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Fiction A to Z November 2020
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| Leave the World Behind by Rumaan AlamWhat happens: A white family staying in a rented Hamptons home finds their idyllic vacation cut short by the arrival of the owners, an older Black couple hoping to take refuge from a power outage in New York City.
Then what? Though suspicion and resentment (on both sides) are their initial reactions, the two families form an uneasy alliance as it becomes clear that the blackout -- and other disquieting occurrences -- may be a sign of societal collapse.
Reviewers say: "This illuminating social novel offers piercing commentary on race, class and the luxurious mirage of safety" (Publishers Weekly). |
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What Are You Going Throughby Sigrid NunezWhat happens: A woman describes a series of encounters she has with various people in the ordinary course of her life: an ex she runs into by chance at a public forum, an Airbnb owner unsure how to interact with her guests, a stranger who seeks help comforting his elderly mother, a friend of her youth now hospitalized with terminal cancer. In each of these people the woman finds a common need: the urge to talk about themselves and to have an audience to their experiences. Then what? The narrator orchestrates this chorus of voices for the most part as a passive listener, until one of them makes an extraordinary request, drawing her into an intense and transformative experience of her own.
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Hamnet : A Novel of the Plagueby Maggie O'FarrellWhat is it? A short, piercing, deeply moving novel about the death of Shakespeare's 11 year old son Hamnet--a name interchangeable with Hamlet in 15th century Britain--and the years leading up to the production of his great play. England, 1580. A young Latin tutor--penniless, bullied by a violent father--falls in love with an extraordinary, eccentric young woman--a wild creature who walks her family's estate with a falcon on her shoulder and is known throughout the countryside for her unusual gifts as a healer. What happens: Agnes understands plants and potions better than she does people, but once she settles with her husband on Henley Street in Stratford she becomes a fiercely protective mother and a steadfast, centrifugal force in the life of her young husband, whose gifts as a writer are just beginning to awaken when his beloved young son succumbs to bubonic plague. Is it for you? A luminous portrait of a marriage, a shattering evocation of a family ravaged by grief and loss, and a hypnotic recreation of the story that inspired one of the greatest masterpieces of all time, Hamnet is mesmerizing, seductive, impossible to put down--a magnificent departure from one of our most gifted novelists.
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Under Scottish Starsby Carla LaureanoWhat happens: Recently widowed Serena MacDonald Stewart focuses on her children to the exclusion of her career, her art, and her sanity. When her brothers ask her to oversee the family guest house on the Isle of Skye, it's a chance to dust off her long-ignored business skills and make a new start. But her hopes for a smooth transition are dashed when the hotel manager, Malcolm Blake, turns out to be irritating, condescending . . . and incredibly attractive. Then what? Malcolm Blake gave up everything-his home, his girlfriend, and his career-to return to Skye and raise his late sister's teenage daughter. With few job opportunities available on the island, he signs on as the manager of the MacDonald family hotel, which he's soon running successfully without interference from the owners. That is, until Serena shows up, challenging his authority and his conviction that there's nothing missing from his new life on Skye. Before long, Serena and Malcolm have to admit the spark between them is more than mere irritation. But as single parents, there's more on the line than their own hearts. Will their commitment to family be the thing that draws them together or the only thing that could keep them apart?
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The End of the Dayby Bill CleggWhat happens: A retired widow in rural Connecticut wakes to an unexpected visit from her childhood best friend whom she hasn't seen in forty-nine years. An older man who has traveled from Manhattan to meet his newborn granddaughter collapses in a hotel lobby in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. A sixty-seven-year-old taxi driver in Kauai receives a phone call from the mainland that jars her back to a traumatic past. Seemingly disconnected lives come together as half-century old secrets begin to surface in Bill Clegg's second novel. Is it for you? At its heart, The End of the Day is about the phenomenon of female friendship, its force and its breaking points, as well its most shaping influences-family, class, age, and power
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| Less by Andrew Sean GreerStarring: less-than-successful novelist Arthur Less, who's invited to his ex-boyfriend's wedding less than a year after their breakup.
What does he do? Not wanting to go but so far lacking a compelling reason to send his regrets, he accepts every other invitation that comes his way, traveling to New York, Mexico, Morocco, and other far-flung destinations.
Why you might like it: With a surprising narrator (you'll find out who at the end) and flawed but sympathetic characters, this engaging Pulitzer Prize winner is a poignant meditation on the universal search for love and happiness. |
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| Motherhood by Sheila HetiWhat it is: an examination of motherhood and the very personal decision of whether to become a mother.
What happens: The narrator consults the I Ching and a tarot deck while also reflecting on her relationship with her boyfriend and on her own mother's experiences, all in service of determining whether she too should try for a child.
Reviewers say: bestselling author Sheila Heti "writes with courage, curiosity, and uncommon truth" (Booklist). |
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| Himself by Jess KiddStarring: Irish charmer Mahony, a young man who can communicate with the dead, has returned to the insular rural village where he was born after learning that his mother -- who he thought had left him at an orphanage as a baby -- may actually have been murdered.
Why you might like it: Like the best fairytales, this spellbinding story has plenty of whimsy, magic, and darkness.
For fans of: Neil Gaiman's The Ocean at the End of the Lane. |
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| Ghosted by Rosie WalshWhat happens: After an intense and romantic week together, Eddie and Sarah are making plans for their future. So it's a shock when Eddie abruptly stops returning Sarah's calls and texts.
But why? Though her friends insist she's been ghosted, Sarah doesn't want to give up so easily. But the truth, when it comes out, is far more complicated than expected.
What reviewers said: "Walsh has a good ear for dialogue, and the mystery behind Eddie’s disappearance is a particularly satisfying one." (The New York Times Book Review). |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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