New books from Alison Bechdel! Yiyun Li! Adam Roberts! 26 new books out today.
Another Tuesday is here, and, as always, that means that a bevy of new books will be hitting the shelves. The world is still chaotic and scary, as always, but having some constants to look forward to can help. And, like many of you, something new and intriguing to read is one constant I cherish—and one we must never take for granted, under an American administration that has already begun to suppress and silence the arts in myriad ways.
It’s a quiet privilege, then, to keep sharing these new titles, to keep having new titles to share. And I’m delighted to bring you twenty-six new ones to consider in fiction, poetry, and nonfiction. You’ll find a new work of graphic autofiction from Alison Bechdel; a new collection of stories from Richard Bausch; an affecting memoir on loss from Yiyun Li; the definitive collection of interviews by Oasis; a comic adaptation of Raymond Chandler; an urgent and perhaps definitive new account of the life of the queer and trans icon Marsha P. Johnson; the surprising tale of how avocados became a national obsession; a novel by Martha Bátiz that gives voice to Cervantes’ illegitimate daughter Isabel de Saavedra; and much, much more.
Stay safe, as always, Dear Readers, and let some of these new books be at your side as we near the end of May. I hope they will bring you comfort, curiosity, and cheer in a time when many of us could use any sort of comfort at all.
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Richard Bausch, The Fate of Others: Stories
(Knopf)
“[The Fate of Others] delivers the piecing character studies and musical prose that readers have come to expect….The characters’ emotions are palpable and visceral. Throughout this strong collection, Bausch sensitively portrays the human condition in all its richly diverse manifestations.”
–Booklist
Alison Bechdel, Spent Time: A Comic Story
(Mariner Books)
“[S]elf-deprecating and delightful….Bechdel takes a gentle approach toward her well-meaning characters, but wields a razor-sharp scalpel when it comes to the indignities of modern life. For Bechdel’s fans, it’s a dream to see her skewer fame with such hilarious precision.”
–Publishers Weekly
Jesse Browner, Sing to Me
(Little Brown)
“Sing to Me succeeds brilliantly as an adventure story, an epic of war and survival, and a moving portrayal of friendship and familial loyalty. But, for me, the novel’s most remarkable achievement is its inspired unfolding of its young protagonist’s blossoming psyche. Each stage in his hero’s journey leaves Hani a deeper, wiser thinker and a more courageous, compassionate, and ethical human being.”
–Sigrid Nunez
Yiyun Li, Things in Nature Merely Grow
(FSG)
“Li manages the near impossible in a complex memoir that is as devastating as it is searingly insightful into the contours of grief and acceptance, recommended for anyone who is navigating the nonlinear timeline of loss.”
–Bustle
Harron Walker, Aggregated Discontent: Confessions of the Last Normal Woman
(Random House)
“Journalist and cultural critic Harron Walker takes sharp aim at modern white womanhood in her debut book that interrogates how bath bombs, pink marketing, and the United States’ antiquated healthcare system all work against the women it claims to protect. It’s a collection of essays that’s part memoir, part investigation of the girlboss-ification of the modern labor system.”
–Rolling Stones
Veena Dinavahi, The True Happiness Company: A Memoir
(Random House)
“Dinavahi fully captures the disorienting experience of what it means to abandon trust in oneself—and the deep courage and vulnerability it takes to return. In a society that profits from our anxieties and exploits our loneliness, this remarkable story challenges common notions of normalcy and wellness.”
–Prachi Gupta
Rob Macaisa Colgate, Hardly Creatures: Poems
(Tin House)
“[A] collection unlike any I have ever encountered before. Part primer, part activated art space, part personal/community inventory, part lyric collaboration with mental illness—this book activates new zones between disability studies and poetry, allowing readers spaces for rest, recognition, and reimagination inside its dazzling and varied forms. An extraordinary document in care, mutual aid, and access that positions the self (all selves) as existing inside a network of interdependence.”
–Claudia Rankine
Donal Ryan, Heart Be at Peace
(Viking)
“[T]he structure of Heart, Be at Peace is exactly what makes it compelling. The tension and slow unraveling of the mystery at the heart of this chronicle of small-town and small-city Ireland today, fraught with problems created by drug dealers and scam artists, is brought to brilliant life through the intertwining of voices and the individual stories of protagonists and antagonists, heroes and villains, characters both peripheral and intrinsic.”
–New York Journal of Books
Adam Roberts, Food Person
(Knopf)
“Roberts’ novel is a confection—satisfyingly over-the-top—but with complex notes; he has a true knack for understanding the ways that food rules every aspect of our lives, from the gourmet’s obsession to the shame and guilt surrounding indulgence. But even readers who don’t know a branzino from bearnaise will find plenty to enjoy here, from the colorful secondary characters to the zippy plot. A debut novel that dishes up one of the most delectable ingredients of all: fun.”
–Kirkus Reviews
Elisa Levi, That’s All I Know
(Graywolf)
“Levi’s novel is funny and strange, quirky and heartbreaking, voice-driven and philosophical, magical and very real. As Little Lea tells her tale of family, home, and the end of the world, she cast a quiet spell over me. This is a story that reminded me of the bewitching power of storytelling itself.”
–Rebekah Bergman
Greta Morgan, The Lost Voice: A Memoir
(HarperOne)
“The Lost Voice is a brave, honest look at what it means for a professional singer to lose their voice and be forced to make meaning out of what a human voice truly is, and how best to use it. Greta’s story is a cautionary tale, and ultimately, a story of courage and tenacity, a hero’s journey of confronting a terrifying trial, overcoming it, gaining wisdom, and returning home changed and ready to share what’s been hard learned. Gorgeously written.”
–Mary Gauthier
Tourmaline, Marsha: The Joy and Defiance of Marsha P. Johnson
(Tiny Reparations Books)
“Finally! A full-fledged biography of trans icon Marsha P. Johnson that fleshes out the substance of a remarkable life too often reduced to a glib name-check. Tourmaline delivers the goods with a verve that will help all of us all pay Marsha some mind.”
–Susan Stryker
Oais, Supersonic: The Complete, Authorized, and Uncut Interviews
(Crown)
“The world of the Britpop mega-group seethes with offstage mayhem, electrifying music, and intense sibling rivalry in this rollicking oral history….Unvarnished, high-spirited, and full of pungent Mancunian eloquence (“It was biblical, man, it felt fucking biblical. All the rest of it is a load of bollocks really”), this captivates.”
–Publishers Weekly
Raymond Chandler, Arvind Ethan David, Ilias Kyriazis (illustrator), Cris Peter (colorist), Raymond Chandler’s Trouble Is My Business
(Pantheon)
“A gripping adaptation of a classic short story by crime fiction legend Chandler….David tweaks the original text…to create more psychological and moral complexity than found in the source material. Kyriazis’s lively illustration and innovative design sense create powerful tension that grows increasingly intense as this noir thriller careens to a close. A compelling exploration of greed and justice in shadowy 1940s Los Angeles.”
–Library Journal
Daria Lavelle, Aftertaste
(Simon & Schuster)
“Aftertaste is a breathtaking novel. Combining the grit of the restaurant world with the magic of the afterlife, Daria Lavelle perfectly blends unexpected ingredients into a book you’ll want to savor. It’s a story about grief that’s filled with humor, warmth, and astounding creativity, and I already can’t wait to read it again.”
–Laura Hankin
Fred Lunzer, Sike
(Celadon)
“Part love story, Part A.I. story, Fred Lunzer’s SIKE is that rare thing, a beautifully written novel that’s both ingenious and ingenuous. It’s of the moment, certainly, but for all its knowledge and knowingness—about tech and philosophy and bar culture and rap lyrics—it takes its polyglot, globetrotting characters on the most old-fashioned journey of all: a trip straight to the heart. I’ve never read anything quite like it.”
–Joshua Henkin
Chris Berdik, Clamor: How Noise Took Over the World and How We Can Take It Back
(Norton)
“Clamor is not only a book about noise and how society reacts to it. Although it covers that ground, the most vital aspect of this book is where it leads: to a future where sound is imagined with intention and purpose, not just to a ‘less noisy’ din but to a better soundscape. Part history, part sociology, part scientific explainer, and at best a vision for our future sonic environment and how we will orchestrate it, Clamor is a must-read for anyone who cares about how their world sounds.”
–Benjamin Markham
Sarah Allaback, Monique F. Parsons, Green Gold: The Avocado’s Remarkable Journey from Humble Superfood to Toast of a Nation
(Counterpoint)
“Green Gold is an impressive read. Whether you’re a history buff or just enjoy a chip full of guacamole, you’ll be thoroughly captivated by the play-by-play wrestling match between the two most famous varieties (Hass and fuerte), and ultimately between California and Mexico (and now the rest of the world). Green Gold is a well researched, captivating story.”
–Rick Bayless
Robert Macfarlane, Is a River Alive?
(Norton)
“The arguments for nature’s rights, the drama of [Macfarlane’s] encounters, the crimes against rivers and all that they nurture, and the valor, genius, and uncanny gifts of eco-activists are all conveyed in gorgeously vibrant, fresh, and gripping language. The result is a ravishing and enlightening inquiry shaped by hydropoetics and a deeply considered commitment to rejuvenating, cherishing, and protecting rivers and all of nature.”
–Donna Seaman
Martha Bátiz, A Daughter’s Place
(House of Anansi Press)
“A Daughter’s Place is a joy to read, immersive, erudite, and compelling….Bátiz reinvents the untold stories of the women around Miguel de Cervantes, and they are as ingenious as the sad knight himself. Read this wonderful book.”
–Kim Echlin
Madeline Thien, The Book of Records
(Norton)
“Rich, ambitious, and utterly engrossing, The Book of Records is at once a Borgesian meditation on Time’s overlapping folds, and a complex, moving feat of human storytelling. Madeleine Thien is an extraordinary novelist.”
–Claire Messud
Naomi Xu Elegant, Gingko Season
(Norton)
“A stunning debut that immerses readers in a vibrant, layered world of introspection and discovery…masterfully balances poignant observations on relationships with moments of quiet beauty. Xu Elegant’s lyrical prose captures the rhythms of daily life, while also exploring deeper themes of belonging and cultural heritage. This is a deeply moving, thought-provoking read that will resonate with anyone who’s ever felt adrift and sought meaning in the everyday.”
–Weike Wang
Mathias Énard, The Deserters (trans. Charlotte Mandell)
(New Directions Publishing)
“A heady and ambiguous mix of images, letters, admissions and reprisals…feature[s] the rich, densely poetic language that readers of Énard may recall from previous works like Zone and Compass….In this artful and sad novel, forbearance is courage. The donkey—Énard’s quiet, Bressonian hero—endures its suffering with a moving stoicism….In the fallen world of The Deserters this persistence is indistinguishable from grace.”
–The New York Times
William Marx, Libraries of the Mind
(Princeton University Press)
“Renew that library card. This deftly written book reflects on the history of how we organize knowledge, classify books, and give meaning to our lives through reading….An eloquent plea for reading by a true scholar of world literature.”
–Kirkus Reviews
Keach Hagey, The Optimist: Sam Altman, OpenAI, and the Race to Invent the World
(Norton)
“The Optimist is a wonder of fair-minded investigation and page-turning storytelling. It reveals Sam Altman—our self-styled messiah of the age of artificial intelligence—in all his charismatic self-contradiction. A must-read for anyone worried that AI will alter or even end human society.”
–Steve Coll
Kamau Franklin (editor), Micah Herskind (editor), Mariah Parker (editor), No Cop City, No Cop World: Lessons from the Movement
(Haymarket Books)
“No Cop City, No Cop World is no David vs Goliath story. Rather, it is about waking a sleeping giant-a united coalition of grassroots social movements-to challenge a corporate-backed, ecocidal police state. Together, these powerful essays on the struggle in Atlanta offer vital lessons for how to resist the many cop cities on the horizon. The lesson is clear: only a people united, moved by visions of abolition and militant action, can stop a Cop World.”
–Robin D.G. Kelley
