Books

Spring's 9 Best New Books

Spring's 9 Best New Books
Kirkus Reviews
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Originally posted on Kirkus:

Some of the books we’re most excited about this spring include a World War II novel that focuses on the innate goodness of its major characters; a modern retelling of “Snow White”; and a piercing, empathetic new novel by the author of The Descendants (which became the hit George Clooney movie) about parenthood and unfathomable heartbreak that manages to bring humor and hope to her characters. Not all of the books on this week’s list are in stores or available online just yet (we cite the publication date of every book we review at the bottom of that book’s review page), but they are all worth diving into.

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Spring's Best New Books
'FAMILY LIFE' by Akhil Sharma(01 of08)
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"A moving story of displacement and of the inevitable adjustments one must make when life circumstances change."In Sharma's world, as in Leo Tolstoy's, unhappy families continue to be unhappy in different ways.Read full book review >
'FROG MUSIC' by Emma Donoghue(02 of08)
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"More fine work from one of popular fiction's most talented practitioners."In the sweltering fall of 1876, a San Francisco prostitute tracks a killer and searches for her stolen baby.Read full book review >
'TO RISE AGAIN AT A DECENT HOUR' by Joshua Ferris(03 of08)
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"Strangely astray in The Unnamed, Ferris is back on track here. Smart, sad, hilarious and eloquent, this shows a writer at the top of his game and surpassing the promise of his celebrated debut."A bizarre case of identity theft forces a dentist to question his beliefs in this funny, thought-provoking return to form by Ferris (The Unnamed, 2010, etc.).Read full book review >
'THE POSSIBILITIES' by Kaui Hart Hemmings(04 of08)
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"Emotionally complex and relatable to all, it will be particularly understandable to those who've experienced the inexplicable, devastating loss of a loved one."Three months after an avalanche killed her son, a single mother takes tentative steps toward healing in Hemmings' (The Descendants, 2007, etc.) astute and sensitive examination of relationships, loss and grief.Read full book review >
'ALL THE LIGHT WE CANNOT SEE' by Anthony Doerr(05 of08)
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"Doerr captures the sights and sounds of wartime and focuses, refreshingly, on the innate goodness of his major characters."Doerr presents us with two intricate stories, both of which take place during World War II; late in the novel, inevitably, they intersect.Read full book review >
'LOVERS AT THE CHAMELEON CLUB, PARIS 1932' by Francine Prose(06 of08)
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"Brilliant and dazzling Prose."A tour de force of character, point of view and especially atmosphere, Prose's latest takes place in Paris from the late 1920s till the end of World War II.Read full book review >
'REDEPLOYMENT' by Phil Klay(07 of08)
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"A no-nonsense and informed reckoning with combat."A sharp set of stories, the author's debut, about U.S. soldiers in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars and their aftermaths, with violence and gallows humor dealt out in equal measure.Read full book review >
'BOY, SNOW, BIRD' by Helen Oyeyemi(08 of08)
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Readers who found British author Oyeyemi's Mr. Fox (2011) an intellectual tour de force, but emotionally chilly, will be won over by this riveting, brilliant and emotionally rich retelling of "Snow White" set in 1950s New England.Read full book review >

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