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Fiction A to Z January 2021
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| The Opium Prince by Jasmine AimaqStarring: Afghan-born American Daniel Abdullah Sajadi, posted to Kabul in 1970 to help eradicate the opium trade; Taj Maleki, local drug kingpin.
What happens: the accidental death of a young girl forces Daniel to compromise his mission; both men must contend with rising Soviet influence and increasing political chaos within their chosen realms.
Why you might like it: This debut -- by an author who grew up in Afghanistan and who has a background in foreign affairs -- effectively captures the dynamics of a complex nation. |
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| Nights When Nothing Happened by Simon HanWhat it is: the sobering story of a hardworking Chinese family in Texas, whose fragile, happy-enough façade falls apart in the wake of a misunderstanding.
Read it for: themes of belonging and loyalty; fully realized characters suffering through discontent and disillusion; a leisurely paced unfolding of an immigrant experience in the United States.
What to read next: Akhil Sharma's Family Life, about an Indian family whose immigration to the U.S. is similarly challenged by tragedy. |
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Here is the beehive : a novel
by Sarah Crossan
An estate lawyer, Ana Kelly can deal with death until her lover, Connor, dies in an accident, forcing her to reconcile painful truths about the affair and the fickleness of love and desire as she befriends Connor’s widow. 50,000 first printing.
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The Paris library : a novel
by Janet Skeslien Charles
Based on a true story, describes how a lonely, 1980s teenager befriends an elderly neighbor and uncovers her past as a librarian at the American Library in Paris who joined the Resistance when the Nazis arrived. 200,000 first printing.
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A cosmology of monsters
by Shaun Hamill
Shielded by his mother and sisters from his father’s obsessive construction of a haunted house attraction, young Noah considers an ultimate sacrifice when he chooses to acknowledge a monster that his family members have tried to ignore. A first novel.
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These ghosts are family : a novel
by Maisy Card
A man on his deathbed reveals that he stole another man’s identity decades earlier, traces the family’s history from colonial Jamaica to present-day Harlem and reconnects with the firstborn daughter he never knew. A first novel. 75,000 first printing.
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The lost book of Adana Moreau : a novel
by Michael Zapata
Decades after a 1929 Dominican immigrant writer passes away believing her final manuscript was destroyed, a Chicago lawyer discovers the book and endeavors to learn the woman’s remarkable story against the backdrop of Hurricane Katrina. 50,000 first printing.
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| All My Mother's Lovers by Ilana MasadWhat happens: Maggie's mother, Iris, dies unexpectedly, putting an abrupt end to their complicated relationship, which was strained by Iris' discomfort with Maggie's sexuality.
And then: Maggie delivers five sealed letters to men from her mother's past, learning more than she ever thought possible about her mother, her parents' marriage, and herself.
For fans of: road-trip novels and stories of self-discovery. |
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The flip side : a novel
by James Bailey
When bad luck compels him to start flipping coins to make decisions, pessimistic Josh reconsiders trusting chance in the face of the opportunity of a lifetime and the girl of his dreams. Original. A first novel. 50,000 first printing.
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| Sharks in the Time of Saviors by Kawai Strong WashburnThen: As a child, Nainoa fell overboard and was retrieved and returned by a pack of sharks, entering local Hawaiian lore.
Now: Nainoa is a paramedic in Oregon, his sister and brother similarly scattered. After he fails to save a young mother and her child, Nainoa returns to Hawaii and disappears.
Why you might like it: Covering 14 years and narrated in alternating sections by four of the five members of Nainoa's Filipino Hawaiian family, this lush debut tinged with magical realism explores the difficulties of modern Hawaiian life. |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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