These are the fiction titles Monitor reviewers liked best this month.
Leyla’s House, by Zülfü Livaneli, translated from Turkish by Brendan Freely and Yelda Türedi
“The critical point was when a person stopped asking ‘How do I look?’ and started asking ‘How do I see?’” realizes Leyla, the nearly 80-year-old protagonist of Zülfü Livaneli’s satisfying novel of fortitude and transformation. Kicked out of her Istanbul mansion, Leyla shelters in the city’s bohemian Cihangir neighborhood with a gentle 20-something man and his musician girlfriend. Digressions, historical bits, and perspective shifts add to the appealing brew. – Erin Douglass
Why We Wrote This
Our reviewers’ picks for this month include a tribute to winter, a police blotter’s-worth of mysteries, and a real-life spy thriller involving the KGB. This tantalizing crop of books has something for every reader.
The Bookbinder’s Secret, by A.D. Bell
In 1901, Oxford bookbinding apprentice Lily Delaney happens upon a historical mystery. A 50-year-old burned letter sets in motion a thrilling search for more messages tucked inside books, with Lily determined to pursue the truth behind a story of lost riches, hidden love, and murder. Bibliophiles will enjoy this one. – Stefanie Milligan
Vigil, by George Saunders
George Saunders’ slim novel offers a slice of final-reckoning pie with a dollop of beauty and a sprinkle of nuts. A malicious oil tycoon shuffling off this mortal coil finds himself under the kind and gracious care of an incorporeal young woman assigned to his case. The bully rails, the comforter (mostly) listens, and the prose dazzles. There are weird moments, and it’s all worth it. – Erin Douglass
The Murder at World’s End, by Ross Montgomery
Amid fears of the apocalypse – the return of Halley’s Comet in 1910 – house servants are instructed to board up a Cornwall manor. But murder is afoot! It’s a delightfully quirky locked-room mystery. – Stefanie Milligan
The Sea Child, by Linda Wilgus
At age 4, Isabel Henley was found soaked and silent on an English beach. Years later, as a destitute war widow, she returns to investigate her mysterious past. Local gossips believe she’s the daughter of a sea spirit. Isabel takes in a wounded sea captain, then embarks on ocean adventures with dangerous smugglers in this action-packed, romantic tale. – Stefanie Milligan
This Is Where the Serpent Lives, by Daniyal Mueenuddin
Daniyal Mueenuddin examines privilege and poverty amid Pakistan’s caste system. The novel begins in the 1950s with an orphaned boy surviving on the streets and unfolds to the present day, exposing the chasm between the classes. – Joan Gaylord
These are the nonfiction titles our reviewers liked best this month.
Winter: The Story of a Season, by Val McDermid
Val McDermid, best known for her intricately plotted “tartan noir” crime novels, takes the sting out of short frosty days and long windblown nights in this lovely, gentle, beautifully illustrated paean to the darkest season in her native Scotland. – Heller McAlpin Read the full review here.
The Oak and the Larch, by Sophie Pinkham
The forest was Russia’s birthplace, but in its quest for empire, the forests that had protected it from invasions became targets. Pinkham’s focus is on how Russian literature and cinema have long spurred resistance to the various governments’ heedlessness of environmental consequences. – Bob Blaisdell Read the full review here.
Always Carry Salt, by Samantha Ellis
Samantha Ellis’ memoir explores the complexity of reacquainting with her ancestral tongue, Judeo-Iraqi Arabic. Brimming with historical accounts, family anecdotes, and enticing recipes (hello, makhboose), the book captivates. There’s searching and much stretching, as Ellis finds her way through a rich tangle of stories: personal, political, cultural, linguistic. – Erin Douglass
The Spy in the Archive, by Gordon Corera
Gordon Corera tells the true story of how Vasili Mitrokhin, a disaffected KGB librarian, stole secrets from the Soviet archives and smuggled them to the West. Both a portrait of a man losing faith in a brutal regime and a gripping account of a daring escape, this book is an immersive and propulsive read. – Malcolm Forbes Read the full review here.
