The Riveter, by Jack Wang
Jack Wang’s debut novel about a Chinese Canadian man serving his country during World War II offers a fresh perspective on an oft-covered conflict. Logger Josiah Chang leaves the backwoods to work in Vancouver’s shipyards. Driven by a love affair and the hope of citizenship, he enlists.
Whether he’s in training or in battle, Josiah’s principled decency powers the absorbing tale.
Why We Wrote This
Our reviewers’ picks for this month include a humorous and touching novel by Anne Tyler, short stories set among Canada’s First Nations, and a history of formerly enslaved people seeking their loved ones after the U.S. Civil War.
Waiting For the Long Night Moon, by Amanda Peters
Amanda Peters’ powerful short-story collection, the follow-up to her novel “The Berry Pickers,” stares down and sifts through painful truths – the legacy of residential schools, the current scourge of missing Indigenous women, the devaluing of First Nations lands and lives. Many of the stories are deeply sad (and, in some cases, violent), yet awe, care, and community still emerge.
Going Home, by Tom Lamont
A trio of unlikely British men are tasked with unexpected fatherhood duties in the care of a delightfully inquisitive 4-year-old named Joel. The novel’s unforgettable characters and emphasis on caregiving and friendship spread a poignant and joyful message.
Isola, by Allegra Goodman
Allegra Goodman’s novel follows the story of real-life French noblewoman Marguerite de la Rocque de Roberval in 1542. Orphaned at 3 years old and robbed of her fortune, she’s dragged aboard a ship sailing for New France by her guardian, only to be abandoned on a desolate island. Her transformation – and ignited faith – is astonishing.
Three Days in June, by Anne Tyler
A long-divorced couple are thrown together by their daughter’s wedding. The novel spans the day before, the day of, and the day after the ceremony. It’s not as complex as some of Anne Tyler’s other books, but it’s delightful – frequently hilarious, yet also touching.
We All Live Here, by Jojo Moyes
Lila’s life implodes when her cheating husband walks out, her mother dies, her manuscript is due, her stepfather moves in, and the children are acting up. In this beautifully written novel, Jojo Moyes explores resilience, forgiveness, and community.
Maya & Natasha, by Elyse Durham
Two Soviet-era dancers – twin sisters – vie for a single slot at the famed Kirov Ballet. The lengths to which either sister will go to derail the other’s career testifies to the desperation of artists hemmed in by a repressive government. Ambition, love, cruelty, and the longing for forgiveness circle one another warily in Elyse Durham’s darkly atmospheric debut novel.
Harlem Rhapsody, by Victoria Christopher Murray
The 1920s saw the emergence of Black artists and writers in what became known as the Harlem Renaissance. This historical novel tells the story of real-life educator and author Jessie Redmon Fauset, who discovered and mentored the literary dreams of writers such as Langston Hughes and Nella Larsen.
Fauset’s remarkable career and tempestuous relationship with civil rights activist W.E.B. Du Bois are explored in Victoria Christopher Murray’s dynamic tale.
One Day, Everyone Will Always Have Been Against This, by Omar El Akkad
Journalist Omar El Akkad takes on the West’s “glaring disconnect between cultural self-image and pragmatic reality” in his luminous, heartbroken new work. Whether describing what he sees as the abysmal treatment of Arabs post-9/11 or the annihilation of Palestinians in Gaza today, he “agitates against silence” and advocates for change. This is moral outrage on steroids.
Last Seen, by Judith Giesberg
For decades after the Civil War, formerly enslaved people placed advertisements in newspapers seeking information about family members from whom they’d been separated in the antebellum South. Historian Judith Giesberg has created an archive of thousands of these ads; her affecting book focuses on 10 cases that powerfully illuminate the inhumanity of slavery.
