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Why Did The Chicken Befriend The Widow? Find Out In This Plucky Italian Novella

Europa Editions

Why Did The Chicken Befriend The Widow? Find Out In This Plucky Italian Novella

Fresh Air

April 22, 2021 • An older woman living on a remote farm turns to an emotional-support hen for company. Sacha Naspini's newly translated novella is a slim volume, packed with unexpected secrets and epiphanies.

Why Did The Chicken Befriend The Widow? Find Out In This Plucky Italian Novella

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With Steamed Eggs And Succulents, 'Goodbye, Again' Brings Us Home

Harper Perennial

With Steamed Eggs And Succulents, 'Goodbye, Again' Brings Us Home

April 22, 2021 • Writer and cartoonist Jonny Sun's new book is a collection of essays, reflections and illustrations that consider everything from Tetris to succulent plants to dealing with loneliness.

'At The End Of The World,' An Elegant And Gritty Mystery Debut

Polis Books

'At The End Of The World,' An Elegant And Gritty Mystery Debut

April 21, 2021 • Zhanna Slor's debut novel, set in a funky neighborhood of Milwaukee, follows two Russian immigrant sisters on very different paths. one now searching for the other after her mysterious disappearance.

In 'We Are Bridges,' A Writer Resurrects Her Great Grandfather's Memory

We Are Bridges: A Memoir, by Cassandra Lane The Feminist Press at CUNY hide caption

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The Feminist Press at CUNY

In 'We Are Bridges,' A Writer Resurrects Her Great Grandfather's Memory

April 21, 2021 • In 1904, Cassandra Lane's great grandfather Burt Bridges was lynched. In telling his story, Lane offers her own memoir — and lessons on family and American history for her future child and readers.

A Daughter Grieves Her Mom, And Finds Herself, In 'Crying In H Mart'

Crying in H Mart: A Memoir, Michelle Zauner Knopf hide caption

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Knopf

A Daughter Grieves Her Mom, And Finds Herself, In 'Crying In H Mart'

April 20, 2021 • Michelle Zauner's new memoir, built on her 2018 New Yorker piece of the same name, powerfully maps a complicated mother-daughter relationship cut much too short, with Korean food as a guide.

The Ant-icipation Is Over: 'Juan Hormiga' Is Here!

Elsewhere Editions

Are You There God? It's Me, Juanita

The Ant-icipation Is Over: 'Juan Hormiga' Is Here!

April 18, 2021 • Gustavo Roldán's tale of an adventurous (if nap-prone) ant — newly translated into English — has everything you could want: silliness, adventure, daring, a cliffhanger, and a fun, satisfying ending.

'The Light Of The Midnight Stars' Doesn't Shine Brightly Enough

Redhook

'The Light Of The Midnight Stars' Doesn't Shine Brightly Enough

April 17, 2021 • Rena Rossner's YA novel, set in a magical version of medieval Eastern Europe, follows a rabbi and his three supernaturally-talented daughters. Unfortunately the characters never quite come to life.

'Leaving Isn't The Hardest Thing' Isn't Just A Cult Memoir

Leaving Isn't the Hardest Thing: Essays, Lauren Hough Vintage hide caption

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Vintage

'Leaving Isn't The Hardest Thing' Isn't Just A Cult Memoir

April 15, 2021 • Essay after essay, it becomes clear that writer Lauren Hough is drawing parallels between the Family and good ol' fashioned American Exceptionalism in all its various facets.

'The Final Revival Of Opal & Nev' Is A Faux Music History That Rocks

Simon & Schuster

'The Final Revival Of Opal & Nev' Is A Faux Music History That Rocks

Fresh Air

April 13, 2021 • Dawnie Walton's sly narrative is a story about music, race and family secrets that spans five decades, centering on an interracial rock duo who strike it big in the early '70s.

'The Final Revival Of Opal & Nev' Is A Faux Music History That Rocks

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'The Souvenir Museum' Is An Exhibit To Savor

Ecco

'The Souvenir Museum' Is An Exhibit To Savor

April 13, 2021 • Elizabeth McCracken's new story collection dazzles with verbal flexibility, insight and feeling, capturing the oddities and mixed bags, the loves and losses that make up most people's lives.

Mother-Daughter Memoir Of Autism Exemplifies The Power Of Language

I Have Been Buried Under Years of Dust: A Memoir of Autism and Hope, by Valerie Gilpeer and Emily Grodin. William Morrow hide caption

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William Morrow

Mother-Daughter Memoir Of Autism Exemplifies The Power Of Language

April 13, 2021 • Heartbreaking and uplifting in equal measure, I Have Been Buried Under Years of Dust is a chronicle of not only finding one's voice, but of learning to make others understand that voice.

For April, 3 Tales Of Love, Luck, And Happy Ever After

William Morrow

For April, 3 Tales Of Love, Luck, And Happy Ever After

April 11, 2021 • This month, our romance columnist Maya Rodale has three down-on-their-luck heroines whose fortunes change dramatically, via a dreamy bad boy, a surprise inheritance, and a revelation about the past.

Former Speaker John Boehner's Memoir Serves As A Reflection On Life In 'Crazytown'

On the House: A Washington Memoir, John Boehner St. Martin's Press hide caption

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St. Martin's Press

Former Speaker John Boehner's Memoir Serves As A Reflection On Life In 'Crazytown'

April 9, 2021 • On the House chronicles Boehner's humble rise in national politics and his front-row seat to the revolution within his Republican party that ultimately forced him out of Congress.

In The Rise And Fall Of The Sacklers' Opioid Empire, An American Dream Turns Toxic

Empire of Pain: The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty by Patrick Radden Keefe Doubleday hide caption

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Doubleday

In The Rise And Fall Of The Sacklers' Opioid Empire, An American Dream Turns Toxic

April 8, 2021 • Patrick Radden Keefe helped expose the Sackler family's role in the deadly opioid epidemic. His new book deepens the narrative, raising questions about the blurring of medicine and capitalism.

Ambition, Alchemy And Searching For Way To Fit In 'Gold Diggers'

Penguin Press

Ambition, Alchemy And Searching For Way To Fit In 'Gold Diggers'

April 8, 2021 • Sanjena Sathian's novel follows a Georgia teenager, son of Indian immigrants, as he struggles with balancing his own ambitions and those of his parents, and finding his own way to be brown in America.

Too Many 'Peaces' Overload An Otherwise Entertaining Story

Riverhead Books

Too Many 'Peaces' Overload An Otherwise Entertaining Story

April 7, 2021 • Helen Oyeyemi's new novel is a no-holds-barred mashup of Agatha Christie-style mystery oddities like mongoose genealogy, kidnapped gaming champions and a woman who chokes on emeralds in her sleep.

A Daughter Struggles To Escape Her Mother's Shadow In 'Libertie'

Workman

A Daughter Struggles To Escape Her Mother's Shadow In 'Libertie'

Fresh Air

April 6, 2021 • What if a child doesn't share a parent's ambition? Kaitlyn Greenidge's novel is inspired by the life of Dr. Susan Smith McKinney-Steward, the third Black woman to earn a medical degree in the U.S.

A Daughter Struggles To Escape Her Mother's Shadow In 'Libertie'

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Stranger Danger: An Economist's Guide To Overcoming Distrust

Pixabay

Planet Money

Stranger Danger: An Economist's Guide To Overcoming Distrust

April 6, 2021 • A new book delves into humanity's long march to overcoming distrust.

'First Person Singular' Asks A Lot Of Questions — But Shies Away From Answers

Knopf

'First Person Singular' Asks A Lot Of Questions — But Shies Away From Answers

April 4, 2021 • Haruki Murakami's plain-spoken new story collection features narrators a lot like him — male, middle-aged, recounting inexplicably strange things that have happened to them,

Hunter Biden's Memoir 'Beautiful Things' Seeks To Tell Just Where He's Been

Beautiful Things: A Memoir, by Hunter Biden Gallery Books hide caption

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Gallery Books

Hunter Biden's Memoir 'Beautiful Things' Seeks To Tell Just Where He's Been

March 31, 2021 • The account by the president's younger son is at times a harrowing journey; in the end, if not for forgiveness or sympathy, it may be about making a stand and taking whatever place he can occupy.

'A Most Remarkable Creature' Introduces The Little-Known, Charismatic Caracara

A Most Remarkable Creature: The Hidden Life and Epic Journey of the World's Smartest Birds of Prey, by Jonathan Meiburg Knopf hide caption

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Knopf

'A Most Remarkable Creature' Introduces The Little-Known, Charismatic Caracara

March 31, 2021 • Through Jonathan Meiburg's inquiring lens, readers will find themselves with a new favorite animal — a bird of prey aptly described as "one of the strangest and most wonderful animals on Earth."

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