When We Cease to Understand The WorldBenjamín Labatut, trans. from the Spanish by Adrian Nathan West. New York Review Books, $18.95 trade paper (192p) ISBN 978-1-68137-566-3
Reading like an episodic digest, Chilean writer Labatut’s stylish English-language debut offers an embellished, heretical, and thoroughly engrossing account of the personalities and creative madness that gave rise to some of the 20th century’s greatest scientific discoveries. Labatut begins with Pru... Continue reading »
The Darkness KnowsArnoldur Indridason, trans. from the Icelandic by Victoria Cribb. Minotaur, $27.99 (352p) ISBN 978-1-250-76546-8
At the start of Indridason’s superb sequel to 2017’s The Shadow District, a melting glacier reveals the body of Reykjavík businessman Sigurvin, who has been missing for 30 years. The discovery comes as a shock to retired detective Konrád, who worked on the case back then, and leads to the r... Continue reading »
The CabinetUn Su Kim, trans. from the Korean by Sean Lin Halbert. Angry Robot, $14.99 trade paper (304p) ISBN 978-0-85766-917-9
Though Kim’s second novel, The Plotters, was his first work translated into English, this brilliant mosaic novel was his debut in South Korea and is now available in English in a faithful and charismatic translation. Mr. Kong is an everyman office worker who organizes and oversees Cabinet 1... Continue reading »
A Certain AppealVanessa King. Putnam, $16 trade paper (368p) ISBN 978-0-593-33071-5
King’s irresistible debut gives Pride and Prejudice a fresh look, transplanting the classic story to the sexy, sequined world of a contemporary burlesque club. Liz Bennet lands in New York after a professional betrayal crushes her interior design dreams in Los Angeles. She finds an unexpect... Continue reading »
The Day the Klan Came to TownBill Campbell and Bizhan Khodabandeh. PM, $15.95 trade paper (128p) ISBN 978-1-62963-872-0
Strength in solidarity is the prevailing theme of this galvanizing graphic dramatization by Campbell (Baaaad Muthaz) of a real-life clash between residents of Carnegie, Penn., and the KKK in 1923. Cabbriele, an Italian immigrant haunted by the memory of being tormented by a lynch mob (“We d... Continue reading »
Twice Alive: An Ecology of IntimaciesForrest Gander. New Directions, $16.95 trade paper (96p) ISBN 978-0-8112-3029-2
Gander’s resonant 15th collection (after Be With) vibrates with the thrill that comes with being open with another person. There are several poems titled “Sangam Acoustics” (sangam being “a gathering of individuals united in spirit”); aubades; a series titled “The Redwoods,” in whi... Continue reading »
Under the Bayou MoonValerie Frasier Luesse. Revell, $15.99 trade paper (352p) ISBN 978-0-8007-3751-1
Luesse (Missing Isaac) charms with this excellent post-WWII love story set in the bayous of Atchafalaya Basin. Cajun Raphe Broussard is raising his nephew Remy on his own when Ellie Fields, the town’s new schoolteacher, arrives from Alabama. Unlike previous teachers, who all wanted to beat ... Continue reading »
Who Says I Can’t: The Astonishing Story of a Fearless LifeRob Mendez. Harper Horizon, $27.99 (256p) ISBN 978-0-7852-3940-6
In this immensely spirited debut, Mendez, winner of the ESPYs’ Jimmy V Award for Perseverance, reflects on achieving his life’s dream of being a successful high school football coach in spite of the odds against him. Born with an extremely rare condition called tetra-Amelia syndrome, Mendez has live... Continue reading »
What Do You Say?: How to Talk with Kids to Build Motivation, Stress Tolerance, and a Happy HomeNed Johnson and William Stixrud. Viking, $28 (304p) ISBN 978-1-984880-36-9
Neuropsychologist Stixrud and test prep tutor Johnson team up again (after The Self-Driven Child) for this on-target guide to talking to children. “Focusing on effective communication with our kids is a powerful way to grow our relationship with them,” they write, and across nine chapters m... Continue reading »
Where the Light FellPhilip Yancey. Convergent, $28 (320p) ISBN 978-0-593-23850-9
Christian writer Yancey (What’s So Amazing About Grace?) excavates his roots in the fundamentalist South in the 1950s and ’60s in this gripping memoir. Yancey was a year old when his preacher father died of polio after asking to be removed from treatment, expecting faith would heal him. Lef... Continue reading »
In the Wild LightJeff Zentner. Crown, $17.99 (432p) ISBN 978-1-5247-2024-7
After discovering a bacteria-eating mold in a local cave, two high school sophomores are offered full scholarships to a prestigious academy in Zentner’s (Rayne & Delilah’s Midnite Matinee) tender novel of love and loss. Introspective nature lover Cash Pruitt and science-minded genius Delane... Continue reading »
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