Weekly Words about New Books in
Independent Bookstores
May 15 2022
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Exploring Wealth and Privilege With a Unique Narrative Lens, and Father/Daughter Story Told Through Time Travel Lens |
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Trust by Hernan Diaz. The author's first novel, In the Distance, was a Pulitzer Prize finalist, and his unconventional new effort could well produce similar attention. Set in the early 1900s, the book focuses on a legendary Wall Street tycoon, Andrew Bevel, and his aristocratic wife Mildred. Together, they have survived the Wall Street crash of 1929 and risen to the very top of a world of seemingly endless wealth. But at what cost have they acquired their immense fortune?
That's the story Diaz sets out to tell, but he chooses a bold and unique format to do so, creating four different narratives written by four different characters in four different styles. The first piece is an unflattering novel titled Bonds about a wealthy financier and his wife, who prove to be thinly disguised versions of Andrew and Mildred Bevel. Part two is an unfinished memoir, undertaken by Bevel in response to the perceived indignities wrought by Bonds, that does little to help his cause. In the third 'chapter,' we meet Ida Partenza, an ambitious magazine writer who reveals more about Bevel as she writes about her time as his secretary. Ida also discovers a diary written by the now-deceased Mildred, which introduces readers to the woman whose mental health (and characters' reaction to it) are a recurring theme in Diaz's book.
In a starred review, Booklist said, “For all its elegant complexity and brilliant construction, Diaz's novel is compulsively readable, and despite taking place in the early 1900s, the plot reads like an indictment of the start of the twenty-first century with its obsession with obscure financial instruments and unhinged capital accumulation. A captivating tour de force that will astound readers with its formal invention and contemporary relevance."
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This Time Tomorrow by Emma Straub. The author of bestselling novels like All Adults Here, The Vacationers, and Modern Lovers is something of a rock star in the bookstore world. In addition to being a writer, Straub and her husband own Books Are Magic, an independent bookstore in Brooklyn, New York. With her new novel, just out this week, Straub delivers her own take on the increasingly popular subject of time travel in a warm and witty father-daughter story. Here's a description from the publisher:
On the eve of her 40th birthday, Alice’s life isn’t terrible. She likes her job, even if it isn’t exactly the one she expected. She’s happy with her apartment, her romantic status, her independence, and she adores her lifelong best friend. But her father is ailing, and it feels to her as if something is missing. When she wakes up the next morning she finds herself back in 1996, reliving her 16th birthday. But it isn’t just her adolescent body that shocks her, or seeing her high school crush, it’s her dad: the vital, charming, 40-something version of her father with whom she is reunited. Now armed with a new perspective on her own life and his, some past events take on new meaning. Is there anything that she would change if she could?
Vogue magazine included This Time Tomorrow in its “Best Books of 2022, So Far” with this blurb: “Known for her plucky voice and sweetly amusing ensemble comedies, Emma Straub returns with her most emotionally resonant work yet… Beneath the layers of ’90s nostalgia and sci-fi portals to the past lies something even more satisfying: a complicated tale that doesn’t feel the slightest bit complicated.”
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Novel About Surfers Set in Malibu Is a Natural Beach Read |
Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid. Last summer was a good one professionally for Reid. Her new novel and Indie Next pick Malibu Rising was published to critical praise, and her 2018 novel, The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, became a star on Tik Tok and leapt onto bestseller lists across the country. A year later, Evelyn Hugo, the story of a reclusive Hollywood actress in the mid-20th century, is still on bestseller lists and may soon be joined by the paperback edition of Malibu Rising, which hits bookstore shelves this week. In her family drama set against the backdrop of the Malibu surf culture of the 1980s, Reid delivers an entertaining cast of believably flawed characters whose individual stories provide juicy subplots throughout the book.
The main plot, set in 1983, revolves around the annual end-of-summer party thrown by Nina Riva, one of four celebrity Riva siblings. In addition to the talented surfer and supermodel Nina, there are brothers Jay and Hud - one a championship surfer, the other a renowned photographer - and their adored baby sister Kit. The siblings are a source of fascination, not just in Malibu but the world over - especially as the offspring of the legendary singer Mick Riva. Unfortunately, the party is not a happy occasion for all, particularly as it features four siblings abandoned by their father at a young age and with baggage and secrets galore. Not surprisingly, the festivities will devolve into a total disaster, but not before family secrets rear their heads and the four siblings find their lives changed forever.
Reviewing the book last year, Kirkus Reviews said, “Reid’s descriptions of Malibu are so evocative that readers will swear they feel the sea breeze on their faces or the grit of the sand between their toes. . . . A compulsively readable story about the bonds between family members and the power of breaking free.”
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WHY THE COLUMN?
Hi, I'm Hut Landon, and I'm a bookseller in an independent bookstore in BerkeIey, CA.
My goal here is to keep readers up to date about new books hitting the shelves, share what indie booksellers are recommending in their stores, and pass on occasional news about the book world.
I'm not into long, wordy reviews or literary criticism; HUT'S PLACE is meant to be a quick, fun read for book buyers. If you have any friends who you think might like receiving this column, simply click on "Forward this email" below and enter their email address. There is also a box to add a short message.
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WHERE TO FIND AN INDEPENDENT BOOKSTORE
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