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Rejection by Tony Tulathimutte

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Rejection by Tony Tulathimutte
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I lost track of how many times I gasped while reading this; it may be *so* “so wrong it’s right” that it’s actually just, well, wrong. I almost threw the book across the room at several parts for being too funny, too heartbreaking, and/or too gross. There is sheer genius at work here, not just in the agile prose and acrobatic structure, but in how Tulathimutte dares to completely explode every social, romantic, artistic, and online convention–how the book risks annihilating even itself.

Rejection by Tony Tulathimutte, (List Price: $28, William Morrow, 9780063337879, September 2024)

Reviewed by Kristen Iskandrian, Thank You Books in Birmingham, Alabama

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Silken Gazelles by Jokha Alharthi

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Silken Gazelles by Jokha Alharthi
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This shattered my poor heart into a million pieces. The third Alharthi novel I’ve read and now, my favorite. Easily the most insightful novel on female friendship of the decade. Perfect for Ferrante and Rooney fans, for anyone who’s lost a friend and searched for her in every shadow of their life. A haunting and dazzling story.

Silken Gazelles by Jokha Alharthi, (List Price: $27, Catapult, 9781646222070, August 2024)

Reviewed by Emily Tarr, Thank You Books in Birmingham, Alabama

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I Don’t Care by Ágota Kristóf

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I Don't Care by Ágota Kristóf
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What a freaky little book! A good intro to Kristof’s bleak humor and hyper-precise observations. Some stories have a charming O. Henry quality; others start weird and just get weirder. Recommended for anyone who needs to be shaken out of a mental torpor–like having icy water thrown onto your brain.

I Don’t Care by Ágota Kristóf, (List Price: $13.95, New Directions, 9780811235167, September 2024)

Reviewed by Kristen Iskandrian, Thank You Books in Birmingham, Alabama

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The Hypocrite by Jo Hamya

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The Hypocrite by Jo Hamya
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A perfect book. So original, with an astounding use of multiple narratives that keeps you on your toes until the very last page. The writing is gorgeous and ethereal; the power of tone makes the reading experience feel like you are sitting in a dark theater one minute, climbing a volcano the next, it’s all-encompassing. Hamya makes constructing a revelatory novel look easy; this is what contemporary literature should be in every sense, a gift I would be hard-pressed to forget and will be so excited to put in the hands of all my favorite friends and readers.

The Hypocrite by Jo Hamya, (List Price: $26, Pantheon, 9780593701034, August 2024)

Reviewed by Emily Tarr, Thank You Books in Birmingham, Alabama

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The Tyranny of Flies by Elaine Vilar Madruga

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The Tyranny of Flies by Elaine Vilar Madruga
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This really took me by surprise. Incredibly funny, in a way so unique to its horror and its political and familial commentary, that it feels almost illegal to laugh but also impossible not to. A marvelous portrait of juvenilia and madness, thick with a mania unlike anything I’ve read before.

The Tyranny of Flies by Elaine Vilar Madruga, (List Price: $18.99, HarperVia, 9780063330733, June 2024)

Reviewed by Emily Tarr, Thank You Books in Birmingham, Alabama

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The Brush by Hernández-Pachón, Eliana

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The Brush by Eliana Hernández-Pachón
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Powerful and devastating. The language is so concise and brilliantly moving. Every word makes a massive impact in this slim, arresting poem.

The BrushThe Brush by Eliana Hernández-Pachón, (List Price: $17, Archipelago, 9781953861863, March 2024)

Reviewed by Emily Tarr, Thank You Books in Birmingham, Alabama

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Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar

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Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar
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The rarest triumph–a novel that tackles the weightiest subjects without withholding joy! An odyssey to understand death emerges as a shockingly powerful affirmation of life, love, and belonging. Cyrus Shams is a protagonist that felt immediately iconic–boldly morose, exuberantly weird, hilarious and frustrating and exceptionally human. Akbar has written a book that defies neat categorization, one that you’ll want to hand to any person in your life who “gets you” and say, read this, and let’s talk.

Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar, (List Price: $28, Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, 9780593537619, January 2024)

Reviewed by Kristen Iskandrian, Thank You Books in Birmingham, Alabama

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The Book of Ayn by Lexi Freiman

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The Book of Ayn by Lexi Freiman
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The rare book that will make you laugh out loud, gasp with disbelief, cringe, and ultimately, cheer. A book that reminds us to have fun, that restores “fun” to its rightful place as a virtue of reading. Anna’s descent into a Randian abyss is spiked with so much humor and insight, you’ll almost forget whose side you’re on. Freiman is a writer of breathtaking talent, and fans of her first book will adore this one.

The Book of Ayn by Lexi Freiman, (List Price: $27, Catapult, 9781646221929, November 2023)

Reviewed by Kristen Iskandrian, Thank You Books in Birmingham, Alabama

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School of Instructions by Ishion Hutchinson

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School of Instructions by Ishion Hutchinson
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Totally unlike any poetry collection I’ve ever read before. The harsh descriptions of World War I, in lyric conversation with the innocence and virtue of a schoolboy, make this collection so sublime and reverential.

School of Instructions by Ishion Hutchinson, (List Price: $26, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 9780374610265, November 2023)

Reviewed by Emily Tarr, Thank You Books in Birmingham, Alabama

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Absolution by Alice McDermott

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Absolutionby Alice McDermott
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There’s so much I could say about this epistolary novel set in 1963 Saigon and confessing to the lives of two American wives in Ho Chí Minh’s Vietnam, but for now, I’ll say: Alice McDermott is (maybe) my favorite living novelist, and Absolution is (maybe) her best novel yet.

Absolution by Alice McDermott, (List Price: $28, Farrar, Straus and Giroux , 9780374610487, 2023-10-31)

Reviewed by Laura Cotten, Thank You Books in Birmingham, Alabama

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This Is Salvaged by Vauhini Vara

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This Is Salvaged by Vauhini Vara
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This collection feels so alive. It’s not just the memorable characters set spinning toward questionable ventures, it’s the sense of play and fun that pervades each story, each line. In never taking any moment too seriously, Vara accomplishes the serious work of truth-telling that actually feels true.

This Is Salvaged by Vauhini Vara, (List Price: $26.95, W. W. Norton & Company, 9780393541731, September 2023)

Reviewed by Kristen Iskandrian, Thank You Books in Birmingham, Alabama

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The Road to the City by Natalia Ginzburg

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The Road to the City by Natalia Ginzburg
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Like all of Natalia Ginzburg’s excellent works, The Road to the City feels like something so fresh, tender, and intimate, you can barely breathe until it’s done and can barely believe it could ever be over.

The Road to the City by Natalia Ginzburg, (List Price: 17.95, New Directions, 9780811234757, July 2023)

Reviewed by Emily Tarr, Emily Tarr, Thank You Books in Birmingham, Alabama

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