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PREMIUM

The Guest Lecture

While readers wanting a conventional plot will be frustrated, those open to more experimental forms will find enjoyment and insight.

River Spirit

Historical novels are often most successful when they focus on ordinary people experiencing extraordinary times, and that is the case with Aboulela’s (The Kindness of Enemies) latest. Zamzam and Yaseen’s love story is moving and gripping, sweeping the reader along hoping that they will end up together against the odds. The multiple perspectives also serve a useful purpose for readers who may know next to nothing about the complex historical events described. Highly recommended.

The Covenant of Water

Writing with compassion and insight, Verghese creates distinct characters in Dickensian profusion, and his language is striking; even graphic descriptions of medical procedures are beautifully wrought. Throughout, there are joy, courage, and devotion as well as tragedy; always there is water, the covenant that links all.

The Applicant

Excellently written, this first work presents Leyla as an authentic individual who will not easily be forgotten, and exquisitely explores the frustrations and insights of an inquiring mind sorting out past history, boyfriends and lovers, dreams and reality. Fans of Azareen Van der Vliet Oloomi’s Call Me Zebra will appreciate.
PREMIUM

Ghost Music

Replete with dreamlike sequences, enclosed walls, and talking mushrooms, the narrative leaves Bai Yu’s actual existence unclear, giving fantasy fans much to ponder. Not a story for all readers, but those who enjoyed Yu’s previous work or surrealistic fiction like Hiroko Oyamada’s The Hole will likely welcome her latest offering.

Muckross Abbey and Other Stories

With frequent nods to both contemporary and classic ghost-story writers (Daphne Du Maurier, Henry James), the success of these stories lies not just in the well-crafted writing but in the conscious mixing of a shape-shifting old world with an unreliably secure modern world. A masterly recharging of a treasured literary tradition that Murray clearly loves and respects.
PREMIUM

Bloodbath Nation

Not a comfortable read but rather a work that deals with the societal consequences of sacrificing thousands of lives. Ideal for libraries with collections on both gun control and sociology.

Foster

Keegan offers further evidence of her facility at imbuing short fiction with immense feeling and invoking a deceptively grand scale; a rich, compassionate work that will appeal to a wide range of readers.
PREMIUM

Anatomy of 55 More Songs: The Oral History of 55 Hits That Changed Rock, R&B, and Soul

Pop-music fans of a certain age will enjoy this collection and might even use it as a playlist.
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