March 11, 2023
Improbable relationships often make for good stories. The occasion for drama is ever-present; comedy and tragedy abound. This week we find duos with disparities in age, background, class, character, personality, and religion—offering the reader a richly diverting selection to choose from.
Happy reading,
Melanie Fleishman
Buyer, The Center for Fiction Bookstore
Featured Books
-
.
Take What You Need
By Idra Novey
Published by Viking
The death of Leah’s estranged ex-stepmother, Jean, draws her out of her New York urban life on a road trip to the rural Allegheny Mountains. She drives with her husband and young son to the small town where she grew up. It appears she has inherited the monumental metal sculptures (á la Louise Bourgeois) that were Jean’s passion as an artist, but also led to her demise. Novey deftly reveals through alternating chapters Leah’s and Jean’s personal histories, their early attachment, their unlikely friendship, and opposing personalities. Can you ever really leave the past behind? And do you really want to?
-
.
Künstlers in Paradise
By Cathleen Schine
Published by Henry Holt
Mamie’s cultured Jewish Viennese family fled to America during the ’30s and started over in Venice Beach, California. Generations later Julian, Mamie’s young grandson, turns up to seek success in Hollywood only to be quarantined with her by the pandemic. She is 93 and tells stories about her glory days and the celebrities she met (Garbo). “Stories recorded not history but what had settled, like tea leaves, in her mind.” He is a rootless college kid who doesn’t have a clue what he wants. Their unlikely relationship makes up Schine’s heartwarming, funny family story—yet another addition to the author’s (The Grammarians) wonderful body of work. This writer always delivers.
.
-
.
Iron Curtain
By Vesna Goldsworthy
Published by W. W. Norton
The child of a high government official from a Soviet country meets a poor English/Irish poet—an implausible couple. Milena came of age in a world of privilege in a country similar to the former Yugoslavia (the author is from there), where her father is a VP. She meets Jason at a literary festival where she is a translator. What follows is a delightful, acerbic look at a fully realized heroine (think Medea) whose attraction begins to curdle, offering an opportunity for sharp observations about the clash between love and hate, East and West.
-
.
Heart Sutra
By Yan Lianke
Published by Grove
Translated by Carlos Rojas
This renowned Chinese satirist is poised to capture even more worldwide awards with his new novel. In his own land, his work is considered politically controversial and is (unofficially) banned. Lianke’s latest features a love story between a nun and a priest spending a year at a religious training institute. This is inherently taboo, and even more problematic since the nun is a Buddhist and the priest a Daoist. Lianke uses this setup as a springboard to explore the complicated relationship between religion and state. Based on a fable, it is also illustrated with beautiful papercuts. If you have not yet discovered this extraordinary writer, start now.
.
-
.
Hello Beautiful
By Ann Napolitano
Published by Dial Press
Napolitano’s (Dear Edward) much-anticipated new novel pays homage to the beloved classic Little Women, updated to contemporary Chicago. There is a warm, loving family of four sisters, and the young suitor for the eldest, Julia. William comes from a cold family, rendered paralyzed by the grief of a lost daughter. So, as opposites attract, William and Julia fall in love in college. The book has a wonderful old-fashioned feel with a satisfying domestic drama based on their mismatched coupling. But, of course, there are dark places that rise to challenge the harmonious union. Napolitano is at her best here, creating a memorable band of characters.
