Adam Haslett’s Mothers and Sons, Liz Pelly’s Mood Machine: The Rise of Spotify and the Costs of the Perfect Playlist, and Karissa Chen’s Homeseeking feature among the best reviewed books of the week.
1. Mothers and Sons by Adam Haslett
(Little Brown and Company)
7 Rave
“Masterful … Adam Haslett’s storytelling skill…is on quietly magnificent display as Peter, slowly then more precipitously, begins to come undone … The momentum of the novel builds as long-held misunderstandings and resentments come to the surface, illuminating the meaning of what it means to be a mother, and a son, and culminating with a great sense of a weight lifted, of lightness and air.”
–Marion Wink (The Boston Globe)
2. The Three Lives of Cate Kay by Kate Fagan
(Atria Books)
5 Rave • 1 Positive
“Entrancing … Packs an emotional punch as Fagan thoughtfully explores complex topics including identity, sexuality, ambition and female friendships”
–Stephanie Harrison (BookPage)
3. Homeseeking by Karissa Chen
(G.P. Putnam’s Sons)
3 Rave • 3 Positive • 1 Mixed
“Epic … Ambitious … While it may take a few detours to Google to clarify the occasional word or phrase, the book settles into a compelling narrative that fills in most of the blanks contextually. It’s a small price to pay for admittance to such an auspicious debut.”
–Thane Tierney (BookPage)
**
1. The Waiting Game: The Untold Story of the Women Who Served the Tudor Queens: A History by Nicola Clark
(Pegasus)
2 Rave • 3 Positive
“Clark breathes life into their fascinating stories, tracing the ways that their lives were woven together, and how they claimed what power they could in a world built for men.”
–Michelle Anya Anjirbag (Shelf Awareness)
2. Mood Machine: The Rise of Spotify and the Costs of the Perfect Playlist by Liz Pelly
(Atria)
1 Rave • 4 Positive • 1 Mixed
“A provocative, insightful, disturbing, and well-researched indictment of Spotify, the music industry, and streaming platforms, which daily mine billions of data bits from users to maximize profits and churn out musical formulas. Highly recommended.”
–Dr. Dave Szatmary (Library Journal)
3. The Woman Who Knew Everyone: The Power of Perle Mesta, Washington’s Most Famous Hostess by Meryl Gordon
(Grand Central Publishing)
5 Positive
“Sympathetic and involving … The biography doesn’t elide Mesta’s missteps, from her enthusiasm for former Nazi rocket scientist Wernher von Braun to her occasional style faux pas. But in the end, readers are likely to find Mesta as endearing as her many party guests did.”
–Julia M. Klein (The Washington Post)
