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Spotlight on: Those We Thought We Knew by David Joy

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David Joy, photo credit Ashley T. Evans

“I think there’s a great deal of that blend of horror in the tradition where my work is rooted. I think about a writer like William Gay and a story like “The Paperhanger,” O’Connor and a character like the misfit or McCarthy’s Lester Ballard. That’s to say that is the tradition. With this book specifically, though, it was very much a treatise on violence. I wanted there to be moments the reader put the book down because they couldn’t face what was happening on the page. I wanted there to be moments that very same reader cheered the violence on with a fiery sense of vengeance and justice. I wanted the reader to recognize those moments and reactions and question the difference. Those were lofty goals that may very well have been unreached, but that was the intent. The difference in those two reactions speaks a great deal to our humanity.” ― David Joy, Interview, Daily Yonder

Those We Thought We Knew by David Joy

What booksellers are saying about Those We Thought We Knew

  • As another white North Carolinian tired of the nodding heads and silent, complicit racism dominating each environment I’ve ever lived in, I am so proud to know works like this can come from here. David Joy has reached a new level of expertise with this stunningly crafted work of art. He creates so many fully-fleshed voices and turns out a story that can only come from this place and this time. By the last line, I was ready to nominate him for a Pulitzer.
      ― Alissa Redmond from South Main Book Co in Salisbury, NC | Buy from South Main Book Company

  • David Joy understands the human condition and, in particular, the complexities, pain, love, and loyalty that live in so many rural areas of our country. His latest novel is a brilliant exploration of the things we cherish and the things for which we fight, the way we hold memories close, and the lies we tell ourselves to ensure the past remains pure.
      ― Leslie Logemann from Highland Books in Brevard, NC | Buy from Highland Books

  • I love David Joy’s books. They are raw and gritty and always give me a different perspective. His books can be quite full of violence (always fits well into the story), and this one at first did not appear as violent. However, I did reflect on what transpired in this new novel and realized it was actually full of racism and violence; it reminds the reader that whether you are in a big city or a small town, the same things are happening. His attention to detail, his ability to capture the talk of western NC locals, and his use of historical events all made me thoroughly enjoy and appreciate Joy’s newest novel.
      ― Suzanne Lucey from Page 158 Books in Wake Forest, NC | Buy from Page 158 Books

About David Joy

David Joy is the author of When These Mountains Burn (winner of the 2020 Dashiell Hammett Award), The Line That Held Us (winner of the 2018 SIBA Book Prize), The Weight of This World, and Where All Light Tends to Go (Edgar finalist for Best First Novel). Joy lives in Tuckasegee, North Carolina.

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Ozark Dogs by Eli Cranor

Mixing identity conflict and family secrecy with blood-ties and murder, Eli Cranor delivers a literary punch with his newest novel, Ozark Dogs. Set in the Ozarks, this story follows a true crime case involving drug-smuggling Klansmen turned evangelicals and a Vietnam War vet named Jeremiah, who is committed to saving his granddaughter from a dark path, even if it means getting himself into trouble. I absolutely could not put this one down. The prose is immersive, and the depth with which Cranor writes is beautifully nuanced.

Ozark Dogs by Eli Cranor, (List Price: 26.95, Soho Crime, 9781641294539, April 2023)

Reviewed by Leo Coffey, Union Ave Books in Knoxville, Tennessee

Fugitive Telemetry by Martha Wells

If Martha Wells wrote a Murderbot book every week, I would read a Murderbot book every week. Honestly, I’m pretty sure this series is what got me through 2020. Fugitive Telemetry (#6) can be read as a stand-alone or in order. It doesn’t matter. Our solitude-seeking killer robot protagonist is forced to solve the murder of a human on a planet. (He hates planets AND talking to humans! Why won’t everyone leave him alone so he can stream his media in peace?) Anyone who loves noir detective fiction will love this as well as sci fi fans. Just read it!!!

Fugitive Telemetry by Martha Wells (List Price: $19.99, Tordotcom, 9781250765376, 4/27/2021)

Reviewed by Kelly Justice, Fountain Bookstore in Richmond, Virginia

The Committed by Viet Thanh Nguyen

After the stunning and beloved debut of The Sympathizer, expectations were somehow surpassed with Viet Thanh Nguyen’s sequel. We are dropped right back into the two minds whose razor sharp criticism and empathy are now directed at the French. In a country that is often depicted as being devoid of contemporary racism, The Committed shines an unforgiving light on centuries of colonialist hypocrisy. A story of the dangers of ideology and the crucial role of humor in revolution, The Committed is everything I didn’t even know I wanted in a sequel.

The Committed by Viet Thanh Nguyen (List Price: $27, Grove Press, 9780802157065, 3/2/2021)

Reviewed by Lucia Drinkwalter, Flyleaf Books in Chapel Hill, North Carolina

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