The Braid, Laetitia Colombani, Atria – Laetitia Colombani’s most inspiring novel, “The Braid,” takes us on a breathtaking journey, laced with valuable historical perspectives of three women facing different obstacles, mostly obscure, and almost beyond our comprehension
Ghost Stories, Edited by Morton & Klinger, Pegasus Books – It was in the 18th century, after the Civll War and World War I, when a growing interest in communicating with the war dead spawned a new religion: “Spiritualism.” That in turn prompted emergence of ghost stories.
From Scratch, Tembi Locke, Simon & Schuster – Actor and TEDx speaker Tembi Locke’s memoir, “From Scratch,” is a documentation of a complicated journey of a Black American whose Sicilian husband is disowned by his family who objected to their biracial marriage.
Walt Whitman Speaks, Brenda Wineapple Editor, Library of America, – The Library of America marked Walt Whitman’s bicentennial by releasing a condensed version of his final thoughts on “life, writing, spirituality and the promise of America” in a pocketbook entitled, “Walt Whitman Speaks.”
A Fist or A Heart, Kristin EirÍkssdòttir, Amazon Crossing – Award-winning Icelandic author KristÍn EirÍkssdòttir debuts her English-language novel, “A Fist or A Heart,” about a complex relationship between two women, linked in a bizarre way to a famous writer.
The Murmur of Bees, Sofia Segovia, Amazon Crossing – Sofìa Segovia’s magical realism novel, “The Murmur of Bees,” is masterfully absorbing, and laced with delicious prose. Her characters are likewise captivating, so their journey becomes very personal.
The End of Loneliness, Benedict Wells, Penguin Books – A mournful, tragic family saga written by German novelist Benedict Wells and translated by Charlotte Collins, “The End of Loneliness” follows lives of three children during a 30-year period beginning in 1980 after their parents die in an automobile accident.
Chelsea Girls, Fiona Davis, Random House – The historical novel, “Chelsea Girls,” verifies the old adage that history repeats itself. Fiona Davis’ drama unfolds during McCarthyism when entertainers living in the New York Chelsea Hotel were without evidence targeted for subversive practice and blacklisted as “communists” and “socialists.”
Ann Petry The Street, The Narrows, Farah Jasmine Griffin Editor – The Library of America has published two mind-boggling novels written by African-American Ann Petry, mostly obscure in the white-dominated 1940s-50s. Her acute observation and insight into human consciousness and foundations of racism in white-mainstream USA is profoundly provocative.
The Daughter’s Tale, Armando Lucas Correa, Atria Books – Armando Lucas Correa’s powerful and sorrowful novel, “The Daughter’s Tale,” returns us to the rise of Nazism in Germany, told through the eyes of young Jewish girl. It’s based on a true account of a woman who was 14 years old when her parents were dispatched to a death camp.
