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Fiction A to Z August 2018
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| The Last Cruise by Kate ChristensenWhat it's about: the final voyage of the Queen Isabella, decked out to look as it did in 1957 on its luxurious maiden voyage. Yet neither above nor below decks is all smooth sailing.
Why you might like it: This literate comedy of manners illuminates divisions between the haves and have-nots -- but it also floats into territory fraught with danger as the ship begins having mechanical problems.
Reviewers say: "romantic, suspenseful, delightful, and nerve-wracking" (Library Journal). |
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| My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa MoshfeghFeaturing: a 24-year-old unnamed narrator who's decided to literally hibernate, aided by prescription drugs that will enable her to sleep for days at a time.
What happens: Her plan succeeds in allowing her to avoid the life she doesn't much like -- but her unchecked drug regimen has consequences.
Is it for you? Yes, if you like brutal, in-depth character studies, dark humor, or existential novels. |
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| Confessions of the Fox by Jordy RosenbergWhat it is: Peppered with extensive footnotes from the current day, this complex, creative novel is set primarily in the 18th century.
Featuring: infamous 18th-century transgender thief, Jack Sheppard, and Dr. Voth, the trans university professor who discovers Jack's memoirs, annotating them with professional and personal commentary as both his own and Jack's situation become increasingly untenable.
Who it's for: Readers of love stories, queer theory, academic satires, or historical novels set in the 18th century (or any combination of the above). |
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| What We Were Promised by Lucy TanWhat it's about: After two decades in the U.S., Wei and Lina Zhen return to China and begin a newly wealthy life in Shanghai. Housekeeper Sunny witnesses their discomfort and unhappiness, which increases with the arrival of Wei's brother Qiang, for whom Lina still pines.
You might also like: Kevin Kwan's Crazy Rich Asians (for a more exaggerated read), or Diksha Basu's The Windfall, which likewise deals with a family struggling with cultural conflicts and status. |
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| Enchanted August by Brenda BowenWhat it is: an updated retelling of the 1923 bestseller The Enchanted April: four mismatched individuals spend an August in Maine, coming to terms with personal disappointments and finding common ground.
Why you might like it: With an old-fashioned feel and an inviting setting, this feel-good story bubbles with optimism despite broken hearts and other troubles.
Reviewers say: "exceedingly likable" (Kirkus Reviews). |
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July and August
by Nancy Clark
Over the course of a memorable summer, members of a large New England family arrive at spinster Aunt Lily's large and gracious home in Towne, Massachusetts, bringing with them high drama, romance, lucrative financial dealings, and possible tragedy, in a poignant saga of a single family as it changes and grows. By the author of A Way from Home. 15,000 first printing.
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The dry grass of August
by Anna Jean Mayhew
In 1954, 13-year-old Jubie, along with her family and her family's black maid Mary Luther--who has always been there for her, making up for her father's rages and her mother's neglect--travels to Florida for vacation where she encounters racial tension and tragedy. Original.
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Snow in August : a novel
by Pete Hamill
An unlikely friendship between an eleven-year old Irish-Catholic boy and a lonely rabbi from Prague in 1947 Brooklyn has the two opening new windows of understanding with each other but still fighting the prejudices of the day. 50,000 first printing. Tour.
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| The Girls of August by Anne Rivers SiddonsWhat it is: a leisurely, moving tale of women's lives and relationships set on the beaches of South Carolina. But don't expect placidity; storms both physical and emotional threaten to overwhelm three long-time friends and the newcomer they're including for the first time.
For fans of: the relationship-oriented novels of Dorothea Benton Frank, Robyn Carr, or Barbara Delinsky.
Want a taste? "I stood in my kitchen, barefoot, anxious, muddling the sugar and mint that would spice the pitcher of mojitos I intended to ply the girls with." |
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August
by Romina Paula
"Traveling home to rural Patagonia, a young woman grapples with herself as she makes the journey to scatter the ashes of her friend Andrea. Twenty-one-year-old Emilia might still be living, but she's jaded by her studies and discontent with her boyfriend, and apathetic toward the idea of moving on. Despite the admiration she receives for having relocated to Buenos Aires, in reality, cosmopolitanism and a career seem like empty scams. Instead, she finds her life pathetic. Once home, Emilia stays with Andrea's parents, wearing the dead girl's clothes, sleeping in her bed, and befriending her cat. Her life put on hold, she loses herself to days wondering how if what had happened-leaving an ex, leaving Patagonia, Andrea leaving her-hadn't happened. Both a reverse coming-of-age story and a tangled homecoming tale, this frank confession to a deceased confidante. A keen portrait of a young generation stagnating in an increasingly globalized Argentina, August considers the banality of life against the sudden changes that accompany death."
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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