RaveLibrary JournalKnausgaard’s achievement in this novel is to combine Scandinavian crime fiction with science fiction, while integrating discussions of religion, philosophy, neurobiology, and music. A highly readable and compelling work by a major and prolific novelist.
Elif Shafak
RaveLibrary JournalShafak vividly narrates the theft of artifacts, war, colonialism, environmental crises, and genocide. From her extensive research, she raises critical questions about one’s connection to and responsibility for the past in this highly readable and engrossing novel.
Marguerite Duras, trans. by Emma Ramadan and Olivia Baes
PositiveLibrary JournalWhile this early work is less taut than her best novels, Duras plumbs the harshness of Francine’s life and the catastrophic effect that Francine’s detachment has on those around her.
Cristina de Stefano, tr. Gregory Conti
PositiveLibrary JournalMany have written on Maria Montessori’s pedagogical method of individualized learning; following five years of research, De Stefano focuses instead on Montessori’s remarkable life ... De Stefano presents a balanced, well-written, and clear-eyed portrait of a complex, trailblazing woman who fought hard to change how children were perceived and taught.
Peter Handke, tr. Krishna Winston
RaveLibrary JournalEvery experience here becomes part of Handke’s gorgeous, multilayered tapestry ... Handke’s work was first published in 2017 in German, and this excellent English translation highlights the picaresque nature of the story. Alexia is an appealing vagabond as she moves from one episode to another, and Handke is a marvel at capturing and digging deeply into the history, sights, sounds, smells, and feel of France, which comes alive in his masterly hands.
Per Petterson, Tr. Ingvild Burkey
RaveLibrary JournalPetterson has written a beautifully nuanced, deeply felt, and powerful story of survival.
Jonas Eika, tr. Sherilyn Nicolette Hellberg
PositiveLibrary JournalSet in a dystopian universe, the stories describe each character’s attempt to find meaning and intimacy as an antidote to loneliness and alienation. Eika’s ability to combine foreboding with magic realism generates excitement in this English-language debut.
Pajtim Statovci, tr. David Hackston
RaveLibrary JournalWinner of the Finlandia Prize, this novel by the Kosovo-born Finnish author Statovci...vividly describes the devastating effects of war. A harrowing and breathtaking book about abandonment, cruelty, and desire.
Elly Fishman
PositiveLibrary JournalThe author adopts a \'fly on the wall\' approach, sharing the voices of students ... The students shed light on the collision between their cultures and their lives in America ... Educators and general readers alike will find this vividly intimate work insightful.
John Woodrow Cox
PositiveLibrary JournalCox draws from extensive data and from poignant stories ... The author also cogently considers issues surrounding the Second Amendment and investigates the successful attempts by the NRA to influence legislation and research ... A carefully reasoned, compelling, and persuasive study of a crisis that requires immediate attention.
Semezdin Mehmedinovic, tr. Celia Hawkesworth
PositiveLibrary JournalA stunning, thoughtful, and powerful discourse on identity, survival, and memory.
Gabriela Cabezón Cámara tr. Frances Riddle
RaveLibrary JournalOriginally published in Spanish in 2009, this English translation from Riddle is rich in characterization and energy. As with Cabezón Cámara’s most recent novel, The Adventures of China Iron, which was short-listed for the 2020 International Booker Prize, Argentina takes center stage, as does the LBGTQ community. Cámara has a powerful voice, one to be taken seriously.
Marieke Lucas Rijneveld, trans. by Michele Hutchison
PositiveLibrary Journal... poetic and layered, building tension as it moves toward its devastating and catastrophic conclusion. Dutch poet Rijneveld penetrates her characters with unflinching, razor-sharp intensity as they wrestle with issues of religion, sex, and death, making for a difficult if ultimately rewarding read.
Auður Ava Ólafsdóttir
PositiveLibrary JournalÓlafsdóttir...paints a vivid portrait of Iceland: cold weather, volcanic eruptions, northern lights, whale hunting, darkness, sexism, and homophobia ... In this excellent introduction to her work, Ólafsdóttir creates a world where either escape or hiding one\'s true nature are the only choices
Ian Williams
PositiveLibrary Journal... the family narrative allows Williams to dig deeply into the culture and events of the time ... Williams creatively and masterfully intersperses poetry, dialog, humor, pregnant asides, music lyrics, and descriptive passages to reveal what is going on inside the characters’ heads and outside in the world around them ... There is a breathless quality to the novel, and at times Williams appears to take on too much. Nevertheless, this work successfully examines major themes of empathy, responsibility, secrecy, race, multiculturalism, misogyny, and honesty.
Diane Ravitch
RaveLibrary JournalIn this incisive, meticulously researched book, Ravitch...argues persuasively that the U.S. school privatization movement has resulted in poor test scores, the closure of public schools, and attacks on the teaching profession ... This extensive analysis is required reading for anyone concerned about American education.
Aravind Adiga
RaveLibrary JournalWith documentary precision, Adiga portrays the exploitation, risks, danger, paranoia, dreadful living conditions, and psychological stress faced by undocumented refugees ... Like Valeria Luiselli in Lost Children Archive, Adiga bears witness to the disruption, pain, and hardship inherent in needing to leave one’s country and find refuge elsewhere. Highly recommended.
Andrew David MacDonald
PositiveLibrary JournalMacDonald covers very difficult terrain: poverty, lack of health care, violence, child abuse, abandonment, and alcoholism ... In this well-written and compelling novel, MacDonald conveys Zelda\'s particular challenges and succeeds in bringing her to life.
