At the center of this novel is a single, inexplicable incident from the end of the Spanish Civil War, when an unknown Republican soldier caught a leader of the right-wing Falange escaping a Republican firing squad but then walked away, sparing his life. Writing six decades later, Cercas frames his own investigation into this mystery …
Takiko is an overlooked heroine—a stubborn, pregnant young woman with nothing to recommend her except her conviction that she and her child should be entitled to a life worth living. Highlighting the healing powers of nature and small acts of social resistance, this book is inspiring in the subtlest of ways. —Lucy, Secret Garden Books, …
No one walks the fine line between enchantment and shadow quite like Ogawa, a tension she strikes with such precision in Mina’s Matchbox. Just like Tomoko, the reader can’t help but be infatuated with Mina, her eclectic family and the beautiful home they inhabit, all the while unable to shake the feeling that there is …
If you can find the mysterious Kokoro Clinic for the Soul, the cat distribution system (or, a rather bizarre doctor) will prescribe you a cat to help you with whatever ails you in life. These cats may not aid our various characters the way we expect! We’ll Prescribe You a Cat is a cozy magical …
Love spending hours on Wikipedia, falling down rabbit hole after rabbit hole? A book about writing, about research, about the endless unfolding paths whenever we latch on to something that fascinates every fiber of our being. Can’t stop dreaming about the next time you’ll get to dig through a university library archive/special collection? This book …
Little Shrew is simple, sweet, and reads like a classic! Just a little fuzzy guy living his best life, both in color and monochrome. I would love to have a life like Little Shrew’s, and as a fellow creature of habit, I saw a lot of myself in him and his daily routine. –Andrew King, …
This dizzying, death-leaning new classic could see a cult following beyond 2024. In Philip Roughton’s expert hands (he’s the translator of several Halldór Laxness novels, after all), Icelandic author Jón Kalman Stefánsson writes my favorite kind of novel: one that measures every maudlin, throbbing emotion of the human experience; one that trusts the intelligence and …
Every Wednesday, the Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association publishes the regional bestseller list. On Thursdays, we celebrate Thursday Themes to shine a spotlight on some of the books from the list and give our brains a different way of thinking about books. This week, the list is refreshed with some new-to-the-list titles. Until August Gabriel García Márquez, Anne McLean …
The Cat Who Saved Books is a love letter to book lovers, championing the emotional impact that stories have in the hearts and lives of readers. Tiger adds a bonus charming and Ghibli-esque aesthetic to this thoughtful, tender novel. — Andrew King, Secret Garden Bookshop, Seattle, WA It was International Dog Day last week, but …
Magical realism, myth, surrealism, fairytale, folk tale – call it what you will but this story is a major treat! Translated from the Japanese author’s (Maru Ayase) original by translator Haydn Trowell, this is the first of the author’s many novels to be translated into English. What a great decision! Our main character is tired …
