Book of the Day Roundup: October 30-November 3, 2023
A Shining
Jon Fosse
Damion Searls, translator
Transit Books
Softcover $16.95 (112pp)
978-1-945492-77-8
Buy: Local Bookstore (Bookshop), Amazon
In Jon Fosse’s novel A Shining, a walk in the forest leads to an inexplicable, supernatural experience.
Out of sheer boredom, a man goes for a drive and ends up lost in the forest on a snowy autumn night. There, strange encounters cause him to doubt his sanity. Unearthly lights, disembodied voices, and people who should not be there follow him through his aimless wandering, pulling him toward a destiny that became unavoidable from the moment he got into his car and turned on the engine.
The narrator’s thoughts are just as rambling as the drive that led him to his current predicament. They are also, like his car, stuck in place: over and over, he reviews his situation, how it could have happened, and his dwindling options for getting out of it, all in one unending paragraph. Even as his circumstances change, his voice does not, carrying him through the most extraordinary visions and interactions.
Though the narrator reveals little about his own life, his introspection includes glimpses: he is a man with no passions or personal ties. He envisions his parents in the forest with him, and their interactions indicate that he had a fractious home life that may have influenced his cloistered adulthood. He is indecisive and an overthinker: even sitting on a rock is a nigh-insurmountable challenge that takes repeated consideration. This infuses his uncharacteristic decision to go for a drive with a sense of foreboding, as if something had made the choice for him. When he meets his inevitable fate in the cold of the forest, he is at least in the company of beings who, in their own way, seem to care about this lost and lonely figure.
A Shining is a stream-of-consciousness novel about a solitary man’s final journey.
EILEEN GONZALEZ (October 27, 2023)
All These Sunken Souls
A Black Horror Anthology
Circe Moskowitz, editor
Amberjack Publishing
Hardcover $18.99 (256pp)
978-1-64160-837-4
Buy: Local Bookstore (Bookshop), Amazon
There are more frightening things to be haunted by than ghosts in Circe Moskowitz’s horror anthology All These Sunken Souls. Intense teenage emotions, the pressure of looming adulthood, generational traumas, and the stress of being Black in society are all heightened by the sinister, dreadful addition of creatures lurking in dark corners.
The anthology is intentional in centering Black experiences. In some stories, that manifests as explicit references to skin color, Black spiritual traditions, and racist interactions and microaggressions. In other stories, it manifests in implicit cues like family gatherings in small Southern towns, presided over by feared elders, and neighbors separated by more than wide fields. The atmosphere of the collection is heavy with unmet needs, unspoken desires, and unintended consequences.
Relationships serve as the backbone for many stories. The girls at the center of Liselle Sambury’s “All My Best Friends are Dead” are willing to fight the spirit of a local urban legend that possessed and replaced their new friend after a sleepover prank gone awry. Frey and Adam should be celebrating their anniversary, but a change in plans finds them locked in a bloody battle at a Welsh country house in Joel Rochester’s “I Love Your Eyes.” In Joelle Wellington’s “The Consumption of Vienna Montrose,” a tumbledown manor feeds on the emotions and bodily fluids of its new owner, who’s the most recent in a long line of women with the same name. Whether romantic, familial, or platonic, the relationships ground the stories, allowing the fantastical horror elements to emerge via slow, uneasy, unexpected twists.
With stories that shift from reality-based fears of murderous home intruders into fever dreams of demonic pacts and flesh-eating zombies, All These Sunken Souls is a chilling horror anthology that hides its terrors among what’s mundane.
DONTANá MCPHERSON-JOSEPH (October 27, 2023)
Adelaide on Broadway
Book 2 of Adelaide and the Cosmic Rescue series
Zoe Twitt
Nicole Senior, illustrator
Enchanted Press
Softcover $14.99 (34pp)
978-0-578-33354-0
Buy: Amazon
Adelaide has always dreamed of seeing her name in lights. There’s just one small problem: she gets stage fright! With the help of her friends—and some science-backed stress-relief techniques—Adelaide is able to overcome her nerves before the curtain rises on her debut. Each member of the Cosmic Rescue Squad friend group has a distinct personality, flair, and skill set; though this title focuses on Adelaide, many different children will see themselves represented in the ensemble.
DANIELLE BALLANTYNE (October 27, 2023)
Transitions
A Mother’s Journey
Élodie Durand
Evan McGorray, translator
Top Shelf Productions
Softcover $19.99 (176pp)
978-1-60309-518-1
Buy: Local Bookstore (Bookshop), Amazon
The mother of a transgender child grows to accept her son in Élodie Durand’s graphic novel Transitions.
Anne is a biology researcher. With her husband, she raises their two boys plus her child from her previous marriage. Then Anne’s seventeen-year-old announces that they’ve been seeing a therapist with gender questions; they come out as a boy and ask to be called Alex, throwing Anne’s world into disarray.
Girded by her strong love for her child, Anne learns more about sex, gender, and gender expression. Alex’s other family members do, too. Over time, they begin to accept Alex’s refreshed identity.
Based on interactions between Durand and the woman who inspired Anne’s character, the book’s point of view is intriguing—both close to Alex’s experiences and also removed from them. Anne is sympathetic: she wants to accept her son, but she is held back by persistent concerns. She is hesitant to approve of Alex altering his otherwise healthy body through hormone treatments.
Figurative art punctuates the book, highlighting the confusion, acceptance, and—in the end—beauty of gender identity. Also included are diagrams, academic quotes regarding gender and sexuality, and fascinating sex and gender facts from the animal world. Alex’s voice is included as well, in conversation with his mother and in an affecting email to her near the end of the book.
Transitions is a heartfelt graphic novel that reckons with a family member’s changing gender.
PETER DABBENE (October 27, 2023)
The Peasant King
Tessa Afshar
Tyndale
Hardcover $29.99 (384pp)
978-1-4964-5826-1
Buy: Local Bookstore (Bookshop), Amazon
In Tessa Afshar’s captivating Christian romance novel The Peasant King, an archeress and a renegade prince join forces to help fulfill a prophecy.
Jemmah’s Judean mother, Keren, is the Persian king Cyrus’s chief scribe. She’s summoned to court but is abducted en route. Asher is a weapons manufacturer who disguises himself in hopes of evading his father, King Astyages, who never recognized him and who rivals King Cyrus. Imprisoned for refusing to arm Astyages, Asher meets Keren. When Jemmah, loyal members of her household, and Jemmah’s adopted sister set forth on a rescue mission, Asher is swept into their plans; he escorts them into Babylon. They have faith that God will provide.
The cast includes a spy prone to clever transformations and King Cyrus himself, who is an unconventional, capable leader confronted by daunting odds. Herein, strong women warriors whose skills are borne of necessity go on dangerous adventures. They are agile and bold when confronting their enemies, and they form dynamic cohorts.
As the novel continues, Jemmah learns to handle her anxiety; she becomes more courageous. Asher intrigues her: his half-Judean roots and seeming contradictions fascinate her, propelling their romantic connection. And when Asher realizes how often Jemmah forsakes her own needs to help others, including him, he is moved. They face situations that require them to trust one another. He welcomes her into his weaponry workshop, and they undergo a trek through mountains. At a gradual pace, they develop deeper understandings of their respective burdens and learn to shed their painful memories.
Rich with themes about God’s presence even in dark times, The Peasant King is a historical romance novel in which a couple refreshes their faith in times of peril.
KAREN RIGBY (October 27, 2023)
Barbara Hodge
