Soho Press was one of the independent publishers at this week's AAP Indie Book Buzz 2013. Here's a look at the four new titles they highlighted:
A Beautiful Truth by Colin McAdam (Expected publication date:
9/17/2013)
From barnesandnoble.com: Told simultaneously from the perspective of humans and chimpanzees, set in a Vermont home and a Florida primate research facility, A Beautiful Truth—at times brutal, other times deeply moving—is about the simple truths that transcend species, the meaning of family, the lure of belonging, and the capacity for survival.
A powerful and haunting meditation
on human nature told from the dual perspectives of a Vermont family
that has adopted a chimp as a surrogate son, and a group of chimpanzees
in a Florida research institute.
Looee, a chimp raised by a
well-meaning and compassionate human couple who cannot conceive a baby
of their own, is forever set apart. He’s not human, but with his
peculiar upbringing he is no longer like other chimps. One tragic night
Looee’s two natures collide and their unique family is forever changed.
At the Girdish Institute in
Florida, a group of chimpanzees has been studied for decades. The work
at Girdish has proven that chimps have memories and solve problems, that
they can learn language and need friends, and that they build complex
cultures. They are political, altruistic, get angry, and forgive. When
Looee is moved to the Institute, he is forced to try to find a place in
their world.
A Beautiful Truth is an epic and heartfelt story about parenthood,
friendship, loneliness, fear and conflict, about the things we hold
sacred as humans and how much we have in common with our animal
relatives. A novel of great heart and wisdom from a literary master, it
exposes the yearnings, cruelty, and resilience of all great apes.
Foreign Gods Inc. by Okey Ndibe (Expected publication date: January 14, 2014)
Goodreads blurb: Foreign Gods Inc.
tells the story of Ike, a New York-based Nigerian cab driver who sets
out to steal the statue of an ancient war deity from his home village
and sell it to a New York gallery.
Ike's plan is fueled by
desperation. Despite a degree in economics from a major American
college, his strong accent has barred him from the corporate world.
Forced to eke out a living as a cab driver, he is unable to manage the
emotional and material needs of a temperamental African American bride
and a widowed mother demanding financial support. When he turns to
gambling, his mounting losses compound his woes.
And so he
travels back to Nigeria to steal the statue, where he has to deal with
old friends, family, and a mounting conflict between those in the
village who worship the deity, and those who practice Christianity.
A
meditation on the dreams, promises and frustrations of the immigrant
life in America; the nature and impact of religious conflicts; an
examination of the ways in which modern culture creates or heightens
infatuation with the "exotic," including the desire to own strange
objects and hanker after ineffable illusions; and an exploration of the
shifting nature of memory, Foreign Gods is a brilliant work of fiction that illuminates our globally interconnected world like no other.
The Fame Thief by Timothy Hallinan (Expected publication date: 7/2/2013)
From Goodreads:
THE HIGHLY ANTICIPATED, LAUGH-OUT-LOUD THIRD INSTALLMENT OF THE FAN-FAVORITE JUNIOR BENDER MYSTERIES.
There
are not many people brave enough to say no to Irwin Dressler,
Hollywood’s scariest mob boss-turned-movie king. Even though Dressler is
ninety-three years old, LA burglar Junior Bender is quaking in his
boots when Dressler’s henchman haul him in for a meeting. Dressler wants
Junior to solve a “crime” he believes was committed more than seventy
years ago, when an old friend of his, once-famous starlet Dolores La
Marr, had her career destroyed after compromising photos were taken of
her at a Los Vegas party. Dressler wants justice for Dolores and the
shining career she never had.
Junior can’t help but think the
whole thing is a little crazy. After all, it’s been seventy years. Even
if someone did set Dolores up for a fall from grace back then, they’re
probably long dead now. But he can't say no to Irwin Dressler (no one
can, really). So he starts digging. And what he finds is that some
vendettas never die—they only get more dangerous.
Death of a Nightingale by Lene Kaaberbol and Agnete Friis (Expected publication date: 11/5/2013)
THE THIRD INSTALLMENT IN THE NINA BORG SERIES, WHICH BEGAN WITH THE BOY IN THE SUITCASE.
From barnesandnoble.com: Natasha
Doroshenko, a Ukrainian woman who has been arrested for murdering her
Danish fiance, escapes police custody on her way to an interrogation in
Copenhagen's police headquarters. It isn't the first time Natasha has
lost a partner to violent ends: her first husband was also murdered,
three years earlier in Kiev, and in the same manner, his hands broken.
At the same time, someone tries to abduct Natasha's eight-year-old
daughter from the Red Cross center that has been caring for her while
her mother, an illegal immigrant, was in jail.
Danish Red Cross nurse Nina Borg
has been following Natasha's case for several years now, since Natasha
first took refuge at a crisis center where Nina works. Nina, who had
tried to help Natasha leave her abusive Danish fiancé more than once,
just can't see the young Ukrainian mother as a vicious killer. But in
her effort to protect Natasha's daughter and discover the truth, Nina
realizes there is much she didn't know about this woman and her past.
The mystery has long and bloody roots, going back to a terrible famine
that devastated Stalinist Ukraine in 1934.
Enjoy life with books...
Catherine
Follow me on Twitter: @bookclubreader
Friday Focus: Soho Press Book Buzz Titles was originally published by
Catherine for bookclublibrarian.com. This post cannot be
republished without attribution.
The program opened with author Elizabeth Kiem presenting her debut novel, Dancer Daughter Traitor Spy, the story of a young ballerina with psychic abilities who defects to Brooklyn with her father after the disappearance of her mother in Russia. Kiem, a dancer herself who lived in Moscow for several years, shared her writing process in words, photos, and music. The novel, published by Soho Teen, will be available on August 13th.