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Memory, Mercy & New York Misfits
Nicola Solvinic, Joan Silber, Daniel Lavery, fall books, and more ...
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Book Club News: September Issue
Hello Book Clubbers,
In this issue, we feature online discussions of two books that explore aspects of human morality. Nicola Solvinic’s The Hunter’s Daughter focuses on the daughter of a serial killer and her suppressed memories, while Joan Silber’s Mercy follows a character haunted by the decision to abandon his possibly dying friend in a hospital.
For lighter reading, check out our featured recent paperback, Women’s Hotel by Daniel Lavery, a historical novel about a varied cast of misfits living in a New York residential hotel.
We also bring you a fall reading list, curated guides for readers and book clubs, and upcoming book club discussions and author interviews in our community forum.
Thanks for reading,
The BookBrowse Team
Book Club Discussions
Discussions are open to all! If you’d like to participate, you can do so by creating an account here. Please note that discussions can contain spoilers.
The Hunter’s Daughter by Nicola Solvinic
From the Jacket Anna Koray escaped her father's darkness long ago. When she was a girl, her childhood memories were sealed away from her conscious mind by a controversial hypnosis treatment. She's now a decorated sheriff's lieutenant serving a rural county, conducting an ordinary life far from her father's shadow. When Anna kills a man in the line of duty, her suppressed memories return. She dreams of her beloved father, his hands red with blood, surrounded by flower-decked corpses he had sacrificed to the god of the forest. |  |
From the Discussion
“I was hooked from the first line, ‘The first time I killed a man was on Tuesday.’ I had to know more!” —Donna_J
“I would recommend The Hunter’s Daughter to readers who enjoy atmospheric, gritty, dark mysteries, and a bit of fantasy/magical realism. It would also appeal to those who enjoy in-depth studies of morally ambiguous characters.” —Janie-Hickok-Siess
“I do love a mystery and this was so different from the many that I have read or seen on the screen or television that I was transfixed.” —Lauri_Z
Mercy by Joan Silber
From the Jacket In the gritty East Village of 1970s New York, Ivan and his best friend, Eddie, a popular local bartender, are dabbling in drugs following a short tour of Europe. One night, as Ivan experiments with heroin with Eddie, things go horribly wrong. Ivan rushes Eddie to a crowded local ER and, believing his friend is about to die, leaves him there. Following a bold cast of characters across decades, and set against the changing social and sexual mores from the 1970s onward, Mercy is Silber’s most ambitious and expansive novel yet. |  |
From the Discussion
“This is a perfect book for book clubs and for individuals who enjoy contemplative thought.” —Gerrie_B
“For me, Mercy was a totally captivating reading experience that I devoured in just two days. How often does one wonder about what happened to previous friends and acquaintances?…Their lives, careers, successes, and failures all come vividly to life thanks to Joan Silber’s eloquent writing style.” —John_B1
“I thought the moral question raised by Ivan’s desertion of Eddie was powerful…I read a great many books, and this is one of my favorites of this year.” —Judith_G
Featured Paperback
Stay on top of paperback releases for your book club with our Recent Paperbacks section, and discover additional content for featured titles, including reviews, “beyond the book” articles, and discussion questions. Below is just one new paperback we recommend.
Women’s Hotel by Daniel M. Lavery
In the 1920s–1960s, the Barbizon Hotel for Women was a residential hotel where respectable upper-middle-class and well-off working women could live in New York City on their own while maintaining their respectability. Its denizens consisted of fashion models, future starlets, writers, and other career-oriented and successful women. The Biedermeier is not the Barbizon. In his debut novel Women's Hotel, Daniel M. Lavery introduces readers to a less glamorous, fictionalized version of the residential hotels for women popular in mid-century New York City. Instead of future Hollywood stars, it is populated by a motley crew of lovable outcasts … continued Review by Lisa Butts |  |
Books You’ll Love Reading This Fall
The autumn reading season is a time of abundant current and forthcoming releases, perfect for cozying up with the books in your TBR and adding some new ones. Below, we offer an appealing mix of recent titles and gems soon to hit the shelves for making the most of your fall days. Happy reading! … continued |  |
Curated Guides
Starting a book club? Our guide A Club of One’s Own can help. Want to get more out of your reading? See our Reading Deeply bundle. We even have an extensive overview of World War II fiction focused on women. These guides and others draw from more than two decades of book club research and editorial content. View them all in our updated Curated Guides section. |  |
Discussions & Ask the Author Interviews
Discussions are open to all, so please join us! If you would like to receive a message when a particular discussion opens, you can sign up for a one-time notification. You can also find inspiration for your book club among our more than 200 past discussions. Currently, we’re discussing The Hunter’s Daughter by Nicola Solvinic and Mercy by Joan Silber, among other books. We feature Vladimir Nabokov’s classic Lolita starting September 18. |  |
BookBrowse is now hosting Ask the Author sessions in our community forum. We invite you to follow along and post your own questions in any future interviews that interest you. In the meantime, see our recent conversation with Ellen Marie Wiseman, author of The Lies They Told and other books. |  |
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About BookBrowse
BookBrowse offers a cornucopia of resources for book clubs, including recommended books by genre, time period, setting, and a wide range of themes; advice on starting and running a book club; and much more!
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