Hooray, It’s Time for New Books!

I am going to start off my recommendations today by telling you that I don’t want to tell you very much about this book. “Um, Liberty, that’s the opposite of what you’re supposed to do.” I know! But it’s such a slim book, and a real punch to the gut (in the best way), and I don’t want to ruin that for you. So I’ll just say it’s the blistering story of a marriage, and lies, fury, and resentment. Jane is an artist who first puts her husband John’s career and ambitions and then motherhood ahead of her own dreams. But years later, when she finds success, it changes the dynamic of their household, and their marriage begins to show cracks.

Backlist bump: The Days of Abandonment by Elena Ferrante, translated by Ann Goldstein

Here’s another short novel for you, this one a marvelous debut novel from a National Book Award-nominated author! It’s about Catalina Ituralde, a senior at Harvard University. Catalina is from Latin America and was raised by her undocumented grandparents in Queens. Getting into the prestigious university is a dream come true, and such an opportunity, she thinks. But now four years have passed, she is concerned for her family in Queens, the bloom is off the academic rose, and Catalina wants something more. She seeks answers to big questions. Perhaps a romance with an anthropology student is what her life needs right now. Or maybe the universe is just preparing her for the disappointments of the world after college. Catalina is an unforgettable character, a wildly curious, smart, observant young person facing a myriad of today’s unknowns. It’s nearly impossible not to love her.

Backlist bump: The Undocumented Americans by Karla Cornejo Villavicencio

I am a big fan of Grames’s under-appreciated first novel (see the backlist bump), so I was very excited to get my hands on this one. It’s another great work of historical fiction, this time with a mystery at the forefront. Santa Chionia is a tiny, isolated town in the mountains of southern Italy. Francesca is an American who has traveled to the village to help open a school, which is difficult, considering a recent flood has wiped out a lot of the town. When the flood water levels drop back down and reveal a skeleton, Francesca becomes an amateur detective, helping the priest’s housekeeper by trying to learn if the bones belong to her long-missing son. But even a town as small as Santa Chionia has secrets still untold, and they certainly don’t want to reveal themselves to a stranger. It’s a compassionate, compelling novel of a young woman looking to do good in the world and find purpose in her life.

Backlist bump: The Seven or Eight Deaths of Stella Fortuna by Juliet Grames

This week, I am reading We Could Be Rats by Emily Austin and Stop Me If You’ve Heard This One by Kristen Arnett. Outside of books, I am still rewatching the original run of Amazing Stories. (Darth Vader voice: “The nostalgia is strong with this one.”) The song stuck in my head this week is — thanks to the Arnett book — “Stop Me If You Think You’ve Heard This One Before” by The Smiths. And here is your weekly cat picture: This is Farrokh on my desk, reading over my shoulder, because he’s too lazy to get his own book. I turned my head, and there he was!

“I read books because I love them not because I think I should read them.” —Simon Van Booy