January 10, 2026
The characters gathered here are a group of eccentrics: maladjusted, often at a crossroads, skeptical about life, unsure of their futures, making bad (or at least misfortunate) choices that change the course of their lives—in other words, deeply human. Both humor and sadness abound. Wishing you a bountiful 2026 as we offer the first newsletter of the new year.
Happy reading,
Melanie Fleishman
Buyer, The Center for Fiction Bookstore
Featured Books
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This Is Where the Serpent Lives
By DANIYAL MUEENUDDIN
Published by KNOPF
A tour de force! We begin in the ’50s in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, with an orphan boy working in a tea stall—then travel 60 years into the future as he becomes a trusted chauffeur on the luxurious estate of a wealthy family in Lahore. The cast includes the colonel, his boss; an American-educated nephew; his cousins; a woman loved by two members of the extended family; and eventually the son of a gardener who concludes the story. This novel of culture and class, filled with vivid dialogue and trenchant psychological exploration, is both mesmerizing and heartbreaking.
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Lost Lambs
By MADELINE CASH
Published by FSG
Not since The Virgin Suicides or The Corrections has there been a novel that hits the mark of a dysfunctional family in the middle of crisis so accurately. The author has said she was inspired by Franzen and also the film Eyes Wide Shut, so you can imagine the wild ride she takes you on. The three daughters are the protagonists, raised by rather clueless parents whom we meet as their mom pursues infidelity with their neighbor and their dad becomes involved with a church support group called Lost Lambs (and their moderator). Everyone acts up and out. It is a rollicking debut, and a smart piece of high-lit entertainment, not to be missed.
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Call Me Ishmaelle
By XIAOLU GUO
Published by BLACK CAT
Even the whales are given voice in this reinterpretation of Melville’s classic novel. Here, Ishmaelle is a young British woman who hops a whaling ship in New York, masquerading as a cabin boy, searching for “freedom of the seas.” Consorting with monks, a one-legged Black captain (Ahab’s stand-in) obsessed with finding the white whale, and a Polynesian harpoonist, offers the author an opportunity to explore identity and race. A native Chinese writer residing in England, Guo plays with language—the monologues of her characters are delightful. She also explores Taoist philosophy while examining the theme of man vs. nature. A captivating homage to one of our most enduring pieces of literature.
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Jean
By MADELEINE DUNNIGAN
Published by W.W. NORTON
Compton Manor is a “remedial school for boys” in England where our Jewish protagonist, Jean, is 17, poor, and on scholarship. He’s a loner who loves Bruce Lee and sometimes punches other boys or sets things on fire. This is not his first boarding school. In his last summer here, he has no idea what the future holds. But then there is Tom, another student, who teaches him to fish and to whom he’s wildly attracted. This debut is a beautifully rendered coming-of-age story, not without heartbreak and some tragedy. The prose is eloquent, the descriptions memorable (“the sun is a piece of sherbet”), and the story is potent and poignant.
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The Rest of Our Lives
By BEN MARKOVITS
Published by SUMMIT BOOKS
A midlife crisis book that the author summarizes as “father drops daughter at uni, keeps driving.” Empty-nest dread catalyzes this extremely tender story, which was shortlisted for the 2025 Booker Prize. We are inside the head of Tom, the husband of the family, as he takes off impetuously on a solo road trip. He’d meant to stay in the marriage (after his wife’s brief infidelity a dozen years back) only until his daughter left for college. What he discovers on this adventure, as he reconnects with old friends, his son, and others, is that a long overdue examination of the self has shaken his foundation. It’s an intimate story with surprising power.
