November 18, 2023
As we approach the holiday season, there are some stellar books still to come. This week, two novels tackle a group effort to save the world. In one, travel back to the future in an exploration of the pitfalls of greed; in another, a rising star returns with an investigation into the consequences of dropping out of society. Plus, we have two notable novels in translation from international writers, and a major new biography of an American classic. Also—congratulations! To the National Book Award winner for Fiction: Justin Torres.
Happy reading,
Melanie Fleishman
Buyer, The Center for Fiction Bookstore
Featured Books
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The Future
By Naomi Alderman
Published by Simon & Schuster
In Alderman’s latest, she imagines a future in which only the richest people can secure safety and survival. Not so fast. The Future is an ironic title given the fact that from the outset of the book the end of civilization is near. Populated with evil billionaires, social media giants, survivalists, ex-cult members, and refugees, four characters attempt to save the world from the avarice of tech titans. And as in her previous bestseller The Power, it is an examination of the abuse of power—fast paced, bursting with clever dialogue and, this time, even a little hope for the future.
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Her Side of the Story
By Alba de Céspedes
Published by Astra House
Translated by Jill Foulston
First published in 1949, this excellent new translation of de Céspedes’s work follows Forbidden Notebook, which we featured in this column in January. From an early age Alessandra rebelled against the power of the patriarchy. When she falls in love with like-minded anti-fascist Fransceso, she hopes his admiration of her independence and political activism will give their relationship a more equal footing but alas, that is not to be. The novel delivers a powerful message of the plight of women in that time and place. Elena Ferrante, also an Italian neorealist, is a great enthusiast of her work and provides an afterword.
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The New Naturals
By Gabriel Bump
Published by Algonquin Books
Rio and Gibraltar are having an existential crisis. They are disillusioned academics, fed up with Boston. Searching for a raison d’être after the loss of their baby, Rio envisions a utopian commune, underground—with like-minded, disgruntled seekers coming together, all races welcome. Bump attacks what’s wrong in the world as these disparate characters (including a former soccer star and two homeless people) attempt to build a better society. Of course, it is not that simple. There is a serious underlying message here, but the surface is highly entertaining with lots of bon mots and alcohol in a story about finding what’s important.
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The Most Secret Memory of Men
By Mohamed Mbougar Sarr
Published by Laura Vergnaud
Sarr’s novel, which won France’s 2021 Prix Goncourt, is based on a prominent Malian writer called Ouologuem who was accused of plagiarism in 1968. The Most Secret Memory of Men is narrated by a young Senegalese writer in exile in Paris who goes down a “dusty trail” to find out whatever happened to T.C. Elimane who disappeared, along with his masterpiece. “The ease of his farewell to the sun fascinates me.” The novel develops into a spirited coming-of-age story beginning with a chance meeting with an aging doyenne of letters in whose boudoir he discovers a copy of the lost novel. Literary mystery at its very best.
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Chasing Bright Medusas
By Benjamin Taylor
Published by Viking
Taylor’s warmhearted biography reminds us that Willa Cather may be even more relevant today than after her 1947 death. From her Nebraska childhood, she was moved by the melting pot of immigrants in (her words), “a place where refugees from old, sad countries were given another chance.” She was fiercely independent, and always aspired to (and expected to) become famous. Her straightforward romanticization of the frontier imbued enduring classics like her Great Plains Trilogy (O Pioneers!, The Song of the Lark, and My Antonia). Not only a lovey paean to a valued America writer, it will also inspire you to return to her extraordinary books.
