| Black Buck by Mateo AskaripourWhat it is: a debut novel with a biting take on racism in corporate America and the story of a man who may have found success at the expense of his sense of self.
Starring: Darren, a college graduate who takes a job at a cult-like NYC startup. The longer he stays and the greater his success, the more the corporate excesses push him toward helping other young Black people succeed in America's sales force.
Why you might like it: styled like a self-help manual, this provocative satire exposes a lot of hypocrisy and prejudice and speaks to the current moment in American history. |
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| Detransition, Baby by Torrey PetersWhat happens: Trans woman Reese, her detransitioned ex Ames and his cisgender lover (and boss) Katrina build an unconventional family in response to an unplanned pregnancy.
Read it for: loving, engaging, and relatably complicated characters; abundant wit; and the understanding that there are many ways to build a family.
About the author: Torrey Peters is herself a trans woman; this "smart, funny, and bighearted" novel (Kirkus Reviews) is her full-length debut after three novellas. |
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| The liar's dictionary by Eley WilliamsWhat it is: a tale of two parallel stories, both set in the offices of a dictionary publisher. In the 19th century, a lexicographer adds made-up words to the New Encyclopaedic Dictionary; in the modern day, an intern is tasked with finding them.
Why you might like it: Puns and wordplay make this a linguistic delight, while the romantic adventures in both eras humanise it.
Reviewers say: "A sweet and diverting story, witty and sincere" (Kirkus Reviews). |
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The boy in the field: A novel
by Margot Livesey
One September afternoon in 1999, teenagers Matthew, Zoe, and Duncan Lang are walking home from school when they discover a boy lying in a field, bloody and unconscious. Thanks to their intervention, the boy's life is saved. In the aftermath, all three siblings are irrevocably changed. Matthew, the oldest, becomes obsessed with tracking down the assailant, secretly searching the local town with the victim's brother. Zoe wanders the streets of Oxford, looking at men, and one of them, a visiting American graduate student, looks back. Duncan, the youngest, who has seldom thought about being adopted, suddenly decides he wants to find his birth mother. Overshadowing all three is the awareness that something is amiss in their parents' marriage.
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Sex and vanity
by Kevin Kwan
What it is: a dishy, escapist read that brings E.M. Forster's A Room with a View to the modern era, complete with snobby Mayflower descendants, gauche new-money families, and all the lavish luxury (this time in Capri and the Hamptons) that author Kevin Kwan (of Crazy Rich Asians fame) is known for.
Want a taste? "We're going to start small at first and offer an Ayurvedic juice bar, qigong, puppy yoga, breath work meditation, and maybe some sound healing."
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The death of Vivek Oji
by Akwaeke Emezi
What it's about: the mysterious death of young Nigerian Vivek Oji; friendship and family loyalty; gender identity; and deeply rooted transphobia.
Read it for: the many narrative perspectives, the description of middle-class Nigeria and the generational contrast in beliefs, the elegant writing style, and the raw depiction of grief.
Reviewers say: "There's just no way to finish this powerful novel and not feel more deeply than ever the ghastly consequences of intolerance" (The Washington Post).
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Make Russia great again: A novel
by Christopher Buckley
Herb Nutterman never intended to become Donald Trump's White House chief of staff. Herb served the Trump Organization for twenty-seven years, holding jobs in everything from a food and beverage manager at the Trump Magnifica to being the first general manager of the Trump Bloody Run Golf Course. And when his old boss asks "his favorite Jew" to take on the daunting role of chief of staff, Herb, spurred on by loyalty, agrees. But being the chief of staff is a lot different from being a former hospitality expert. Soon, Herb finds himself deeply involved in Russian intrigue, deflecting rumours about Mike Pence's high school involvement in a Satanic cult, and leading President Trump's reelection campaign. What Nutterman experiences is outrageous, outlandish, and otherwise unbelievable, therefore making it a deadly accurate account of being the chief of staff during the Trump administration.
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V for Victory
by Lissa Evans
It's late 1944. Hitler's rockets are slamming down on London with vicious regularity and it's the coldest winter in living memory. Allied victory is on its way, but it's bloody well dragging its feet. In a large house next to Hampstead Heath, Vee Sedge is just about scraping by, with a herd of lodgers to feed, and her young charge Noel (almost fifteen ) to clothe and educate. When she witnesses a road accident and finds herself in court, the repercussions are both unexpectedly marvellous and potentially disastrous disastrous because Vee is not actually the person she's pretending to be, and neither is Noel. The end of the war won't just mean peace, but discovery.
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| The awkward Black man: Stories by Walter MosleyWhat it is: a collection of 17 short stories that portray the wide variety of American life, all starring Black men, many of them over 50, narrating their own stories.
Don't miss: "The Good News Is," in which a man's insecurity about his weight gives way to a serious illness. It's the first in the book and once you've read it, you'll be hooked on award-winning author Walter Mosley's insight and slice-of life perspective. |
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| I hold a wolf by the ears: Stories by Laura Van den BergWhat it is: a collection of stories in which women, often in Florida, often already struggling with grief or anxiety, must cope with loss and strained relationships.
Why you might like it: While some stories have an element of the absurd, others are deeply layered; a sense of menace pervades but does not overwhelm a sense of empathy for these women, especially those who are suffering at the hands of men.
Want a taste? "I want to tell you about the night I got hit by a train and died. The thing is -- it never happened." |
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| Verge: Stories by Lidia YuknavitchWhat it is: 20 short stories which, in their surrealism and darkness, may appeal to horror readers.
Don't miss: "Street Walker," which holds many surprises; the deeply cynical cop in "A Woman Refusing;" and the 160 or so words that make up "Two Girls."
Reviewers say: "Disturbing and delightful all at once" (BookRiot).
Is it for you? The collection's intimate approach to trauma and violence may make for difficult reading for some. |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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