6 minute read
GIRLS THEY WRITE SONGS ABOUT by Carlene Bauer
i’ll be you
writing might have offered more emotional heft. However, if the characters do behave as expected, the book places them within an unending cycle of leaving and coming, illustrating the point that when colonists occupy and then abandon a country, autocracy and other humanitarian disasters ensue.
The author does a good job connecting the dots between his characters’ stories and the negative consequences of colonialism.
GIRLS THEY WRITE SONGS ABOUT
Bauer, Carlene Farrar, Straus and Giroux (320 pp.) $27.00 | June 21, 2022 978-0-374-28226-4
A deep friendship takes shape and dissolves in New York City. “Rose and I moved to New York to be motherless,” begins narrator Charlotte as she sweeps us into the idealism of her 20s in the late-1990s New York literary scene. She and Rose meet in the office of a music magazine where Rose—intense, ambitious, erratic—works in the staff writer position for which Charlotte—meticulous, careful, self-effacing—was passed over. What begins as professional and sexual jealousy morphs into an intimate friendship as the two bond over their commitment to independence and artistic integrity. Alcohol-soaked parties, abortions, marriages, affairs, a divorce, a death in the family, secrets, and betrayals all ensue, related with such cleareyed precision and honesty that only on the rarest of occasions does it tip over into sentimentality. Charlotte’s narration rings true for the discerning writer and editor she is; the prose is razor-sharp and utterly devoid of clutter. Though as a person she drifts and waffles—“What did we want?” is a common refrain throughout—as a storyteller, she never loses focus. Motherless though Charlotte had once aspired to be, as her 20s turn into her 30s and early 40s, the question of motherhood creeps in, whether from her surroundings in stroller-laden Park Slope, from friendships that drift when children arrive, or from a confrontation with the child of a married man with whom she’s had an affair. With deftness and candor, Bauer tells a moving and thoughtful story of how desire and ambition change over time and how to make sense of the messiness of carving out a path and life of one’s own.
A smart and beautifully rendered portrait of two women’s lives.
I’LL BE YOU
Brown, Janelle Random House (368 pp.) $28.00 | April 26, 2022 978-0-525-47918-5
A suspenseful account of twin sisters and their secret lives. Sam and Elli are identical twins who spent their childhood years, and then their teenage ones, as actors. Now grown, they’ve also grown apart—Elli in the direction of a husband, a career as a florist, and an upper-middle-class life; Sam in a downward spiral of addiction. Then Sam, one year sober—a year in which she hasn’t spoken with Elli— gets a call from their parents: Elli has gone away to some sort of spa; could Sam help out with the little girl she adopted? Sam arrives to find everything slightly awry: Elli’s incommunicado, their mother’s in denial, and meanwhile, Sam finds some worrying paperwork at Elli’s house. What’s this organization Elli’s
been giving large sums of money to? Brown weaves together all these strands into a delicious work of intrigue and suspense. Sam narrates the first part of the novel, which deftly alternates between the present and the twins’ days of fame in the past. Elli narrates the second part, and while their voices sound rather too similar, Brown adroitly explores their individual psychologies—their very different interests, needs, motivations, and, ultimately, their reactions to their early careers. The prose is smooth and fluid throughout, and if the story occasionally gets bogged down in the twins’ backstory, that complaint is a minor one. Overall, the narrative sprints ahead. You won’t want to stop reading until you find out what’s happened.
Minor flaws don’t slow the forward propulsion of this compelling novel.
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Aimee Parkison
Suburban Death Project
“… master of the uncanny … ”
Harold Jaffe “… tales that echo like prophecy … ”
Sarah Blackman
Suburban Death Project Aimee Parkison
Sometimes at night, I venture into the yard to stand beside the decaying pontoon
boat. That’s how I first saw the neighborhood ambassador owl and realized the
owl was calling to me, letting itself be known as owls rarely do. I wanted to explain
to the owl it was too late for me. I no longer went on trips to search for nests in
caves, tree hollows, bridges, and buildings. Gone were my childhood visits to caves
littered with droppings, pellets scattered amid golden-brown feathers.
12 STORIES OF DISTURBING BRILLIANCE
Harold Jaffe
Fulbright and NEA Fellow, Author of 28 books
TM
Contact the publisher regarding rights through unboundedition.com.
THE TUESDAY NIGHT SURVIVORS’ CLUB
Cahoon, Lynn Lyrical Press (212 pp.) $7.99 paper | June 14, 2022 978-1-51611-113-8
The prolific Cahoon introduces a sterling new heroine in cancer survivor Rarity Cole. Rarity’s left St. Louis behind, along with the boyfriend who dumped her when she was diagnosed with breast cancer, and opened a bookstore in Sedona, Arizona, where her high school bestie, Sam Aarons, owns a crystal shop. She decides to organize a book club for cancer survivors. The first night, only Shirley Prescott shows up, but slowly she builds a diverse group, including Sam as an honorary member. Some are into alternative treatments; others, like Martha Redding, are very private. Sam invites Rarity along on a group hike led by attractive and personable Archer Ender. There, she meets the Andersons, a couple who become some of her best customers. Rarity, who’s thinking of adopting a dog, ends up with one in a very odd way when detective Drew Anderson calls on her to talk about Martha, who’s gone missing, and she offers to take in Martha’s dog, a diminutive Yorkie, Killer. When Martha’s found murdered, Killer becomes Rarity’s constant companion, and the Tuesday night book club adds sleuthing to their profile. Drew, who’s warming up to Sam, is unhappy about their plans and enlists his old friend Archer to keep an eye on Rarity. Meanwhile, group members offer possible suspects from Martha’s boyfriend to the staff at an alternative cancer treatment center Martha attended. Romance is in the air for Rarity and Sam, but it doesn’t distract them from following up clues to unmask a killer.
The author uses her own experience with cancer to pen a mystery/romance with an authentic feel.
ONE OF THE GIRLS
Clarke, Lucy Putnam (432 pp.) $27.00 | June 28, 2022 978-0-593-42264-9
An idyllic Greek island is the unlikely setting for the destination bachelorette party from hell. Six women, 30-something London professionals, gather on the fictional island of Aegos for a long weekend’s “hen do.” Bella, self-appointed maid of honor to bride-to-be Lexi, her childhood best friend, organizes the bacchanal held at the villa owned by the aunt of Bella’s girlfriend, Fen. We know from the beginning that on the last day of the party, someone will die, but as to who, the only clue is “her red wrap” protruding from a body bag. Pay close attention to the walled terrace of the villa, which abuts a cliff overlooking a rocky shore. The conceit
