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New Yorker Fiction & New Ann Patchett
The New Yorker, Whistler, food fiction, gangster history, and more ...
BookBrowse Highlights
Hello Readers!
This week, we have a veritable feast of historical fiction for you, starting with First Impressions selection Feast by Catherine Kurtz, which follows a young woman in 19th-century France with an extraordinary sense of taste.
A new book club discussion focuses on the latest from hotshot writing team Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray. A Pair of Aces brings a dual female perspective to a 1930s gangster story.
For coverage of another highly anticipated title, check out our Editor’s Choice review of Ann Patchett’s Whistler, about a character who unexpectedly reconnects with her former stepfather and must make peace with the past. We also share a “beyond the book” article on The New Yorker’s history of publishing short fiction relating to Sarah Braunstein’s short story collection Baby in a Box.
Plus, enjoy our latest Wordplay!
Thanks for reading,
The BookBrowse Team
First Impressions
Each month, we share books with BookBrowse members to read and review. Here are their opinions on one recently released title.
Feast by Catherine Kurtz
“Feast is a very well-written tale of a young lady who has an incredible sense of taste. After an interesting childhood, her special talent lands her a job as a taste tester for a French duke…The characters are well-developed and believable and there are rich descriptions of the settings. The author has a special talent in describing foods. I would recommend the book to those interested in French chateau life…Feast is an easy read that I didn't want to put down. I was constantly motivated to see what would happen next. It's one of the best books I've read lately.” —Mary Jane D. |  |
“This would be a fun book for a book club discussion. I think there would be a lot to talk about. I would recommend Feast to anyone who likes historical fiction, especially if they also appreciate freshly baked bread.” —Amanda C.
“Feast was a fascinating blend of historical fiction, mystery, and the supernatural and such a sensory reading experience…I especially loved watching Minha navigate a court where she never quite fit in, and I found myself rooting for her every step of the way.” —Emily H.
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.
A Pair of Aces by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray
From the Jacket A gripping novel about two trailblazing women on opposite sides of the law—a prosecutor and a madam—who team up to bring down notorious gangster Lucky Luciano, from the New York Times bestselling authors of the million-copy bestseller The Personal Librarian. From the Discussion “I was sucked into the story from the very beginning…I read the entire book in two days and only stopped because I couldn’t keep my eyes open.” —Christine |  |
“These authors make a great writing team and are able to provide their characters with distinct personalities and experiences based on the time period and their race. This was especially true for this novel and The First Ladies where a relationship developed between a white woman and a black woman in an era when that was not the norm…I would immediately add any book these authors write together to my TBR list, and look closely at their individual books as well.” —Laura_K
See what people are saying in response to this question: Eunice Hunton Carter and Polly Adler were well-known figures in 1930s New York. Were you familiar with either of them before reading A Pair of Aces?
For Members
This issue of The BookBrowse Review contains reviews and "beyond the book" articles for 14 titles, including The Lost Book of Elizabeth Barton by Jennifer N. Brown, Whistler by Ann Patchett, and The Young Will Remember by Eve J. Chung. We also bring you a blog post on Well-Read Black Girl Books and other diversity projects in publishing, previews of upcoming releases, and more. Not Yet a Member? Do you love to spend your reading hours immersed in captivating storytelling and intriguing ideas? |  |
Then a BookBrowse membership is for you! What you see on BookBrowse for free and in this newsletter is just a small part of what is available to members—for just $5.00/month! Join Today!
Editor’s Choice
Whistler by Ann Patchett
Whistler, Ann Patchett's tenth novel (after 2023's Tom Lake) begins with a chance encounter. Fifty-three-year-old Daphne Fuller and her husband, Jonathan, are enjoying a quiet Saturday at New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art when Jonathan tells her they're being followed. He doubles back and confronts the supposed stalker, only to find that the man is actually Daphne's former stepfather Eddie Triplett, whom she hasn't seen in nearly 45 years. As the pair reconnect over the ensuing months, Daphne gradually remembers a terrible ordeal they endured together, an event that precipitated her parents' divorce and the abrupt removal of Eddie from her life when she was nine. … continued Review by Kim Kovacs |  |
Beyond the Book
Short Stories in The New Yorker
Four stories from Sarah Braunstein's Baby in a Box were first published in The New Yorker, a magazine with a 101-year history of showcasing excellent short fiction from the likes of John Cheever, Mavis Gallant, Jhumpa Lahiri, Alice Munro, Vladimir Nabokov, Philip Roth, and William Trevor. While short stories can be difficult to sell to publishers (and thus to readers), The New Yorker has a reputation as one of the premier platforms for short fiction. Certain stories that are famous in their own right first appeared in The New Yorker, such as Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery," Annie Proulx's "Brokeback Mountain," and Muriel Spark's novella The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie. … continued Article by Rebecca Foster |  |
Wordplay
Solve our Wordplay puzzle to reveal a well-known expression, and be entered to win a one-year membership to BookBrowse!
"S the B"
Click for the answer to the last Wordplay (Q S, S), and a detailed breakdown of its meaning and history.
Want to play even more word games? Try our daily book trivia and see if you can get to the top of the leaderboard.
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