Literary Fiction

There Are Rivers in the Sky

For decades, Elif Shafak’s fiction has deftly explored politics, culture and human rights, and her 2019 novel, 10 Minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World, was shortlisted for the Booker Prize. Her latest, There Are Rivers in the Sky, moves across time between London and Turkey, the Tigris and the Thames, as three disparate characters pay homage to the Epic of Gilgamesh and to the power of water.

For decades, Elif Shafak’s fiction has deftly explored politics, culture and human rights, and her 2019 novel, 10 Minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World, was shortlisted for the Booker Prize. Her latest, There Are Rivers in the Sky, moves across time between London and Turkey, the Tigris and the Thames, as three disparate characters […]

Entitlement

By Rumaan Alam

In Leave the World Behind author Rumaan Alam’s latest, Brooke, a Black New Yorker in her early 30s, is trying to find fulfillment in her administrative job at a charitable foundation, a position her mother believes is beneath her. Then the 83-year-old billionaire behind the foundation decides to make her his protege, and Brooke is drawn in—by the opportunity to make her mark funding worthy causes, and even more so by the seductive, blinding glare of his extreme wealth. If you miss HBO’s Succession, put Entitlement on your TBR.

In Leave the World Behind author Rumaan Alam’s latest, Brooke, a Black New Yorker in her early 30s, is trying to find fulfillment in her administrative job at a charitable foundation, a position her mother believes is beneath her. Then the 83-year-old billionaire behind the foundation decides to make her his protege, and Brooke is […]

Creation Lake

By Rachel Kushner

Rachel Kushner’s novels never fail to thrill, and Creation Lake has a particular intrigue. “Sadie Smith,” an American secret agent, narrates her mission to infiltrate a group of environmentalist anarchists in rural France. As she ruthlessly puppeteers the people around her, she is drawn to Bruno Lacombe, the faceless leader of the subversives who communicates only by email—and just might be playing her.

Rachel Kushner’s novels never fail to thrill, and Creation Lake has a particular intrigue. “Sadie Smith,” an American secret agent, narrates her mission to infiltrate a group of environmentalist anarchists in rural France. As she ruthlessly puppeteers the people around her, she is drawn to Bruno Lacombe, the faceless leader of the subversives who communicates […]

Colored Television

By Danzy Senna

The mismatch between the artistic process and the demands of the publishing industry has made many a writer jaded—a tension that is exacerbated when an author’s work deals with race, as R.F. Kuang’s Yellowface brilliantly demonstrated. Frustrated writers may even be tempted to try another industry. In Danzy Senna’s latest, biracial author Jane Gibson does just that, seeking financial stability by selling her manuscript to Hollywood . . . and the results aren’t pretty.

The mismatch between the artistic process and the demands of the publishing industry has made many a writer jaded—a tension that is exacerbated when an author’s work deals with race, as R.F. Kuang’s Yellowface brilliantly demonstrated. Frustrated writers may even be tempted to try another industry. In Danzy Senna’s latest, biracial author Jane Gibson does […]

The City and Its Uncertain Walls

By Haruki Murakami, Translated by Philip Gabriel

No one writes like Haruki Murakami, and his every release spurs massive excitement. For longtime fans, The City and Its Uncertain Walls incorporates familiar elements, like the Town you must give up your shadow to enter, while still delighting with a fresh plot and characters. In true Murakami fashion, this book doesn’t quite fit into one mold—fantasy? a romance? a parable?—but rather offers something for everyone.

No one writes like Haruki Murakami, and his every release spurs massive excitement. For longtime fans, The City and Its Uncertain Walls incorporates familiar elements, like the Town you must give up your shadow to enter, while still delighting with a fresh plot and characters. In true Murakami fashion, this book doesn’t quite fit into […]

Veronica

By Mary Gaitskill

A white-hot novel documenting the friendship that arises between two very different women, Veronica is a heady, hallucinatory narrative—another walk on the wild side from a writer who has never shied from tackling potentially contentious topics.

A white-hot novel documenting the friendship that arises between two very different women, Veronica is a heady, hallucinatory narrative—another walk on the wild side from a writer who has never shied from tackling potentially contentious topics.

The Shuttle

By Frances Hodgson Burnett

If you loved Downton Abbey or wish the works of Edith Wharton were a little less mannered, put Frances Hodgson Burnett’s The Shuttle on your reading list.

If you loved Downton Abbey or wish the works of Edith Wharton were a little less mannered, put Frances Hodgson Burnett’s The Shuttle on your reading list.

Outer Dark

By Cormac McCarthy

Long before venturing southwest with Blood Meridian, Cormac McCarthy plumbed his native Appalachia for visceral cruelty and mythological beauty in Outer Dark.

Long before venturing southwest with Blood Meridian, Cormac McCarthy plumbed his native Appalachia for visceral cruelty and mythological beauty in Outer Dark.

Long Island

By Colm Tóibín, Narrated by Jessie Buckley

Oscar-nominated Irish actress Jessie Buckley gives nuanced voices to Eilis Lacey’s Irish relatives and Italian American in-laws in the audio version of Long Island, Colm Tóibin’s sequel to Brooklyn.

Oscar-nominated Irish actress Jessie Buckley gives nuanced voices to Eilis Lacey’s Irish relatives and Italian American in-laws in the audio version of Long Island, Colm Tóibin’s sequel to Brooklyn.

Smothermoss

By Alisa Alering

Alisa Alering paints the mountains, hollows, moss and quartz of the Appalachian landscape in all their full aliveness in Smothermoss, their gothic debut.

Alisa Alering paints the mountains, hollows, moss and quartz of the Appalachian landscape in all their full aliveness in Smothermoss, their gothic debut.

Bright Objects

By Ruby Todd

Ruby Todd’s dazzling debut, Bright Objects, is a riveting literary thriller of obsession, vengeance and astronomy, but its most poignant gift may be its depiction of trying to make sense of life after tragedy.

Ruby Todd’s dazzling debut, Bright Objects, is a riveting literary thriller of obsession, vengeance and astronomy, but its most poignant gift may be its depiction of trying to make sense of life after tragedy.

The Modern Fairies

By Clare Pollard

An award-winning poet and translator, Clare Pollard has great fun with these cleverly revealing fairy tales told amid gossip, flirtations and sex at the court of Versailles.

Catalina

By Karla Cornejo Villavicencio

In Karla Cornejo Villavicencio’s brilliant and fun debut novel, Catalina, an adventurous free spirit and undocumented student at Harvard finds college to be a more dystopian experience than the typical American envisioning.

In Karla Cornejo Villavicencio’s brilliant and fun debut novel, Catalina, an adventurous free spirit and undocumented student at Harvard finds college to be a more dystopian experience than the typical American envisioning.

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