This spring has been one of the chilliest in decades, which might be why my thoughts have been turning toward the Arctic Circle. More likely, though, it’s because of the paperback re-release of Nobody Gets Out Alive, a debut book of fiction from Alaska native Leigh Newman. A collection of dazzling, courageous stories about women …
A staid academic’s life in the English department is shaken by the appearance of a charismatic younger law professor in this new Seattle-set novel by the author of How to Raise a Feminist Son. The characters separately traverse emotional, professional, and political minefields, guided by protocols of power, gender, and race (he’s white, she’s Pakistani) …
For more than a hundred years, Apple Island off the coast of Maine has existed in two states. To its residents, immigrants and the descendants of the enslaved, it’s a haven for a self-supporting community of hardworking, close-knit families. To the mainlanders who deign to notice it at all, it’s a poor and squalid place …
Now this is a crowd-pleaser. A novel set in contemporary India featuring political corruption, intricate family dynamics, and crimes violent and clandestine, it’s highly literate yet built for speed—it might best be considered as a Godfather for the 21st century. It’s won praise from both Booker Prize-winners such as Marlon James and blockbuster thriller writers including …
We’re only weeks past the announcement of the most recent Booker Prize, something Percival Everett coulda (shoulda?) won for The Trees, and he already has a stellar new novel for us. Dr. No is a serious romp, if such a thing can be imagined (and by Everett it can). A spoof of Ian Fleming-style thrillers …
Nicola Griffith returns with a queer recasting of Arthurian legend with Spear, the story of a young woman, a Grail quest, and love. Many know Griffith from her fabulous Hild, the story of the seventh-century saint, and while Spear travels some of that same landscape, it is definitely flush with magic and dragons. Marvelous stuff! —A Good …
One of the hazards in the fast-growing American cities of the late 1800s was fire, and the Northwest was no exception. Most of us are familiar with the 1889 blaze that reshaped Seattle’s streets, but Spokane fell victim to flame in the same year. Unlike the Seattle fire, Spokane’s conflagration remains unexplained, which enables Leyna …
The Angel of Rome by Jess Walter One of the most popular authors at Madison Books, and one of my own favorites, Jess Walter is an infallibly engaging storyteller, equaled by few in that regard. More than that, he has a quality that even fewer writers share, that of continual reinvention—every book is different in …
New Paperback of the Week from Madison Books Among the booksellers of my acquaintance, this was by far the most-anticipated book of the year. Author Mikel Jollett was once a young fiction writer of growing reputation who made an unexpected career turn and became the front-man for indie band Airborne Toxic Event. His literary talent …
I first read Brian Doyle’s The Grail (Oregon State University Press, $18.95) while serving on the Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association Awards Committee years ago. I fell in love with his abundant affection for people and place and his exquisite prose. Over the years, I had the pleasure of meeting him several times. I was just discovering his poetry/poetic essays and …
