(Grove/PGW) |
2019 BOOKER PRIZE NOMINEE
FRANKISSSTEIN by Jeanette Winterson [to be released October 1, 2019]
It's 1816 and young Mary Shelley is crafting the story of a powerful new life form. . . In the present day, transgender doctor Ry falls for artificial intelligence expert Victor Stein. . . Recently divorced Ron Lord hopes to make his fortune with the latest in sex dolls. . . Meanwhile, at a cryogenics facility in Arizona, dozens of the medically and legally dead are about to reawaken. . . In multiple narrative threads, Jeanette Winterson explores themes of alienation, love, science, and humanity in a dazzling tour-de-force.
"Surges with inventiveness. . . Frankissstein is a book that seeks to shift our perspective on humanity and the purpose of being human in the most darkly
entertaining way. Gloriously well observed." - The Observer (U.K.).
"A riotous reimagining with an energy and passion all of its own that reanimates Frankenstein as a cautionary tale for our contemporary moment. While the story has a gripping momentum of its own, it also absolutely fizzes with ideas." - The Financial Times (U.K.).
"A dazzlingly intelligent meditation on the responsibilities of creation, the possibilities of artificial intelligence and the implications of both transsexuality and transhumanism. Winterson's great gift as a writer is the ability to inject pure thought with such freewheeling enthusiasm and energy that ideas take on their own kind of joyous life. Frankissstein abounds with invention. . . Deeply evocative historical realism balanced by hilarious, almost bawdy set pieces. . . A work of both pleasure and profundity, robustly and skillfully structured." - The Guardian (U.K.).
"Intelligent and inventive. . . Frankissstein is very funny. There has always been a fine line between horror and high camp, and this is a boundary that Winterson gleefully exploits." - The Times (U.K.)
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(Bloomsbury/Macmillan) |
2019 BOOKER PRIZE NOMINEE *SHORTLIST*
10 MINUTES 38 SECONDS IN THIS STRANGE WORLD by Elif Shafak [to be released September 24, 2019]
Leila, a sex worker living on the edges of Turkish underworld society, lies dying in an Istanbul rubbish bin.
In the 10 minutes and 38 seconds after her heart stops beating, her life flashes before her eyes - and ours.
An extraordinary tale of a brutalized, broken, but profoundly courageous woman who retains her humanity despite a world bent on crushing her at every turn.
"A testament to Shafak's brilliance as a storyteller. . . A profound, humanizing narrative. . . By revealing layer upon layer of Leila's interior life,
the novel draws a magnificently nuanced portrait of its protagonist. A piercing, unflinching look at the trauma women's minds and bodies are subjected to in a social system defined by patriarchal codes." - The Guardian (U.K.).
"Here is an object lesson in how fiction can at once entertain and enlighten. . . Not only exquisite compassion and humanity but also a vibrant evocation of a hidden Istanbul in the middle of the 20th century. In lush, rich, and lucid prose, Shafak gives voice to the invisible, the untouchable, the abused and the damaged, weaving their painful songs into a thing of beauty." - The Financial Times (U.K.).
"The novels of the Turkish writer Elif Shafak are so beguiling that it's easy to forget she is a serious activist and academic. Yet beneath the lush scene-setting and romantic storytelling, her bestselling tales about modern Turkey and Islam are strident calls to challenge fundamentalism and misogyny in the Middle East. On the face of it, there couldn't be a more depressing story. Yet Leila's tale is surprisingly uplifting. There is so much beauty in this book. And there's wisdom too. Thanks to Shafak, the voices of women like Leila will no longer be silenced." - The Times (U.K.).
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(Graywolf/Macmillan) |
2019 BOOKER PRIZE NOMINEE
LANNY by Max Porter
A mythical figure in an idyllic English village takes a special interest in Lanny, a precocious boy who has recently moved there with his parents. But then Lanny disappears,
and as a rush to judgement ensues, the village shows its darker colors of intolerance and suspicion.
A delightfully dark, stylish, and suspenseful gem of a novel from a master of the form.
"This imaginative novel starts off dreamily, picks up speed, and races to a propulsive conclusion. A guaranteed edge-of-your-seat read." - Library Journal *** starred review ***.
"What's weird and wonderful about Lanny is that it pays attention to and celebrates all the things ordinary people in an ordinary village say, finding them remarkable.
But what's weirder and more wonderful is that Porter's book is far from being a genre-compliant missing-child narrative. It's slipperier and more complex. Porter has performed a remarkable metaphysical trick." - The London Review of Books (U.K.).
"A rich, twisted, gloriously cacophonous novel
of village life. If Lanny hums throughout with hope and humor, the dark and the difficult are also always there." - The New York Times.
"Thrilling and bizarre. . . Lanny defies straightforward generic classification. A magically beguiling work, a triumph of artistic vision." - The Financial Times (U.K.).
"Max Porter's second novel is a fable, a collage, a dramatic chorus, a joyously stirred cauldron of words. . . Lanny is remarkable.
Porter is telling stories that link the immediate crises of individual lives with ancient, ageless currents of feeling and experience. He is a writer who takes risks, and this is the way new things are made." - The Guardian (U.K.).
"Whether offering psychological and emotional finesse, vigorous social comedy or vivid vignettes of the countryside, Lanny is expertly pitched. Shimmering with the uncanny, it's a remarkable feat of literary virtuosity." - The Times (U.K.)
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(Minotaur/Macmillan) |
A BETTER MAN by Louise Penny
Catastrophic spring flooding, blistering attacks in the media, and a mysterious disappearance greet Chief Inspector Armand Gamache as he returns to the
Sûreté du Québec as head of the Homicide Department.
"Over the past 14 years, Ms. Penny has written a saga in which both hero and author have grown in ability and assurance. A Better Man, with its mix of meteorological suspense, psychological insight and criminal pursuit, is arguably the best book yet in an outstanding, original oeuvre."
- The Wall Street Journal.
"Enchanting. one of Inspector Gamache's most ennobling missions." - The New York Times.
"Penny is a master at blending the modern evils affecting the big city and hidden secrets of the almost mythical village of Three Pines. Well-known characters return and new faces add richness to a narrative that will keep readers intrigued until the last page." - Library Journal *** starred review ***.
"This starts as a small-town mystery and becomes something grander. Penny reveals a deeper vulnerability in the introspective Gamache. The ending is adrenaline-filled." - Kirkus Reviews.
"Few mystery writers intertwine the personal lives of their characters with the crimes being investigated more skillfully than Penny does, and she is at her best here, as several key players face turning points in their lives, suggesting that if the past can strangle the present, it can also help clear the way for the future."
- Booklist *** starred review ***.
"Louise Penny's novels are unique for how seamlessly they straddle the line between charmingly small-town mysteries and big-city police procedurals. It's not to be missed!"
- BookPage (Top Pick).
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