And, apparently, it is just the first volume of a planned trilogy.Ī theme park based on Dante’s Divine Comedy? Following the satirical and yet disturbing terrorist hell that Randy Boyagoda gave us in Original Prin (2018), the second installment, Dante’s Indiana, sends us to purgatory in the U.S. But this just scrapes the surface of a story, told from multiple points of view, that involves youthful passion, adult betrayals, religious striving, drug addiction, mental illness and much else to boot. novelist Jonathan Franzen’s tale of average people struggling for meaningful lives. Powers can get awkward in his plotting, but his descriptive prose, whether he’s describing the smallest fungi or the vastness of the universe, is wondrous.Ī family of Protestant believers in suburban Chicago in 1971 is the subject of acclaimed U.S. Longlisted for the National Book Award and shortlisted for the Booker Prize, this novel of ideas deals with such urgent scientific issues as experimental neuroscience and environmental collapse but focuses, with tenderness and insight, on people, especially on the emotional bond between a struggling father and son. Her combination of philosophical thought, authentic dialogue and appealing intimate scenes is a treat, relying on her command of the language rather than an overly inventive plot. Irish writer Sally Rooney’s third novel, after her highly successful Conversations with Friends and Normal People, offers more thoughtful insight into the lives of millennials, particularly two unmarried couples, who are not exactly sure if they can make the world a better place. Through these encounters and others, Astra remains elusive and tantalizing to readers as a fascinating, sometimes unlikable but always sympathetic character. In a satisfying and unique storytelling method, Astra’s story is told by 10 of the people who come in and out of her life as she moves from girlhood to maturity. She weaves the ancient text with her own life in a text that is challenging and entertaining as it solves some mysteries and introduces others.Ĭedar Bowers’ debut novel may remind readers of Winnipeg author Carol Shields’ 1993 Governor General prize-winning novel The Stone Diaries, in which the main character tells her own story in the third person, showing the impossibility of viewing yourself objectively. Her seamless combination of poetry and prose enlightens and enchants. Irish poet Doireann Ní Ghríofa uses detailed research and creative speculation to bring the 18th-century Irish lament The Keen for Art O’Leary to life in her first prose book, A Ghost in the Throat. In it, she follows a number of trans women in their 30s, through their breakouts and breakdowns, as they attempt to settle into the lives they dream.
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