There is a new crop of books springing up again--it is the new books season! Fall always seems particularly promising when it comes to forthcoming new books. I am continually aware that I will never be able to read all the books I want to, but that never slows down my desire to look, borrow and try and squeeze in as many books as I can.
Here is a sampling of what I have been taking note of:
When Time Stopped: A Memoir of My Father's War and What Remains, Ariana Neumann -- "In this remarkably moving memoir Ariana Neumann dives into the secrets of her father’s past: years spent hiding in plain sight in war-torn Berlin, the annihilation of dozens of family members in the Holocaust, and the courageous choice to build anew."
The Light After the War, Anital Abriel -- Yes, I know--so many WWII books these days and I tend to pass them by, but this one sounds more unique. "Inspired by an incredible true story of two Jewish friends who survived the Holocaust, this sweeping novel of love and friendship spans World War II from Budapest to Austria and the postwar years from Naples to Caracas."
My Dark Vanessa, Kate Elizabeth Rusell -- "Exploring the psychological dynamics of the relationship between a precocious yet naïve teenage girl and her magnetic and manipulative teacher, a brilliant, all-consuming read that marks the explosive debut of an extraordinary new writer."
A Long Petal of the Sea, Isabel Allende -- It has been ages since I have read an Allende novel. There was a time when I read everything she published. This one sounds good! "n the late 1930s, civil war grips Spain. When General Franco and his Fascists succeed in overthrowing the government, hundreds of thousands are forced to flee in a treacherous journey over the mountains to the French border. Among them is Roser, a pregnant young widow, who finds her life intertwined with that of Victor Dalmau, an army doctor and the brother of her deceased love. In order to survive, the two must unite in a marriage neither of them desires."
Fabulous: Stories, Lucy Hughes-Hallett -- I am in need of a good short story collection and this looks very promising! "Set in modern Britain, the startlingly original stories in Fabulous draw from Greco-Roman myth, bible stories, and folklore. The biblical stories of Mary Magdalene and Joseph are retold with a sex worker and an immigrant, Orpheus is reimagined through the eyes of an elderly musician battling dementia and grieving the death of his wife, and Cupid and Psyche gain new relevance in the tale of a young librarian so decorous her parents worry she’ll never find love."
A Bookshop in Berlin, Francoise Frenkel, Patrick Modiano -- "In 1921, Françoise Frenkel—a Jewish woman from Poland—fulfills a lifelong dream. She opens Berlin’s first French-language bookshop, La Maison du Livre, attracting artists, diplomats, celebrities, and poets. The shop soon becomes a haven for intellectual exchange as Nazi ideology begins to poison the culturally rich city. But as the occupation intensifies and politics darken, Frenkel’s bookshop is frequently visited by police officers who confiscate her beloved books."
The German House, Annette Hess, Elisabeth Lauffer -- "Set against the Frankfurt Auschwitz Trials of 1963, Annette Hess’s international bestseller is a harrowing yet ultimately uplifting coming-of-age story about a young female translator—caught between societal and familial expectations and her unique ability to speak truth to power—as she fights to expose the dark truths of her nation’s past."
Snow, Giles Whittell -- "Go on an extraordinary journey across centuries and continents to experience the wonders of snow; from the prehistoric humans that trekked and even skied across it tens of thousands of years ago to the multi-billion-dollar industry behind our moving, making, and playing with snow. Blending accessible writing with fascinating science, Giles Whittell explores how snow dictates where we live, provides us with drinking water, and has influenced countless works of art and more."
Three Hours in Paris, Cara Black -- "Kate Rees, a young American markswoman, has been recruited by British intelligence to drop into Paris with a dangerous assignment: assassinate the Führer. Wrecked by grief after a Luftwaffe bombing killed her husband and infant daughter, she is armed with a rifle, a vendetta, and a fierce resolve. But other than rushed and rudimentary instruction, she has no formal spy training. Thrust into the red-hot center of the war, a country girl from rural Oregon finds herself holding the fate of the world in her hands. When Kate misses her mark and the plan unravels, Kate is on the run for her life—all the time wrestling with the suspicion that the whole operation was a set-up.
The Glass Hotel, Emily St. John Mandel -- I'm not sure this is for me, but then I thought the same thing about her last book and loved it, so I am sure I will give this a try as well! "From the award-winning author of Station Eleven, a captivating novel of money, beauty, white-collar crime, ghosts, and moral compromise in which a woman disappears from a container ship off the coast of Mauritania and a massive Ponzi scheme implodes in New York, dragging countless fortunes with it."
Jut throwing a few books your way. Is there something you are really looking forward to checking out this fall/winter?