21 new books hitting shelves this week.
It’s already been a long week, but apparently it’s only Tuesday. Ah, well. At least that means new books! Hello, retail therapy.
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Liana Finck, Let There Be Light
(Random House)
“An irreverent yet profound retelling of the Book of Genesis … Finck’s exploration offers much light in both senses: levity and illumination.”
–Publishers Weekly
Anna Quindlen, Write for Your Life
(Random House)
“Quindlen homes in on seven benefits of writing and provides anecdotes to illustrate each … Quindlen makes a convincing case for writing when no one’s watching.”
–Publishers Weekly
Kerri ní Dochartaigh, Thin Places
(Milkweed)
“A luminous memoir about growing up in Northern Ireland during the Troubles … A beautifully written tribute to the healing power of nature.”
–Kirkus
Toni Bentley, Serenade: A Balanchine Story
(Pantheon)
“Bentley writes as she once danced, with grace and elegance, as she captures the haunting beauty of an art form that exists to be seen and experienced … A touching tribute to a master, this work will delight balletomanes.”
–Library Journal
Etel Adnan, To Look at the Sea Is to Become What One Is
(Nightboat)
“Adnan’s connections burn rather than soothe, and now is a good time to revisit her world tour.”
–4Columns
Jyoti Thottam, Sisters of Mokama
(Viking)
“In her debut book, New York Times Opinion editor Thottam draws on detailed archival sources and more than 60 interviews to create a vivid history of a hospital and nursing school established in the small Indian town.”
–Kirkus
Leigh Newman, Nobody Gets Out Alive: Stories
(Scribner)
“All the stories are standouts, and readers, especially fans of Annie Proulx and Elizabeth Strout, will find much to appreciate in Newman’s unforgettable collection.”
–Booklist
Melissa Chadburn, A Tiny Upward Shove
(FSG)
“Writing with remarkable grace, even surprising moments of transporting joy, Chadburn creates a miraculous literary platform to claim these missing stories.”
–Shelf Awareness
Kyung-Sook Shin, tr. Anton Hur, Violets
(Feminist Press)
“With sensuous prose intuitively translated by Hur, Shin vividly captures San’s tragic failure to connect with others. This is hard to put down.”
–Publishers Weekly
Claire Kohda, Woman, Eating: A Literary Vampire Novel
(Harpervia)
“The most unusual, original and strikingly contemporary vampire novel to come along in years.”
–The Guardian
Lisa Hsiao Chen, Activities of Daily Living
(W. W. Norton)
“Like the work of writer Rachel Cusk, who brought new thinking to what constitutes a novel, Activities of Daily Living takes chances with the form to strong effect … In delivering a meditation on human frailty and endurance, Chen shows us how we cling to our chosen work and the hope buried within it.”
–San Francisco Chronicle
Okwiri Oduor, Things They Lost
(Scribner)
“This tale of mystery and longing is reminiscent of works by Ngugi wa Thiong’o and perfect for fans of Akwaeke Emezi.”
–Booklist
Molly Shannon and Sean Wilsey, Hello, Molly!
(Ecco)
“Incredibly charming … Shannon offers a sort of advice from time to time, a philosophy of hard work but also talking to everyone, making connections, and not being afraid to come up with absurd schemes.”
–TIME
Delia Ephron, Left on Tenth
(Little, Brown)
“Ephron will make readers feel, and with her short sentences and matter-of-fact voice, she’ll make readers laugh, swoon, cringe, and cry, sometimes all within the same section of writing.”
–Library Journal
Cathy Scott-Clark and Adrian Levy, The Forever Prisoner
(Atlantic Monthly)
“A forceful book that demands greater oversight of the nation’s intelligence services and justice for the wrongly imprisoned.”
–Kirkus
Mary Laura Philpott, Bomb Shelter
(Atria)
“Philpott’s latest is a memoir of beautifully written, loosely linked essays in which she frankly and often humorously details the pitfalls of her anxiety … Philpott’s eloquent investigation of parenting and family offers pleasure and comfort to anyone who has ever worried about someone they love.”
–Booklist
Brian Morton, Tasha: A Son’s Memoir
(Avid Reader Press)
“If the dead are never safely dead, and the past never past, the beauty of Tasha is in Morton’s very struggle to get Tasha right on the page, once and for all.”
–The New York Times Book Review
Margo Jefferson, Constructing a Nervous System
(Pantheon)
“Jefferson’s unique perspective and relentless honesty and self-examination ensure that there’s something worthwhile on every page … A dynamic, unflinchingly candid examination of the impacts of race and class on culture and the author’s own life.”
–Kirkus
William R. Cross, Winslow Homer: American Passage
(FSG)
“Mr. Cross captures much of the artist’s achievement in his fine biography. If Homer’s reserve leads him to speculate on unknowable aspects of the artist’s life—what he might have read, whether the lifelong bachelor fell in love—his interpretation of the artwork is first-rate.”
–The Wall Street Journal
Amy Gajda, Seek and Hide
(Viking)
“Educative reading for lawyers, journalists, and others who must balance the right to make known with the right to conceal.”
–Kirkus
David Shields, The Very Last Interview
(NYRB)
“Revenge is a dish best served with helpless laughter. Totally deadpan and irresistibly hilarious.”
–Kirkus
