Newly arrived fiction from around the world
Bonita, a young Indian woman studying Spanish in Mexico, encounters a stranger who insists she resembles a past artist named Rosarita – her mother. Despite initially dismissing the women's claims, Bonita is intrigued and embarks on a journey with the stranger, Vicky, through Mexican landscapes and memories. As Vicky recounts tales of Rosarita's artistic pursuits and hidden life, Bonita grapples with a potential past of her mother she never knew, questioning her own identity and family history.
One Hundred Flowers by Genki Kawamura
As Yuriko, a piano teacher, begins to lose her memory, her adult son, Izumi, revisits a long-buried secret: his mother's year-long disappearance when he was a child. As Yuriko's present fades, Izumi races against time to uncover the truth of that lost year, hoping to understand the woman his mother once was before it's too late. Simultaneously, he grapples with his own impending fatherhood. A delicate novel of memory, family love, and the poignant beauty of fleeting moments.
On a Woman's Madness by Astrid Roemer
Originally published in 1982 and translated into English for the first time, Roemer's novel delves into the fragmented psyche of a Black woman in Suriname grappling with the aftermath of a tumultuous love affair with a white Dutch man. The narrative, told in a stream-of-consciousness style, mirrors the protagonist's fractured mental state as she navigates memories, desires, and the societal complexities of race and colonialism. The novel, the first Surinamese winner of the prestigious Dutch Literature Prize powerfully portrays the internal turmoil and the struggle for self-definition in a post-colonial world.
The Book of Disappearance by Ibtisām Āzim
The unthinkable occurs: all Palestinians within Israel vanish overnight. Told through the alternating perspectives of Alaa, a Palestinian man whose diary becomes a conversation with his deceased grandmother, and Ariel, his Israeli neighbor, the novel explores the seismic impact of this mass disappearance. Ariel, a liberal Zionist, grapples with the unsettling silence and seeks answers, while Alaa's entries reveal the weight of history and displacement. The book poignantly examines memory, identity, and the complex realities of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict through a speculative lens.
My Armenian Friend by Andreï Makine
Makine tells the poignant story of a young Russian man who forms an unexpected and profound friendship with an elderly Armenian man named Armen. Set against the backdrop of a changing Russia, Armen shares his rich history, traditions, and the weight of his people's past with the narrator. Through their connection, the narrator gains a deeper understanding of resilience, cultural identity, and the enduring power of human connection across generations and backgrounds.
What We Tried to Bury Grows Here by Julian Zabalbeascoa
Set against the backdrop of Basque political turmoil and the personal secrets of three generations, the novel follows the family's attempts of the to bury painful memories and the inevitable ways in which the past resurfaces. Through shifting perspectives, Zabalbeascoa confronts trauma, inherited guilt, and the difficult process of confronting history to find a path toward healing and understanding within a fractured family.
A sprawling, metafictional journey through the author's childhood in communist Bucharest and the fantastical realities that bleed into it. Told through the perspective of a disillusioned Romanian language teacher (inspired by the author's own life), the novel blends autobiographical elements with surreal and dreamlike sequences. A mysterious solenoid beneath his apartment building becomes a focal point for exploring alternate dimensions, philosophical musings on life and death, and the power of imagination to transcend oppressive realities.
Annihilation by Michel Houellebecq
Paul Raison is a middle-aged advisor to a French presidential candidate, amidst political intrigue and a series of mysterious cyberattacks. As Paul navigates his professional and complicated family life, he grapples with existential questions, mortality, and a growing sense of unease. The novel blends Houellebecq's signature themes of societal decay, disillusionment, and the search for meaning in a secular world with elements of suspense and philosophical reflection.
