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There's a reason that spring is many people's favorite season. This year, where winter has been long and bruising for many, spring's renewal has been especially welcome. Of course, for readers, it is also a chance to take a look at the new crop of books and cull promising ones for our reading lists. In this special edition newsletter, we feature a dozen novels to be published in April and early May that are promising to blossom into great reading experiences. We hope you find many to your taste.
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I Refuse: A Novel by Per Petterson Apr 7, 2015. 224 Pages. Published by Graywolf Press With his delicately carved stories about the beauty and trials of childhood, Norwegian author, Per Petterson, is already a regular at BookBrowse. His latest, I Refuse, expands on themes he has visited in previous books to great effect, a tale of friendship and the ripple effects of a chance event on the lives of all involved. With rights sold in sixteen countries, I Refuse will further cement Petterson's reputation as one of Norway's finest novelists. More about this book (we'll review in full in April) |
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The Children's Crusade: A Novel by Ann Packer Apr 7, 2015. 448 Pages. Published by Scribner Ten years ago, Ann Packer delivered the moving The Dive From Clausen's Pier, which explored the aftereffects of a debilitating accident on a still-nascent relationship. Set in what will become Silicon Valley, south of San Francisco, The Children's Crusade looks at the evolution of a family over three decades, at how parents shape young lives and the complicated definition of family - the good and the bad that it brings even into fully formed adult lives. More about this book (we'll review in full in April) |
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Odysseus Abroad: A Novel by Amit Chaudhuri Apr 7, 2015. 224 Pages. Published by Knopf Among the many notable writers from the Indian subcontinent, perhaps Amit Chaudhuri, because of his languorous novels, low on fireworks and with skeletal storylines, is least well known. His latest stays true to form delivering precisely intricate sentences, but with its focus on displacement and coming-of-age in a foreign land, the novel looks to gain the veteran south Asian writer the wider audience he richly deserves. More about this book (we'll review in full in April) |
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Every Fifteen Minutes by Lisa Scottoline Apr 14, 2015. 448 Pages. Published by St. Martin's Press Get an early start to summer reading with this thriller from veteran author, Lisa Scottoline. As Dr. Eric Parrish follows his professional oath of doing no harm and caring for a high-risk teenager who might also be a sociopath, Scottoline explores what happens when the best intentions ride up against uncontrollable circumstances. A dead body and a charge of sexual harassment ratchet up the tension in an already high-voltage novel. More about this book (we'll review in full in April) |
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God Help the Child: A novel by Toni Morrison Apr 21, 2015. 192 Pages. Published by Knopf Fans of Toni Morrison, rejoice! This spare new novel from the Nobel Laureate shows her in fine form. God Help the Child is a searing tale about the way childhood trauma shapes and misshapes the life of the adult. Bride's stunning blue-black skin caused her light-skinned mother to deny her even the simplest forms of love until she told a lie that ruined the life of an innocent woman. The mother takes a lifetime to understand that "what you do to children matters. And they might never forget." More about this book (we'll review in full in April) |
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A God in Ruins: A Todd Family Novel by Kate Atkinson May 5, 2015. 400 Pages. Published by Little Brown & Company Kate Atkinson won a legion of new fans with her dazzling Life After Life, which explored the possibility of infinite chances and the power of choices, following the unforgettable Ursula Todd as she lived through the turbulent events of the last century over and over again. A God in Ruins tells the dramatic story of the 20th Century through Ursula's beloved younger brother Teddy, as he navigates the perils and progress of a rapidly changing world. An ingenious and moving exploration of one ordinary man's path through extraordinary times. More about this book (we'll review in full in April) |
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The Fair Fight: A Novel by Anna Freeman Apr 14, 2015. 480 Pages. Published by Riverhead Books Get a sneak peek into the world of female pugilists and their patrons in late eighteenth-century England. Born in a brothel, Ruth's harsh looks set her on a path of drudgery until she meets pugilist patron George Dryer and discovers her true calling--fighting bare knuckles in the prize rings of Bristol. The Fair Fight is a gripping story about people struggling to transcend the circumstances into which they were born and fighting for their own places in society. More about this book (we'll review in full in April) |
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The Given World: A Novel by Marian Palaia Apr 14, 2015. 304 Pages. Published by Simon & Schuster Look for a crop of novels about the Vietnam war to commemorate the fortieth anniversary of the fall of Saigon. Notable among these is The Given World, a portrait of post-Vietnam America seen through the eyes of teenaged Riley, who comes of age at a time when loved ones were drafted to fight a war that would scar the country's conscience for a long time. Riley navigates a redefined charred landscape to figure out the definition of home. More about this book |
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The Fishermen: A Novel by Chigozie Obioma Apr 14, 2015. 304 Pages. Published by Little Brown & Company A dazzling and viscerally powerful debut, The Fishermen never leaves the Nigerian small town of Akure but the story has enormous universal appeal. Seen through the prism of one family's destiny, this is an essential novel about Africa with all of its contradictions - economic, political, and religious - and the epic beauty of its own culture. Chigozie Obioma emerges as one of the most original new voices of modern African literature, echoing its older generation's masterful storytelling with a contemporary fearlessness and purpose. More about this book |
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The Turner House by Angela Flournoy Apr 14, 2015. 352 Pages. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Motor City's slow spiral into decay affects real families as showcased by the Turners who have lived on Yarrow Street for over fifty years. Having seen life's momentous events, the house still stands despite an embattled city and the inevitable shift outward to the suburbs. When ailing matriarch Viola is forced to leave, the family discovers that the house is worth just a tenth of its mortgage. The Turner children must decide its fate and reckon with how each of their pasts haunts--and shapes--their family's future. More about this book (we'll review in full in April) |
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The Miracle Girl by Andrew Roe Apr 21, 2015. 336 Pages. Published by Algonquin Books Set against the backdrop of the approaching millennium--with all its buzz about reckoning and doom--this impressive debut novel is about young Anabelle, who can supposedly dispense miracles and healing. Author Andrew Roe tells a larger cultural story about the human yearning for the miraculous to be true, about how becoming a believer--in something, anything, even if you don't understand it--can sustain you. More about this book (we'll review in full in April) |
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The Wonder Garden by Lauren Acampora May 5, 2015. 368 Pages. Published by Grove Press In her stunning debut collection, The Wonder Garden, Lauren Acampora lays bare the myriad lives of a suburban town. These linked stories take a trenchant look at the flawed people of Old Cranbury, incisive tales that reveal at each turn the unseen battles we play out behind drawn blinds, the creeping truths from which we distract ourselves, and the massive dreams we haul quietly with us and hold close. Deliciously creepy and masterfully complex The Wonder Garden heralds the arrival of a phenomenal new talent in American fiction. More about this book (we'll review in full in May) |
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