BookBrowse Highlights
Hello Readers!
This week, book club members discuss Dear Missing Friend by Susan McGuirk, a unique epistolary novel that follows Catherine, an Irish immigrant to America in the 1840s.
In Editor’s Choice, we have Yiyun Li’s just-released Music Against the Night, the first volume in a planned series that fictionalizes the lives of two 18th-century musicians. Check out more books that start a series and find a lasting literary love.
Those who enjoy long-term projects can also find a treasure trove in our “beyond the book” article for David Treuer’s memoiristic reflection on American history, The Savage Mind. The article looks at a “tree” of Toni Morrison’s students who became authors themselves, including Treuer.
Have you been following the National Book Awards? They announce the winners next month! Join a conversation about the Fiction lists 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.
Dear Missing Friend by Susan McGuirk
From the Jacket
Recommended for readers who enjoy The Dictionary of Lost Words by Pip Williams and An American Beauty by Shana Abé.
Three hearts. Love lost. One impossible choice.
A character-driven historical saga featuring the love triangle of a seaman, a governess and a wealthy speculator. Told through letters, the sweep of 19th century events like the gold rush, whaling voyages, and the streets of Manhattan unfold.
From the Discussion
“I am not a fan of epistolary books and once I realized the book was written entirely through letters, I had my doubts. However the letters were written so beautifully…I became more engrossed in the lives of the characters.” —Lynne_G
“Writing style similar to The Correspondent, but I truly enjoyed Dear Missing Friend—the actual story was better—at least for me. A bonus was finding out the people were real! Will also recommend this one to my book club, as well as When No One Else Will. Both books have lots and lots of topics to generate good conversations.” —Susan_W
See what people are saying in response to this question: Do you feel letter writing plays a comparable role in the book to emails and texts today? Why or why not? Do you write letters to others?
Editor’s Choice
Music Against the Night by Yiyun Li
Yiyun Li's latest novel, Music Against the Night, follows the lives of two young 18th-century musicians, both real historical figures. John Field (1782-1837) is born in Dublin into a musical family; his father is a well-respected concert violinist, and his grandfather, an organist. Recognizing his early talent on the pianoforte, John's father becomes determined to mold him into "the next Mozart," who was universally recognized as a music prodigy by the age of five.
Li's other subject, Adelaide "Percherette" Percheron (1790-1869), is a mixed-race orphan living in Pondicherry, French India. … continued
Review by Kim Kovacs
1st Books in Series
Yiyun Li’s Music Against the Night is one of more than 160 recommended books in our 1st in series category, with titles ready to immerse you in the extended universe of a series (whether completed or ongoing).
Fall into fantasy and historical sagas, discover endearing crime-solving characters to join across episodes, and find the best series-based literary fiction.
This is one of 100+ themed categories available to BookBrowse members. Non-members can browse a limited version of our category lists, while members can access the full selection.
Plus, check out our article on some of the best series for book clubs here.
Beyond the Book
The Toni Morrison Tree
After she won the Pulitzer Prize for her shattering and stunning novel Beloved, Toni Morrison was appointed the Robert F. Goheen Professor in the Humanities at Princeton University. It was 1989. Morrison went on to teach literature and creative writing for seventeen years in small workshops of ten to twelve students and was, for many, their senior thesis advisor. "Teaching," she wrote, "is the second-best thing to writing for me."
Like a thickening tree that produces succulent flowers, Toni Morrison bloomed student-writers who left Princeton and entered the world, nurtured and supported, such as David Treuer, author of The Savage Mind. Others included Mohsin Hamid …. continued
Article by Valerie Morales
BookBrowse Community Forum
The National Book Award winners are announced next month, so now is a great time to start following the buzz around the finalists.
In our community forum, you can find the Fiction longlist and shortlist, see what our members are saying, and join the conversation.
You can also check out other book news and updates, recommendations and book club advice, online book club discussions, our ongoing reading challenge, and more.
Curated Guides
BookBrowse curated guides help you make the most of your reading experiences.
Dig into The BookBrowse Anthology, our Reading Deeply collection and Literary Almanac, WWII fiction featuring women, our book club guide, and more. The best of our literary criticism, book coverage, and advice awaits.
These compilations and guides draw from over two decades of book club research and editorial content.
