Gunk (Knopf 2026), Saba Sams’s debut novel, is the sort of novel that will likely win prizes. It is also the sort of novel that I don’t find enjoyable. There’s nothing “wrong” with the novel. It’s well-written. It has a beginning, middle, and end. Sams clearly has talent. But it just never “clicked” for me,Continue reading “GUNK – Saba Sams”
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I HOPE YOU FIND WHAT YOU’RE LOOKING FOR – Bsrat Mezghebe
“Women were at the mercy of those who sired them, those who married them, and those they birthed.” Bsrat Mezghebe’s debut, I Hope You Find What You’re Looking For ( Liveright Publishing 2026), is a charming novel about three interconnected Eritrean women, now living in DC, in different stages in their lives. Lydia is 13Continue reading “I HOPE YOU FIND WHAT YOU’RE LOOKING FOR – Bsrat Mezghebe”
OUR NUMBERED BONES – Katya Balen
“I am failing. I want to go home. But not that home. Home to the past. I am so stupid that it burns. But not hot enough.” “stories and soil change and stay the same” Katya Balen’s first adult novel, Our Numbered Bones (HarperVia 2026), is a 237-page gut punch; the ache in the pagesContinue reading “OUR NUMBERED BONES – Katya Balen”
SAOIRSE – Charleen Hurtubise
“The past can haunt someone else now, she thinks, and turns her hand back to this drawing of Daithi, back to the things in her new life which can be named.” Saoirse (Celadon 2026) is Charleen Hurtubise’s US debut. A blend of domestic fiction and literary suspense thriller, the novel is told in shifting timelines,Continue reading “SAOIRSE – Charleen Hurtubise”
EATING ASHES – Brenda Navarro (translated by Megan McDowell)
“I realized that there was no truth, just points of view.” “…it seems that we copy ourselves and repeat the same patterns – I guess that’s what being a family is.” Eating Ashes by Brenda Navarro, translated from the Spanish by Megan McDowell (Liveright Publishing Corporation 2026, first published in Mexico by Editorial Sexto PisoContinue reading “EATING ASHES – Brenda Navarro (translated by Megan McDowell)”
REBEL ENGLISH ACADEMY – Mohammed Hanif
“First you get accused of something you haven’t done. Then you do it… He was called a rebel and then he rebelled.” Mohammed Hanif’s Rebel English Academy (Grove Press 2026) is another novel I fully expect to see making the rounds during awards season. Hanif’s voice, the sharpness of that satire, renders this book asContinue reading “REBEL ENGLISH ACADEMY – Mohammed Hanif”
GEORGE FALLS THROUGH TIME – Ryan Collett
“You’re just a bunch of dust mites at the end of the day, so what if one of you flies through the window.” I wanted to love Ryan Collett’s George Falls Through Time (William Morrow 2026), I really did, but I feel a touch misled. I thought the novel would be full of humor andContinue reading “GEORGE FALLS THROUGH TIME – Ryan Collett”
CAPE FEVER – Nadia Davids
“I have learned not to tell stories that frighten children.” If you’ve been here a bit, you likely know that South African literature has a special place in this reader’s heart, with both Gordimer and Coetzee holding top rankings. When I read the summary of Nadia Davids’s debut novel, Cape Fever (Simon and Schuster 2026)Continue reading “CAPE FEVER – Nadia Davids”
CRUCIBLE – John Sayles
“They came, says Santos, they tried to beat the jungle, they lost, and they left. They left some good things. Tell me one. They educated my son here. He can speak English… Let’s hear some. Flavio – show him… ‘A,B,C,D,E,F,G,H’ —he chants, ‘I’ve got a gal – in Kalamazoo –‘” It’s rare that I’ll sayContinue reading “CRUCIBLE – John Sayles”
MULE BOY – Andrew Krivak
“… because their parents no doubt told them I was and was not to blame and so why go into a past where nothing and no one can be reclaimed…” Andrew Krivak’s Mule Boy (Bellevue Literary Press 2026) is a marvel, and it will undoubtedly be in my top reads of the year. Possibly ofContinue reading “MULE BOY – Andrew Krivak”
A Girl Named Tommi 