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Fabulous Fiction Firsts #646 “Horror was rooted in sympathy . . . in understanding what it would be like to suffer the worst.” ~ Joe Hill

by muffy

World Fantasy Award–winner Theodora Goss's debut The Strange Case of the Alchemist's Daughter * is reworked from an earlier short story, bringing her "Gothic-inflected fantasies roaring into the steampunk era." (Publishers Weekly)

Mary Jekyll, alone and penniless after her mother's death, found among her mother's ledger monthly payment to the Magdalen Society for the upkeep of "Hyde". Curious and eager to claim the reward for the capture of Edward Hyde, her father’s former friend and a murderer, Mary enlisted the help of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, who were somewhat distracted in consulting for Inspector Lestrade in a series of gruesome murders of Whitechapel prostitutes.

Their hunt led them to Hyde’s daughter, Diana, and soon to Beatrice Rappaccini, Catherine Moreau, and Justine Frankenstein - other “monstrous” daughters of infamous scientists. This quintet of remarkable women took us on "a delightful romp through Victorian gothic literature, with a decidedly feminist slant", (Library Journal) and eventually to the Société des Alchimistes, a secret society of power-crazed scientists.

Winner of Best Horror Novel at the British Fantasy Awards 2016 The Girl from Rawblood * by Catriona Ward is set in an isolated mansion on Dartmoor called Rawblood (raw from sraw means the 'flowing' Dart River, blood from bont, a bridge), home to the only surviving members of the Villarca family - Iris and her father, Alonso.

For generations, the Villarcas have been haunted. When a Villarca marries, when they love, when they have a child, death follows. Thus Alonso made Iris promise to remain alone all her life. But at 15, Iris breaks that promise by falling in love, and the consequences of her choice are immediate and devastating. The narrative opens in 1910 with young Iris Villarca recounting "This is how I come to kill my father."

"Ward's layered and skillfully crafted novel weaves elements of classic gothic and horror into a remarkable story populated by unforgettable characters, palpable atmosphere, and rich lyricism. Imagine the darkest and goriest undertones of Edgar Allan Poe, the Brontës, Charles Dickens, and Shirley Jackson, and you'll have an idea of what Ward offers here." (Library Journal)

* = Starred review

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Fabulous Fiction Firsts #640 Love in Any Language

by muffy

Winner of the prestigious Prix Renaudot in 1988 and available for the first time in English (translated from the French by Kaiama L. Glover), Hadriana in All My Dreams * * * by Rene Depestre, combines magic, fantasy, eroticism, and delirious humor to explore universal questions of race and sexuality.

Set in the coastal town of Jacmel (the author's hometown) during the carnival season of 1938, when Hadriana Siloé, a sensuous pale-skinned Creole woman, collapses at her wedding altar. Two days later, when her corpse goes missing from her grave, zombification is suspected and it is feared that she had earlier taken a mysterious potion. Before we could hear directly from Hadriana herself, this traumatic event is observed from different angles - the locals are convinced a local villain, Balthazar Granchire is to blame, having been turned into an ugly butterfly by his sorcerer father, for his relentless lechery. Patrick, one of Hadriana’s many young admirers, narrates much of the novel, acting as a surrogate for the now-90-year-old Depestre, showing himself throughout to be a true savant on all things zombie.

"The truth of Hadriana’s fate proves more poignant than horrifying, but in Depestre’s hands, this incident is a touchstone of a culture in which distinctions between the empirical and spiritual are obscured, and whose traditional celebrations and beliefs introduce an element of the mythic into the everyday. Eroticism and humor course through his narrative." (Publishers Weekly)

Season of Crimson Blossoms * by writer and journalist Abubaker Adam Ibrahim, won the 2016 NLNG Prize for Literature, one of the world's richest ($100,000) literary prizes. Set in Northern Nigeria, it is the story of an illicit affair between a devout widow and a young gang leader.

55 year-old Binta Zubairu, a devout Muslim, a widow and grandmother met the 25 year-old Hassan Reza, a street gang leader when he scaled her fence and robbed her at knife point. Mysteriously, most of the stolen goods were returned, and when Reza appeared to apologize, the two were overcome by their inexplicable desire and began an illicit romance that brought on disastrous consequences.

"A powerful and compelling debut. The taboo subject of an older woman's sexuality, portrayed with courage, skill and delicacy, is explored in the context of the criminal underworld and the corrupt politics that exploits it. This is a novel to be savoured. " ~ Zoe Wicomb

* * * = 3 starred reviews

* = starred review

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Pulitzer Prize Winners 2017

by lucroe

The esteemed Pulitzer Prizes have been awarded for 2017 and they should all be required reading. Here is the list:

Fiction: Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead: picking up numerous awards besides the Pulitzer, including the National Book Award & the Carnegie Medal. At the top of many best book of the year lists for 2016. Whitehead chronicles two runaway slave's trials as they attempt to allude their captors with allegories that resound into the present day.

General Nonfiction: Evicted by Matthew Desmond: additional honors include the National Book Critics Circle Award, the Carnegie Medal, & PEN award. Desmond followed 8 families in Milwaukee struggling with poverty.

History: Blood in the Water by Heather Ann Thompson: another that picked up numerous accolades and awards for telling the incredible story of the uprisings as well as the aftermath

Bio/Autobiography: The return by Hisham Matar: a deeply moving portrait of the author's continued hope of finding his father alive after his mysterious disappearance in Libya

Poetry: by Tyehimba Jess: Multiple award winning poet and Detroit native, Jess, deserves an even bigger following with this fascinating collection of poetry and narrative

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Fabulous Fiction Firsts #631

by muffy

Borrowing the title from one of Dostoyevsky's famous novel, Elif Batuman's debut novel The Idiot * * * is a semi-autobiographical coming-of-age tale, set in 1995, that "delightfully captures the hyperstimulation and absurdity of the first-year university experience." (Library Journal)

Selin Karada, daughter of Turkish immigrants, arrives for her freshman year at Harvard eager and open to new experiences. She signs up for classes in subjects she has never heard of, and is intrigued with email, newly available on campus. In Russian class, Selin is befriended by Svetlana, a cosmopolitan Serb and, almost by accident, begins exchanging email with Ivan, a senior from Hungary. With each email they exchange, her feelings for Ivan intensifies, even knowing that he has a serious girlfriend.

At the end of the school year, after spending 2 weeks in Paris with Svetlana, Selin heads to the Hungarian countryside to teach English, hoping to meet up with Ivan on weekends, where the unfamiliar language gives rise to a succession of seemingly random but mild misadventures with her various host families.

“Selin is delightful company. She’s smart enough to know the ways in which she is dumb, and her off-kilter relationship to the world around her is revelatory and, often, mordantly hilarious... Self-aware, cerebral, and delightful.” (Kirkus Reviews)

Author Elif Batuman, a staff writer at The New Yorker, is a recipient of a Whiting Writers’ Award, a Rona Jaffe Foundation Writers’ Award, and a Paris Review Terry Southern Prize for Humor. She is a graduate of Harvard College and holds a PhD in comparative literature from Stanford University.

* * * = 3 starred reviews

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Fabulous Fiction Firsts #630

by muffy

The Woman Next Door, the U.S. debut of Yewande Omotoso is "an intimate, frequently hilarious look at the lives of two extraordinary women set in post-apartheid South Africa." (Booklist)

Nicknamed each other "Hortensia the Horrible" and "Marion the Vulture", these prickly octogenarians have been next-door neighbors for over 2 decades in Cape Town's upscale Katterijn community. Seeing beyond the obvious (one is black and one is white), they have a lot in common. Both are successful women with impressive careers. Opinionated, widowed and living alone, they both take a keen interest in community affairs, often the source of their friction.

When an unexpected event impacts both of their well-being, Hortensia and Marion are forced to take tiny steps toward civility. With conversations over time, each reflecting upon choices made, dreams deferred, and lost chances at connection, these proud, feisty women must decide whether to expend waning energy on their feud or call a truce.

Born in Barbados and grew up in Nigeria, Omotoso won the South African Literary Award in 2011 for her debut novel, Bom Boy. In 2013 she was a finalist for the inaugural, pan-African Etisalat Fiction Prize. She lives in Johannesburg, where she has her own architectural practice. Listen to the NPR podcast with the author.

"Like Helen Simonson's Major Pettigrew's Last Stand, which also depicts the wisdom found in aging, this novel will have universal appeal." (Library Journal)

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Academy Awards!

by manz

Last night at the 89th Academy Awards, hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, Oscar winners were announced for the best in film for the past year. While Kimmel has hosted the Emmys, this was his first time hosting the Oscars. After La La Land sweeping up at the Golden Globes, with fourteen Oscar nominations it was speculated they would sweep here as well. The film went home with six Oscars. They were also part of the big talk of the night, after giving an acceptance speech for “winning” Best Picture, when moments later it was announced that there was an error with the envelopes and that Moonlight was the actual winner.

Top film honors went to Moonlight for Best Picture, Zootopia for Best Animated Feature, O.J.: Made In America for Best Documentary Feature, and The Salesman for Best Foreign Language Film.

Individual Oscars went to Damien Chazelle for Best Director for La La Land, Casey Affleck for Leading Actor in Manchester By the Sea, and Emma Stone for Leading Actress in La La Land .
Supporting actor nods went to Mahershala Ali for Moonlight and Viola Davis in Fences.

Be sure to check out the complete list of winners in all categories! Film editing! Costume design! Cinematography!

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Unbecoming, by Jenny Downham

by manz

In Unbecoming, by Jenny Downham., we meet three generations of red-headed women, all with their own secrets and stories.

Seventeen year old Katie lives with her uptight mother Caroline and her younger brother, until one day Caroline’s Mother Mary abruptly comes into their lives. Estranged for years, Caroline does not want her mother to come live with them, even though she is suffering from dementia and needs care. As she temporarily stays with the family while social services sorts things out, everyone’s world turn upside down in different ways. On top of caring for her brother, and now her grandmother, Katie struggles to please her mother and keep secret who she’s been kissing. Caroline tries desperately to keep the past in the past and shove Mary away, while Mary tries so hard to remember her past as she wakes up daily wondering who these people are that she’s living with.

Wonderfully crafted, the book mostly stays in present day, but shifts back to Mary’s young adult life. The truth begins to unfold a rich family history of strong women who are either trying to break the rules or trying hard to follow them and keep things quiet and uneventful. Mary will have none of it! She wishes for adventure. If only she could remember.

It is an absolutely touching YA novel and it was a pleasure to spend time with these characters finding their place within their family and in the world. I would love to have a picnic with Mary on the beach.

The Stonewall Book Award is given annually to English-language children’s and young adult books of exceptional merit relating to the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender experience. This year there was one winner and three honors – one of which was Unbecoming.

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Fabulous Fiction Firsts #626, Debut Mysteries

by muffy

If you are waiting for The Girl Before *, J.P. Delaney's cunning debut, you might give these a try.

Little Deaths * * * by Emma Flint is inspired by a true crime case which occurred in Queens, NY in 1965.

When single-mother Ruth Malone reports her young children missing from a locked room with an open window, suspicion immediately falls on her. A stylish cocktail waitress who works long hours and is separated from her husband, Ruth smokes, drinks, and parties, often with married men and keeps their love letters under her bed.

When the bodies of the children are found, the police investigation focuses solely on her. The lead detective, a strict Catholic who believes women belong in the home, leaps to the obvious conclusion. The only person who becomes convinced that Ruth may not be guilty of the crime is Pete Wonicke, a rookie tabloid reporter determined to make a name for himself.

"This accomplished debut novel will intrigue fans of both true crime and noir fiction. Flint, a technical writer in London, is a welcome addition to the world of literary crime fiction. Readers of Megan Abbott may want to investigate." (Library Journal)

The Dry * (one of January's LibraryReads picks, and winner of the 2015 Victorian Premier Literary Award for an unpublished manuscript) is drawing debut novelist Jane Harper comparisons to Dennis Lehane.

It has been 20 years since he and his father were driven out under a cloud of suspicion, Melbourne-based Federal Agent Aaron Falk returns to his hometown Kiewarra for the funeral of his childhood best friend Luke. Beyond trying to repay the debt he owed Luke, he questions the official narrative that Luke killed his young family and committed suicide on his farm - the desperate act of a man pushed to the brink by financial woes caused by the area's two-year drought.

With the help of recently arrived Sgt. Raco, Falk finds that small towns have big secrets and Luke's death might be connected to Ellie Deacon’s suspicious death by drowning 20 years ago.

"From the ominous opening paragraphs, all the more chilling for their matter-of-factness, Harper, a journalist who writes for Melbourne’s Herald Sun, spins a suspenseful tale of sound and fury as riveting as it is horrific." (Publishers Weekly). Film rights to Reese Witherspoon’s production company.

Read-alike: The Broken Shore by Peter Temple which also offers a portrait of small-town Australia.

* * * = 3 starred reviews
* = starred reviews

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Newbery Awards Announced!

by manz

It’s a big day in the world of children’s literature and libraries! This morning awards were given for excellence in books, video and audio books for children and young adults at the American Library Association’s Youth Media Awards. The Newbery Medal is awarded annually to the author of the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children. This year there were three honors given in addition to the winner.

Winner:

The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill
Every year, the people of the Protectorate leave a baby as an offering to the witch who lives in the forest. They hope this sacrifice will keep her from terrorizing their town. But the witch in the forest, Xan, is kind and gentle. She shares her home with a wise Swamp Monster named Glerk and a Perfectly Tiny Dragon, Fyrian. Xan rescues the abandoned children and delivers them to welcoming families on the other side of the forest, nourishing the babies with starlight on the journey. One year, Xan accidentally feeds a baby moonlight instead of starlight, filling the ordinary child with extraordinary magic.

Honors:

Wolf Hollow by Lauren Wolk
Twelve-year-old Annabelle must learn to stand up for what's right in the face of a manipulative and violent new bully who targets people Annabelle cares about, including a homeless World War I veteran.

The Inquisitor’s Tale: Or, The Three Magical Children and Their Holy Dog by Adam Gidwitz
A peasant girl and her holy greyhound, an oblate on a mission from his monastery, and a young Jewish boy travel across medieval France to escape persecution and save holy texts from being burned.

Freedom Over Me: Eleven Slaves, Their Lives and Dreams Brought to Life by Ashley Bryan
Using original slave auction and plantation estate documents, contrasts the monetary value of a slave with the priceless value of life experiences and dreams that a slave owner could never take away.

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Caldecott Awards Announced!

by manz

The Caldecott Medal is awarded annually by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association, to the artist of the most distinguished American picture book for children. This year there were four honors given in addition to the winner. There were some really beautiful illustrations this year!

Winner:

Radiant Child: The Story of Young Artist Jean-Michel Basquiat, written and illustrated by Javaka Steptoe
Jean-Michel Basquiat and his unique, collage-style paintings rocked to fame in the 1980s as a cultural phenomenon unlike anything the art work had ever seen. But before that, he was a little boy who saw art everywhere: in poetry books and museums, in games and in the words that we speak, and in the pulsing energy of New York City. Now, award-winning illustrator Javaka Steptoe's vivid text and bold artwork echoing Basquiat's own introduce young readers to the powerful message and art doesn't always have to be neat or clean--and definitely not inside the lines--to be beautiful.

Honors:

They All Saw a Cat, written and illustrated by Brendan Wenzel
In simple, rhythmic prose and stylized pictures, a cat walks through the world, and all the other creatures see and acknowledge the cat.

Leave Me Alone!, written and illustrated by Vera Brosgol,
Grandmother wants so badly to be left alone to finish the knitting for her grandchildren that she leaves her tiny home and her big family to journey to the moon and beyond to find peace and quiet to finish her knitting.

Freedom in Congo Square, illustrated by R. Gregory Christie, written by Carole Boston Weatherford
As slaves relentlessly toiled in an unjust system in 19th century Louisiana, they all counted down the days until Sunday, when at least for half a day they were briefly able to congregate in Congo Square in New Orleans. Here they were free to set up an open market, sing, dance, and play music. They were free to forget their cares, their struggles, and their oppression. This story chronicles slaves' duties each day, from chopping logs on Mondays to baking bread on Wednesdays to plucking hens on Saturday, and builds to the freedom of Sundays and the special experience of an afternoon spent in Congo Square.

Du Iz Tak?, written and illustrated by Carson Ellis
Readers are invited to imagine the dramatic possibilities to be found in the natural world, even the humblest back garden! With exquisitely-detailed illustration that will appeal to children and art-lovers alike, and a wonderfully playful invented language, we soon find ourselves speaking "Bug" ... Du iz tak? What is that?