C4 EZ RE THE WASHINGTON POST.WEDNESDAY, JULY 31 , 2019
book world
August is traditionally a “dead month”
in publishing, a time when every agent,
editor and production director takes
vacation, filling East Coast beaches
with tote bags of unread manuscripts
and galleys.
And yet, August still promises plenty
of worthwhile titles, from a delicious
Western saga to sharp short stories to a
genre-defying memoir. Just remember
your sunscreen in case you can’t stop
turning pages.
‘Prognosis: A Memoir of My Brain,’
by Sarah Vallance (Aug. 1)
Sarah Vallance was a PhD with a high-
level career when a fall from a horse
resulted in a traumatic brain injury
that caused her IQ to plummet to 80.
Given that she’s written a beautiful new
memoir, you know she’s recovered —
but her book is less about reaching that
destination and more about learning to
care for one’s self and others.
‘The Pretty One: On Life, Pop
Culture, Disability, and Other
Reasons to Fall in Love With Me,’
by Keah Brown (Aug. 6)
Brown was born with cerebral palsy,
and her #DisabledandCute hashtag has
inspired people to view disability in a
new light. What does it mean to be
different but still be seen as “the pretty
one”? Which assistance chairs are the
most helpful — and the most fun?
Brown delivers insights in a refreshing
and entertaining way.
‘A Particular Kind of Black Man,’ by
Tope Folarin (Aug. 6)
The protagonist of this novel, Tunde
Akinola, speaks English with a Middle
American accent, having grown up in
Utah — but his Nigerian parents and
his white classmates never let him
forget his ancestry. And yet it’s not until
his mentally ill mother leaves the
family that his feelings of alienation
really kick in, unsettling him for
decades to come.‘Trick Mirror: Reflections on Self-
Delusion,’ by Jia Tolentino (Aug. 6)
If you’ve read Tolentino’s essays in the
New Yorker, you already know that she’s
the millennial Susan Sontag, a brilliant
voice in cultural criticism. She remains
engaged with her subjects even as she
scratches her head and wonders why
we do what we do. Even better: She
writes like a dream.‘Strange Harvests: The Hidden
Histories of Seven Natural Objects,’
by Edward Posnett (Aug. 6)
They may be luxury commodities now,
but civet coffee, eiderdown, sea silk,
vicuña, vegetable ivory, guano and
edible bird nests all started as local
harvests. Posnett considers theevolution of each object and the
communities they came from, while
also pondering what we might learn
about the things we value.‘The Yellow House,’ by Sarah M.
Broom (Aug. 13)
Broom’s book is a memoir — but also so
much more. The New Orleans native
has written a hybrid of the most
exquisite kind, part family history, part
archaeological dig, part self-exegesis. It
all comes back to the house of the title,
a “New Orleans East” shotgun dwelling
that has given hope, heartbreak, shelter
and transformation to decades of
Broom’s family. And Broom has used it
to inspire something new.‘When the Plums Are Ripe,’ by
Patrice Nganang (translated by
Amy B. Reid) (Aug. 13)
Nganang’s second novel (after 2016’s
“Mount Pleasant”) in a trilogy about
Cameroon takes place as the nation isforced into World War II and caught
between Vichy and the Free French. The
plot and action are matched by the
author’s powerful take on the damage
colonialism inflicts for generations.‘Inland,’ by Téa Obreht (Aug. 13)
After her stunning, original 2011 debut,
“The Tiger’s Wife,” I expected Obreht’s
sophomore effort to return to her
native Balkan region. I should have
known better. Set in the American
West, “Inland” is full of surprises, with
the story of the unlikely alliance
between a homesteading wife and a
truly haunted outlaw.‘The Memory Police,’ by Yoko
Ogawa (translated by Stephen
Snyder) (Aug. 13)
Ogawa’s new novel is the fresh take on
“1984” you didn’t know you needed. On
an unnamed island, objects begin to
disappear — and the few who notice
live in fear of the Memory Police, who
are devoted to keeping things forgotten.
When a young writer chooses to hide
her editor from the ruthless
government, she makes herself a target.‘The World Doesn’t Require You,’
by Rion Amilcar Scott (Aug. 20)
Scott’s story collection is set in the
fictional town of Cross River, Md., the
home of the only successful slave revolt
in history. Its modern inhabitants — an
eclectic cast that includes a robot and
God’s last son — grapple with this
legacy in their own singular ways. A
must read.
[email protected]Bethanne Patrick is the editor, most
recently, of “The Books That Changed My
Life: Reflections by 100 Authors, Actors,
Musicians and Other Remarkable People.”Literary Calendar
TONIGHT | 7 P.M. J. Ryan Stradal will read
from his novel “The Lager Queen of
Minnesota,” about a family trying to patch
things up through beer, at Solid State
Books, 600 H Street NE. 202-897-4201.AUGUST’S TOP 10Bethanne PatrickBY ELLEN MORTONW
ith all the cutthroat competi-
tion of a runway fashion
reality show and the thrilling
exploits of an epic quest,
Elizabeth Lim’s “Spin the Dawn” weaves
a stunning tapestry of adventure.
The start of a new YA fantasy series,
the novel introduces Maia Tamarin. The
youngest child of a renowned tailor, she
cherishes her idyllic home and loving
family; her greatest sorrow is the knowl-
edge that, because of her sex, she will be
barred from following in her craftsman
father’s footsteps. But when tragedy
strikes, Maia is determined to stitch
together the pieces of
their lives by eking
out a living for her
family, even if it’s a
far cry from their for-
mer prosperity.
Fate intervenes,
however, when her
father is called to vie
for a position as im-
perial tailor. Know-
ing he is in no condi-
tion to participate,
Maia poses as a boy
and takes his place in
the competition as
his heir. It’s not going
to be easy: The other
tailors ridicule and
sabotage her, and
she’s forced to test the limits of her skills
and creativity during design challenges.
But she also meets the intriguing Lord
Enchanter, Edan, who helps her harness
her own considerable gifts. She will need
Edan’s expertise and all her own grit and
aptitude to tackle the final challenge:
fashion three dresses fit for a goddess,
made of sunlight, moonlight and star-
light.
Based in the sights, sounds and
stories of ancient China, the novel’s
setting is one of its most rewarding
aspects. Lim evokes a landscape that is
distinct in the crowded field of YA
fantasy titles, and she metes out infor-
mation at a pace that generates curiosity
— though sometimes frustration, too.
Maia and Edan have a tendency of
withholding information from each
other only to reveal it a few moments or
scenes later, leaving the reader with a
feeling of needlessly extended
dramatics.
The same drawn-out pace of revela-
tion at times undermines the protago-
nist. The audience is far enough ahead of
Maia that she can seem a little slow on
the uptake, regrettable in a story about a
hero claiming her power. Fortunately,
that purpose is otherwise well served,
with Maia tracing a satisfying and not
entirely predictable arc from obedient
daughter to independent woman: “Be-
ing surrounded by eleven sweaty, zeal-
ously competitive men wasn’t going to
inspire me, so I gathered some supplies
from the cabinet and left the Hall of
Supreme Diligence to find my own way.”
Though capable of such wry observa-
tion, Maia’s voice is usually applied to
appreciating the sensory details of her
world just as a devoted tailor might.
When she cuts her hair to create the
illusion that she’s a boy, “the strands
whisked down my back, landing at my
feet in a pool of black satin.”
Maia’s rendering as a master artist
and craftswoman is complete and be-
lievable, and she ends this first volume
in a predicament that is bound to test
her will and skill, and leaves the reader
wanting to know what comes next.
[email protected]Ellen Morton is a writer in Los Angeles.SPIN THE
DAWN
By Elizabeth Lim
Knopf for Young
Readers. 416
pp. $18.99The tailor’s
child will keep
you on pins
and needles
Lincoln, the successful one, is a com-
mercial real estate agent in Las Vegas.
Teddy, the broken one, is the editor of
a small religious press.
Mickey, the hard-living one, is a
musician who still rides a Harley.
Now 70, Russo clearly knows the plea-
sures and perils of retrospection, and he’s
constructed a novel about the way the
past constantly bleeds into the present.
Lincoln has invited his oldest friends to
the island for a long weekend because
he’s about to sell the home that’s been in
his family for decades. Crucially, this is
also where these three guys gathered
after graduation, 44 years ago, for a
weekend that changed their lives. None
of them will admit it out loud, but this is
an emotionally treacherous vacation for
them all.
One of the great pleasures of “Chances
Are.. .” stems from how gracefully Russo
moves the story along two time frames,
creating that uncanny sense of memories
that feel simultaneously near and re-
mote. The title comes from a classic
Johnny Mathis song that Mickey mocks,
but it also serves as a marker of the
novel’s theme about the way random
events — from college encounters to the
draft lottery — can cement a life’s direc-
tion.
As must always be the case, the years
have worn these old friends differently.
Lincoln is still married to his college
sweetheart, and though the Great Reces-
sion cut deeply, his business survived.
Teddy has lived an almost monastic life,
buffeted by depression and other ail-
ments. And Mickey’s rock-and-roll antics
have wracked his body. But togetherBOOK WORLD FROM C1 again on Martha’s Vineyard, their old
camaraderie dissolves those differences
and transports them back to that golden
moment when their lives were flush with
possibility.
Lincoln’s vacation house is a mad-
eleine dipped in beer. It’s clear from the
start that their memories of that old
post-graduation weekend are tinged
with a sorrow beyond the usual pain of
nostalgia. There’s a fourth character
here, most notable for her absence. Jacy
Calloway, a fellow college student, was a
wealthy wild child, loved by all of them —
a kind of Lady Brett Ashley in this circle
of drinking buddies. She came with them
to the island house on that momentous
weekend four decades ago and then
vanished without a trace.
“Chances Are.. .” is best when it
focuses on that tantalizing interplay of
past and present, the insistent way that
adolescent experiences and parental ex-
pectations continue to circumscribe our
hopes and dreams. Though they’re all of
retirement age, Lincoln, Teddy and Mick-
ey are still negotiating with their fathers
— dead or alive, makes no difference.
Arguments about moral failings and
missed opportunities have a shelf life
longer than Twinkies.
Naturally, returning to the island with
old friends evokes strong memories of
the missing girl they all loved and lost
over that Labor Day weekend in 1971. But
rather improbably, Lincoln decides to
start playing Barnaby Jones and track
down Jacy’s killer. A trip to the island
newspaper office leads to a dying police-
man who just might be able to catch the
faint scent of the cold case. By this point,
“Chances Are.. .” isn’t a cozy mystery per
se, but it’s just one cat away.What’s more disappointing, though, is
the way the novel doubles down on the
hackneyed cliche of the tragic, unattain-
able beauty. As college students, these
smitten guys never really knew Jacy, and
four decades later on Fantasy Island, they
don’t seem to understand the fundamen-
tal immaturity of their regard. Even in
their 60s, these guys are still musing
about what might have been: Jacy is “a
fever dream.” They hear “her siren call.”
It’s one thing for these characters to
celebrate their silly Three Musketeers
chivalry, but the novel seems equally
determined to dress them up in stale
romanticism.
Unfortunately, Russo tries to compli-
cate our understanding of Jacy by diving
deeper into the mystery of her disappear-
ance. That results in a long section of
increasingly melodramatic revelations
involving a host of offstage characters.
But this isn’t storytelling; it’s gossip.
Once the novel gets back to the present
day, it regains a more nuanced and
satisfying tone. Lincoln, Mickey and es-
pecially Teddy are allowed a second
chance at life they never expected. It’s
disappointing, though, to see how firmly
such complexity is denied the female
characters. Yet Russo is an undeniably
endearing writer, and chances are this
story will draw you back to the most
consequential moments in your own life.
[email protected]Ron Charles writes about books for The
Washington Post and hosts
TotallyHipVideoBookReview.com.On Aug. 9 at 7 p.m., Richard Russo will be at
Politics and Prose, 5015 Connecticut Ave.
NW, Washington.THE WASHINGTON POST/ISTOCKThe mists of time
creep up on them
KidsPost Summer Book Club
Lolly Rachpaul is angry after his brother
dies in a gang-related shooting. He
channels that anger into Lego-building. The
effort, which at first seems a distraction,
may be a way forward. C10HANNAH AGOSTA FOR THE WASHINGTON POST“Chances
Are.. .” is
best when
it focuses
on that
tantalizing
interplay of
past and
present.