We recommend: The best new book releases
The best of new fiction
Six Truths and a Lie by Ream Shukairy. This is a thriller novel that examines the American justice system and how it deals with race and religion. During a Fourth of July celebration, an explosion sets off on the California coast resulting in chaos and murder. Six Muslim teenagers are prime suspects for this deadly terrorism attack and they are on trial. The teenagers are caught in a political game, and are dealing with harrowing accusations of terrorism. Each of them have something to hide and protect. The story follows this six teens’s journey back to freedom. (March 12)
How to Solve Your Own Murder by Kristen Perrin. In 1965, Frances Adams is told by a fortune teller that she will be murdered one day. Fast forward to the present day and we follow Annie Adams, who is visiting her great-aunt Frances in an old English village. By the time she gets there, Frances is dead. Who killed her? Annie Adams wants to unravel this mystery and she has some help from her great aunt who knew this would happen. Since the fortune teller’s premonition, Frances has maintained notes on every person in her life all with the intention of knowing who would kill her. This is a cosy mystery and a fun whodunnit. (March 26)
The Great Divide by Cristina Henríquez. This is a historical fiction set during the time of the construction of the Panama Canal which connected the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. It is considered to be one of the biggest engineering marvels of human history, and Cristina weaves a story of ordinary people who were involved and near Panama at the time. The book follows the stories of Ada Bunting, Francisco, Omar and John—people from different walks of life who have all arrived at Panama looking to build a better life for themselves and their families.
Blank: A Novel by Zibby Owens. Pippa Jones is a writer and a former literary star. After publishing one successful book, she hasn’t had good luck. She’s afraid of being a one-hit wonder and the deadline of her follow-up novel is fast approaching. The problem? She doesn’t have a draft. None of her ideas are good, untill her twelve-year-old comes up with an original idea and this sets her off on an adventure with a series of plot twists she couldn’t imagine. Pippa is now on a race against time. (March 1)
The Hearing Test by Eliza Barry Callahan. An artist living along alone in her New York studio apartment with her dog, in her 20s, wakes up to find that she can’t hear from her right ear anymore. She’s been diagnosed with Sudden Deafness and there is a possibility of complete deafness. She keeps a record of her year, and life in New York as she lives through different encounters with artists, musicians, strangers, former lovers and friends. (March 5)
This month’s poetry pick
A Year of Last Things: Poems by Michael Ondaatje. World-renowned novelist—Ondaatje returns to poetry with this collection that is centred around themes of memory and history. He paints a picture of his life in a Sri Lankan boarding school to Molière’s chair during his last stage performance, to Bulgarian churches and their icons, to the California coast and Canadian rivers. What’s interesting is that he mixes his own work and he quotes from and makes reference to a wide panoply of artists and poets, from Bashō to Chuck Berry. The collection is soft and nostalgic, and meant to be slowly savoured. (March 19)
The best of the non-fiction list
The Gourmand's Lemon by The Gourmand. This is an interesting collection of stories and recipes centred around the lemon—an effort co-created by The Gourmand and TASCHEN. The Gourmand is known to mesh cooking with art and this book is a deep exploration of a simple ingredient and the impact it has had. The book chart’s the lemon’s genealogy and also explores its role as a literary device for prolific authors such as—Joan Didion & F. Scott Fitzgerald. Their presence extends to the decorative arts, gracing everything from Arts and Crafts wallpapers to mythological ceramics. Most importantly, it includes 60 lemon-infused recipes across global cuisines and for every occasion—including poultry, sauces, cocktails and desserts. (March 9)
The Riddles of the Sphinx: Inheriting the Feminist History of the Crossword Puzzle by Anna Shechtman. This memoir of Schechtman—the queen of Crosswords who published her first New York Times puzzle at age nineteen—is touted to be compulsively readable. The author spearheaded The New Yorker’s popular crossword section—and is one of the few women in the field of puzzle making. It also explores how and why the history of the crossword puzzle has been an unexpected site of women’s work and feminist protest. (March 5)
The House of Hidden Meanings: A Memoir by RuPaul. The international drag superstar and pop culture icon brings forth his most revealing work in the form of this memoir. He starts right from the beginning—growing up Black, poor, and queer in a broken home—which turns into an introspection of his life, relationships, and identity. It charts his journey to becoming a legendary icon that changed the way the world thinks about drag. He also narrates the story of finding enduring love with his husband Georges LeBar and self-acceptance in sobriety. (March 5)
Lessons for Survival: Mothering Against "The Apocalypse" by Emily Raboteau. This award-winning author and critic creates powerful essays on race, climate, environmental justice―and what it takes to find shelter in this book. While this book carries tons of self-reportage and photographs—it is essentially an autobiography that explores the inner life of Black womanhood, motherhood, the brutalities and possibilities of cities, while also critiquing how climate change, migration and racial divide impinge upon our everyday lives in more ways than we know. (March 12)
Broken Promises: Caste, Crime and Politics in Bihar by Mrityunjay Sharma. This book centres its narrative on the tumultuous decade of the 1990s, often referred to as the ‘Jungle Raj’ years in Bihar—during which Bihar’s economic and social rankings went to lowest level as compared to other states of India, the state saw complete collapse of Bihar’s law and order, with Goonda Raj at its peak. This downfall began when Lalu Yadav took oath ironically, worsened the socio-economic disparities in the state accompanied by grave misgovernance. This is an eye-opening account of the political history of the state of Bihar. (March 11)
