April 11, 2026
Three of this week’s books concern London: an investigation into a mysterious death; a novel exploring friendship and the state of publishing; and a candid memoir by a famous expat who left NYC for the UK. We also feature a collection of short stories by a young writer on the rise, and a story about a mother with measly powers of divination who attempts to impart her wisdom to her disinterested twins.
Happy reading,
Melanie Fleishman
Buyer, The Center for Fiction Bookstore
Featured Books
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Famesick
By LENA DUNHAM
Published by RANDOM HOUSE
Best known for her groundbreaking TV series Girls, Dunham proved, at the tender age of 26, she could handle adult responsibility. It also demonstrated her writer’s chops, capturing coming-of-age in New York. But with fame came doubt, pressure, anxiety, and health problems. According to Dunham, she “never set out to… be an emissary of millennial thought.” For this book, she read countless ‘sick woman’ memoirs and books about chronic pain. New York City-born and -bred, she has relocated to the UK and gotten sober. There is both wisdom and wit here (I loved “No is a complete sentence.”). She remains a passionate person, a lover of books, and very grateful.
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Day Care
By NORA LANGE
Published by TWO DOLLAR RADIO
This audacious first collection by the author of Us Fools contains eighteen stories. Lange has motherhood and marriage on her mind in most of them. Her voice is often caustic and spiky, but it makes you want to have coffee with her. Often, the stories concern self-care, like in “Last Boob Feed,” as a new mother struggles to regain some sanity while she marvels at her baby, “she of the forest.” In the title story, another narrator struggles with composing her dating app—she refuses to take the advice of every woman and instead chooses to just be herself. Comparisons to the dry, sly wit of Joy Williams are apt. Lange is a revelation.
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London Falling
By PATRICK RADDEN KEEFE
Published by KNOPF
New Yorker writer Keefe has taken down big pharma and researched a missing mom during Ireland’s Troubles. His writing is nothing if not compelling and his approach to true-crime stories delivers great insights into the psychology of evil. Keefe’s latest investigates the mysterious death of a 19-year-old teen from a privileged family, who was posing as a Russian oligarch’s son and moonlighting with underworld characters. His grief-stricken parents’ search for answers forms this story about corruption, wealth, gangsters, and, ultimately, tragedy.
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The Palm House
By GWENDOLINE RILEY
Published by NYRB
Riley has an extraordinary talent for dialogue and the natural way friends and lovers speak to each other. In her new novel, we meet Laura and Putnam, longtime friends who share a love of wine, crisps, and gossip. Both are at crossroads. Putnam has given notice after 25 years at the prestigious magazine Sequence. Once thought of as full of promise, the current atmosphere of publishing makes him feel like a dinosaur. Narrator Laura also works at a magazine, but has a messier life. As Riley fills in their backstories, the small accumulation of ordinary moments accrues and, by the novel’s end, you are amazed at the rich portrait the author has produced.
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The Witch
By MARIE NDIAYE
Published by VINTAGE
Translated by Jordan Stump
Lise and Maud are the twin daughters of Lucie, who comes from a long line of witches. Her powers are not exactly formidable. She begins to instruct her girls, but they are not terribly captivated, though they try to put up a good front. Like typical teens, they endure instruction, but, as Maud declares, “No offense, Mama, but really, it’s all so lame.” However, they quickly surpass their mother’s skills of divination and can see into the future and the past. Darkly comic, a little bit surreal, and, well, witchy, NDiaye has produced a hypnotic book that combines the banal and the magical. Shortlisted for this year’s International Booker Prize.
