In David Ciminello’s hilarious novel "The Queen of Steeplechase Park", an Italian American girl’s personality is as big as her heart—and her appetite. In 1930s New Jersey, Bella makes sure everyone knows her name. Her beauty, wit,... Read More

Christine M. Larson’s "Love in the Time of Self-Publishing" uses the romance writing realm as a case study for how informal labor networks and mutual aid improve conditions for isolated workers. Guided by a survey of thousands of... Read More

In Hannah Regel’s novel "The Last Sane Woman", two frustrated artists, separated by decades, make their ways in the world. Nicola’s artistic ambitions are drained by her day job and self-doubt. She becomes a ghost in her own life,... Read More

A recovering alcoholic considers what to do about his family’s secrets in Morgan Talty’s affecting novel "Fire Exit". Charles was raised on the Penobscot Island Indian Reservation by his Native American stepfather, but that doesn’t... Read More

A lonely hairdresser finds comfort and inspiration in an unlikely place in Stéphane Carlier’s effervescent English-language debut, "Clara Reads Proust". The people working at the Cindy Coiffure hair salon are a dissatisfied bunch.... Read More

A novel about sisterhood, witch hunts, common cruelties, and survival, Anna Noyes’s "The Blue Maiden" pulses with earthy magic. “They attacked me”: it’s a faint admission breathed into the cellar dark, on the night when Bea and... Read More

A determined, empathetic woman works to preserve the stories that others dismiss in Valérie Perrin’s scintillating novel "Forgotten on Sunday". Orphaned as a toddler and raised by her grandparents, Justine could be cynical at... Read More

A mother meant to be in mourning chases her daughter’s shadow to Guatemala, determined to uncover the truth, in Andromeda Romano-Lax’s electrifying thriller "The Deepest Lake". Jules, just out of college and unsure of her perfect... Read More