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where alcoholism threatens
the unit’s stability and sanity.
He narrows in on struggling
mother Agnes and her youngest
son Shuggie, who is coming to
terms with his sexuality. Stuart
charts the evolution of their
relationship over several years,
offering a heartbreaking story
about identity, addiction and
abandonment. (Feb. 11)
AMNESTY
ARAVIND ADIGA
The Booker Prize winner’s latest
novel follows house cleaner
Danny, who fled Sri Lanka and is
living undocumented in Australia.
Danny faces an impossible
dilemma after learning critical
details about the murder of one
of his clients. If he speaks up, the
life he worked so hard to build
could be threatened, but if he
stays silent, the truth may never
come to light. The novel takes
place over the course of one day,
but Danny’s decision highlights
a lifetime of real-world anxieties.
(Feb. 18)
REAL LIFE
BRANDON TAYLOR
At the center of this aching debut
is Wallace, a gay black graduate
student at an overwhelmingly
white Midwestern university.
Over the course of a summer
weekend, Wallace unveils the
pain he’s been carrying his whole
life through several interactions
with his friends, who understand
little about where he comes from.
As Taylor exposes the layers of
his protagonist’s existence, he
crafts a gripping narrative on
racism, queerness and trauma.
(Feb. 18)
HERE FOR IT
R. ERIC THOMAS
What does it mean to belong?
Thomas poses this question
throughout his essay collection
as he explores all the places he
never fit in, from his conservative
black church to the primarily
white school he attended. With
humor and heart, he dissects the
experience of being black and
gay in America, simultaneously
inspecting the ways the country is
evolving. (Feb. 18)
THE SPLENDID AND THE VILE
ERIK LARSON
When Winston Churchill became
Prime Minister in 1940, Britain
was about to endure a very violent
year: Adolf Hitler’s bombing
campaign would kill more
than 40,000 citizens. Larson
delves into the impact of those
12 months on Churchill and his
family, painting a complex portrait
of leadership and determination
in the midst of chaos and fear.
(Feb. 25)APEIROGON
COLUM MCCANN
After both their daughters are
brutally murdered, a Palestinian
and an Israeli bond over their
enormous losses. Inspired by the
true friendship between Bassam
Aramin and Rami Elhanan, the
latest novel from the National
Book Award winner blends fiction
with history to examine how
two men channel their grief into
political power as they become
advocates for peace in the
Middle East. (Feb. 25)MINOR FEELINGS
CATHY PARK HONG
Hong dissects her experiences
as an Asian American to create
an intricate meditation on racial
awareness in the U.S. Through
a combination of cultural
criticism and personal stories,
Hong, a poet, lays bare theshame and confusion she felt
in her youth as the daughter
of Korean immigrants, and the
way those feelings morphed as
she grew older. From analyzing
Richard Pryor’s stand-up to
interrogating her relationship
with the English language,
Hong underscores essential
themes of identity and otherness.
(Feb. 25)Diane Keaton
has written
three titles,
in addition to
editing and
publishing
multiple books
on photography