Fabulous Fiction Firsts #797

“To be hopeful in bad times is not just foolishly romantic. It is based on the fact that human history is a history not only of cruelty, but also of compassion, sacrifice, courage, kindness. What we choose to emphasize in this complex history will determine our lives…. The future is an infinite succession of presents, and to live now as we think human beings should live, in defiance of all that is bad around us, is itself a marvelous victory.” ~ Howard Zinn

agatha_of_little_neonAgatha of Little Neon by National Book Foundation "5 Under 35" Honoree Claire Luchette (also in downloadable eBook and audiobook) which the reviewer at Kirkus Reviews called “(a) charming and incisive debut.” 

When their Buffalo diocese went bankrupt and Mother Roberta decides to retire, Catholic sisters Frances, Mary Lucille, Therese, and narrator Agatha are transferred to a halfway house for people with chemical dependencies called Little Neon, “painted the "chemical, lurid" color of Mountain Dew” in Woonsocket RI, a former mill town now dotted with wind turbines. 

Cramped into an airless attire, the sisters care lovingly for their charges: jawless Tim Gary, Lawnmower Jill (who drove drunk too many times and now resorts to riding around town in her namesake), Horse, Baby, and Pete; and try to make a new life for themselves with community bible study group, art projects, and learning to roller skate in the garage. When the high school needs a geometry teacher, the sisters volunteer Agatha, by far the smartest among them, where for the first time in years she has to reckon all on her own with what she sees and feels.

“Employing short, clipped chapters and shimmering prose, Luchette garnishes each scene with tender and nuanced descriptions of longing and chastity, creating a lovely story of how cross-cultural exchange can foster hope and fruitful advancements. This is charming and remarkably thoughtful.” (Publishers Weekly) 

little_hopeA Little Hope by Ethan Joella (also in downloadable eBook and audiobook), a deeply moving and life-affirming debut set in Wharton, Connecticut, that explores the intertwining lives of friends and neighbors, and celebrates the importance of small moments of connection and the ways that love and forgiveness can help us survive even the most difficult of life's challenges. 

Freddie and Greg Tyler seem to have it all: a successful career in finance, a lovely home and a beautiful daughter - until Greg was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, an aggressive form of cancer, plunging them into despair and uncertainty, and turning Greg prickly, even with Alex Lionel, more of a father figure than boss. Freddie, who plans to return to writing fiction instead, takes a part-time job as a seamstress at a dry cleaner, owned by widow Darcy Crowley.

Alex Lionel, we learn, is riddled with guilt over a long-ago affair after the death of his son at 14, now hopes Kay, his wife of 50 years will agree to meet his grown illegitimate daughter, Iris. Darcy Crowley, brisk and efficient at work, continues to mourn her husband’s death and wishes to mend things with her son, addicted to pills and alcohol after a breakup with his girlfriend.

“The domino effect of neighbors' choices impact one another far more than they could ever imagine. A chance meeting blossoms into a new relationship, a tragic diagnosis inspires independence, a surprise visitor helps breach an emotional wall, a marriage's foundation becomes cracked in an instant. In his debut novel, Joella has an eye and ear for suburban pathos, highlighting tragedy and growth in equal parts… Loyal readers of Meg Wolitzer and Matthew Norman will gravitate to this immersive, illuminating novel.” (Booklist)

May your new year be filled with hope and kindness.

 

Fabulous Fiction Firsts #796

Our annual gathering of some of the best short story collections, just in time for the shortest day of the year

haoHao : Stories * *  is the debut collection from three-time Pushcart Prize winner Chun Ye, and longlisted for the 2022 Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction.  The title, drawn from the most common word in Chinese, an ubiquitous greeting, can be translated as good and is symbolized traditionally by a kneeling woman holding a child. 

“That iconic mother-and-child scene reveals multiple layers here. In the titular story "Hao," a mother struggles to stay alive for her four-year-old during the vicious Cultural Revolution. They play their nightly "word game," during which the mother traces characters on her daughter's back, literally inscribing her with precious knowledge. Repeatedly beaten down, she becomes the kneeling woman, wrapped around her child; to live another day to hold her is hao.” (Booklist) 

In the remaining 11 stories, the author examines the ways in which Chinese women in both China and the United States in the last three centuries, can be silenced as they grapple with sexism and racism, and how they find their own language to define their experience. In “Gold Mountain,” a young mother hides above a ransacked store during the San Francisco anti-Chinese riot of 1877. In “A Drawer,” an illiterate mother invents a language through drawing. And in “Stars,” a graduate student loses her ability to speak after a stroke, except for a single word - "hao”.

“Ancestral experiences echo throughout the dozen stories as Ye’s protagonists battle cyclical repressions and common losses: Feet are bound, children are lost, and husbands are absent, heedless, or worse.” (Kirkus Reviews) 

afterparties

Afterparties : Stories, * * *  a posthumous debut by Anthony Veasna So (1992–2020) is a New York Times Book Review, Editors' Choice - "A deeply personal, frankly funny, illuminating portrait of furtive, meddling aunties, sweaty, bored adolescents and the plaintive search for survival that connects them. Its nine stories sketch a world of hidden histories, of longings past and present, and of a culture carving its way out of historical trauma. It is a testament to the burgeoning talent of So. . . . Electric, alive and transportive, Afterparties is a glimpse of a world rarely seen in literature, and of a talent gone too soon."

Centered around a tightly knit community of Cambodian-American immigrants in California’s Central Valley, grappling  with the complexities of race, sexuality, friendship, and family. “What makes the stories so startling is the characters’ ability to embrace life and all its messy beauty despite the darkness of the past. Characters have weddings, play badminton, fall in love, read Moby-Dick, and sometimes quip, surprisingly nonchalantly, about their national traumas—“there were no ice cubes in the genocide!” yells a father in “Three Women of Chuck’s Donuts.” Some leave home (“the asshole of California,” one of them calls it in “Maly, Maly, Maly”); others want to stay, despite how little their region has to offer. “ (Publishers Weekly) 

im_not_hungryI'm Not Hungry But I Could Eat : Stories by Christopher Gonzalez “crackles with humor and tension in brilliantly crafted stories about food and relationships….Exploring the lives of bisexual and gay Puerto Rican men, these fifteen stories show a vulnerable, intimate world of yearning and desire. The stars of these narratives linger between living their truest selves and remaining in the wings, embarking on a journey of self-discovery to satisfy their hunger for companionship and belonging.” (Publishers Weekly)  

“The standout story "Better Than All That" accompanies the narrator on a life-changing night that begins in an Applebee's, winds through bars, and ends in painful reckonings with desire and the past. To his credit, Gonzalez does not shy away from the gross, the strange, or the uncomfortable. A sister dies. A breakup ruins lives. A hookup wants to be punched in the chest. A bedroom stool invites sex-watching while cereal-eating. Food is compellingly centered in the lives of these queer characters to provocative effect.” (Booklist) 

* * * = 3 starred reviews

* * = 2 starred reviews

Fabulous Fiction Firsts #795

dava_shastris_last_day

Longlisted for the 2021 Center for Fiction First Novel Prize, Dava Shastri's Last Day (also in downloadable eBook and audiobook) by former entertainment reporter Kirthana Ramisetti, is a Good Morning America book club pick. It’s a thought-provoking and entertaining take on the “family dynamics and dysfunction” exacerbated by an unusual holiday gathering. 

It’s Christmas eve, 2044. 70 year-old billionaire and philanthropist Dava Shastri has gathered her family on her private island off the coast of Long Island. Recently diagnosed with inoperable cancer, she plans to leave this world on her own terms. Her four grown children were surprised by the news of her terminal illness but were shocked and dismayed when Dava decided to leak the news of her death early so she could read her own obituaries and examine her legacy.

Instead of articles lauding her philanthropic work, the media reveals two devastating secrets, throwing the household, especially the 4 siblings who were never close to begin with, into utter chaos. In the time she has left, Dava must come to terms with the decisions that have led to this moment and make peace with those closest to her.

“Told from a variety of perspectives, the story is reminiscent of Jonathan Tropper’s This Is Where I Leave You in that circumstances force adult children to spend several days together working through years of resentment and regret. The strength of the story lies in its depiction of a strong-willed matriarch who has doggedly pursued success while doing things her own way…A solid debut that will appeal to readers who enjoy quirky family stories with a focus on character over action.” (Kirkus Reviews)  

Readers might also enjoy The Nest by Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney, and Kathy Wang's Family Trust.

 

Fabulous Fiction Firsts #794 - December

always_in_decemberAlways, in December * (eBook and also in downloadable audiobook) is Emily Stone’s “magnetic, bittersweet debut.” (Publishers Weekly)  

London publicist Josie Morgan has extra reasons to dread December this year. She has just broken up with long-term boyfriend Oliver who has been cheating on her with their office-mate. She is not looking forward to attending the office Christmas party alone. Since losing both of her parents on a snowy December night, for the past two decades she has swapped out letters to Santa with letters to them with the same three words: Missing you, always. But this year, her annual trip to the postbox is knocked off course by a bicycle collision with a handsome stranger who has his own reasons to dread the Christmas season. 

When architect Max Carter’s flight to New York is cancelled, the two wind up spending the holiday season together, enjoying a brief, intense affair, until Max disappears without saying goodbye.  Over the course of the next year, Max and Josie will find that fate continues to bring them together in places they’d never expect - a Brooklyn art gallery, a wedding in Scotland, and Josie’s childhood home. As it turns out, Max is harboring a secret that explains his reluctance to have a relationship…“the revelation will change Josie’s life forever. Romance fans should be prepared for a tearjerker ending to this poignant, well-plotted tale of once-in-a-life-time love. It’s as unforgettable as it is heart-wrenching. “ (Publishers Weekly)

Bringing to mind Jojo Moyes' Me Before You, it will also appeal to fans of Josie Silver’s One Day in DecemberJenny Bayliss’s The Twelve Dates of Christmas; and the Christmas novels by Jenny Colgan.  Readers might also want to check out Eight Perfect Hours, (after her debut novel Dear Emmie Blue) by Lia Louis (also in eBook and audiobook) for an enchanting, cozy read on a snowy night.

 * = Starred review

Fabulous Fiction Firsts #793

“Being Irish, he had an abiding sense of tragedy, which sustained him through temporary periods of joy.” ~ William Butler Yeats

snowflakeIf you are on the waitlist for Sally Rooney’s latest Beautiful World, Where Are You, may I suggest Snowflake * (also in downloadable eBook and audiobook) by debut novelist Louise Nealon (Trinity College Dublin, Queen’s University Belfast)?

Like Connell and Marianne in Normal People, 18 year-old Debbie White just earned herself a place at Trinity College Dublin. Commuting from her family’s dairy farm in rural County Kildare, Dublin, just forty minutes away, might well have been another world. Overwhelmed by the anonymity of big city life and feeling out of place with her fellow students, she considered giving up her spot, if it wasn’t for Uncle Billy’s encouragement

Debbie never knew her father, and besides all the chores on the farm, she does not want to burden Billy with the care of her mother Maeve, a skittish woman who takes to her bed for days on end, and who believes her dreams are prophecies. Almost miraculously, Debbie makes a new friend, Xanthe at college, and begins to thrive in her double life. Then a tragic accident on the farm upends the family’s equilibrium, and Debbie discovers her next steps may no longer be hers to choose.

“Nealon's well-crafted debut loses no charm or sweetness for all the difficult things it juggles, including mental health issues, death, grief, and even suicide. Packed with emotion, terrific dialogue, raw and real characters, and spiritual elements, like Debbie's and Mam's dreams that seem to predict the future, it also never feels overfull. A genuine, wise, and promising debut.” (Bookklist) 

“Louise Nealon’s Snowflake is one of the most heartwarming, honest and brilliant coming-of-age novels you will read this year.” (BookPage)

BONUS FEATURE

small_things_like_these

Small Things Like These * * by multi-award-winning Irish novelist Claire Keegan, is a “gorgeously textured novella” (Publishers Weekly), that “indicts the social culture that enabled Ireland's Magdalene Laundries, and brilliantly articulates a decent person's struggle of conscience.” (Library Journal)

It was the week before Christmas, the busiest season for New Ross coal and lumber merchant Bill Furlong when a morning delivery to the local convent deeply troubles him.  He finds a disheveled girl, barefoot and in rags, locked in the coal shed, begging to be taken away.  For years, there have been rumors about the "training school" at the convent being a front for free labor, using the young unwed mothers in a laundry service. 

This encounter forces Bill to confront both his past and the complicit silence of a town controlled by the Church.  Despite pleading from his wife Eileen to "stay on the right side of people," Bill makes a courageous choice on Christmas Eve that would rock the whole community. 

"Despite the brevity of the text, Furlong’s emotional state is fully rendered and deeply affecting. Keegan also carefully crafts a web of complicity around the convent’s activities that is believably mundane and all the more chilling for it. The Magdalen laundries, this novel implicitly argues, survived not only due to the cruelty of the people who ran them, but also because of the fear and selfishness of those who were willing to look aside because complicity was easier than resistance...A stunning feat of storytelling and moral clarity.” (Kirkus Reviews) 

* *  = 2 starred reviews

* = Starred review

 

Fabulous Fiction Firsts #792, The Secret Life of a Tokyo Housewife

fault_linesFault Lines is London-based freelance journalist and travel writer Emily Itami’s “brilliant”(Booklist) debut novel. 

Set in contemporary Tokyo, on the surface Mizuki should be the envy of her peers - a beautiful apartment with a view of the city’s skyline, a successful husband, two adorable children, and fashionable friends, and yet, she often thinks about throwing herself off the high-rise balcony. In truth, Mizuki struggles with an absent and neglectful husband, demanding and ill-tempered children, and laments the choices she made. Once a promising jazz singer who spent some years in New York, she now takes odd assignments as tour guide and language/cultural interpreter for foreigners when she is not attending to the needs of her family. 

Then, on a rainy night, she meets Kiyoshi, a successful restaurateur. In him she finds an attentive listener, friendship and adventure. Together, they rediscovers the city -  tucked-away neighborhoods, the sweet shop like the one Mizuki's father once owned, French cafes and historic geisha homes, and a memorable stroll at cherry blossom time. Soon she finds herself living two lives. And it would take a natural catastrophe for Mizuki to realize that she must make a choice. 

“While a somewhat pat ending feels unworthy of the novel's provocative premise, Itami makes palpable Mizuki's loneliness and her need to feel seen. Itami's brave, frank portrayal of Japan's societal expectations of women is worth a look.” (Publishers Weekly)   Timely, in view of recent events and controversies in Japan.

Check out The New York Times Book Review.

 

Fabulous Fiction Firsts #791, Magic, Mayhem and Metamorphosis

paybacks_a_witchPayback's a Witch * * *  by Lana Harper is the first in The Witches of Thistle series, (also in downloadable eBook and audiobook) and her adult debut (after four YA novels written as Lana Popović), “a queer rom-com that bewitches from the very first page.”(Publishers Weekly) 

Emmy Harlow is heading home to Thistle Grove (IL) after fleeing with a broken heart almost a decade before. She plans to stay only long enough to carry out the familial duty of being her generation’s arbiter, overseeing the magical tournament that pits the 4 founding families against each other... that is, until she sets eyes on the devastatingly gorgeous, wickedly charming Talia Avramov; reconnects with her childhood besties Linden Thorn; and witness first hand, the mechanization of the despicable sleazeball Gareth Blackmoor who broke her heart (and that of almost every other woman in town). 

As heir to the most powerful magical family in town, Gareth is favored to win the tournament but the three scorned women have something up their sleeves. As they team up and Emmy’s magic returns, she begins to wonder if leaving would mean giving up what she wants most.

“The love story between Talia and Emmy develops beautifully, but the true romance is with the town and the community. The bonds of both family and friendship shine from start to finish, and Harper balances the different clans and captures how, together, they make Thistle Grove the magical place that it is.“ (BookPage)

ex_hexEx Hex * (also in downloadable eBook and audiobook), is the first in a new Georgia-set paranormal romantic comedy series by bestselling author Rachel Hawkins, writing as Erin Sterling.

Nine years ago, little witch Vivi(enne) Jones fell hard for Rhys Penhallow, a Welsh exchange student whose family founded the town of Graves Glen and the local college, and promptly broke her heart when she found out he was engaged. Now he is back, reluctantly, to represent his family at the annual fall festival, and to recharge the town's ley lines, a necessity every 100 years. 

But as soon as he sets foot in the town, one calamity after another strikes Rhys. Could it be the curse the young and broken-hearted Vivi put on him, fueled by vodka, weepy music, bubble baths? Soon, mysterious affliction begins affecting the town as well, forcing Rhys and Vivi to get over their mutual mistrust, ignore their chemistry, and work together to break the curse before it kills everyone. 

“Sterling writes a fun, sexy romantic comedy with a compelling plot, fantastic worldbuilding, twists that give the story depth, and engaging primary and secondary characters. The novel wraps up plenty of loose ends, but readers will be eager for sequels.“ (Library Journal) 

nightbitchIn Nightbitch*  by Rachel Yoder (also in downloadable eBook and audiobook), an unnamed  sleep-deprived “de-facto single mom of a demanding toddler (her tech husband travels for work every week), becomes convinced she's turning into a dog. As the dense patch of hair in the back of her neck grows thicker, and her canines look decidedly sharper, she is bewildered by her metamorphosis, and struggles to keep her alter-canine-identity secret. Online searches are no help, she seeks answers at her local library. There she finds the mysterious academic tome A Field Guide to Magical Women: A Mythical Ethnography which validates her experience and encourages her to embrace the freedom of her new animal nature. She also finds common ground with a group of other mommies involved in a multilevel-marketing scheme who may also be more than what they seem.

“Bursting with fury, loneliness, and vulgarity, Yoder's narrative revels in its deconstruction of the social script women and mothers are taught to follow, painstakingly reading between the lines to expose the cruel and downright ludicrous ways in which women are denied their personhood. An electric work by an ingenious new voice, this is one to devour.” (Publishers Weekly) 

Already optioned for film.

* * * = 3 starred reviews

* = Starred review

 

Fabulous Fiction Firsts #790, British Rom-Com Debuts

battle_royalBattle Royal *  by Lucy Parker (also in downloadable eBook and audiobook) is “(b)rimming with pop culture references and quick wit, (an) enemies-to-lovers romance that kicks off the Palace Insiders series. (Publishers Weekly) 

Four years ago, Sylvie Fairchild was voted off the most popular television baking show Operation Cake due to an unfortunate mechanical malfunction with her glittery unicorn cake. Now she is to return to the show as a judge. The publicity would not only help her business Sugar Fair but might just get her shortlistedfor HRH Princess Rose's wedding cake. 

The only problem is Dominic De Vere, her fellow judge on the show, His Majesty the King’s favorite baker, brilliant, talented, hard-working, an icy grouch who would never let Sylvie live down the unicorn experience.  The bride adores Sylvie’s quirky style. The palace wants Dominic’s classic perfection. In this royal battle, can there be room for two?

“From the zippy dialogue and humorous banter exchanged between the book's perfectly matched protagonists to the delectable descriptions of sweet treats that would not be out of place in Willy Wonka's factory, this deliciously sexy love story whips up everything romance readers crave.” (Booklist)

ghostsGhosts (also in downloadable eBook and audiobook) is memoirist (Everything I Know About Love, 2020) Dolly Alderton’s debut novel. From a columnist for The Sunday Times Style and co-host of the weekly pop-culture and current affairs podcast The High Low  comes this “smart, sexy, laugh-out-loud romantic comedy about ex-boyfriends, imperfect parents, friends with kids, and a man who disappears the moment he says "I love you."

32 years-old London food writer and author Nina Dean is in a good place - her second book is about to be published, she loves flat ownership, and she is on good terms with her ex, Joe. But with most of her friends married, having kids, and moving to the suburbs, she tries a dating app.  Seemingly impossible, she meets Max  - handsome, dishy, an accountant with an adventurous spirit, and they have chemistry. 

And if Max seems too good to be true, he is, forcing Nina to deal with everything she's been trying so hard to ignore: her father's Alzheimer's, her mother's denial, trouble with her editor; and being ghosted by her childhood best friend. ​​

“Alderton's fiction debut delivers a refreshing and clever meditation on a single British woman's late coming-of-age...Full of quirky characters, sardonic commentary, and millennial ruminations, Ghosts is for fans of the show Fleabag, Sally Rooney's Normal People (2020), and Lily King's Writers & Lovers (2021).” (Booklist)

mismatchThe Mismatch by Sara Jafari (also in downloadable eBook and audiobook) Discussion questions for book groups included. 

Away at uni from her strict Muslim family, Soraya drinks, wears short skirts and talks to boys, never mind at 21, she has never been kissed.  As she is about to graduate with no job prospect, she knows she will be heading home. At a party, she sees her chance in Magnus Evans - rugby player, a notorious man-about-town, just the person with whom to get her first kiss "over with”. There is no risk of falling in love since Mangus is exactly whom her family would not approve of. 

Soraya's shocked to find that Magnus is nothing like she expected, and despite their wildly different backgrounds, they discover they have a lot in common.

“Jafari's authentic portrayal of the complexities of interracial dating is deeply emotional and her characters are refreshingly flawed: Magnus is charming and patient, but initially clueless about navigating cultural difference, while endearing Soraya feels intense emotion but bottles it up. Each scene of this moving love story reveals new depths.” (Publishers Weekly) 

* = Starred review

 

Fabulous Fiction Firsts #789, An Alternate Universe

master_of_djinnVoted one of the 50 Favorite Sci-Fi And Fantasy Books Of The Past Decade by NPR readers, A Master of Djinn * * * (also in downloadable eBook and audiobook), is Nebula, Locus, and Alex Award-winner P. Djeli Clark’s first full-length novel after a number of novellas, also set in an alternate Cairo universe. 

1912 Cairo is a bustling metropolis with commerce, intrigue, and steampunk technology. Fatma el-Sha’arawim, the youngest and only female agent of the Egyptian Ministry of Alchemy, Enchantments, and Supernatural Entities is brought in to investigate multiple murders at the home of a wealthy British merchant. 

Ever since the mystic and inventor Al-Jahiz pierced the veil between realms decades ago, djinns, magical beings and humans have been living together in relative peace. Now someone claiming to be Al-Jahiz has murdered members of a secret brotherhood dedicated to his legacy at the eve of an international summit of major European powers that is likely to have global ramifications.  Together with her clever new partner, Agent Hadia Abdel Hafez, and her mercurial, half-djinn girlfriend, Siti, Fatma sets out to uncover the truth behind this self-professed prophet, and save the world from destruction. 

“The fantastical worldbuilding highlights the thematic issues of colonialism, spirituality, and race relations, while Clark's prose provides a cinematic lens to issues of gender and class viewed through Agent Fatma's investigations and relationships.” (Library Journal) 

“Give this to alternate history enthusiasts and mystery readers who enjoy a dose of the magical. Fans of S. A. Chakraborty, Martha Wells, and Zen Cho should be particularly pleased.” (Booklist) 

wisteria_societyThe Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels by India Holton (also in downloadable eBook and audiobook), the first in the Dangerous Damsels series, is “a treat for readers who enjoy supernatural historical romances, wordplay, and quirky situations.” (Booklist) 

Miss Cecilia Bassingwaite, a junior member of the Wisteria Society, a crime sorority of thieves, pirates and assassins is eagerly anticipating induction into the highest rank (and a place at the high tea table) now that she has robbed a bank, mastered the skills of piloting flying battlehouses, and foiled an assassination attempt on her life. 

Before she could claim her seat at the tea table, all the members of the Society were kidnapped by the dreaded Bronte-obsessed, self-proclaimed poet Captain Morvath,  Cecilia has no choice but to team up with her devilishly handsome would-be assassin Ned Lightbourne, who may be a pirate employed by Captain Morvath, or a royal agent assigned to protect her. 

“In this joyride of a debut, Holton draws us into a madcap world of courtly corsairs, murderous matrons, and pity-inspiring henchmen. Familiar romance tropes appear but as if in a fun-house mirror, with broad winks at their origins, while characters make sarcastic references to passionate novels in the Victorian canon… As if The Parasol Protectorate series met The Princess Bride and a corseted Lara Croft: Tomb Raider.(Kirkus Reviews) 

* * * = 3 starred reviews

 

 

 

Fabulous Fiction Firsts #788

 “Books are the quietest and most constant of friends; they are the most accessible and wisest of counselors, and the most patient of teachers.” ~ Charles W. Eliot 

“The pleasure of all reading is doubled when one lives with another who shares the same books.” ~ Katherine Mansfield 

reading_listThe Reading List * *  by Sara Nisha Adams (also in downloadable eBook and audiobook).  17 year-old Aleisha, a summer desk clerk, is the first to find the list between pages of a returned book at the Harrow Road Library.  It reads JUST IN CASE YOU NEED IT, followed by eight titles: To Kill a Mockingbird, Rebecca, The Kite Runner, The Life of Pi, Pride and Prejudice, Little Women, Beloved, and A Suitable Boy. 

Just then, grieving widower Mukesh approaches the desk, intent to return a much-overdue copy of The Time Traveler’s Wife he found among his wife Naina’s things.  Never a reader, he nevertheless enjoyed the story and the opportunity to honor Naina's memory, he asked for Aleisha’s recommendations.  Caught unprepared, Aleisha remembered the list.  Intrigued, and a little bored, stuck at home, unable to reach her mentally-fragile mother,  she impulsively decides to read every book on the list as well. Slowly, the shared books create a connection between them. 

As it happens, the same list shows up at the shoe rack at the yoga studio, the bulletin board at the local supermarket, the bus stop,  and the community garden, drawing lonely strangers into the library and each other’s company. 

“Full of references to popular and classic novels, this debut focuses on reading as a means of processing and coping with challenging life events. The author deftly captures the quiet and listless vibe of ill-fated libraries everywhere. Told from the perspectives of both Aleisha and Mukesh, as well as a sampling of other characters, the story shows an insightful empathy for difficulties faced at divergent life stages. The author explores many difficult topics with grace, like mental illness, grief, abandonment, and self-doubt...A quiet and thoughtful look into loneliness, community, and the benefits of reading, suited for true bibliophiles.“ (Kirkus Reviews)

last_chance_libraryHey, if you are still on the waiting list, you might want to try The Last Chance Library  where a lonely librarian June Jones in a sleepy English village, joins a band of eccentric yet dedicated locals in a campaign to save the library, including old school friend Alex Chen, a successful lawyer newly back in town,  This is BBC  documentary producer Freya Sampson's debut novel.

 * *  = 2 starred reviews