In her latest novel Yellowface, her first foray outside of the fantasy world, R.F. Kuang has penned a meta-critique of the publishing world and its fetishistic interest in diversity. The novel is narrated by June Hayward, a 20-something writer whose career is floundering after the lackluster performance of her debut novel, whose embittered by seeing… Continue reading Yellowface by R.F. Kuang
The Guest by Emma Cline
In Emma Cline’s newest novel, The Guest, our titular guest is Alex, a 22-year old escort who’s fled a threatening ex and roommates that she owes rent payments in Manhattan, to spend the summer out east on Long Island with her wealthy boyfriend, Simon. Alex is literally a guest at the home of Simon, a… Continue reading The Guest by Emma Cline
Chain-Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah
Speculative fiction has long been a temperature check for hot button issues both in America and abroad. Sci-fi, fantasy, and dystopian novels grasp at the anxieties of the day with an urgency that can only come from their unique structure. In his debut novel, Chain Gang All Stars, Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah imagines a future in… Continue reading Chain-Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah
Forbidden Notebook by Alba de Céspedes
In 2021, the first English translation was published of The Copenhagen Trilogy, a series of memoirs by the prolific Danish writer Tove Ditlevsen. The book became a major bestseller and introduced English speaking readers to an incredible talent, whose work was still deeply resonant decades beyond her tragic death. This month, English speaking readers have… Continue reading Forbidden Notebook by Alba de Céspedes
Strega by Johanne Lykke Holm
Strega, the recent novel from Swedish author Johanne Lykke Holm is an atmospheric narrative that feels more like a haunting dream you had once than a novel you sat down to read. Strega is named for the fictional town on the side of the Italian mountains, home to the Olympic Hotel, where a group of… Continue reading Strega by Johanne Lykke Holm
If I Survive You by Jonathan Escoffery
Jonathan Escoffery’s debut story collection, If I Survive You, is an exercise in reframing the mythos surrounding cultural identity. The interconnected stories revolve around Trelawny, the introspective and bookish son of Jamaican immigrants, who lives with his family in Miami. Trelawny’s father is a construction worker, and his older brother Delano follows in his footsteps,… Continue reading If I Survive You by Jonathan Escoffery
Post-Traumatic by Chantal V. Johnson
Chantal V. Johnson’s debut novel, Post-Traumatic, offers a unique version of of the very en vogue trauma plot. The trauma plot entered the literary vernacular recently with literary critic Parul Sehgal’s piece, The Case Against the Trauma Plot, which posits that writers have become overly dependent on using a traumatic backstory to prop up an… Continue reading Post-Traumatic by Chantal V. Johnson
Maps of Our Spectacular Bodies by Maddie Mortimer
In her debut novel, Maps of Our Spectacular Bodies, Maddie Mortimer has spun a narrative both corporeal and metaphysical in nature, that exposes the complex nature of human relationships with both other humans and the world around us. The novel centers on Lia, a mother who’s been diagnosed with terminal breast cancer, and her daughter… Continue reading Maps of Our Spectacular Bodies by Maddie Mortimer
Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel
Emily St. John Mandel’s sixth novel is a fascinating exploration of time and space, that takes place across three separate centuries. Sea of Tranquility begins like a traditional historical fiction: in the year 1812, the young British aristocrat Edwin St. John St. Andrew is banished to the wilds of Canada after upsetting his parents with… Continue reading Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel
Either/Or by Elif Batuman
In her new novel, Either/Or, Elif Batuman picks back up with Selin, the mesmerizing protagonist of her 2018 Pulitzer prize finalist novel, The Idiot (Read my review here for a refresher). Either/Or finds Selin returning to Harvard for her sophomore year after her disastrous summer spent in Hungary. At the onset of the novel, Ivan,… Continue reading Either/Or by Elif Batuman