RaveLibrary JournalLennon’s distinctly modern voice adds levity and wit to this highly recommended narrative about the tragic aftermath of war and the tragic beauty of the human condition.
Ed Park
RaveLibrary Journal\"Park’s magnum opus of the Korean diaspora ... this playfully serious must-read is highly recommended.\
E. Lily Yu
RaveLibrary JournalAn astonishing collection of stories ranging from the merely beautiful to the complex articulation of magic. Run, don’t walk, to get a hold of this transformative text.
Andrew Krivak
RaveLibrary JournalThis intensely readable whopper of a book provides a nuanced perspective on the human struggle to survive war through the lens of Hungary and the Roma people. The mystical connection to family and nature across space and time in the form of a bear provides a special twist.
Ethan Chatagnier
PositiveLibrary JournalA compelling bildungsroman, set in a fictional past, that examines the interplay of obsession and personal relationships and reads like Jaroslav Kalfar’s Spaceman of Bohemia meets Mary Doria Russell’s The Sparrow in its intersection of alternate space history, alien life, and singing.
Jonathan Escoffery
RaveLibrary JournalCompelling ... Unique insight into issues of race and belonging ... A revelatory work.
David Santos Donaldson
RaveLibrary JournalDonaldson communicates complex issues of race and sexuality in a nuanced and multifaceted narrative ... Perceptive and personal, this compelling novel eloquently clarifies ongoing issues of race and racism while authentically telling a unique story. Highly recommended.
John Waters
PositiveLibrary Journal... nothing short of stunningly outrageous—a nonstop smorgasbord of theft, deceit, and rancor fueled by an unrelenting, unabashedly sexualized comic genius ... recommended for intrepid readers cognizant of satire.
Alexandra Kleeman
PositiveLibrary Journalhis chilling novel explores how artificial solutions can lead to even greater problems, with potentially dire consequences for humanity. Highly recommended.
Ailsa McFarlane
MixedLibrary JournalIn a debut novel of subtlety and incompleteness...McFarlane lushly describes Anne Marie\'s interior life and struggles ... The narrative is replete with brooding description and a sense of studied ennui. A detachment from a real sense of place causes a feeling of floating through amorphous existence. Recommended for fans of the indeterminate.
Rivka Galchen
RaveLibrary JournalIn this compelling look at women’s rights and the invented crime of witchcraft, the surprise is that the perseverance of the accused shifts the focus from victimhood to basic mortality and the challenge of dealing with death and illness before a coherent understanding of disease existed. Highly recommended for fans of history, science, and the human condition.
Alex McElroy
RaveLibrary JournalA droll tale of self-examination and self-help run amok, culminating in an unexpected conclusion. Highly recommended.
Alex Landragin
RaveLibrary Journal... highly imaginative ... This novel is outstanding for its sheer inventiveness. The alternative ordering of chapters creates a tension that heightens the awareness of the interlocking aspects of time and space, while deft writing seduces the reader in a complex tale of pursuit, denial, and retribution moving from past to future. Highly recommended
William T. Vollmann
PositiveLibrary Journal... reflects the author’s dark view of humanity but also manages to reflect some light ... This novel is premised on a powerful notion of a love magic that is severely tested in a laboratory of desperate human desire; highly recommended for those who like the scenic route home.
Gish Jen
PositiveLibrary JournalThis intriguing departure from Jen...tells a dire tale of nonconformity in a world gone mad ... Though her talent and aplomb win out in a satisfying conclusion, Gwen struggles with the inequality and oppression of AutoAmerica, and readers will be left wondering whether we are living in such a culture today. Highly recommended for discerning readers.
C Pam Zhang
PositiveLibrary JournalThis moving tale of family, gold, and freedom rings with a truth that defies rosy preconceptions. The description of human and environmental degradation is balanced by shining characters who persevere greatly. Highly recommended.
Douglas Stuart
RaveLibrary Journal... [a] compulsively readable debut novel ... In exquisite detail, the book describes the devastating dysfunction in Shuggie’s family, centering on his mother’s alcoholism and his father’s infidelities, which are skillfully related from a child’s viewpoint. It also shows how daily trauma within the family wrecks a child’s psyche ... As it beautifully and shockingly illustrates how Shuggie ends up alone, this novel offers a testament to the indomitable human spirit. Very highly recommended.
Jeanette Winterson
RaveLibrary Journal... bold and humorous ... The forthright description of nonbinary choice forms a replete example of embracing transgender experience, and both Victor Stein and Victor Frankenstein are finally shown to be illusory characters, adding spookiness. Highly recommended.
Pajtim Statovci, Trans. by David Hackston
RaveLibrary JournalThis intense and captivating book ... [offers] a strong character study and a larger look at society ... An excellent and evocative novel about intersection of migration and gender.
Dror Burstein, Trans. by Gabriel Levin
PositiveLibrary JournalThe context of subjugated cultures provides incisive commentary about state power and control, repeatedly expressed in authoritarian name changing ... Gritty realism intermixes with historical allusion, allowing the work to function on various levels. The transmogrification of ancient events into a modern context creates a gripping world of hyperrealistic abandon; recommended for intrepid readers.
Sergio De La Pava
RaveLibrary Journal\"One of the most ambitious, audacious books of recent memory ... this novel is stuffed with various plots and subplots, making it nearly impossible to summarize in a concise, satisfactory way. Getting lost in all these ideas—and all the ways in which they intersect, connect, and reflect—is one of the great joys of reading this novel ... a book that entertains and informs, and begs you read it again in order to better envision the scope and import of a work that so successfully undertakes such a wide pallet of ideas and emotions, opening up new possibilities for the novel, for humanity, for protest.\
