For someone that loves literary fiction novels, I was surprised to find that of all these books I’m hotly anticipating, none are straight fiction novels. I do love exploring different genres, and especially authors who play with traditional form. A lot of the below are authors whose debuts I loved last year, and then, of course, there’s Zadie Smith.
In the Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado
I read Machado’s haunting and surreal debut short story collection Her Body and Other Parties last year, and it took weeks to shake the tension that consumed me after finishing it. In the Dream House sounds like a different monster altogether: a memoir about her abusive same-sex relationship using narrative tropes like classic horror themes. Yes, I don’t know what that means, but I’m excited to find out!
Pre-order it here.
Trick Mirror by Jia Tolentino
I don’t know Tolentino, but I’ve loved her writing on The Hairpin and Jezebel. When I saw she was writing for The New Yorker, I felt a little bit proud. Can one be proud of a writer you don’t know personally? Anyway, now she has a book of essays, subheading: “Reflections on Self Delusion” (!!!), being released later this year and I’m sure it will be as thoroughly stunning as her online pieces.
Pre-order it here.
Permanent Record by Mary H.K. Choi
I read Choi’s debut novel Emergency Contact last year for book club, and though the YA romance was not something I’d normally gravitate to, I immediately enjoyed her irreverent style and contemporary characters. This second YA romance by the Korean-American is about a famous singer and a broke deli-worker. Plus, will you look at that cover?
Pre-order it here.
Grand Union: Stories by Zadie Smith
Everyone should be excited about this, right? Who is not excited for new Zadie Smith? This collection of short stories will apparently contain a lot of unpublished stories, and I’m absolutely ready for more of Smith’s beautiful prose and her observations on our modern world.
Pre-order it here.
Pet by Akwaeke Emezi
Emezi’s debut Freshwater blew me away when I read it last year; it felt like something from the future, but with a voice from the ancient past. Regardless if you can understand that description or not, Emezi’s voice is one that chilled me and I still haven’t forgotten how it made me shiver. And now the person who blew my mind is writing a young adult novel about a girl named Jam, her best friend Redemption, and monsters? I’m ready.
Pre-order here.