Time - USA (2021-03-15)

111

years, Imbolo Mbue
crafts an aching
narrative about
greed, community
and perseverance.

A PLACE LIKE

MISSISSIPPI

W. RALPH

EUBANKS

MARCH 16

From William
Faulkner to
Natasha Trethewey,
some of the most
prolifi c American

writers have hailed

from Mississippi.

Included in that

list is essayist

W. Ralph Eubanks,

whose newest work

of nonfi ction seeks

to understand the

state’s infl uence on

modern literature.

Eubanks takes

readers on a

literary tour of

his home state,

charting the role

Mississippi has

played in shaping

tells the story

of an unnamed

30-something

crippled by career

burnout who

is desperate

for an “easy”

job. Tsumura

chronicles

her narrator’s

experiences

as she moves

between jobs

that require little

thought or effort.

But as strange

and magical

moments arise,

the protagonist

begins to realize

that perhaps the

search for an

easy occupation

is harder than

she thought. It’s

a revelation that

plays out through

Tsumura’s sharp

prose and biting

observations on

late capitalism.

A LITTLE DEVIL

IN AMERICA

HANIF

ABDURRAQIB

MARCH 30

Poet and critic

Hanif Abdurraqib

crafts a stirring

account of the

relationship

between Black

artists and

American culture

in his new

book. A blend of

cultural analysis,

criticism and

memoir, A Little

Devil in America

takes a close

look at a wide

range of Black

performances,

from a dance

marathon to a

game of spades to

a performance by

neighbor who has

been detained by

ICE. The decision

comes as she

wants to know

more about her

own family—a

yearning that soon

yields revelations

about the legacy

of those who came

before her in Cuba.

Flipping among

the voices of

several characters,

Gabriela Garcia

creates a

thoughtful portrait

of women coming

to terms with the

diffi cult decisions

they’ve made in

their lives—and

the betrayals

they’ve committed

along the way.

LIBERTIE

KAITLYN

GREENIDGE

MARCH 30

Though Libertie

Sampson

grew up free in

Reconstruction-

era Brooklyn,

she knows that

freedom is limited.

Her mother wants

her to follow in

her footsteps and

become a doctor—

something Libertie

not only doesn’t

want to do but also

can’t because of

her darker skin.

As the young

woman wrestles

with what it means

to be free, a

notion made more

complicated by

time spent in Haiti,

Kaitlyn Greenidge

weaves together an

intricate narrative

about colorism,

classism and

community.

the writers who

lived there and

the work they

produced.

THERE’S NO

SUCH THING

AS AN EASY JOB

KIKUKO

TSUMURA

MARCH 23

The English-

language debut

from award- winning

Japanese writer

Kikuko Tsumura

Whitney Houston

at the 1988

Grammy Awards.

Throughout,

Abdurraqib writes

with urgency as

he highlights

what these

performances

mean, how they

connect to his own

feelings on grief,

love and life, and

where they fi t into

American history.

GIRLHOOD

MELISSA FEBOS

MARCH 30

In eight haunting

essays, Melissa

Febos unearths

the trauma of her

adolescence as

she picks apart

the burdens that

accompany being

a young woman.

In sharing the

darkness that

clouded her

coming of age,

Febos asks pointed

questions about

the expectations

placed on women

and how they

impact a person’s

sense of self.

Febos combines

her own stories

with investigative

reporting to argue

why we need to

transform the way

we think about

girls as they

grow up.

OF WOMEN

AND SALT

GABRIELA

GARCIA

MARCH 30

Jeanette is living

in Miami, where

she takes in the

daughter of a