November 20, 2021
This week marks the publication of a landmark book of Black history, one that is sure to change the conversation about slavery and should be essential reading for everyone. In addition, we have a strong new fiction collection about the Black experience by one of our best storytellers, two cunningly plotted European novels in translation, and a book of essays you’ll want by your bedside.
Happy reading,
Melanie Fleishman
Buyer, The Center for Fiction Bookstore
Featured Books
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The 1619 Project
By NIKOLE HANNAH-JONES
Published by ONE WORLD
You might recall this project from its original serialization in the New York Times two years ago. Spearheaded by Pulitzer Prize-winner Nikole Hannah-Jones, it is a landmark study of the origins of slavery and how it has directed the history of America. 1619 is the year that the first slaves arrived in Virginia, and 400 years later we are still discussing how racism began in this country as well as examining its legacy. This “new origin story,” expanded with essays by Claudia Rankine, Jesmyn Ward, Ibram X. Kendi, Lynne Nottage, and Kiese Laymon among others, has stimulated a reevaluation of one of the fieriest topics of our day.
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Look for Me and I'll Be Gone
By JOHN EDGAR WIDEMAN
Published by SCRIBNER
Wideman’s stellar new collection features tales of family and loss. Shout-outs to his beloved Pittsburgh and James Baldwin are scattered throughout the stories, as well as an acknowledgement of the specter of violence and prison. A favorite is “Arizona,” which I read in The New Yorker exactly 2 years ago. It is written in the form of a letter to Freddie Jackson, whose song “You Are My Lady” from 1985 keeps playing in the narrator’s head as he ponders the fate of his 15-year-old son arrested for murder and headed to jail in Flagstaff. The story, as with the rest of the collection, has so many layers, warranting successive readings to take everything in.
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Trust
By DOMENICO STARNONE
Published by EUROPA EDITIONS
Translated by Jhumpa Lahiri
Trust is the third “T” title to be published in the U.S. from contemporary Italian master Starnone (Trick, Ties). It is a cleverly structured novel in which a game meant to bring a bickering romantic couple closer together, joining them forever with confessional secrets, goes awry. Instead of sealing their bond it accomplishes the opposite. And yet they remain hauntingly connected. Starnone, with over twenty novels behind him, reached English-speaking audiences primarily through the happy union of novelist and translator. Lahiri’s deft prose has given this experimental, award-winning writer a broader voice here in America.
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The Anomaly
By HERVÉ LE TELLIER
Published by OTHER PRESS
Another novel that plays with the dualities of inner and outer selves is Le Tellier’s Anomaly. His 2019 memoir All Happy Families introduced this author to an American audience. In 2020, Anomaly was awarded the Prix Goncourt, France’s highest literary prize. A mélange of thriller, fantasy and futurism, it takes place mostly on a Paris-New York flight. The passengers include a gay pop star, a contract killer and a writer on the brink of success; all of them have something to hide. But they unexpectedly find themselves in quite a different world when they land at JFK. This much-anticipated novel was well worth the wait.
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These Precious Days
By ANN PATCHETT
Published by HARPER
Ann Patchett’s essays are as enjoyable to read as her stories and novels. She is an insatiable and passionate observer, as you will see in these wide-ranging pieces. They embrace such topics as a surprising friendship (Tom Hanks’s assistant) and a discovery of middle grade literature (Kate DiCamillo’s novels that she swears changed her life). Her warmth as a person infuses each story. These essays are intimate and witty; they make the reader feel as though they are sitting down with an old friend.
