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”
Tag Archives: Book reviews
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”
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”
GLIFF – Ali Smith
“The words are only bits of words, lines of blurred or smeary words with the occasional whole word.” When the publisher sent me an advanced copy of Ali Smith’s upcoming release, Glyph, I knew I needed to read the companion novel, Gliff (2024 Penguin Random House) first. It is my understanding that the novels areContinue reading “GLIFF – Ali Smith”
THE TEN YEAR AFFAIR – Erin Somers
“The mountain that saw everything turned from green to rust, from rust to brown, from brown to green again.” Erin Somers’s The Ten Year Affair (Simon & Schuster 2025) was on my radar simply because of my goal of reading more Booker eligible litfic. While I could see this being listed, I didn’t like it. Continue reading “THE TEN YEAR AFFAIR – Erin Somers”
HOW TO COMMIT A POSTCOLONIAL MURDER – Nina McConigley
“Because you always seem to want to take what I give you and translate it into something else, something that fits your narrative, you can have it.” “It is an acknowledged truth that to be a girl is to be extracted. Girls, we are taken.” “And if you’re lost, if you have no idea whatContinue reading “HOW TO COMMIT A POSTCOLONIAL MURDER – Nina McConigley”
A Girl Named Tommi 