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Staff Pick
When Nora takes the train from London to visit her sister in the countryside, she expects to find her waiting at the station, or at home cooking dinner. But when she walks into Rachel's familiar house, what she finds is entirely different: her sister has been the victim of a brutal murder. Stunned and adrift, Nora finds she can't return to her former life. An unsolved assault in the past has shaken her faith in the police, and she can't trust them to find her sister's killer. Haunted by the murder and the secrets that surround it, Nora is under the harrow: distressed and in danger. As Nora's fear turns to obsession, she becomes as unrecognizable as the sister her investigation uncovers. A riveting psychological thriller and a haunting exploration of the fierce love between two sisters, the distortions of grief, and the terrifying power of the past, Under the Harrow marks the debut of an extraordinary new writer. Named one of the 10 Best Mystery Books and Thrillers of the Year by The Washington Post
Named one of the best books of the year by The Atlantic
Nora says: My favorite book I read recently is an oldie, and an unusual choice for me, I never read suspense: Under the Harrow by Flynn Berry. Superb.
A NEW YORK TIMES EDITORS' CHOICE
NAMED A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR BY TIME, NPR, INSTYLE, AND GOOD HOUSEKEEPING
"A sensational new book [that] tries to figure out whether it's possible to live an ethical life in a capitalist society. . . . The results are enthralling." --Associated Press
A timely and arresting new look at affluence by the New York Times bestselling author, "one of the leading lights of the modern American essay." --Financial Times
"My adult life can be divided into two distinct parts," Eula Biss writes, "the time before I owned a washing machine and the time after." Having just purchased her first home, the poet and essayist now embarks on a provocative exploration of the value system she has bought into. Through a series of engaging exchanges--in libraries and laundromats, over barstools and backyard fences--she examines our assumptions about class and property and the ways we internalize the demands of capitalism. Described by the New York Times as a writer who "advances from all sides, like a chess player," Biss offers an uncommonly immersive and deeply revealing new portrait of work and luxury, of accumulation and consumption, of the value of time and how we spend it. Ranging from IKEA to Beyoncé to Pokemon, Biss asks, of both herself and her class, "In what have we invested?"
Georgia says: Short essays about the author’s relationship with things and money, and about the value system we embrace when we acquire possessions. Humorous. This would make a great discussion group book. Winner of the 2021 Chautauqua Prize.
WINNER OF THE LA TIMES BOOK PRIZE FOR MYSTERY/THRILLER
FINALIST FOR THE 2019 WOMEN'S PRIZE
Korede's sister Ayoola is many things: the favorite child, the beautiful one, possibly sociopathic. And now Ayoola's third boyfriend in a row is dead, stabbed through the heart with Ayoola's knife. Korede's practicality is the sisters' saving grace. She knows the best solutions for cleaning blood (bleach, bleach, and more bleach), the best way to move a body (wrap it in sheets like a mummy), and she keeps Ayoola from posting pictures to Instagram when she should be mourning her "missing" boyfriend. Not that she gets any credit. Korede has long been in love with a kind, handsome doctor at the hospital where she works. She dreams of the day when he will realize that she's exactly what he needs. But when he asks Korede for Ayoola's phone number, she must reckon with what her sister has become and how far she's willing to go to protect her.
Katia says: A darkly comic, kind of creepy read. Written sharply and beautifully. At its center it is an exploration of sisterhood, family bonds and the effects of trauma.
Nora says: Bill Buford's book is a raucous, fun read, furthering Buford's reputation for shrewd observations and incisive writing. The book tells the story of Buford moving to France, family in tow, to talk his way into a Michelin-starred kitchen in order to learn the secret of French cuisine. Funny and sharp, and. at times, terrifying!
A 50th-anniversary Deluxe Edition of the incomparable 20th-century masterpiece of satire and fantasy, in a newly revised version of the acclaimed Pevear and Volokhonsky translation
Nothing in the whole of literature compares with The Master and Margarita. One spring afternoon, the Devil, trailing fire and chaos in his wake, weaves himself out of the shadows and into Moscow. Mikhail Bulgakov's fantastical, funny, and devastating satire of Soviet life combines two distinct yet interwoven parts, one set in contemporary Moscow, the other in ancient Jerusalem, each brimming with historical, imaginary, frightful, and wonderful characters. Written during the darkest days of Stalin's reign, and finally published in 1966 and 1967, The Master and Margarita became a literary phenomenon, signaling artistic and spiritual freedom for Russians everywhere.
Kate says: Funny, brave, strange, and full of adventure—this book is completely different than anything of its time.
Mary Lou Buschi's second collection, Paddock, is a poetic palindrome. Two lost girls attempt to connect by writing letters to "Dear," a mother figure. They also pass the time by telling one another stories that sometimes conjure spirts. Much like Vladimir and Estragon in Waiting for Godot, they wait. Paddock is best read in one gulp, shuttling between Greek tragedy and lyric ellipsis...a poetry of hope, desire, and despair as the girls refuse to let the story end. Girl 2, "Maybe the story has just begun." Here, you will find enter into a lyrical, natural world of image, color. Hear a chorus of sisters. Enter the forest and the sea and be changed,
Doug says: Radically haunted and unputdownable. Next on the stack this morning after reading a chapter from Hirsch’s latest on Wisława Szymborska. No need to tell you how haunted and amazing Szymborska’s work is--yet, somehow, Buschi shadowed effortlessly. Sorry to go on, but Paddock is disquieting to the point that I missed breakfast in order to read every page.