New month, new books! Book Light is our Dandelion Chandelier curated list of the titles we’re most excited about that are being published in the coming month. Our intrepid team has been exploring the most-anticipated new books scheduled for May 2018, and here’s what we’ve found.
As always, the month will bring works from intriguing debut authors as well as the return of some well-loved favorites (including novelists Zora Neale Hurston, Rachel Kushner, Sheila Heti, Michael Chabon and Michael Ondaatje; essayists Karl Ove Knausgaard and David Sedaris and historian Jon Meacham).
Several themes are prominent in the offerings this month: motherhood, not surprisingly, is a topic of several novels as Mother’s Day approaches. But there are also two books of essays about what it means to be a father. True stories of perseverance and resilience – both as individuals and as Americans – are prevalent, which we hope will give us all the energy to keep fighting the good fight. There’s a novel set in a women’s prison, a tale of Syrian refugees, an account of the life of one of the last black slaves, and an inter-species love story. And as the weather warms up, the beach reads start to arrive.
We know, it’s going to be tough to decide which one to read first, right?
Here’s our pick of the top new books – novels, essay collections, and non-fiction – that we cannot wait to crack open. You can pre-order them now if you like.
The Mars Room by Rachel Kushner. The twice National Book Award-nominated author of The Flamethrowers returns with a new novel about a life gone off the rails in contemporary America. In 2003, in California’s Central Valley, a young woman is at the start of two consecutive life sentences at the Stanville Women’s Correctional Facility. Outside is the world from which she has been severed: the San Francisco of her youth and her young son, Jackson. Inside is a new reality: thousands of women hustling for the bare essentials needed to survive; the bluffing and pageantry and casual acts of violence by guards and prisoners alike; and the deadpan absurdities of institutional living. – May 1, 2018
In Motherhood by Sheila Heti, the author asks what is gained and what is lost when a woman becomes a mother, treating the most consequential decision of early adulthood with her trademark candor, originality, and humor. – May 1, 2018
Limelight by Amy Poeppel is the second novel from the author of the well-received novel Small Admissions; a family’s move from Dallas to New York City brings surprises and humor as their lives merge with the captivating world of Broadway. It’s an empathetic look into celebrity culture and modern motherhood. – May 1, 2018
The Map of Salt and Stars by Jennifer Zeynab Joukhadar is a heart-rending tale with deep topical resonance; it follows the lives of two young Syrian women who undergo very similar geographical journeys, albeit 800 years apart. Both are affected by war and geopolitical threats, and as the two young women travel their mirrored paths, the diverse cultures of the Middle East and North Africa come to life. If you enjoyed The Kite Runner, you’ll love this. – May 1, 2018
The Pisces by Melissa Broder. After penning several wonderful poetry collections, the author turns her attention to fiction with this first novel. Lucy is trying to mend a broken heart with a temporary stay in her sister’s gorgeous house on Venice Beach, but can’t seem to pull it together. Neither a love addiction therapy group, frequent Tinder excursions, nor Dominic the foxhound are helping. Then she becomes enamored of a handsome swimmer. Unfortunately, the guy she’s falling for is a merman – a figure of Sirenic fantasy. Oy vey! – May 1, 2018
Captive Audience: On Love and Reality TV by Lucas Mann is part cultural observation and part memoir. The author tells of his viewing habits and wonders what drives people like him and his wife to watch other people emotionally expose themselves in search of fame. What does it mean to take pleasure in watching these people laugh, cry, and fight as millions tune in? What does it mean to live an authentic life? And what does it mean to love someone? – May 1, 2018
Warlight by Michael Ondaatje. The best-selling author of The English Patient returns with a new novel that tells a story set in the decade after World War II through the lives of a small group of characters and two teenagers whose lives are indelibly shaped by their unwitting involvement. – May 8, 2018
Note to Self: Inspiring Words From Inspiring People by Gayle King showcases some of the news anchor’s favorite entries from the CBS This Morning recurring segment in which twenty-first century luminaries pen advice and encouragement to the young people they once were. What do Congressman John Lewis, Dr. Ruth, Kesha, and Kermit the Frog wish they could tell their younger selves? What about a gay NFL player or the most successful female racecar driver? Plus Oprah, Vice President Joe Biden, Chelsea Handler and Maya Angelou—and poignant words from a Newtown father and a military widow. – May 8, 2018
The Soul of America: The Battle for Our Better Angels by Jon Meacham. The Pulitzer Prize–winning author helps us understand the present moment in American politics and life by looking back at critical times in our history when hope overcame division and fear. – May 8, 2018
That Kind of Mother by Rumaan Alam. The author of Rich and Pretty returns with a novel about race, privilege and parenthood, and two mothers – one white and one black. When tragedy strikes, one is left to raise two children – and the world insists on treating them differently. – May 8, 2018
Barracoon: The Story of the Last “Black Cargo” by Zora Neale Hurston, with a foreword by Alice Walker, is a never-before-published true story written by the famous author of the Harlem Renaissance, who penned the American classic Their Eyes Were Watching God. It recounts the life of Cudjo Lewis, a 95-year-old man Hurston interviewed in Plateau, Alabama, in 1927. Lewis was the last known survivor of the Atlantic slave trade, and after Hurston spoke to him about his experiences, the horrors of slavery, and their lasting effects on his life, she wrote this account—tragic, haunting, and essential — May 8, 2018
Spring by Karl Ove Knausgaard is the recommencement of the author’s literary project of assembling a personal encyclopedia of the world addressed directly to his newly born daughter. But here he must also tell her the story of what happened during the time when her mother was pregnant, and explain why he now has to attend appointments with child services. In order to keep his daughter safe, he must tell a terrible story, one which unfolds with psychological suspense over the course of a single day. – May 8, 2018
The High Tide Club by Mary Kay Andrews. “The Queen of the Beach Reads” returns with a new novel about new love, old secrets, and the kind of friendship that transcends generations. It’s the story of the girls of The High Tide Club―so named because of their youthful skinny dipping escapades―Josephine, Millie, Ruth, and Varina. To fulfill a dying woman’s wishes, a lawyer must find the friends’ descendants and bring them together for a reunion of women who’ve actually never met. Grab your sunnies and a box of tissues. – May 8, 2018
Pops: Fatherhood in Pieces by Michael Chabon is a collection of heartfelt essays on the meaning of fatherhood. For the September 2016 issue of GQ Magazine, novelist Chabon (author of The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay) wrote a piece about accompanying his son Abe, then thirteen, to Paris Men’s Fashion Week. Despite his own indifference to the world of fashion, what gradually emerged as Chabon ferried his son to and from fashion shows was a deep respect for his son’s passion. With this story as its centerpiece, the collection includes six additional essays on the meaning and mysteries of fatherhood. – May 15, 2018
The Ensemble by Aja Gabel is the story of friends and fellow musicians: Brit is the second violinist, a beautiful and quiet orphan; on the viola is Henry, a prodigy who’s always had it easy; the cellist is Daniel, the oldest and an angry skeptic who sleeps around; and on first violin is Jana, their flinty, resilient leader. Together, they are the Van Ness Quartet. Together they navigate a cutthroat world and their complex relationships with each other. – May 15, 2018
Well, That Escalated Quickly: Memoirs and Mistakes of an Accidental Activist by Franchesca Ramsey. In this sharp, funny, and timely collection of personal essays, veteran video blogger and star of MTV’s Decoded, the author explores race, identity, online activism, and the downfall of real communication in the age of social media rants, trolls, and call-out wars. – May 22, 2018
Some Trick: Thirteen Stories by Helen DeWitt Her jumping-off points might be statistics, romance, the art world’s piranha tank, games of chance and games of skill, the travails of publishing, or success, but the through-line of all of these tales is “DeWitt’s signature poker-face lament regarding the near-impossibility of the life of the mind when one is made to pay to have the time for it, in a world so sadly ‘taken up with all sorts of paraphernalia superfluous, not to say impedimental, to ratiocination.’” – May 29, 2018
Calypso by David Sedaris. When he buys a beach house on the Carolina coast, Sedaris envisions long, relaxing vacations spent playing board games and lounging in the sun with those he loves most. And life at the Sea Section, as he names the vacation home, is exactly as idyllic as he imagined, except for one tiny, vexing realization: it’s impossible to take a vacation from yourself. – May 29, 2018
It’s going to be a fantastic month for new reads. Yas. Enjoy!
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