General Fiction
And So I Roar.
By Abi Daré.
Aug. 2024. 400p. Dutton, $28 (9780593186558).
Get comfortable and grab a box of tissues, because Daré is back with the eagerly anticipated sequel to The Girl with the Louding Voice (2020). The night before 14-year-old Adunni goes to school in Lagos, a day she’s been dreaming of for years, two elders from her village arrive to drag her back to the past she spent a year running from. Her guardian, Ms. Tia, is also swept into the turmoil, forced to choose between uncovering a dark secret that has weighed her down for 20 years or saving Adunni. Adunni, caught in a society that undervalues young girls and the women they become, is about to discover how far her “louding voice” can reach. In And I Roar, Daré expands the narrative beyond Adunni and her trials to encompass the stories of multiple girls and women, from diverse classes and cultures, caught in the tension between tradition and modernity. Daré’s work embraces contemporary ideas and stylistic choices while honoring the foundation they are built on. She respects the beauty of Nigerian culture but does not shy away from critiquing its harmful parts, particularly the disempowerment of young women. Daré delivers a gut-wrenching reminder that every woman has a lion inside her waiting to break free. —Enobong Tommelleo
YA: YA fans of Daré’s first novel will be eager to reunite with Adunni. ET.
The Anthropologists.
By Ayşegül Savaş.
July 2024. 192p. Bloomsbury, $24.99 (9781639733064).
The quirkily charming latest novel from Savas (White on White, 2021) follows a young married couple, expatriates from two different countries. Living in an unnamed city, presumably in western Europe, they attempt to ground themselves more deeply in adulthood and find a new apartment to share. Asya, who narrates the novel, has received a grant to make a documentary film following the various people who frequent a local park—despite her grandmother’s advice: “Forget about daily life… No one cares about that.” Asya’s husband, Manu, has a more conventional job at a nonprofit. When not apartment shopping, they go out for drinks with friends, fret about the mental health of an elderly neighbor, deal with visits from their interfering parents, and contemplate, from a vague distance, the possibility of parenthood. Savas delicately balances humor with pathos, supplying the droll details that make these ordinary lives shimmer as Asya and Manu gradually but inexorably change over the course of time.
—Margaret Quamme
Anyone’s Ghost.
By August Thompson.
July 2024. 320p. Penguin, $28 (9780593656563); e-book (9780593656570).
After his parents’ divorce, Theron David Alden moved to L.A. with his mom. Now 15, unsure of who he is and trying to outgrow the childhood nickname Davey, he spends the summer back in rural New Hampshire with his father. Theron’s dad gets him a job at a local hardware store, where he meets Jake, a 16-year-old from Texas who is everything Theron wants to be. The boys are fast friends, spending their days stealing petty cash, driving around, and drinking in the parking lot outside Walmart. Theron recognizes his feelings for Jake expanding beyond the platonic, though Jake is engaged to his fiancée, Jess, who’s back in Texas. When the summer comes to an abrupt end, each boy leaves New Hampshire behind. Reuniting nearly a decade later in New York to see one of their favorite bands, both men have settled into themselves yet struggle with similar demons. With beautifully crafted prose and lived-in dialogue, Thompson’s debut novel captures the joy and agony of first love alongside the struggle to understand and become oneself.
—Laura Chanoux
YA: Teens will connect with Thompson’s incisive coming-of-age story. LC.
The Axeman’s Carnival.
By Catherine Chidgey.
Aug. 2024. 336p. Europa, paper, $18 (9798889660224).
Up in the high country of New Zealand, a magpie is born. Shortly after his birth, he is rescued by a human named Marnie. Marnie feeds him and watches over him, and soon the magpie, named Tamagotchi (Tama for short), begins to speak human words. At first, Marnie’s husband, Rob, does not want Tama around, but when Tama becomes an internet sensation and a potential way to make money, he relents. Marnie and Rob’s marriage, strained by money troubles and Rob’s drinking, begins to calm down, but the pressure of the Axeman’s Carnival at the end of the season drives Rob toward drink, and he, Tama, and Marnie collide forcefully, resulting in consequences for the family that will leave the entire community shaken. Chidgey (Pet, 2023) is back with another tragic, gorgeous, and top-notch novel. The Axeman’s Carnival is a stunning and captivating story about the pressures of farming life and the meaning of family, and Chidgey is at the absolute top of her game.
—Lily Hunter
Black Butterflies.
By Priscilla Morris.
Aug. 2024. 288p. Knopf, $28 (9780593801857).
Inspired by family stories, this stunning debut from Priscilla Morris paints an unforgettable portrait of an artist and her community under siege in 1990s Sarajevo. Shortlisted for several awards, including the Women’s Prize for Fiction, the novel follows Zora Kočović, a “painter of bridges,” who loves her multicultural city and refuses to believe growing political tension will ever break into violence. Even as snipers appear on rooftops, streets are blockaded, and bombs fall from the sky, she struggles to reconcile the Sarajevo she knows with reality. She stays behind while her husband and mother flee, experiencing an artistic revival now that she only has herself to care for. But as the seasons change, the siege intensifies, and Zora’s disbelief transforms into horror. Now, to stay sane, she must believe that “the war and Sarajevo are all there is.” Cut off from the outside world with little food, water, or electricity, Zora and her neighbors rely on each other to survive. Their resilience in the face of brutality is moving; the bridges they have built between Muslim, Croat, and Serb hold fast. This astonishing novel will linger with readers long after the last page. Morris’ exceptional storytelling marks her as a writer to watch.
—Rebecca Hopman
Burn.
By Peter Heller.
Aug. 2024. 304p. Knopf, $28 (9780593801628); e-book (9780593801635).
On their annual hunt in northern Maine this year, young men Jess and Storey are following a trail of cataclysmic events that has left entire towns decimated by fire or explosions—they aren’t sure which or why. Their longing for escape ratchets up another level when they come upon a young castaway who also needs to find home. Amidst this uncertainty and these fearsome events, Jess finds an opportunity to reflect on past loss, grief, and missed opportunities and to face the choices he’s made. Heller’s (The Guide, 2021) somewhat dystopian narrative hints at our recent viral pandemic and civil divisiveness—which in the novel takes the form of unionists versus secessionists—as well as the horrifying violence our country is capable of. Heller takes time as well to highlight the unique importance and strong bond of male friendship. He excels at nature writing too, with lush, sensuous descriptions of beautiful rural landscapes that are illustrative of an author clearly at home in the outdoors.
—Lillian Dabney
Clickbait.
By Holly Baxter.
Aug. 2024. 336p. HarperPerennial, paper, $18.99 (9780063375765).
Baxter’s debut is a portrait of a misanthropic yet wry thirtysomething trying in vain to fix her life. Natasha Bailey has lost her position as a features reporter after writing an article while drunk. In it, she described intimate details about a young, good-looking British swimmer, which got her canceled online. After her husband subsequently divorces her, Natasha finds an apartment in Rockaway Beach, Queens, and accepts a demotion to content writer. She spends her days writing clickbait articles, pushing out stories as fast as she can, but internet commenters continue to trash her whenever they see her byline. Natasha struggles to remain close to her best friend and her sister, but her own explosive reactivity sabotages her efforts. She’s living in a tumultuous world of her own making, and she will have to change if she ever wants a life she can be proud of. Recommend to readers of She’s a Killer (2023), and anyone who enjoys stories of adults refusing to grow up.
—Cari Dubiel
Evenings and Weekends.
By Oisín McKenna.
July 2024. 352p. Mariner, $30 (9780063319974).
During one scorching weekend, longtime couple Maggie and Ed prepare to trade their moldy London flat for a place in Basildon, the hometown they once eagerly left. Maggie still hasn’t told her best friend, Phil, also from Basildon, rightly suspecting he’ll be shocked, and especially by the reason: she’s pregnant. Phil thinks there’s things about Ed that Maggie should know, and struggles to express his deep and true feelings to Keith, who’s in an open relationship. Phil’s mom, Rosaleen, wants to tell him about her recent diagnosis, but she also wants them to simply enjoy each other’s company. Perhaps neither is possible. Meanwhile, a baffling disaster dominates the city: a whale is caught in the Thames. The web of characters expands at times to include more minor players, like the journalist covering the story, who so resembles the late Diana that she earns the nickname Princess of Whales. Taking place mostly during that weekend, McKenna’s immersive and intoxicating debut is loud with all the things his characters can’t quite say, their rambling, funny, tender, and difficult thoughts like thunder only readers can hear. The rain does come, along with relief in many forms, and readers will eagerly flip pages, chasing it.
—Annie Bostrom
Five-Star Stranger.
By Kat Tang.
Aug. 2024. 240p. Scribner, $27 (9781668050149); e-book (9781668050163).
Tang’s debut shines, marrying hurt and heart in a character readers will root for and connect with. The five-star stranger of the title is our unnamed narrator. He makes his living on an app called Rental Stranger, where app users ask him to masquerade as important people in their lives. He’s been fake fiancés, guests at weddings and funerals, and wing men at parties. Our narrator has even begun a pseudo-relationship with a woman who asks him to act like a character in her novel. But his longest gig has been with Mari and her daughter Lily. He has been playing Lily’s dad since she was a baby, and the arrangement has persisted for years. But now Lily is a preteen and beginning to question why her father only visits on Thursdays. Our narrator has been a stranger for so long. What will happen when he becomes someone they know? In smooth and affecting prose, Tang draws a sharp portrait of the narrator, who has always measured his success by his reviews on the app. When he realizes he can be a different person—his own—this leads to profound change. Suggest to readers of Milena Michiko Flašar’s Mr Katō Plays Family, translated by Caroline Froh (2023).
—Cari Dubiel
From Savagery.
By Alejandra Banca. Tr. by Katie Brown.
Aug. 2024. 272p. Restless, paper, $17 (9781632063588); e-book (9781632063595).
Banca’s collection of interrelated stories, her first book, won the 2024 PEN Translates Award. Translator Brown’s substantial afterword provides context for her nuanced choices. Narrating in an often tenuous first-person voice, Venezuelan immigrant Nanda eviscerates the situations of immigrants striving to survive in Barcelona. Whether scrambling as a bicycle delivery person or drug dealer or in degrading off-the-books jobs on the fringes of superficially paradisiacal (and classist) Barcelonan society, El Loco, Maria Eugenia, and Julio/Julia struggle to support themselves and send money to families struggling in Caracas. They find solace and support in unlikely places among prostitutes, addicts, and fellow immigrants. From the brutal, grotesque, and agonizing experience of Angelica, who is unable to pay for a decent burial for her mother in Venezuela, to Maria Eugenia’s menstrual blood soaking her messenger bike, Banca’s stories are impactful, heartfelt, quintessentially human, and visceral with desperation, trauma, and, finally, compañerismo/solidarity, and even hope.
—Sara Martínez
Glory Days.
By Simon Rich.
July 2024. 224p. Little, Brown, $28 (9780316569002).
Donald Barthelme redefined the short story with his playful, postmodernist set pieces that eschewed traditional characters and plots in favor of extended jokes, philosophical musings, and a heaping helping of irony. Former and writer Rich’s (, 2018) new collection is in that vein. In one story, an aging Super Mario decides to “take-a stock” of his life. In another, Goliath struggles to control the media narrative in the lead-up to his battle with David. “The Mission” is an email exchange between the king of Nigeria and Mark, an older man who wants to send money but has… troubles. Despite the hilarity
