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Fiction A to Z February 2019
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The Dakota Winters
by Tom Barbash
What happens: 23-year-old Anton Winter comes of age, with a little help from his friends.
What it includes: father-son dynamics, television talk shows, John Lennon, Manhattan in the 1980s, and Ted Kennedy's presidential campaign.
Why you might like it: Chock-full of '80s culture and sprinkled with celebrities (both real and imagined), this engaging and imaginative novel casts a nostalgic spell.
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| The Weight of a Piano by Chris CanderWhat it's about: quite literally, a piano. And a series of chance events surrounding that piano that bring two flawed people together.
Starring: an immigrant from the Soviet Union; an orphaned mechanic; a talented photographer. Though their time with the piano is separated by decades, their attachment to it links them together.
For fans of: Annie Proulx's Accordion Crimes; |
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| Elsey Come Home by Susan ConleyStarring: American expat Elsey, who lives in China with her Dutch husband and their kids. A frustrated painter, Elsey's also a heavy drinker.
What happens: At the request of her husband, Elsey attends a yoga retreat. There, she's forced to face her drinking and her fears about parenting, painting, and so much else.
Why you might like it: Straightforward, vulnerable Elsey is a sympathetic heroine at a crossroads. |
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The Adults
by Caroline Hulse
Starring: Matt (and his girlfriend, Alex), Claire (and her boyfriend, Patrick), and Matt and Claire's seven-year-old daughter, Scarlett, all of whom are spending Christmas together at a family amusement park.
What happens: As the cover image suggests, it doesn't go well. Someone is shot with a bow and arrow, but before we get to that point in this entertaining debut, tension and jealousy abound.
Read it for: the police interviews and fun-park brochures that are interspersed with scenes of the quickly deteriorating situation; the astringent, dry wit; plenty of British slang; and a giant invisible rabbit named Posey.
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| Unmarriageable by Soniah KamalWhat it is: a retelling of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice set in modern-day Pakistan.
What else do you need to know? Scene-by-scene recreations will delight Janeites, but the setting also provides both humor and thought-provoking insight into Pakistani culture.
Want a taste? "It is a truth universally acknowledged that a girl can go from pauper to princess or princess to pauper in the mere seconds it takes for her to accept a proposal." |
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| An Orchestra of Minorities by Chigozie ObiomaWhat it is: a devastating account of Nigerian poultry farmer Chinonso's attempts to win the woman he loves, as told by his chi (guardian spirit).
Why you might like it: A contemporary twist on Homer's The Odyssey, Chinonso's quest invokes Nigerian history and cosmology; this heartbreaking slow burn is both tense and tragic.
Reviewers say: "magnificently multilayered" (Booklist); "a rare treasure" (Seattle Times). |
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The Museum of Modern Love
by Heather Rose
What it's about: the many people who find themselves drawn to performance artist Marina Abramovic, who stages herself at Manhattan's Museum of Modern Art for hours, waiting to gaze into the eyes of anyone who chooses to seat themselves at her table.
Why you might like it: Abramovic's performance (which actually did take place in 2010) elicits strong responses in the audience, as returning observers connect with each other, reflect on their losses, and interact with the artist. The result is a thought-provoking exploration not just of art but of love and desire as well.
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Come With Me
by Helen Schulman
Choose your own adventure: For breadwinning mom Amy, it's a real option when her boss enlists her to try out cutting-edge software that will allow her to experience what her life might have been had she made different choices. With a faltering marriage and three challenging kids, that's mighty appealing for Amy.
For fans of: other domestic dramas that add a fantastical element to the age-old question of "What if?," like Leigh Himes' The One That Got Away or Taylor Jenkin Reid's Maybe in Another Life.
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| Golden State by Ben H. WintersIn a world... where everything is documented and even tiny lies are a punishable offence, Golden State is an independent nation that values truth above all else, even though its history is murky.
What happens: In the wake of a suspicious death, veteran special agent Lazlo Ratesic begins to doubt the laws he's always upheld.
Why you might like it: Part police procedural, part dystopian fiction, this thought-provoking tale explores terrifying territory similar to George Orwell's 1984. |
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Focus on: Recent Short Stories
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| How to Love a Jamaican by Alexia ArthursWhat it is: a debut collection of vignettes set in Jamaica, New York, and the American Midwest, which together embody the variety in the Jamaican experience.
Starring: Multicultural main characters varying in age, gender, sexual orientations, and values who navigate evolving senses of race, family, history, and tradition.
Kudos: One story won the Paris Review's Plimpton Award; the book was named a "top 15" book of 2018 by O: The Oprah Magazine. |
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| The Largesse of the Sea Maiden by Denis JohnsonWhat it is: a witty, edgy collection of five short stories by National Book Award-winning Denis Johnson, published posthumously.
Why you might like it: From mental illness and self-destruction to old age and mortality, these are melancholy and offbeat tales. And while there's a masculine bent to the collection, you needn't be a man to enjoy it.
Reviewers say: "an instant classic" (Publishers Weekly); "incisive" (Booklist). |
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| Beautiful Days by Joyce Carol OatesWhat it is: Dark and complex, this new collection from the prolific Joyce Carol Oates includes the Pushcart Prize-winning "Undocumented Alien" and 12 other devastating stories.
Featuring: awkward encounters, violent clashes, acts of defiance; broken characters and flawed relationships; secret inner lives and overweening guilt.
Fan favorites: "Fleuve Bleu," "Undocumented Alien," and "Fractal." |
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| Property: Stories Between Two Novellas by Lionel ShriverWhat it is: two novellas and ten short stories, all focusing on belongings -- whether real estate or more personal possessions.
Read it for: precise language and well-developed characters, wry humor, and clever takes on co-habitation and home ownership in the U.S. and U.K.
Want a taste? "She enjoyed being in his physical company the way she enjoyed sitting in a smartly decorated restaurant." |
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| You Think It, I'll Say It by Curtis SittenfeldWhat it is: a collection of both original and previously published short stories, generally focusing on white middle class characters with humor and honesty.
Why you might like it: Conversational and witty, these stories explore contemporary issues (social media addiction) and familiar quandaries (ambivalence towards motherhood).
Fan favorites: "Gender Studies," "The Prairie Wife," "Off the Record." |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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Morton Grove Public Library 6140 Lincoln Ave Morton Grove, Illinois 60053 (847) 965-4220www.mgpl.org/ |
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