Books & Bites: June 2023

spellbinding historical novel that brilliantly imagines one of the greatest manhunts in history: the search for two Englishmen involved in the killing of King Charles I and the implacable foe on their trail—an epic journey into the wilds of seventeeth-century New England, and a chase like no other.

A novel of the timeless love story of Peter Abelard and Héloïse, and its impact on a modern priest and a Holocaust survivor seeking sanctuary in Manhattan.

The East Indian gives authentic voice to an otherwise unknown historic figure and brings the world he would have encountered to vivid life"-- Provided by publisher.

The author of “Wintering” shares her journey to reconnect with her sense of wonder and awe.

A concisely written and well-organized summation of recent research about the history of Western families, this will be a valuable research tool. Individual chapters deal with such topics as members of the household, preliminaries to marriage, weddings, the married couple, conception and birth, early childhood, etc. Within the chapters, variations in practice are noted. An excellent index adds to the book's utility.

“rip-roaring, action-packed” (The New York Times) novel about an indomitable young woman in prohibition-era Virginia.

“Another tender tearjerker . . . Napolitano chronicles life’s highs and lows with aching precision.”—The Washington Post

The story of a racehorse, an enslaved groom and an itinerant painter reverberates in three different eras.

The Lemon is a darkly hilarious and ultimately devastating interrogation of the underside of success and fame, and our ongoing complicity in devouring the cultural heroes we hardly deserve

"An exercise in narrative gutsiness; a meditation on history, contingency, and free will; and the best new novel I've read this year."―Kathryn Schulz, New York Magazine

Higgins returns with her signature writing style that will make readers laugh, possibly cry, and think deeply about the role of family and motherhood... [This] is a perfectly done novel. Higgins tackles what it means to be part of a family and how family can look very different from person to person. Her signature humor sprinkled into a heavy topic makes this a must-read."
—Library Journal

The Lost City of Z is at once a biography, a detective story and a wonderfully vivid piece of travel writing that combines Bruce Chatwinesque powers of observation with a Waugh-like sense of the absurd. Mr. Grann treats us to a harrowing reconstruction of Fawcett’s forays into the Amazonian jungle, as well as an evocative rendering of the vanished age of exploration.”
—Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times

"A wildly entertaining road trip novel featuring a college dropout and an eighty-four-year-old woman off on the adventure of their lives, full of tremendous heart, wit, and wisdom

When a woman becomes a target of the German occupation in Paris, she leaves her young daughter with her friend.

“A delicious new Gilded Age family drama—almost a satire—set in the leafy enclaves of Brooklyn Heights....A lighthearted book that captures a slice of New York society, a guilty pleasure that also feels like a sociological text, punctuated with very particular references to restaurants, preschools, nightclubs, and other pillars of urban life in 2023.”
—Vogue

“Royce keeps the plot twists coming as she vividly depicts the uncertainty and mistrust generated by the pandemic, which drives both Linda and Noelle inexorably toward madness... This is an expertly paced thrill ride.” -- Publishers Weekly

"Historian Pickford delivers a tantalizing account of the mysterious wreckage of the Gloucester as it brought the future King James II from Portsmouth, England, to Edinburgh in 1682. The result is a valuable overview of one of England’s great maritime mysteries." -- Publishers Weekly

This heartbreaking thriller takes place during Boston’s school desegregation crisis in 1974. Ingrained racial prejudice results in the death of a white high school senior and the seemingly unrelated murder of a young Black man.

"Wyoming Game Warden Joe Pickett investigates a mysterious death at a secret remote high-tech facility in this riveting novel from #1 New York Times bestseller C.J. Box

Two brothers freed by the Emancipation Proclamation hope to reunite with their mother while the forbidden romance between two Confederate soldiers causes chaos.

“[Testament of Youth]remains one of the most powerful and widely read war memoirs of all time.” —The Guardian (London)

This Isn’t Going to End Well gives off the particular radiance of a life lived hard, whatever else: as such, a brand of American bildungsroman. There’s deep satisfaction to its arc, despite its inherent sadness — a wondrous glimpse of the melding, in human doings, of fate, character and serendipity.”―Washington Post

Rich with fantastical elements, folklore, and exuberant wordplay, Geetanjali Shree's magnificent novel explores timely and timeless topics, including Buddhism, global warming, feminism, Partition, gender binary, transcending borders, and the profound joys of life. Winner of the 2022 International Booker Prize.

A mesmerizing story of shipwreck, survival, and savagery, culminating in a court martial that reveals a shocking truth.

Traces the South Pole expedition of a decorated British special forces officer, an admirer of Ernest Shackleton's expedition and descendant of one of Shackleton's crew, who in 2015 risked his life to walk across Antarctica alone.

Personal reflections on the potential benefits of embracing and living through painful times of isolation.

A deeply moving novel about the resilience of the human spirit in a moment of crisis.