If you didn’t know The Study Circle was a debut novel before you read it, I guarantee you never would’ve guessed. I certainly didn’t. Haroun Khan’s first novel is raw in subject matter and sophisticated in style. In an essay titled “My Political Novel”, Khan explains how the novel was a written over a two-year period.
‘Her father died instantly, her mother in the hospital.’ (pg. 1) With a first sentence like this, it’s clear that Spanish author Andrés Barba has no intention of making his novella, Such Small Hands, a simple or happy read. Barba’s previous writings have won him a handful of Spanish prizes, and I’d be surprised if
Loss. Desire. Passion. Love. Death. All of these topics have been tackled in poetry for as long as it’s been written. You would think that there would be no more room for poems of the like. Think again. Anne Michaels details these themes, and more, in her newest collection, All We Saw. The Canadian poet
Have you ever wondered why sex is such a taboo? Youtuber Hannah Witton has. Her new book, Doing It, is a bold rejection of the secrecy surrounding sex and similar topics. Not shy of discussing sexting, masturbation, porn, or even her own messy breakups, Hannah offers answers to questions we’ve all thought about but perhaps
One kiss can change everything. Ann Patchett’s seventh novel, Commonwealth, begins in 1964, when Albert Cousins locks lips with Beverly Keating at her daughter’s christening party. Both Cousins and Keating are married to another, and the book explores how their kiss binds the two families. The novel tells parallel stories: at once the narrative of
If a novel is based on a true story, does that mean it mirrors reality or replicates its every detail, every twist and turn, wink and word? Based on a True Story by multi-award-winning French author Delphine de Vigan has us asking this, and similar questions, on every one of its 300-something pages. Her novel, translated
Men Without Women is a collection of seven stories about, as its title predicts, men without women. But, if you’re even mildly familiar with contemporary Japanese author Haruki Murakami, you’ll know that is not all he has to offer. The tales detail men with and without women. He explores the intricacies of the relationship between
One murder. Six stories. One podcast. Six versions of a memory. One murderer. Six possibilities. British author Matt Wesolowski is known for short horror fiction. Although his first nove lSix Stories possesses some elements of horror, it is more of a psychological thriller meets whodunit murder mystery, with echoes of the paranormal. A modern-day version
Things We Lost in the Fire, a twelve story collection by Argentinian author Mariana Enriquez, captures the spirit of the author’s home country. After two novels, a novella, and a volume of travel writing, this short story collection is the first of the author’s work to appear in English, translated by Megan McDowell. A detailed
Think of Tree Magic as a tree. A great big oak, or a fir, or the beech at the end of your garden that gave you the scar on your knee. Look at its leaves and branches, and you will find a story about a young girl, Rainbow, who discovers she can communicate with trees.
