afterlifeAbdulrazak Gurnah (Riverhead, 23 August)
Ghana, who won the Nobel Prize in Literature last year, often deals with themes of exile and exile in his writings. His latest novel follows three characters in 1900s German-occupied East Africa. Ilyas joins the German army. His sister, Afiyah, who was raised by his best friend after he left. and Hamza, another ex-soldier who returns from war and falls in love with Afiya.
One of Edie Sedgwick’s sisters dives into the star’s life and career in this deep personal history. “We’re trying to figure out exactly what happened when Eddie got with Andy. [Warhol],” she writes. I think it’s connected to the present.”
Dead End Memories: Story, Banana Yoshimoto. Translated by Asa Yoneda. (Counterpoint, August 9)
First published in Japan in 2003 and newly available here, the collection contains many of Yoshimoto’s signature themes: lonely women, betrayal, relationship turmoil, and grace. increase.
Void Diary, Emi Yagi. Translated by David Boyd and Lucy North. (Vikings, August 9)
In this debut novel, the lone woman in a Tokyo office falsifies her pregnancy to avoid unwanted work at work. When she starts lying (disguising her growing belly and tracking the growth of her “baby”), her story reaches a dimension of utter absurdity.
In her prime, Kiki de Montparnasse was the star of Paris’ bohemian district. She was a surrealist movie star, a noted painter, and a glowing nightclub star. But now she’s often overshadowed by her relationship with Man Ray. , but that’s not all — and delves deeper into their relationship.
the last white manby Mohsin Hamid (Riverhead, 2 August)
In this latest novel by the author of “Exit West,” Anders, a white man, wakes up to find that his skin has changed to a “deep, unmistakable brown.” As more people in the community begin to undergo similar transformations, calculations about power and justice begin.
In 1940s Los Angeles, Maria works as a producer at a film studio set up after fleeing Italy many years earlier. Her boss, her Artie, is out of luck, has run out of money, and has her business at odds with her partner. Previous He was summoned to testify before Congress. When World War II breaks out, the studio becomes a haven for all kinds of exiles (actors, writers, exiles).
What happens when the parent-child relationship is reversed? A novelist and critic, Tillman cared for her mother as she neared her death. The book captures her changing emotions and her responsibilities in lavish detail.
mount chicagoby Adam Levin (Doubleday, 9 August)
In this novel, a Chicago comedian confronts an unimaginable tragedy. Art opens a sinkhole under his institute and nearly everyone in the family dies. In his grief, he meets a longtime fan who works in the mayor’s office. Heartache, urban politics, and humor abound, as well as inspiring writing from a nervous parrot’s point of view.
In this debut novel, a queer young black man leaves his comfortable home life in Indianapolis for New York in the 1980s. New York provides a thrilling and sometimes maddening political and social backdrop to his development.
Macy’s 2018 book “Dopesick” tracked Purdue Pharma’s role in the opioid crisis. Here she focuses on those on the front lines fighting overdose — nurses and pastors.
yoga, by Emmanuel Carrer. Translated by John Lambert. (Farrar, Straus & Giroux, August 2nd)
Carrer wanted to write “a subtle little book about yoga,” he says in this semi-autobiographical new novel. But the story goes beyond that. Dissolution of his romantic relationship. depression and other personal grief; and ultimately, how meditation and writing share information with each other.