In Marie-Helene Bertino’s most recent novel, Beautyland, an extraterrestrial girl is born to a single mother in a working class neighborhood of Philadelphia with one mission—to report on human life to her superiors and save their planet. Adina grows up much like any other human girl: forming friendships, going to school, fighting with her mom—but… Continue reading Beautyland by Marie Helene Bertino
Tag: Reviews
The Bee Sting by Paul Murray
Many reviews for Paul Murray’s 600 page epic The Bee Sting have compared the complex and thoughtful portrait of a family on the brink of ruin to a Jonathan Franzen novel set in the Irish countryside rather than middle America. The comparison is apt, throughout the novel Murray takes on the voice of each member… Continue reading The Bee Sting by Paul Murray
Rouge by Mona Awad
Mona Awad’s latest novel, Rouge, is a sort of Mommie Dearest for the beauty-obsessed age. The novel begins with Belle, a shopgirl in Toronto who’s called home to Southern California when her glamorous but complex mother dies after falling into the Pacific Ocean in a strange accident. Belle learns a lot about her mother in… Continue reading Rouge by Mona Awad
Roman Stories by Jhumpa Lahiri
Jhumpa Lahiri has been one of the most celebrated writers in the English language since her 1999 debut, Interpreter of Maladies. After moving to Italy in 2012 she’s continued to write fresh and inventive fiction in Italian as well. Roman Stories is a collection of short fiction that was originally published in Italian and translated… Continue reading Roman Stories by Jhumpa Lahiri
The Vaster Wilds by Lauren Groff
Lauren Groff’s latest novel, The Vaster Wilds, is an adventure/quest story that only Groff could write. The novel follows a young nameless girl, born in England and left at a poorhouse, who was brought on as a servant to a wealthy mistress in a great house. Our protagonist eventually embarks on the grueling journey to… Continue reading The Vaster Wilds by Lauren Groff
Monsters: A Fan’s Dilemma by Claire Dederer
Separating the art from the artist is an age old debate, one that has been reignited in recent years after the tidal wave of MeToo revelations that many public figures and artists have used their public profile to victimize with impunity. Even artists whose disturbing misdeeds were known to the public for many years (Michael… Continue reading Monsters: A Fan’s Dilemma by Claire Dederer
Yellowface by R.F. Kuang
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
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