July 6, 2024
These five novels address disappearances. There is a suburban Long Island kidnapping inspired by true events; a community whose residents are vanishing; two members of a family who go missing a dozen years apart; a missing brother who has been presumed dead by his invisible sister; and a rollicking Western that, like Cyrano de Bergerac, features an invisible man behind letters of courtship that lead to trouble.
Happy reading,
Melanie Fleishman
Buyer, The Center for Fiction Bookstore
Featured Books
-
.
The Heart in Winter
By KEVIN BARRY
Published by DOUBLEDAY
It is the late 1800s in Montana and our Irish narrator, Tom Rourke, is a ghostwriter for other men’s mail-order brides. But when Polly arrives for her husband, it is love at first sight for both Polly and Tom. Soon they are on the run—like Bonnie and Clyde by way of the Coen brothers. Heading for San Francisco they steal a horse, hide in a woodland forest, eat magic mushrooms, have rollicking sex, meet a grieving reverend who marries them, all while trying to survive. This picaresque Western shows celebrated Irish writer Barry’s gifts in full bloom: the sentence-by-sentence thrills, the wry humor, and the affection for his star-crossed lovers.
-
.
State of Paradise
By LAURA VAN DEN BERG
Published by FSG
Van den Berg’s fiction often has a dark, unpredictable side so, unsurprisingly, everything in her new novel is askew. The protagonist, a ghostwriter, has returned to her Florida roots during the pandemic to be near her family. While she attempts to finish an assignment, her sister (who lives next door) and the community become fascinated by a virtual reality program called Mind’s Eye. Then people start to disappear. This pithy, speculative novel in which Florida is a lizard-ridden, sultry character, is both unnerving and intimate.
.
-
.
This Great Hemisphere
By MATEO ASKARIPOUR
Published by DUTTON
Welcome back to the fertile imagination of Askaripour (Black Buck). In his second novel he moves into the future to investigate the nature of power—with a terrific first chapter introducing our protagonist as she is being born. She is one of the invisibles, literally. In the Great Hemisphere these citizens are on a low rung—a perfect metaphor for people who do not feel seen, as is the case here with Slim. She also has a missing brother who is wanted for the murder of an important politician. Askaripour has built a fascinating world, with nods to the past and the present, and, of course, Ralph Ellison.
-
.
Long Island Compromise
By TAFFY BRODESSER-AKNER
Published by RANDOM HOUSE
Hard to follow up the great success of Fleishman Is in Trouble, but never fear. Brodesser-Akner’s pitch-perfect depictions of affluent, problematic Jewish characters is on full display in a story about one family and the 1980 kidnapping that is at the root of all their difficulties. Though father Carl was returned to his family (his wife, two young sons, and a daughter), they each have processed the trauma into the ensuing decades in their own way. This razor-sharp portrait of how they cope individually and together—and the role wealth plays in their lives—has moments of hilarity and heart that are the hallmarks of the author’s bestsellerdom.
.
-
.
The God of the Woods
By LIZ MOORE
Published by RIVERHEAD
Moore’s novels are literary page-turners. And what better time to read a fat, juicy one than in July? Set in an upstate New York woodland paradise, Camp Emerson has been around for generations. When the story first opens one early morning, the owner’s daughter, Barbara, is not in her bunk. This is doubly concerning as some years back Barbara’s brother went missing from the camp and remains so. The news will affect everyone: the parents, the campers, the counselors, and the staff. The juxtaposition of a camp for wealthy kids within a blue-collar community heightens the suspense and the worry of a bad outcome. It will keep you on your toes.
