October was another big month for publishing. Several non-fiction books came out in October – two dealing with words or books and the fourth is about mythical creatures. Medusa’s Gaze and Vampire’s Bites: The Science of Monsters by Matt Kaplan roams across history giving readers the origins of many monsters from the Minotaur, dragons, vampires, and werewolves among others and how these monsters have evolved over time and continue to do so. The Story of Ain’t: America, Its Language, and the Most Controversial Dictionary Ever Published is the story of the third edition of Webster’s New International Dictionary published in 1961 which tried to bridge the traditional and modern usages of words. The third book, The End of Your Life Book Club, is definitely on my list to read if only because I love discussing books with my mother, when Will Schwalbe’s mother is diagnosed with cancer, they start a book club of two, reading a wide range of books in the next two years and having deep conversations about books and life. His resulting memoir is said to be both touching and insightful.
Some big names also published books in October. The New York Review of Books published a new edition of Kingsley Amis’ The Old Devils. Louise Erdrich published her new novel The Round House which has already won The National Book Award for Fiction. Harold Jacobson, winner of the Booker Prize for The Finkler Question, has a new novel called Zoo Time. Emma Donogue, author of Room has a new book of short stories, Astray, in which she takes real people throughout history and composes stories about their transition between states and nations. And Nobel Prize winning Orhan Pamuk has his second novel, The Silent House, newly published in English. Finally notable author Pat Barker (The Regeneration Trilogy, among other works) has a new novel called Toby’s Room, a sequal to her previous work Life Class. I haven’t read much of Barker’s work but I definitely want to dig deeper into her catalog.
Books in More Detail
American Ghost by Janis Owens: For me there is nothing like a good southern novel and this book by Janis Owens seems to fill those shoes. Set in Florida, Jolie Hoyt is a very poor girl set up on a date with a Jewish anthropology student researching the Native Americans in the area. When it is discovered that his research is really about a hanging in the late thirties, the student flees the area. Twelve years later a black businessman comes into town looking for his own ghosts and brings the two lovers back together. I love novels where the past haunts the present and echos of memory permeate the writing.
Katherine Gerrard writes about the novel for Shelf Awareness stating, “Janis Owen takes inspiration from real-life events to tell the story of a fictional Florida town haunted by its past in the perceptive, well-paced American Ghost…Owens weaves complex narrative strands together in a captivating story abundant with historical context and characterizations that reflect the foibles of human nature.
The Art Forger by B. A. Shapiro: In the 1990’s the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston was robbed and thirteen works of art were stolen. It is the largest unsolved art theft in history and serves as the basis for Shapiro’s latest novel. Claire, a promising artist, is blackballed from the art world due to a relationship with her mentor. Unable to break through the insularity of the art world she works for a company that reproduces high end art for rich clients. She is asked to reproduce one of the paintings that was stolen and gets drawn into the mystery of the theft.
Devourer of Books writes, “The Art Forger is just fabulous. FABULOUS I TELL YOU…In addition to the great writing and plotting, many readers are going to absolutely adore Shapiro’s depth of detail on painting in general and aging paintings as is done by forgers in particular. Even if you are not an art fan, this level of detail gives The Art Forger a level of reality that helps the reader live securely in Claire’s head, making the story all the more engaging.”
The Polish Boxer by Eduardo Halfon: This is the first work by the Guatemalan author to be translated into English. The novel has five translators which would seem potentially disjointed, however, the novel itself seems unusual as a cross between short story, novel, and memoir. In ten loose units, the narrator (who shares the same name and some of the same biography as the author) shares the story of his grandfather, as well as many other characters. The grandfather survived a concentration camp in WWII thanks to his friendship with a Polish boxer.
The Telegraph writes in their review:
It is a story of friendship, fear of violence and self-enlightenment, narrated in a matter-of-fact and yet powerfully moving style.
There is a sophisticated hide-and-seek game played by the author with the reader,which sees the plot submerge and re-emerge in an alternating rhythm…
…The Guatemalan author – the real one – believes, like Plato, that “literature is a deceit in which he who deceives is more honest than he who does not deceive; and he who is deceived is wiser than he who is not”. We become part of the engaging game of deception in turn. We cannot resist following the author/narrator by thinking of possible ways of deceiving him in return in a fascinating thriller. This is a stimulating and inspiring read.
Also of Note:
The Miracle Cures of Dr. Aira by Cesar Aira
What the Zhang Boys Know by Clifford Garstang
Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan
Reflections from the Hinterland 
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