By
Gregory McNamee
on
January 27, 2017
Mikhail Bulgakov
“The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he did not exist.” So says—well, the devil, or at least an earthly representative of his Luciferness, in Bryan Singer’s 1995 film The Usual Suspects. But what if the devil were to appear on Earth and not be terribly shy about making his presence known? That’s the provocative premise of Mikhail Bulgakov’s much-loved novel The Master and Margarita, which first appeared in book form a quarter-century after the ...
By
David Rapp
on
January 25, 2017
Thanks to social media, many people have thriving relationships with folks they’ve never actually met in person—online interactions that would have seemed unimaginable just a few generations ago. Here are a few notable novels, all reviewed by Kirkus Indie, which put these modern types of connections front and center:
Steve McManus’ debut thriller, Red Flag, reviewed last year, focuses on Danny Kasho, a blogger for California-based crime-news website City of Angels/Dead on Arrival, or CODA. He investigates a murderer ...
Talking to debut novelist Andrew Hilleman
By
Claiborne Smith
on
January 24, 2017
Photo courtesy Kyle Gilbertson
When debut authors talk about their struggles to get published, their stories usually boil down to a dramatic tale of numbers, despite the literary context: X number of writing workshops they attended, X number of years spent working on the debut, X number of rejections from agents or publishers. Andrew Hilleman, whose electric, compelling debut novel, World, Chase Me Down, is out today, has numbers that are more memorable than most. This 332-page novel based on the real-life kidnapping in ...
By
Megan Labrise
on
January 24, 2017
Michael Chabon, courtesy of Benjamin Tice Smith
“[There might have been] a cartoon of someone vomiting.”
—Michael Chabon, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, on the humiliating experience of breaking into his college literary journal’s office and discovering his defaced poetry submission in the reject pile, in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
***
“If you want to blame me [for] the death of Christmas, be my guest.”
—Sara Gruen, author of Water for Elephants, who bought $23,000 worth ...
By
Vicky Smith
on
January 20, 2017
Writer Sherri Winston
Over the past several months I’ve become a connoisseur of character descriptions in kids’ books. The main character of Patrice Kindl’s Don’t You Trust Me? describes herself as “white-bread-white,” which I found winningly forthright. Less forthright are the many, many books that still assume a white default and give white characters elaborate descriptions of everything but their skin—long, curly red hair and freckles; a short, brown bob and green eyes; a blond crew cut and blue eyes—while relegating their ...
Spotlighting some of my favorite new fiction
By
Laurie Muchnick
on
January 20, 2017
What better way to start a new year than by reading new writers? Here are excerpts from our reviews of some of the most exciting debuts being published this month, two first novels and a book of short stories:
Foreign Soil by Maxine Beneba Clarke: “In this aptly named story collection by an Australian writer of Afro-Caribbean heritage, people living in various countries struggle to build better lives for themselves....Clarke fully inhabits the voices of her characters—a masterful feat ...
By
Eric Liebetrau
on
January 19, 2017
While I’ve always been a devoted novel and short story reader, as the nonfiction editor at Kirkus, I don’t have time to read as much fiction as I would like, and even less in the thriller/mystery/crime genre. This January, though, two acclaimed thriller writers will publish on my side of the aisle.
On Jan. 3, Douglas Preston, known for his Wyman Ford series and his collaborations with Lincoln Child, published The Lost City of the Monkey God, a ...
[Sponsored]
Dystopian prisons, courtroom dramas, a revenge story, love in a time of political persecution: they’re all subjects that pop up in our list of the Best Overlooked Indie Books You Shouldn’t Miss. Diverse and vibrant, this list features books, all of them either starred or recommended by our critics, told from outside mainstream publishing. Check it out!
CAPTAIN NO BEARD
An Imaginary Tale of a Pirate's Life
by Carole P. Roman
See author ...