Sometimes the fiction I read feels ripped straight from the headlines.
Here are five new (or newer) novels that address serious issues currently facing us.
- Lives Laid Away, by Stephen Mack Jones. My full review of this terrific novel is here. Big topics: Immigration, racism.
- The Pyongyang Option, by A. C. Frieden. If you read about North Korea and scratch your head, thinking, what on earth is that place like? here’s help. Back when I taught ESL, I read that Western culture (especially American) and Korean worldviews are polar opposites. I don’t know if that’s true. What I do know is that my Korean students thought differently than I did. With North Korea, you’re adding isolation and a totalitarian government to the mix, and the result can be baffling to Westerners. Frieden’s novel helped shed some light on the culture of this nation. Big topic: North Korea.
- The Wife, by Alafair Burke. Big topics: rape, #MeToo
- Keep Her Safe, by K.A. Tucker. I reviewed this book here. Big topics: drug addiction, police corruption
- I Am Lemonade Lucy! by Kenneth Womack. Netgalley was kind enough to give me a review copy. I’m a third of the way through this delightful novel, which addresses Islamophobia, prejudice, and cross-cultural communication (or miscommunication!). So far the characters feel real and the writing voice is strong. Plus, it features a geeky teen obsessed with Rutherford B. Hayes and his Presidential museum. He spouts off Hayes-related trivia at the slightest provocation. What’s not to love? The book will be released May 9, 2019.