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| This Strange Eventful History by Claire MessudTouching on themes of identity and home, this buzzy book by an award-winning author follows an uprooted French Algerian pieds-noir family and their descendants as they move around the world between 1940 and 2010. "Brilliant and heart-wrenching" (Kirkus Reviews), this novel was inspired by the author's family. Read-alikes: The Art of Losing by Alice Zeniter; My Beloved Life by Amitava Kumar; French Braid by Anne Tyler. |
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| Sandwich by Catherine NewmanRocky, her husband, her two kids, and her mom and dad have been going to the same Cape Cod rental for 20 years. This year, things feel different as Rocky navigates hot flashes, aging parents, nostalgia for her kids' youth, and old secrets in a funny, fast-paced, and moving novel that's perfect for beach reading. Read-alikes: Vacationland by Meg Mitchell Moore; A Good Life by Virginie Grimaldi; Tom Lake by Ann Patchett. |
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| Whale Fall by Elizabeth O'ConnorManod is 18 years old in 1938 when a whale washes up on her remote Welsh island, drawing outside attention, including that of two Oxford ethnographers who want to study the 12 island families. Happy for a connection to the wider world, Manod agrees to help, a move she may regret. For other reflective and atmospheric novels, try Clear by Carys Davies or A Northern Light in Provence by Elizabeth Birkelund. |
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| Godwin by Joseph O'NeillTwo incisive, connected storylines make up this "wonderous novel" (Booklist). Mark Wolfe, a technical writer at a Pittsburgh cooperative, heads to England to help his struggling soccer scout half-brother locate a young African phenom known only as Godwin. Back in the states, the co-op's steady cofounder, Lakesha, deals with major work problems. For fans of: How Beautiful We Were by Imbolo Mbue; Selection Day by Aravind Adiga. |
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| Fire Exit by Morgan TaltyCharles Lamosway grew up on the Penobscot Reservation with his mom and Native American stepdad, but had to leave when he was 18 since he isn't Native. Now nearing 60, he attends AA meetings, helps his mom who has dementia, and looks across the river from his home to the reservation, keeping an eye on his secret daughter and wondering if he should tell her who he is. Read-alikes: The Berry Pickers by Amanda Peters; There There by Tommy Orange. |
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| Cinema Love by Jiaming TangIn 1980s China, gay men safely meet at the Workers' Cinema in Fuzhou, where ticket seller Bao Mei tries to protect them. But when Old Second's relationship with married Shun-Er is discovered by Shun-Er's wife, it results in Shun-Er's suicide, and eventually, the rest of the characters moving to New York City in this acclaimed debut that also covers the 1990s and 2020s. Read-alikes: The Emperor and the Endless Palace by Justinian Huang; Bad Habit by Alana Portero. |
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Anita de Monte Laughs Last
by Xochitl Gonzalez
In the 1980s, up-and-coming artist Anita de Monte is married to Jack, an established white artist, when she dies after a suspicious fall. In the 1990s, Brown University student Raquel Toro researches a project on Jack while starting her own relationship with a wealthy white man. This Reese's Book Club pick presents a witty, thought-provoking look at art, race, class, and gender. Read-alike: Hernan Diaz's Trust.
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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