August is the height of escapism season. But before we get to that, put up with a few worthy serious things. It includes a memoir about growing up, an account of a Los Angeles Times reporter who tried hard for college, and a biography of George Michael. troubled life.
The rest may not be traditional beach material, but they all offer pleasure.Digital life is represented in both non-fiction and fiction.Internet fandom and sweeping information about video game designers Plus a short story by Hilary Mantell, an epic new novel by Alice Eliot Dark, and a beautifully composed poetry debut by Paul Tolan. And perhaps the perfect escape: his fourth novel in the detective series offers character research along with its central murder plot.
— John Williams
Fairbanks writes about South Africa in the years after apartheid mainly through the experiences of three people. her mother, Dipuo; and Christo, a white lawyer who worked as a soldier in the apartheid regime before it collapsed.
Simon & Schuster | $27.99
In this fictional love letter to the joys of collaboration, MIT and Harvard students enter the arena of literary game-building, with hilarious and sometimes heartbreaking consequences.
The fourth mystery featuring Jinnan, who has a stall at Taipei’s Shilin Night Market, is an immersive and thrilling read. This isn’t because of the murder that drives the plot, but because of the way Lin emphasizes the inner conflicts of her characters.
Soho Crime | $27.95
Singer comes out as a gifted but infuriating figure in this fascinating biography. A man whose tortured relationship with his sexuality has driven him into artistic turmoil and self-destruction.
Abrams Press | $32.50
In this comprehensive, all-encompassing novel, a pair of lifelong friends (now in their 80s) struggle to determine the future of a peninsula in Maine that has been passed down in their families for generations. . The decision becomes a referendum on their various choices and loyalties to each other.
Marysue Rucci/Scribner | $28.99
This elegantly composed debut poetry collection is filled with passages about writing about poetry as a way of making meaning. As a result, ambivalent dance with beauty resists glorifying trauma, as Tran (like Randall Jarrell) questions the possibility of turning pain into art.
Penguin Poet | Paper, $18
Mantell’s collection of short stories (first published in the UK in 2003) is all about growing up, and in the Booker Prize-winning author’s world, there is nothing sweet about childhood. Every young person we meet is trapped by a power greater than himself. Yet Mantell’s writings bring impetus and urgency to even the darkest tales.
A journalist for The Los Angeles Times elaborated on the narrative of the report over the course of 16 months, ultimately producing an LA Noir-style account of exploitation, depravity and greed.
Celadon | $29.99
Technology reporter Tiffany traces the shifting landscape of fangirls across cultures, following an inner fandom battle (“Vicious and exhilarating, like college football except it’s funny”).
MCD x FSG Originals | Paper, $18
Brobby’s memoirs detail his coming of age in rural North Dakota. Being homosexual brought threats of expulsion and violence. We examine the history and the damage done to the landscape he came to love.