Hooray, It’s Time for New Books!

I’m so excited for everyone to read this, because Marie Myung-Ok Lee has been an important voice in the literary community for decades, and I think this book will finally get her the audience she deserves. It’s a powerful novel of immigration, belonging, and secrets about an aging doctor in a small town in Minnesota whose life is upended near his retirement. It starts when a letter arrives from Korea that might expose how his whole life, the “American Dream” he worked for, has been built on a lie. Faced with the truth, he must decide whether to own up to his past or hide his true self away for the remainder of his years. (CW for racism, xenophobia, violence, and war.)

Backlist bump: Miracle Creek by Angie Kim

This is a compelling, heart-punch of a debut. One day, the boxes arrive. No one knows where they come from, but inside is a piece of string, and that string correctly predicts the remaining length of a person’s life. And it sends the world into upheaval. Some people don’t want to know, so they don’t open the boxes, some people are denied access to health care and treatment when it is discovered they have a short string. The world rages, and in the middle of it, the characters in this book find solace and comfort. This book is REALLY sad at times, and there’s a certain part that I think is going to infuriate readers. (I admit I was like “!!!” about it.) But it’s also an incredibly interesting and powerful take on the world we live in. (CW for chemical use and abuse, illness and death of loved ones including children, violence, suicide and suicidal ideation, grief and prolonged discussions of mortality.)

Backlist bump: Qualityland by Marc-Uwe Kling

And last, but not least, this bananapants novel! I am Team Chaon, I’ve read all his books, so believe me when I say this is his wildest, most ambitious novel yet. It’s about a mercenary named Will Bear, a fifty-year-old man who has never lived on the grid. He has no social security number, no internet history, no government documents. The only people aware of his existence are his bosses…and the people he kills for them. But then he gets a weird message: a woman calls him, claiming to be his daughter, and wants his help. Unfortunately the people she needs saving from are Will’s employers. After several decades, Will is feeling emotions for the first time, and they’re interfering with the job. His indecision will bring him face-to-face with the people who have run his life as he tries to decide what to believe. This book is very funny and very dark. (CW for murder, death, child endangerment, violence, animal harm and death, chemical use and abuse, mental illness.)

Backlist bump: Ill Will by Dan Chaon