In hindsight, it was a treat to read Rachel Cusk’s shape-shifting and subtle new novel, Life of M, months before the hubbub over its thinly veiled depiction of Natalie Portman. For anyone who hasn’t read the book and wants to, I would encourage blocking out the noise of this little scandal as much as possible, because it obscures the novel’s pleasures and insights. One key to thinking about the book: it’s not about a celebrity, it’s about how a comparatively normal person views a celebrity. Below, we round up other books that offer other intriguing views into the distorting effects of fame.
Elsewhere, reviews editors recommend books hitting shelves next week, while John Manuel Arias talks about his family saga, Crocodilopolis, and Alisa Dean explains how her past in the evangelical church inspired her sin-filled novel, The Jezebel List.
Happy reading!
—David Varno
Starred Reviews Releasing Next WeekCheck out all the books to receive starred PW reviews that are hitting shelves next week. more
8 Books on CelebrityRachel Cusk’s slippery novel, Life of M, about an author’s friendship with an actor who bears similarities to Natalie Portman, is the latest in a long line of literature on the nature of celebrity. more
History Repeats: PW Talks with John Manuel AriasThe author’s second novel, Crocodilopolis, chronicles a sibling rivalry rooted in a Costa Rican political dynasty. more
Enjoyment Without Shame: PW Talks with Alisa DeanIn The Jezebel List, a new adult romance, a woman works through her religious trauma by acting out a checklist of so-called sins, with a filmmaker documenting the process. more
DèyBy Edwidge Danticat (Knopf)
Danticat’s luminous novel opens with a mass shooting in a Miami mall followed by its eerie aftermath, when survivors, including the narrator, a 30-something Haitian American woman named Magnolia, are ushered by police to the parking lot. Unsure of what to do next, they get in their cars and leave, entering a traffic jam as if they’d just left a concert. Reading this scene, I was deeply struck by the conflation of horrific violence with everyday life, which reverberates throughout the novel as Magnolia gradually comes to terms with what she experienced. —David Varno, literary fiction reviews editor
Like SwimmersBy Dash Shaw (New York Review Books)
I’ve been calling Shaw an indie comics darling long enough to realize he’s passed into an established figure, but the curiosity and invention in his work still surprises. Here his jolie-laide art style feels perfectly suited to the surreal early Covid-19 period he evokes in a pandemic-set mystery with a shifting, unreliable narration. Come for the intrigue of a misfit killed with a silver bullet and stay for Shaw's trademark play with color and perspective. —Meg Lemke, comics and graphic novels reviews editor
The Tongue I Dream InBy Sheree Renée Thomas (PM)
I'm of the opinion that every SFF fan should be familiar with Thomas's work. This powerful primer collecting the afrofuturist's short fiction, poetry, and essays is a great place to start. —Phoebe Cramer, SFF, horror, and romance reviews editor
|
1
Theo of Golden
|
|
2
|
|
3
|
|
4
|
|
5
Dungeon Crawler Carl
|
|
6
|
|
7
|
|
8
|
|
9
|
|
10
The Odyssey
|
For more PW bestsellers lists, click here.
 |
 |
 |
 |
Send editorial questions about this e-newsletter to David Varno.
Send advertising questions about this e-newsletter to Joe Murray.
For additional assistance, contact us by email or at the address below.
Publishers Weekly,
49 West 23rd Street
Ninth Floor
New York, NY 10010
Phone 212-377-5500
© PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved. PUBLISHERS WEEKLY and the PW Logo are trademarks of PWxyz, LLC.
Email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser.
You are receiving this email because npkvdejmf6@nie.podam.pl subscribed to one of Publishers Weekly's newsletters. If you are not npkvdejmf6@nie.podam.pl, then please disregard this message. Update your newsletter preferences here.
PW takes spam very seriously. This email message meets all the requirements of the United States CAN-SPAM Act and Canada's Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL). To remove yourself from the Tip Sheet email list, unsubscribe.
