This week, our editors recommend three titles that wrestle with notoriously hard-to-pin-down subjects: heartbreak, identity, and life after death. (You know, the small stuff!) We also chat with the authors of a sweet gay romance, a biography of latter-day Bob Dylan, a sharp short story collection, and an explosive new historical novel.
To top it off, the author of the new cult thriller Paper Cut (out Tuesday) shares a spine-tingling list of the titles that inspired her. That should keep you busy until next week. Happy reading!
—Conner Reed
Starred Reviews Releasing Next WeekCheck out all the books to receive starred PW reviews that are hitting shelves next week.
Clay Cane Burns It All DownFor his debut novel, the author, historian, and journalist drew inspiration from the real-life stories of enslaved people who fought against bondage in the American South. more
6 Stories of Women on the Edge That Inspired Rachel Taff’s New ThrillerThe novelist highlights titles about women "traversing systems designed to consume them." more
What Art Is For: PW Talks with Camille BordasThe author’s One Sun Only is a perceptive, witty collection of stories populated by characters who often find themselves adrift in their cosmopolitan settings. more
Back Where He Started: PW Talks with Robert PolitoIn After the Flood: Inside Bob Dylan’s Memory Palace, the biographer explores how Dylan reinvented his musical style during the latter half of his career. more
Older and Wiser: PW Talks with Julian WintersA closeted Atlanta party planner gets a second chance with the guy who got away in the romance author’s Last First Kiss. more
Notes on Heartbreak: A MemoirBy Annie Lord (Harper Perennial)
Having just inhaled Lily King's Heart the Lover and Writers & Lovers back-to-back, I'm feeling uniquely primed for thoughtful considerations of love and loss from women who know their way around a beautiful sentence. Lucky for me, British Vogue columnist Lord's new memoir—which looks back on her first major breakup five years later—is just the thing. —Conner Reed, mystery and memoir reviews editor
PersonaBy Aoife Josie Clements (Littlepuss)
I was immediately sucked in by the gorgeous prose and surreal central mystery of Clements’s horror debut, about two trans women with an inexplicable connection. Clements uses their strange relationship to probe themes of labor, exploitation, and identity, all while delivering first-rate chills. —Phoebe Cramer, SFF, horror, and romance reviews editor
VigilBy George Saunders (Random House)
Few things are more clarifying and comforting during moments of profound uncertainty and upheaval than a well-wrought piece of writing by Saunders, whether it's his short fiction about the long shadow of the Iraq War and the housing crisis, his open-hearted reporting on the people drawn to 2016 Trump rallies, or his new novel, a lively tale of the afterlife about a very bad dead guy who refuses to repent for his Earth-killing deeds. As ever, Saunders is a national treasure. —David Varno, literary fiction reviews editor
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The Official We Do Not Care Club Handbook: A Hot-Mess Guide for Women in Perimenopause, Menopause, and Beyond Who Are Over It
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Stop, in the Name of God: Why Honoring the Sabbath Will Transform Your Life
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The Housemaid
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Heated Rivalry: Now Streaming on Crave and HBO Max (First Time Trade)
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Theo of Golden
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Enough: Your Health, Your Weight, and What It's Like to Be Free
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Don't Think about Dinner: Save Time and Money with 125+ Easy, Nourishing, Delicious Recipes for Every Meal
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For more PW bestsellers lists, click here.
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