamine Chan, The School for Good Mothers
(Simon & Schuster / Mary Sue Rucci Books, February 7)
“Jessamine Chan’s infuriatingly timely debut novel, The School for Good Mothers, takes this widely accepted armchair quarterbacking of motherhood and ratchets it up to the level of a surveillance state … chilling … clever.”
–The New York Times
Weike Wang, Joan Is Okay
(Random House, February 7)
“Wang has created a compelling character, utterly distinct, and the novel is carried by her dispassionate, clear-eyed, and often drily amusing narration.”
–Harper’s
Kris Manjapra, Black Ghost of Empire
(Scribner, February 7)
“Black Ghost of Empire is a historical, literary masterpiece, which feels like the wrong word to describe a book so tangibly useful and appropriately terrifying.”
–Kiese Laymon
Isabel Wilkerson, Caste
(Random House, February 14)
“A trailblazing work on the birth of inequality … Caste offers a forward-facing vision. Bursting with insight and love, this book may well help save us.”
–O, the Oprah Magazine
Courtney Maum, The Year of the Horses
(Tin House, February 14)
“Maum’s journey of healing and salvation in reconnecting to equine culture—including riding lessons and pursuing competitive polo—is wittily engaging and uncompromisingly forthright.”
–Shelf Awareness
Lee Cole, Groundskeeping
(Vintage, February 14)
“Cole has a sharp eye for the way physical surroundings reflect their inhabitants’ characters and circumstance.”
–The Washington Post
Leonard Mlodinow, Emotional
(Vintage, February 14)
“Most of this smart, trim volume is about the science of emotion rather than how to use it, but he doesn’t miss the opportunity to dole out advice and provide opportunities for self-reflection.”
–The Wall Street Journal
Anne Tyler, French Braid
(Vintage, February 21)
“Captivating … The rich melody of French Braid offers the comfort of a beloved hymn.”
–The Washington Post
Lucy Foley, The Paris Apartment
(William Morrow, February 21)
The HarperCollins Union has been on strike since November 10, 2022. Literary Hub stands in solidarity with the union. Please consider donating to the strike fund.
“With characters suspicious and unlikable in their own way and a fun twist, you’re in for a dark and moody escape.”
–NPR
Jeanette Winterson, 12 Bytes
(Grove Press, February 21)
“Through well-paced and articulate prose, Winterson makes granular tech know-how remarkably accessible … This is full of insight.”
–Publishers Weekly
Amy Bloom, In Love
(Random House, February 21)
“Bloom has a talent for mixing the prosaic and profound, the slapstick and the serious, which makes the book, despite its depressing subject matter, a pleasure to read.”
–USA Today
NoViolet Bulawayo, Glory
(Viking, February 28)
“An absurd yet captivating examination of themes such as toxic masculinity, hero worship, and performative change.”
–TIME
Sarah Moss, The Fell
(Picador, February 28)
“The astonishing thing is that Moss can write so compassionately about human frailty while her own work is as close to perfect as a novelist’s can be.”
–The Sunday Times
Pankaj Mishra, Run and Hide
(Picador, February 28)
“Mishra is a masterful eyewitness to the modern world, equally unafraid of nuance, earnestness and absurdity.”
–San Francisco Chronicle
Sara Nović, True Biz
(Random House, February 28)
“A coming-of-age story that explores the complexities of community and the ways in which language defines us.”
–Kirkus
John Banville, Marlowe
(Holt Paperbacks, February 28)
“It’s vintage L.A., toots … The results are Chandleresque, sure, but you can see Banville’s sense of fun.”
–The Washington Post
