Fiction Archive

Finding Oneself in Three Rooms

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Jo Hamya’s debut novel is an invitation to reflect not only on where we house our bodies, but also our attention.

Seeking Meaning and Survival in Something Wonderful

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Jo Lloyd’s story collection ripples with intelligence and heart . . . she writes brilliantly about both the past and present, locating humanity’s most elemental anxieties in misbegotten characters who want, above all else, to find a way to keep living.

The Illusion of Progress in American Estrangement by Saïd Sayrafiezadeh

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Saïd Sayrafiezadeh’s new story collection offers a reality uncanny to ours today.

Self-Editing in Hermione Hoby’s Virtue

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Hermione Hoby’s new novel beautifully explores the temptation to define yourself by other people’s expectations, and the risks of losing yourself in relationships where you don’t belong.

Intergenerational Love and Oppression in Sunjeev Sahota’s China Room

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Sunjeev Sahota’s new novel creates a dance between power and powerlessness, showing how one generation seeks to repair the deep wounds and injustices inflicted on preceding generations.

Cruel Compassion in Zülfü Livaneli’s Disquiet

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The characters in Zülfü Livaneli’s Disquiet cross borders, enter lives, and make real distant traumas for those whose only knowledge of the Syrian Civil War is from headlines.

Confronting the Past in Elias Rodriques’s Debut Novel

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Rodriques examines what it is to reconsider male friendship in adulthood, to balance newfound beliefs and acceptances.

The Allure of Scapegoating in Everyone Knows Your Mother Is a Witch

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In her new novel, Rivka Galchen explores insidious philosophical terrain with incisive intellect and humor, once again proving herself to be one of contemporary fiction’s sharpest minds.

Skewering Workplace Racism in The Other Black Girl

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The driving pulse of Zakiya Harris’s debut novel is a sharp critique of the publishing industry’s lack of diversity.

Bad People and Bad Dreams in A Door Behind a Door

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Yelena Moskovich’s novel is loose, dreamy, and symbol-packed. Characters morph and become nightmarish versions of themselves, and it is unclear if the transformation is real or only a bad dream.