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Fiction A to ZSeptember 2014
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"I'd heard those stories so many times that they became only that to me: stories." ~ from Molly Antopol's The UnAmericans
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New and Recently Released!
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| Season of the Dragonflies: A Novel by Sarah CreechGenerations ago, the Lenore women learned that they could influence the flowers that grew on their Blue Ridge Mountain property. Now, their perfume company, which depends on those flowers, is in trouble. The current owner's younger daughter has returned after a long absence, sharing troubling visions (also part of the Lenore skillset), upsetting the status quo, and threatening her older sister's career hopes. Just as worrisome, a client has threatened to expose their secret ability, and the flowers that sustain the company seem to be dying. Complex family relationships (especially between sisters), a hint of romance, and a little magic in the garden will entice fans of Sarah Addison Allen's Garden Spells. |
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| All I Love and Know: A Novel by Judith FrankIn this complex, deeply felt novel, staid Daniel Rosen and his opposites-attract husband Matthew are confronted with unexpected challenges when Daniel's twin brother and sister-in-law are killed in a bombing in Jerusalem. Daniel has been named as the guardian for their children, which neither set of grandparents supports and the Israeli courts have the power to override. On top of legal battles, Daniel is dealing with terrible grief and instant parenthood to a baby and an overwhelmed child; Matthew is supportive but their relationship is nevertheless affected. Peopled by finely wrought characters, this novel is "heartbreaking, yet jubilantly hopeful" (Publishers Weekly). |
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| Dirty Work: A Novel by Gabriel WestonNancy Mullion is a skilled OB/GYN who also performs abortions; after a patient in her care nearly dies, she is suspended from her duties at her London hospital. With little to do but worry about her patient and her career, she spends her time considering her path thus far, from childhood on. A reflective, introspective novel, Dirty Work addresses a controversial topic and provides unusual perspectives on it -- both of an ambivalent practitioner and of those who will judge Nancy's actions at her hearing without having performed the work themselves. Publishers Weekly calls this fiction debut from the author of the medical memoir Direct Red a "medical and moral tour de force." |
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| Small Blessings: A Novel by Martha WoodroofIn this character-driven debut novel, English professor Tom Putnam is resigned to a quiet, small life spent caring for his heavily dependent wife, Marjory, whose neuroses were exacerbated by his infidelity a decade ago. But in short order, Tom's life is upended by Marjory's sudden death, a new friendship with the charming new bookstore manager, and the arrival of the son he never knew about. (This last is especially complicated -- it is immediately obvious that Henry is not Tom's kid, but he needs a home, and his backpack contains only one change of clothes and half a million dollars.) With help from his spirited mother-in-law, Tom builds a stable home environment for Henry and a new life for himself; fans of Gabrielle Zevin's The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry or Helen Simonson's Major Pettigrew's Last Stand may enjoy this humorous story of the creation of an unusual new family. |
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Each year, the National Book Foundation honors five writers under the age of 35. The 2014 honorees will be announced in mid-September; until we learn who they are, enjoy the selections below, which reflect previous years' choices.
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| The UnAmericans: Stories by Molly AntopolThis complex debut collection of short stories traces the experiences of deeply flawed and painfully human characters from a range of backgrounds, including a Czechoslovakian dissident, a McCarthy-era communist/actor, and an Israeli journalist. Exploring themes of estrangement, family, and politics, these stories span much of the 20th century and take place in locations as varied as Maine and Kiev. "Often sharply funny and always intelligent" (Library Journal), The UnAmericans was honored in 2013. |
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| Before You Suffocate Your Own Fool Self by Danielle EvansFeaturing a broad cast of characters (black, white, biracial, and mixed, privileged and not), these short stories deal with family relationships, romantic entanglements, and the need to belong. Narrated mostly in the first person and mostly by young African-American women, this debut collection was selected by the National Book Foundation in 2011. It includes "Jellyfish," in which a father realizes how little he knows his daughter; "Snakes," in which a mixed-race girl recounts a summer with white relatives; and "Virgins," in which two 15-year-old girls navigate the consequences of their newly discovered sexual appeal. |
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| Vaclav & Lena: A Novel by Haley TannerHonored in 2012, this debut novel takes place in Brooklyn's Brighton Beach as two children of Russian émigrés bond over their desire to create Houdini-like magic acts. As kids, Vaclav and Lena are inseparable, but as adolescence looms, Lena's horrific home situation leads to seven years in the foster system. When the two are finally reunited, they tread carefully, unsure if the other still feels as strongly as they do. Powerful and haunting, Vaclav & Lena is an emotional love story set in a well-depicted world of Brooklyn's Russian immigrants. |
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| We the Animals: A Novel by Justin TorresIn this energetic collection of linked short stories, three brothers grow up in a chaotic home marked by poverty and their parents' turbulent relationship. The boys, nearly indistinguishable at first as they play and fight and bond, understand little of their parents' instability, but the youngest, who narrates, soon realizes that he is different than his brothers and that this difference will set him apart. This "subtle, shimmering and emotionally devastating" (Kirkus Reviews) debut novel was selected by the National Book Foundation in 2012. |
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| Battleborn by Claire Vaye WatkinsThe ten short stories that make up this debut collection all take place in Nevada, from the glittering streets and shady back alleys of Las Vegas to the rural towns on the other side of the mountains to the trails blazed by gold diggers in 1849. Reimagining the mythology of the American West, author Claire Watkins puts her protagonists through hardship and violence, whether it's a small-town girl getting into trouble -- and encouraging her friend to do the same -- in Las Vegas or a foreigner's experiences at a brothel. These characters may be "prickly as barbed wire" (Kirkus Reviews), but they're also fully human, and their stories will resonate with fans of Joan Didion or Annie Proulx. Battleborn was honored in 2012. |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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