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Friday Fiction May May 17, 2019
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The Altruists
by Andrew Ridker
On the brink of losing the family home, a Midwestern college professor and widower reaches out to his estranged children under the guise of a reconciliation, only to unleash a maelstrom of age-old resentments. Includes one diagram. A first novel.
RA: A good choice for those who liked, This is Where I Leave You, The Vacationers, or The Nest
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City of Girls
by Elizabeth Gilbert
The best-selling author of Eat, Pray, Love traces the experiences of a theater insider in 1940s New York who discovers that she does not have to be a "good girl" in order to be a good person
RA: Receiving rave reviews from many sources, this one would be good choice for those who liked well-written, rich and immersive historicals featuring nuanced characters, like Manhattan Beach 0or A Touch of Stardust
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The Electric Hotel
by Dominic Smith
A French pioneer of silent films who has lived for half a century in a Hollywood hotel is forced to reckon with the reappearance of the lost movie masterpiece that left him bankrupt. By the author of The Beautiful Miscellaneous.
RA: Remember the charming book to film, Hugo? Revisit the dawn of film with this compelling historical.
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FKA USA
by Reed King
An imaginative near-future dystopian tale follows the experiences of a young man who is picked out of obscurity by America's last president to lead a talking goat on a mission to save civilization.
RA: Combines elements of well-known sci-fi and dystopia, like Ready Player One and Hitchhikers Guide to The Galaxy into a original and wild quest-novel
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The Guest Book
by Sarah Blake
The bereaved matriarch of a powerful early-20th-century American family makes a fateful decision that reverberates throughout two subsequent generations further impacted by racism, reversed circumstances and disturbing revelations. By the best-selling author of The Postmistress
RA: Rich dialogue and lush atmosphere characterize this family saga centered around an island off the coast of Maine. A good pick for readers of Beatriz Williams, John Boyne and Anthony Doerr.
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In West Mills
by De'Shawn Charles Winslow
A woman in mid-20th-century rural North Carolina, determined to live on her own terms in spite of community gossip, finds unexpected support from a veteran fixer who struggles with an inability to correct his own troubled past.
RA: For readers looking for moving, stylistically complex historical fiction along the lines of Robinson's Gilead or Alice McDermott's The Ninth Hour.
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Miracle Creek
by Angie Kim
A dramatic murder trial in the aftermath of an experimental medical treatment and a fatal explosion upends a rural Virginia community where personal secrets and private ambitions complicate efforts to uncover what happened.
RA: A compelling courtroom drama that explores a tragic event from alternating perspectives. A good pick for those that have liked Celeste Ng, Liane Moriarty, or Landay's Defending Jacob.
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Mostly Dead Things
by Kristen N. Arnett
Taking over her family's failing taxidermy shop in the wake of her father's suicide, a grief-stricken woman pursues less-than-legal ways of generating income while struggling to figure out her place among her eccentric loved ones.
RA: Quirky and offbeat, but ultimately human, this novel is reminiscent of stories by Karen Russell and Aimee Bender.
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On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous
by Ocean Vuong
A first novel by the award-winning author of Night Sky with Exit Wounds is written in the form of a letter from a son to a mother who cannot read about the impact of the Vietnam War on their family. A first novel.
RA: Highly acclaimed and highly literary, this "novel length poem" is haunting and moving, akin to the works of Arundhati Roy or Jhumpa Lahiri.
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Southern Lady Code : essays by Helen EllisA hilarious collection of essays that mixes personal accounts with riotous observations on manners and conduct. A good pick for readers that like David Sedaris.
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The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek
by Kim Michele Richardson
andA last-of-her-kind outcast and member of the Pack Horse Library Project braves the hardships of Kentucky's Great Depression and hostile community discrimination to bring the near-magical perspectives of books to her neighbors.
RA: A great pick for book clubs and people interested in exploring a little known part of American history.
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The Bride Test
by Helen Hoang
When his difficulties with processing emotions complicate the search for his bride, a Vietnamese-American on the autism spectrum is pursued by a hopelessly smitten girl from the Hot Chi Min City slums. By the author of The Kiss Quotient.
RA: An enagaging, contemporary romance that also explores multicultural perspectives and diverse abilities. For those that enjoyed Hoang's previous book The Kiss Quotient, or Jasmine Guillory's novels.
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China Dream
by Jian Ma
A Chinese government bureaucrat tasked with overwriting people’s dreams with visions President Xi’s great China Dream is haunted by nightmares of the purges and murders of the Cultural Revolution in the late 1960s.
RA: A darkly humorous, skewering fable that may remind readers of some of classics like All the King's Men.
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Correspondents : A Novel
by Tim Murphy
An Irish-Lebanese American leaves Boston to work as a journalist in Beirut and is assigned to Baghdad in 2003 to cover the post-9-11 invasion where her safety becomes dependent on her talented interpreter who harbors a dangerous secret.
RA: An intriguing family saga that covers nearly a century focuses on a number of different issues, including Middle Eastern attitudes toward the gay community, policies of foreign intervention, and racism. Much to discuss.
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Disappearing Earth
by Julia Phillips
The shattering disappearance of two young girls from Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula compounds the isolation and fears of a tight-woven community, connecting the lives of neighbors, witnesses, family members and a detective throughout an ensuing year of tension. A first novel.
RA: An atmospheric, stylistically complex debut reminiscent of Audrey Niffenegger or Kate Atkinson.
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Exhalation : Stories
by Ted Chiang
A long-awaited latest collection by the Arrival-inspiring author of "The Story of Your Life" explores revelatory ideas and second chances in such tales as, "In the Merchant and the Alchemist's Gate," "Exhalation" and "The Lifecycle of Software Objects."
RA: Highly acclaimed author. A collection of highly skilled, thought-provoking science-fiction stories that will also appeal to literary fiction readers.
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The Farm : A Novel
by Joanne Ramos
Ensconced within a Hudson Valley luxury retreat where expectant birth mothers are given luxurious accommodations and lucrative rewards to produce perfect babies, a Filipino immigrant is forced to choose between a life-changing payment and the outside world.
RA: A Heart-wrenching, issues oriented novel that would be a good pick for readers that like Jodi Picpoult or Chris Bohjalian.
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How not to Die Alone
by Richard Roper
Telling a white lie that makes his coworkers believe he has a loving family at home, a lonely man stuck in a thankless public health job falls in love with a new coworker who challenges his secrets. A first novel.
RA: An engaging, offbeat romp reminiscent of other quirky stories like Elinor Oliphant is Completely Fine.
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Light From Other Stars : A Novel
by Erika Swyler
Decades after her grieving father, a laid-off NASA scientist, triggers chaotic changes in his pursuit of life-extending technology, an astronaut confronts dangerous family secrets to stop a world-threatening crisis. By the author of The Book of Speculation.
RA: A reflective, speculative coming of age story, that is well-executed. Readers of Margaret Atwood, Kazuo Ishiguro, or Emily St. John Mandel's Station Eleven should pick this book up.
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The Night Window : A Jane Hawk Novel
by Dean R. Koontz
When people under Arcadian control begin showing signs of violent instability, Jane Hawk and her growing band of supporters prepare for an ultimate battle to determine America's future. The fifth and final book in this best selling series.
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The Rosie Result
by Graeme C Simsion
Don and Rosie help their 11-year-old son who is struggling at school and having trouble fitting in while trying to open a cocktail bar in the third and final installment of the series, following The Rosie Effect.
RA: A Quirky, heartwarming series of novels.
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