Shortlisted for the Booker Prize, Lockwood’s debut follows a social media star whose absurdist travails online come to a grinding halt when a gutting tragedy hits IRL. “ No One Is Talking About This ,” by Patricia Lockwood

The standout novella in this debut collection follows a descendant of Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings, who takes shelter at Monticello from a white supremacist mob. “ My Monticello ,” by Jocelyn Nicole Johnson “ The Final Revival of Opal & Nev ,” by Dawnie WaltonĪ collage of voices tells the story of Opal Jewel (a “Black girl from Detroit”) and Nev Charles (“a goofy white English boy”), musicians who got their start as an unlikely 1970s duo. In 17th-century Germany, Johannes Kepler’s mother stands trial for witchcraft, and Galchen’s retelling is a magical brew of absurdity and brutality.Ī Brooklyn blogger, full of intellectual superiority and self-loathing, discovers that her boyfriend is an online conspiracy theorist. “ Everyone Knows Your Mother Is a Witch ,” by Rivka Galchen

In a mythological version of D.C., a woman drives a haunted taxi while her murdered twin embarks on a posthumous revenge mission against the men who lynched him.Īn experienced logger and his young wife in Northern California suspect a defoliant being used to clear brush is poisoning their community. “ Creatures of Passage ,” by Morowa Yejidé

Books by anna north