The Shadow King by Maaza Mengiste In her second novel, The Shadow King, Maaza Mengiste has crafted a beautiful, intense, and educational historical-fiction novel about war (specifically, women and war), national pride, and memory. This novel is not only wildly
Burnt Sugar by Avni Doshi In her debut novel, Burnt Sugar,Avni Doshi has crafted a harsh and honest novel that follows Tara and Antara’s complicated mother-daughter relationship, strained even further by Tara’s early-onset memory loss. The novel begins in modern
The New Wilderness by Diane Cook In her debut novel, The New Wilderness, Diane Cook bravely explores an intimate and difficult mother-daughter relationship set in a future dystopian world ravaged by climate change. Bea’s five-year-old daughter Agnes is dying from
Real Life by Brandon Taylor In his first, partially autobiographical novel, Real Life, Brandon Taylor has crafted a unique and personal piece of writing that contemplates a wide variety of complicated and relevant social topics while following Wallace as he
Shuggie Bain by Douglas Stuart After finishing the book, it was no shock to me that Shuggie Bain, Douglas Stuart’s very first novel, was chosen as the 2020 Booker Prize winner. In this equally painful and beautiful novel, Stuart has
This Mournable Body by Tsitsi Dangarembga In her third addition to the Nervous Conditions series, Tsitsi Dangarembga has masterfully crafted a deeply personal, yet historically informative novel that forces the reader to bear witness to Tambudzai’s “unmaking” and her desperate
