As an author myself, I often have the privilege of reading books written by writer friends after having virtually lived with them through the trials and tribulations of finishing their works, finding an agent (or not), and finally getting published. This year I read many such gems. In my top pick, In This Ravishing World by Nina Schuyler, Richard Powers’s The Overstory meets Kim Stanley Robinson’s The Ministry for the Future. Though "Ravishing World" is billed as a collection of connected short stories, it reads more like a complete novel, propulsive and gripping, carrying one complex character into the story of the next until all are in tense community. Written during the COVID 19 pandemic, this galvanizing work is a call to arms in honor of the planet that sustains us.
In this Ravishing World is a sweeping, impassioned short story collection, ringing out with joy, despair, and hope for the natural world. Nine connected stories unfold, bringing together an unforgettable cast of dreamers, escapists, activists, and artists, creating a kaleidoscopic view of the climate crisis. An older woman who has spent her entire life fighting for the planet sinks into despair. A young boy is determined to bring the natural world to his bleak urban reality. A scientist working to solve the plastic problem grapples with whether to have a child. A ballet dancer endeavors to inhabit the consciousness of…
I met Sasha Vasilyuk, the author of the family memoir Your Presence is Mandatory, just after she found her agent and was shopping her book to publishers. I'm so glad that unlike so many of its characters, this book found a home! This painful story of a family alternately rooted and uprooted in Ukraine, Germany, and Russia during and after World War II, and of a patriarch harboring dark secrets in an effort to spare those he loves, helped me to understand a great deal about today's conflict. How did Ukrainians who were occupied or captured by the German Army survive? Why did Stalin imprison them in work camps rather than decorate them after the war? Why does Vladimir Putin, even today, refer to Ukrainians as Nazis? You can find the answers here. This tale of a complex and troubled Ukrainian Jew and the resilient family he creates emerges from the past to shape a clearer vision of our present.
Longlisted for the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize
A riveting debut novel, based on real events, about a World War II veteran with a secret that could land him in the Gulag, and his family who are forced to live in the shadow of all he has not told them.
Ukraine, 2007. Yefim Shulman, husband, grandfather and war veteran, was beloved by his family and his coworkers. But in the days after his death, his widow Nina finds a letter to the KGB in his briefcase. Yefim had a lifelong secret, and his confession forces them to reassess the…
This is a special perc I get - getting to read and trumpet a book that won't come out until December 1! My friend Adam Strassberg has finished his long-awaited novella, just in time for Christmas.
Lost on the urban December streets, homeless Joshua navigates the boundary between the intransigence of his own religious fervor and capitalist disdain for what he has become, all the while suffering a mental health crisis that is alternately a blessing and a curse. In this “what if” parable for the present day, our tortured hero lands once again in a psychiatric ward known only as 5C4. But this time, he meets toymaker Nick. And together, they make choices that surprise the reader at every turn. On all fronts, author and retired psychiatrist Adam Strassberg knows whereof he speaks. December on 5C4 is a compelling read, sure to spur discussion well beyond the Christmas season!
December on 5C4 is a vibrant tale of magical realism set during the Christmas season, weaving together threads of Jewish folklore, New Testament narratives, and Santa Claus legends. This story unfolds in the unique environment of an urban psychiatric hospital, where the boundaries between reality and the supernatural blur. As the winter holidays progress, Josh and Nick—two very different patients, one with similarities to Jesus and the other Santa—find themselves on an unexpected journey of self-discovery and transformation. Their evolving friendship and shared experiences challenge them to reconcile their pasts, embrace their identities, and navigate the complexities of mental illness.…
In the year 2054, a boy named Kai is born in America’s desert Southwest. His only companion is his Mother—a super-soldier robot. Rho-Z is Kai’s home, protector, provider, and teacher. But she has the potential to be so much more.
The Mother Codeis the story of how Kai and his Mother came to be. It is the story of how they grow to better understand both themselves and the world that made them. But when government survivors decide that the Mothers must be destroyed, Kai faces a choice:
Will he break the bond he shares with Rho-Z, or fight to save the only parent he has ever known?
