All tagged fiction

Beneath the Bonfire – Nickolas Butler

While the author primarily focuses on the experiences of straight white men, his narratives transcend the typical masculine tropes. With raw emotional honesty, he taps into the inner workings of the male psyche, examining the impact of toxic masculinity, friendship, fatherhood, trauma, loss, identity and nature on the common man. 

Real Americans – Rachel Khong

Exploring the complexities of family, identity and the American Dream – plus the ethics of genome editing for good measure – it's the type of novel that could easily veer into literary excess but Khong showed a remarkable knack for balancing heavy ideas with beach read sensibilities. 

Severance – Ling Ma

The alternating timelines – one focused on a small group of Shen Fever refugees, and the other Candace’s experiences as the daughter of Chinese immigrants – allow Ma the runway to take her core themes in interesting directions, but it felt like the merging of two novels into one versus a cohesive narrative.

Martyr! – Kaveh Akbar

Expectation: Writers jumping from poetry to fiction often struggle with pacing and characterization, so I expected an ostentatious mess.

Reality: Akbar's poetic prose and captivating characters shine through the non-linear structure, making “Martyr!” an engaging read despite its occasional superfluousness.

Wandering Stars – Tommy Orange

Expectation: A study in modern Indigenous life in California told through interwoven stories.

Reality: A powerful but uneven exploration of Native American identity that falters a bit as both a sequel/prequel to “There There” but shines with a stellar audiobook narration.

Yellowface – R. F. Kuang

Expectation: A timely and highly literary story about plagiarism and diversity set against the backdrop of the publishing industry.

Reality: A dark, shocking and highly engrossing novel that dismantles so many hot button issues in less than 400-pages. Unfortunately the last third lost steam.