The State We’re In: Maine Stories
Ann Beattie’s signature details—her close observation of contemporary manners, speech, culture, and relationships—are as fresh here as they have always been.
Witch Girl
From Zambian author Tanvi Bush comes the smooth-flowing tale of siblings orphaned by the HIV/AIDS pandemic that swept through Africa beginning in the 1990s. The novel tells the heartbreaking story of a tenacious ten-year-old girl named Luse, whom we meet during her time on the streets of Lusaka.
The Trace
Gander is . . . a poet and these talents are evident in his incredible control of imagery and pacing as he describes his characters and setting.
Midterm
Listen to our podcast of this story here. Midmorning in mid-October, in the middle of the campus, Chandra stopped in the center of the crisscrossing sidewalks. She pulled the phone from her handbag and pretended to be texting someone; she smiled down at the screen as if someone had texted her back. She felt […]
The Last Lover
The novel, which takes place in City B of the western nation Country A, is an uncanny, philosophical, and demanding exploration of love and existence. It follows an ensemble of characters: businessmen, plantation farmers, mistresses, housewives, street-sweepers, and insomniacs.
Itch
While it’s doubtful that Seidenberg’s wager will pay off for most readers, there’s no doubt that Itch will forever reside among the more intensive, audacious and obstinate first novels ever written.
Tribute
While it’s not always clear where the narrative is headed, the book is self-conscious about the trickiness of its form and whether the story is coalescing.
McGlue
The author Ottessa Moshfegh is getting some attention these days, and with good reason.
A Girl Is a Half-Formed Thing
With its staccato opening lines, Eimar McBride’s audacious and harrowing first novel, A Girl Is a Half-Formed Thing, announces its linguistically disruptive intentions . . .
Snow and Shadow
Snow and Shadow, translated from Chinese by Nicky Harman, is a restrained—bordering on disinterested—dreamscape that spends much of its time in the realm of nightmare.