Books with buzz Free Press literary editor picks a dozen noteworthy titles for early 2019
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 03/01/2019 (2187 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
Last year proved to be an exciting one for readers of both fiction and non-fiction. From the runaway success of Esi Eduygan’s novel Washington Black (both in Canada and elsewhere) to the deluge of Trump-related books to the continued rise in popularity of graphic novels and more, it was a year that saw sales at book stores continue to climb — and with good reason.
Rather than wait around for titles by big-name authors slated to drop new writing later this year (Margaret Atwood’s sequel to The Handmaid’s Tale called The Testaments, a memoir by Michelle Obama’s husband and — dare we say it? — a new instalment in the A Game of Thrones series from George R. R. Martin… maybe), here are a dozen books set to be published over the next few months that are sure to garner some significant buzz…
Merchants of Truth: The Business of News and the Fight for Facts
By Jill Abramson
February 5
Former New York Times executive editor Jill Abramson looks at the advances of two established (the Times and the Washington Post) and two more recent (Vice, Buzzfeed) media outlets, the way they have handled their respective audiences as well as the people reporting on and reading the stories they are creating.
Black Leopard, Red Wolf
By Marlon James
February 5
James follows up his Booker Prize-winning A Brief History of Seven Killings with the first novel of his Dark Star trilogy. The first of the three books introduces Tracer, an African hunter who goes against his better judgment and joins a group that has converged to seek out a boy who disappeared three years prior.
Bowlaway
By Elizabeth McCracken
February 5
The Austin, Texas-based McCracken (The Giant’s House, Thunderstruck and Other Stories) returns with an epic family novel spanning the 20th century, detailing three generations of a Massachusetts whose matriarch dies and leaves the fate of the family bowling alley in limbo.
The Source of Self-Regard: Selected Essays, Speeches, and Meditations
By Toni Morrison
February 12
One of the most poignant modern literary voices, the Pulitzer Prize winning Toni Morrison (Beloved, Jazz, The Bluest Eye) delivers a collection of essays and ruminations spanning four decades and which tackle a wide range of issues such as the role of the artist, 9/11, female empowerment, the notion of the “foreigner” and more.
The Threat: How the FBI Protects America in the Age of Terror and Trump
By Andrew McCabe
February 19
Fired by U.S. President Donald Trump less than two days before he was slated to retire, the ex-deputy chief of the FBI recalls the time between Trump’s inauguration and his firing in explicit detail, outlines the role the FBI plays in relation to national security and ponders the threat Trump poses to the nation.
Gingerbread
By Helen Oyeyemi
March 5
In her new novel, the London-based Boy, Snow, Bird author invites readers into the world of the Lee family — the young Perdita and her working mother, Harriet, whose gingerbread is a transcendental delight. When Perdita sets out to find Harriet’s long lost friend Gretel, a surreal telling of Harriet’s back story ensues.
Immigrant City and Other Stories
By David Bezmozgis
March 12
The first short-fiction collection in a decade from the Toronto-based Giller finalist (The Betrayers, Natasha and Other Stories) explores the lives of a cross-section of immigrants to Canada, new Canadians and visitors to the country in this exploration of place, family, belonging and home.
The Parade
By Dave Eggers
March 19
The latest novel by the prolific San Francisco author (The Circle, The Monk of Mokha) tells the story of two men with wildly different personalities who are sent to a recently war-torn country to perform a dangerous task — build a highway that connects numerous villages with the country’s capital.
Little Boy
By Lawrence Ferlinghetti
March 19
The 99-year-old author, who kept company with the most prominent Beat poets, delivers what publicists are calling his “literary last will and testament” — a novel that traces a life through the Second World War, scholarly pursuits in Paris, the life of a poet, our uncertain future and more.
Normal People
By Sally Rooney
April 16
The Dublin-based Rooney (Conversations with Friends) made the Booker Prize long list with Normal People last year. The novel follows Connell and Marianne, who run in different circles of friends throughout school and struggle to hide their irrefutable, irresistible connection to each other.
Machines Like Me
By Ian McEwan
April 23
Set in an alternative 1980s London much different than that of real life (Britain lost the Falklands War, for example), the latest novel from McEwan (Atonement, The Comfort of Strangers) sees a love-struck Charlie buy a first-wave synthetic human to try to help spur a complex love triangle with the woman he loves.
No Walls and the Recurring Dream
By Ani DiFranco
May 7
The New York-based singer, songwriter and activist’s memoir focuses on her life between ages 18 to 30, when DiFranco became an underground feminist folk sensation, started her own record label and managed to eschew convention and the mainstream while retaining a devoted legion of fans.
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Locals keeping busy
A number of Manitoba’s best writers will see new material published later this year…
Various authors/illustrators — This Place: 150 Years Retold (May 1)
Michael J. Clark — Mahoney’s Camaro: A Crime Novel (May 28)
David Elias — Elizabeth of Bohemia: A Novel about Elizabeth Stuart, the Winter Queen (June 4)
David Alexander Robertson — Ghosts (Sept. 1)
Joan Thomas — Five Wives (Sept. 3)
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