It stars Maggie O’Farrell, Ann Patchett, Andrew Sean Greer and others
Maggie O’Farrell’s landAnn Patchett’s Whistlerand Andrew Sean Greer Villa Coco All of these are among the best-reviewed fiction titles of the month.
Brought to you by book marksLit Hub’s home for book reviews.
*
1. land By Maggie O’Farrell
(knopf)
14 revs • 1 positive • 3 mixed • 1 pan
“A soaring, visionary tale that connects the known world with the murky realms of Celtic legend…as men and women struggle land Suffering defeat and conquering disbelief, it is his strength as well as his weakness that wins our sympathy and holds our attention…His lyrical descriptions bring new poignancy to the clichéd scenes of exile.’
-Anna Mundo (wall street journal)
2. Whistler by Ann Patchett
(Harper)
11 rev • 5 positive • 2 pan
read an excerpt from Whistler Here
“Is there a place for kind, happy characters and kind, happy stories in serious literature? This intimate and entertaining novel makes this point strong; as shown in her work, such strength of feeling is part of Patchett’s liberal worldview.”
-Helen Shulman (New York Times Book Review)
3. Drayton and McKenzie by Alexander Starit
(Atlantic Monthly Press)
9 rave • 3 positive
Read an essay by Alexander Starit here
“It’s a mark of Starritt’s confidence that the quest to harness tidal energy – the main business of the book – clocks in at just 200 pages. We feel in safe hands from the start, confident that he knows every last twist of the story…With a delightful knack for pithy analogy, the writing draws our attention along with the events…While there’s no shortage of conversations about electrolysers and optimal blade rotation, Starritt gives his take on the human story. What Keeps the Focus About Invention: Hanging Quietly on the Action The fact that James, acclaimed as a visionary, relied mostly on other people for his ideas, however, makes the criticism of the genius of a disruptive era less important here than the sentiment and friendship.
-Anthony Cummins (Guardian)
4. My Year in Paris with Gertrude Stein: A Fantasy by Deborah Levy
(Farrar, Straus and Giroux)
7 rev • 5 positive
“A light-hearted, free-associative novel about female friendship and literary inspiration… If the combination of Levy’s light tone and bookish detail on Stein doesn’t always come together, all parts of this novel are delightful in their own right: funny, sweeping, and worthy of their comma-challenged collection.”
-Julie Phillips (4Column)
5. Villa Coco By Andrew Sean Greer
(Doubleday)
6 rev • 5 positive • 1 mixed • 2 pan
read an excerpt from Villa Coco Here
“If you’re looking for a work of fiction that’s captivating from beginning to end, Villa Coco There’s a book for you. It’s charmingly entertaining from the start… Greer’s novel is a Tuscan romance full of sunshine and wonder while offering a deep meditation on growing up, growing old, and navigating the many crossroads in between.
-Alice Carey (book page)
