RaveBooklistAs the story meanders from Firenze, Alabama, to New York City and Jamaica to Paris, it is filled with characters who become a global family for American-born artist Chris, who travels to Jamaica, his mother’s island, to quietly paint and mourn for his wife. McKenzie uses multiple points of view to portray a strong cast of characters ... The writing is evocative, capturing vivid details in descriptions of a ride on a new highway to Kaya Bay and Chris’s feelings when he sees Monet’s Camille sur son lit de mort, scenes finely balanced, with brisk storytelling that makes each character’s experiences engrossing.
Porochista Khakpour
PositiveBooklistWith a focus on race and ethnicity, Khakpour chronicles her gradual coming to terms with her Iranian familial history and delves into the anxiety of being brown skinned in America. Alternately conflicted and confident, excited and anxious, indulgent and exasperated, Khakpour engages with her complex Iranian American heritage with vibrancy and candor ... She offers keen insights into her life in Los Angeles and New York, zeroing in on writers’ vulnerabilities and preoccupations, including financial worries. Khakpour’s willingness to reveal the less than shiny aspects of her past makes her essays richer; her thematic focus on immigrant identity, class, and race make this collection illuminating and rewarding as she demonstrates from varied perspectives just how the personal inevitably becomes the political.
Erin Khar
PositiveBooklist[Khar] is very effective in recapturing the irrational nature of spiraling addiction and the unique misery of self-loathing during relapses after treatment. Her descriptions of her relationships, including those with her parents, and her evolution in how she handles them, create a compelling context for her feelings of isolation. The connection between childhood trauma, mental health concerns, and addiction in Khar’s story makes for a very challenging read as does her sense of tragic loss during the years lost to bad choices. Khar doesn’t sugar coat her dysfunctional periods, and this forthrightness goes a long way towards achieving her stated goal of helping to destigmatize opioid addiction. Khar acknowledges that her memoir provides but one window into the epidemic, but it does reveal the complexity of each individual case, thus giving a human face to a national crisis.
Leila Aboulela
RaveBooklistThe spiritual journey trope is engagingly executed ... Once again, [Aboulela\'s] ability to sensitively capture the inner-outer lives of Muslim immigrant women in Scotland shines ... Each well-developed plot line deepens characterization, while Aboulela’s interweaving of Muslim and Celtic fables via the sacred hoopoe bird, adds another dimension to the story and offers a sense of connection between the two traditions and the past and present.
Kimmery Martin
PositiveBooklistMartin’s second novel...combines strong storytelling with interesting characters and compelling themes and offers a discussion-worthy, layered read ... How medical ethics, social stigma regarding sexual orientation and gender identity, sexual harassment, and religious beliefs intersect with medical choices are some of the big questions Martin addresses, while at the center of the story is the beautiful friendship between Georgia and family doctor Jonah Tsukada, who is gay. Martin’s trademark witty repartee makes her characters fun to be with, and she both entertains and tackles thought-provoking questions of honor and integrity in a world where facts matter little, and where the besieged are tempted to adopt the sneaky strategies of opponents to beat them at their own game.
Vikram Paralkar
PositiveBooklistEach nameless character is drawn with psychological depth and layered motivations. Paralkar, a physician-scientist, melds medical realism and metaphysical debate, wry humor and somber observations to create a riveting and intriguing tale.
Carola Saavedra, Trans. by Daniel Hahn
PositiveBooklist... [an] unsettling whirlpool of a read ... Saavedra’s writing, particularly in the raw and vulnerable epistles, feels relentless and evocative in Hahn’s translation and creates intensity inside this tale shaped by characters strongly preoccupied with words and meaning. Thematically layered and psychologically demanding, this is a book for readers willing to explore uneasy relationship dynamics.
Golnaz Hashemzadeh Bonde, trans. by Elizabeth Clark Wessel
RaveBooklistThe unapologetic acknowledgment of Nahid’s anger feels authentic, and the intensity of her character is magnetic and fully captures the reader’s attention ... Bonde demonstrates great deftness in her depiction of the turns of events both during Iran’s revolution and in the struggles the refugee family faces in Sweden, but she absolutely shines in her remarkable characterizations ... a must-read.
Angie Cruz
RaveBooklistCruz masterfully provides insight into the 1960s Dominican immigration to the U.S ... Cruz is consistently strong in her characterization and treats everyone from the desperately ambitious Mama to the conflicted Juan with empathy, while Ana is her crowning achievement as she emerges from girlhood to become a resolute and focused young woman ... This is not an immigrant tale about magically achieving the American dream or any other successes; instead it captures the gritty reality of starting out in a new land with no real footholds. In Ana’s fierce dreams for her child, and Juan’s tender hopes for the next generation, Cruz creates an unforgettable portrayal of immigrant motivation. Cruz’s ability to create mood and atmosphere with her distinctive writing style make her a strong voice in Dominican American literature.
Emiliano Monge, Trans. by Frank Wynne
RaveBooklist\"The relentless pace and vivid language, dynamically translated into English by Wynne, and including phrases from Dante and quotes from actual migrants, brings home the physical and emotional anxiety of those who have risked everything in the faint hope of a better life across the border ... In a remarkable literary feat, this tale of the dire events of one day illuminates the past, the present, and the future. While many questions remain unanswered at the end, this is a comprehensive drama of the human potential for violence and dreams in a fractured land.
Randy Boyagoda
RaveBooklistCanadian writer Boyagoda’s ambitious new novel takes on academia, religion, politics, terrorism, international business, and immigrant identity ... Boyagoda delivers a winning combination of academic satire and sociopolitical commentary that leaves readers facing grim reality and acknowledging the irrationality of it all. Globally aware and witty, this is the opening title in a projected trilogy and a tale that offers a fascinating new perspective on journeys of faith and contemporary intellectual pursuits.
Chanelle Benz
RaveBooklistBenz’s first novel combines brisk plotting and striking characterization to provide a compelling read. The layers, voices, and perspectives make this much more than the story of a woman trying to understand her father’s death 30 years ago ... Benz uses alternating viewpoints to create a gripping picture of a town in which past and present seem so melded, and race relations play out in very personal stories. While race is front and center as a thematic focus, Benz displays an uncanny ability to draw individual portraits, which means that everyone, from the dog Rufus to Uncle Dee, Jim McGee, and cousin Lola, anchor it in reality.
Jennifer Acker
PositiveBooklist... ambitious in geographical scope and philosophical engagement ... Acker trusts her readers to keep up with challenging ethical theorizing and to be able to handle the unvarnished truth about her characters. As the family struggles with some shocking secrets during a crisis-driven get-together in Nairobi, they also grapple with issues of identity, heritage, family dysfunction, emotional intimacy, and aspirations. The backstory of the original migration of the family from Gujarat, India, to the African continent offers fascinating insights into the social hierarchies of colonial Africa. Acker presents a complex and compelling tale that offers the possibility of resolutions while boldly acknowledging the restless imperfections of relationships.
Max Porter
PositiveBooklist...delivers quite the punch with its combination of unlikely effervescence, authentic emotion, and literary exploration. Deliberate without being obvious ... Porter builds a complex but eminently readable story in which he considers the nature of trust, parenting, and community. The author’s deftness in rendering typical contemporary reactions to the situation while also delving into the past and the imagination reveals the depth of human life and the fine line between the mystical and the everyday. Porter has created both an entertaining tale and a novel of exceptionally creative experimentation and genre extension.
Leila Aboulela
RaveBooklist...[a] compelling collection ... Avoiding an overtly political tone, Aboulela nonetheless sets out to challenge preconceptions and the uneasy intersection of the West with the rest of the world. She captures details with passionate focus ... Connected by a consistent authenticity, these stories display a virtuosity in building on the most relatable emotional hooks ... remarkable.
Mia Couto
PositiveBooklistCouto evokes a quality of lingering sadness and dramatizes his characters’ searches for something beyond. His descriptions of landscapes and people have the power and mystery of the best style of folklore. The strength of his characters, whether he’s portraying an old math professor exploring love, a cross-dressing neighbor, or a businessman creating a happy communal space as a gift to God‚ is most apparent in how with few words their varied lives become relatable. Becker’s translation conveys Couto’s precise use of language to capture the innately elusive nature of human experience.
Morris Collins
PositiveBooklistVivid in the visual detail a photographer would gather, Collins’ politically complex and psychologically intense tale demands the reader’s complete submersion in a decaying world in which the lines between good and evil sway and vanish ... Though the plot twists like that of a thriller and authentic characters keep the story moving, Collins’ underlying theme of why choices are made and what the consequences are makes for a philosophically compelling read.
Sophia Shalmiyev
PositiveBooklistAn elegy for lost mothers and lost homes and a consideration of the complexity of national and religious identities and gender roles. A feminist framework underpins a narrative peppered with references to Western art and literature from ancient to modern times and extended by many thoughtful detours. The author’s own apparently dueling instincts as a mother and writer are examined with unflinching forthrightness.
Will McGrath
RaveBooklistMcGrath’s memoir...is an endearing combination of insightful commentary and sympathetic comedy. This is a book in the best tradition of travel writing as it offers an outsider’s take on a culture with a genuine appreciation for cultural and social differences. Lesotho comes alive as a nation that has the feel of a small community ... laugh-out-loud moments are balanced by heart-warming interludes, and altogether, this is an illuminating and enjoyable read that reminds readers of the essential oneness of humanity.
Wayne Grady
PositiveBooklistAll the complexity of race and relationships is laid out in Grady’s novel ... This is a moving and eye-opening reminder of history’s deep scars. In the best tradition of Toni Morrison and Colson Whitehead, Grady brings home the truth that there are no simplistic ways to combat and overcome deep-rooted hate and fear.
Gaël Faye, Trans. by Sarah Ardizzone
PositiveBooklistThe Tutsi-Hutu violence, the notion of identity to a biracial child, and the impossible choices of those living in troubled territories are all explored in a straightforward style befitting a young narrator. ...presents a world where there are no easy demarcations of good and evil, sane and insane, or pure and corrupted ... capturing the full impact of social and political disintegration.
Akin Kumarasamy
RaveBooklistKumarasamy’s brilliant collection of interlinked short stories is a masterful combination of strong, insightful storytelling and tangential political commentary ... The themes are as ambitious in scope as the sprawling canvas .. [a] must read collection.
Mia Couto Trans. by David Brookshaw
RaveBooklist Online\"Couto’s mastery lies in his ability to turn his exploration of this slice of history into a commentary on all of human civilization. Richly translated by Brookshaw in words that suggest more than they say, Couto’s tale evokes a sense of timelessness, especially in the world seen through Imani’s eyes. An intriguing combination of folklore, history, and magic realism, and the first in a trilogy, this is a novel to be read and reread, savored and analyzed as Couto writes \'the names of the dead. So that they may be born again in the footprints we leave.\'\
Kimmery Martin
RaveBooklistMartin’s debut novel, about pediatric cardiologist Zadie Anson and trauma surgeon Emma Colley, is a medical drama executed with just the right balance of intensity, plot twists, tragedy, and humor ... Though the story is definitely a page-turner, Martin’s humorous scenes of parenting failures, evocative settings, and realistic re-creation of the urgency of medical situations make this a remarkably absorbing read as well.
Charmaine Craig
RaveBooklistWhether Craig is describing the family’s escape through the jungle during WWII or student protests in 1962, she transports us to the thick of the conflicts. Though this story is specifically Burmese, the references to the influence of British, American, and communist players emphasizes the intertwined histories of nations, of alliances both widely known and forgotten. Based on real lives, Craig’s historical novel challenges our assumptions about everything from beauty queens to rebels and reminds us that the course of a nation’s history is often determined by the fallibility of individuals.
