"The Night Child"’s gentle dealings with heavy subjects highlight the fragility of the human mind. "The Night Child" is a powerful, heart-wrenching psychological tale that examines a teacher’s mental breakdown. Just as school breaks... Read More

Interwoven with the stark realism of the novel are hints of a fairy tale. Simultaneously bleak and hopeful, Michael Köhlmeier’s "Yiza" traverses the expansive landscape of human suffering as seen through the eyes of displaced migrant... Read More

In Jessica Keener’s "Strangers in Budapest", it’s 1995, and the tech bubble is swelling. The Wall Street Journal is reporting unprecedented opportunity in Eastern Europe, and three Americans—Annie, Will, and their 4-month-old,... Read More

Lawlor’s novel introduces hefty topics in a highly entertaining, fresh, and thought-provoking way. With their debut, "Paul Takes the Form of a Mortal Girl", Andrea Lawlor delivers a hilarious, original, gender-fluid novel replete with... Read More

On one level, the book is a classic murder mystery; on a deeper level, it echoes humanity at its most primal. Nature may be red in tooth and claw, but in Wajdi Mouawad’s outstanding novel, "Anima", it’s humans who are claw-deep in... Read More

Gitlin’s writing is sharp, infused with a dark, irreverent wit. "Postcards from the Canyon", by Lisa Gitlin, is an engrossing, poignant journey through one woman’s past and present. Faced with the recent and unexpected death of her... Read More

Pugliese deftly turns the dark clouds of imagination into a life-affirming ode. Nicola Pugliese’s unusual "Malacqua" was first published in 1977 by Italo Calvino. Never reprinted until after Pugliese’s death, it appears for the first... Read More

"Blended" is a sympathetic, lighthearted story about the search for meaning. A midlife search for connection and meaning drives Graeme Daniels’s "Blended", a slice-of-life story featuring one woman’s thoughtful, if action-light,... Read More