Explore These New Books on Fable in May
May 20 2024
We celebrate new books every Tuesday on Fable.This month, we’re excited to read the sequel to Colm Tóibín’s “Brooklyn”; a debut that’s part time travel romance, part spy thriller, and part workplace comedy; a book exploring the lives of gay men in post-Socialist China; and more. 
New books released in May 2024
“Long Island” by Colm Tóibín: Eilis Lacey, the complex and enigmatic heroine of “Brooklyn,” is back in this novel set 20 years after we first met her. Now in her forties, Eilis faces deep-seated challenges and revelations in 1976 Long Island. Married to Italian American Tony Fiorello and living amid a vibrant, extended family, Eilis contends with her strong ties to Ireland versus her life in America. Her world is shaken when an Irishman claims Tony fathered his wife's child, thrusting Eilis into a crisis that tests her resolve and redefines her life. This intense story explores unspoken longings and the profound silences in a marriage, illuminated by Tóibín's expert narrative.“The Ministry of Time” by Kaliane Bradley: A time travel romance, a spy thriller, a workplace comedy, and an ingenious exploration of the nature of power and the potential for love to change it all: Welcome to “The Ministry of Time,” the exhilarating debut novel by Kaliane Bradley. In the near future, a civil servant is tasked with living with "expat" Commander Gore, displaced from his 1847 Arctic expedition to her modern world of bizarre amenities. What begins as an uncomfortable roommate situation evolves into a passionate love affair amid the charming chaos of fellow time-traveling expats. But the secret ministry's true agenda emerges, forcing her to confront whether defying history's path is possible—or wise. An exquisitely original and feverishly fun fusion of genres and ideas, “The Ministry of Time” asks: What does it mean to defy history, when history is living in your house? “The Z Word” by Lindsay King Miller: Chaotic bisexual Wendy struggles to find her place in an Arizona queer community after a messy breakup, made worse when people around town turn into violent, mindless husks. Now Wendy, her ex Leah, drag queen Logan, silver fox Beau, sword lesbians Aurelia and Sam, and stoner Sunshine must band together as a found family. If they don't kill each other first, they'll need to solve the zombie outbreak, save Pride, and take down the shocking corporate/political forces behind the undead apocalypse. A propulsive, funny, emotional horror debut packed with action, humor, sex, and big gay feelings.“Their Divine Fires” by Wendy Chen: Spanning three generations of Chinese women, this captivating debut interweaves folktales and myths with stories of love affairs and political upheaval. In 1917, Yunhong's brother destroys her marriage, shaping her daughter Yuexin's fractured family legacy. Yuexin passes memories to daughters Hongxing and Yonghong, who forge paths amid Mao's turbulent era. Each guards secrets, leaving present-day Emily piecing together her aunt's strained relationship with her mother against the weight of their revolutionary ancestry. Drawing from her family's experiences on both sides of Mao’s Cultural Revolution, Chen brilliantly transports readers through haunting, passionate moments in China's modern history.“Cinema Love” by Jiaming Tang: A staggering, tender epic about gay men in rural China and the women who marry them. For over 30 years in NYC's Chinatown, Old Second and Bao Mei have cobbled together a meager existence. But they share an ununusual past. In rural Fuzhou before emigrating, Old Second cruised for male intimacy at the Workers' Cinema while classic war films played, as Bao Mei guarded the closeted men's secrets working the box office, finding her own happiness with the projectionist. But when Old Second's passion is exposed, a haunting series of events propels them toward an uncertain future in America. Spanning post-socialist China, 1980s Chinatown, and the present day, this staggering, tender epic explores forbidden relationships, the burden of secrets, and how memory haunts the lives of gay men and the women who marry them.“Whale Fall” by Elizabeth O’Connor: In 1938 on a remote Welsh island, the arrival of a dead whale and two English ethnographers studying the insular community sparks an awakening in young Manod. Despite her roles caring for her father and sister after their mother's death, Manod feels a welling desire to explore beyond the harsh island life her family has known for generations. As she develops a fascination with the outsiders, she reckons with her own sensual awakening, even as she worries her community is being exoticized. With shimmering wit, this portrait captures a woman and tradition-steeped village confronting the allure and threat of the broader world as it encroaches.“The Light Eaters” by Zoë Schlanger: This groundbreaking work immerses readers in the astonishing hidden world of plants. Award-winning science writer Schlanger reveals plants' ingenious capabilities: communicating, recognizing kin, hearing sounds, camouflaging, storing memories, even manipulating animals. Exploring cutting-edge botanical research across the globe, she probes the complex question of plant intelligence and consciousness. If plants thrive through brilliant adaptations like mimicking surroundings or luring pollinators, what does "intelligent life" mean? Looking anew at our ecosystem's other residents, the book prompts us to reconsider plants' role and our own place in nature. An eye-opening journey into the drama and creativity of green life.“Shanghailanders” by Juli Min: This dazzling, ambitious debut novel moves backward through time, following a cosmopolitan Shanghai family from 2040 to 2014, exploring their secrets and losses. Wealthy investor Leo, sophisticated wife Eko, and daughters Yumi, Yoko, and aspiring actress Kiko remake themselves across the years, their lives intersecting a nanny, driver, grandmother, and vision of a future waterlogged city. As timelines rewind, universal constants remain: love's complexity, life's unfairness, and the stubbornly tangled connections of blood, secrets, and longing binding the family. Brilliantly constructed, Min's unforgettable tale is an achingly resonant exploration of marriage, relationships, and time's layered experience.“skin & bones” by Renée Watson: At 40, Lena Baker's world shifts after a shattering confession on her wedding day leaves her grieving a major loss. Suddenly unmoored, the stable life she knew dissolves as she questions everything she believed about dating, friendship, and motherhood - all while trying to teach her daughter self-love and bring oft-forgotten Black history in Oregon to light. Through Watson's poetic voice, this stirring novel explores who society makes space for, investigating themes of sisterhood, motherhood, faith, and love. Ultimately, it's a profound story of heartbreak and the resilient journey toward healing. This week, we’re excited to read the latest from Claire Messud, Terah Shelton Harris, Hari Kunzru, Miranda July, and more. “This Strange Eventful History” by Claire Messud: Over seven decades, from 1940 to 2010, the pieds-noirs Cassars live in an itinerant state—separated in the chaos of World War II, running from a complicated colonial homeland, and, after Algerian independence, without a homeland at all. Inspired in part by long-ago stories from her own family’s history, Claire Messud animates her characters’ rich interior lives amid the social and political upheaval of the recent past. As profoundly intimate as it is expansive, This Strange Eventful History is “a tour de force…one of those rare novels that a reader doesn’t merely read but lives through with the characters” (Yiyun Li).“Long After We Are Gone” by Terah Shelton Harris: An explosive and emotional story of four siblings—each fighting their own personal battle—who return home in the wake of their father's death in order to save their family's home from being sold out from under them, from the author of “One Summer in Savannah.” Told in alternating viewpoints, Long After We Are Gone is a searing portrait on the power of family and letting go of things that no longer serve you, exploring the burden of familial expectations, the detriment of miscommunication, and the lessons and legacies we pass on to our children.“Blue Ruin” by Hari Kunzru: From one of the sharpest voices in fiction today, a profound and enthralling novel about beauty and power, capital, art and those who devote their lives to creating it. Once, Jay was an artist. After graduating from art school in London, he was tipped for greatness, a promising career taking shape before him. That was not to happen. Now, undocumented in the United States, having survived Covid, he lives out of his car and barely makes a living as an essential worker. When he meets people from his past, a reckoning that is decades in the making takes place. “Oye” by Melissa Mogollon: Structured as a series of one-sided phone calls from our spunky, sarcastic narrator, Luciana, to her older sister, Mari, this wildly inventive debut “jump-starts your heart in the same way it piques your ear” (Xochitl Gonzalez). As Luciana chronicles the events of her disrupted senior year of high school over the phone to Mari, “Oye” unfolds like the most fascinating and entertaining conversation you’ve ever eavesdropped on: a rollicking, heartfelt, and utterly unique novel that celebrates the beauty revealed and resilience required when rewriting your own story.“Magical/Realism” by Vanessa Angelica Villarreal: A brilliant, singular collection of essays that looks to music, fantasy, and pop culture—from Beyoncé to Game of Thrones—to excavate and reimagine what has been disappeared by migration and colonialism. In “Magical/Realism,” Villarreal crosses into the erasure of memory and self, fragmented by migration, borders, and colonial and intimate violence, reconstructing her story with pieces of American pop culture, and the music, video games, and fantasy that have helped her make sense of it all.“Thirsty” by Jas Hammonds: From Jas Hammonds, award-winning author of “We Deserve Monuments,” comes a gripping read about a queer teen risking it all to pledge an underground sorority with her best friends the summer before college. As pledging intensifies, so does their drinking. Blake must decide how far she’s willing to go to achieve her glittering dreams of success—and how much of herself she’s willing to lose in the process.“All Fours” by Miranda July: Miranda July’s second novel confirms the brilliance of her unique approach to fiction. With July’s wry voice, perfect comic timing, unabashed curiosity about human intimacy, and palpable delight in pushing boundaries, “All Fours” tells the story of one woman’s quest for a new kind of freedom. Part absurd entertainment, part tender reinvention of the sexual, romantic, and domestic life of a forty-five-year-old female artist, “All Fours” transcends expectation while excavating our beliefs about life lived as a woman. Once again, July hijacks the familiar and turns it into something new and thrillingly, profoundly alive.“A Crane Among Wolves” by June Hur: Based on a true story from Korean history, “A Crane Among Wolves” is a gripping tale set in 1506 Joseon under the tyrannical reign of King Yeonsan. Amid book burnings and abductions, privileged Iseul embarks on a perilous journey to rescue her sister from the king's clutches. Meanwhile, Prince Daehyun plots to overthrow his cruel half-brother. When their paths cross, Iseul and Daehyun reluctantly team up, risking everything to save her sister, free the people, and topple the tyrant in a pulse-pounding gamble.This Strange Eventful History
By Claire MessudExplore a captivating family saga spanning decades, set against the backdrop of World War II and colonial turmoil. An intimate yet epic tale of love, loss, and resilience awaits.
Long After We Are Gone
By Terah Shelton HarrisExplosive family saga set in North Carolina, where the Solomon siblings must save their ancestor’s home from a luxury resort while confronting deep-hidden secrets. A powerful story of love, loss, and legacy.
Blue Ruin
By Hari KunzruA captivating novel about an artist’s journey from greatness to hardship as he reunites with his past in upstate New York, facing love, art, and reckoning.
Oye
By Melissa MogollonA spunky, sarcastic narrator, Luciana, shares her rollercoaster Colombian American family drama in hilarious phone calls during a hurricane crisis.
Thirsty
By Jas Hammondsa gripping read about a queer teen risking it all to pledge an underground sorority with her best friends the summer before college—perfect for fans of Euphoria and Girl in Pieces.
All Fours
By Miranda JulyA daring midlife awakening tale unfolds as an artist ditches her LA-NY road trip for unexpected motel exploration. Embrace this funny, sexy, and surprising escapade into reinvention.
A Crane Among Wolves
By June HurIn the midst of Joseon dynasty’s turmoil, a sheltered girl and a prince must unite to save their loved ones and challenge a tyrannical king. Pulse-pounding historical fiction.
Long Island
By Colm TóibínAn Irish woman living on Long Island faces a shocking revelation from her past, stirring up longings and secrets in this intense novel by a bestselling author.
The Ministry of Time
By Kaliane BradleyIn a thrilling blend of time travel and spy intrigue, a civil servant navigates love and the unknown at The Ministry of Time, where history unfolds in her very home.
The Z Word
By Lindsay King MillerJoin chaotic bisexual Wendy & a diverse group of queer friends in San Lazaro, Arizona, fighting zombies, corporate greed, and political corruption in this hilarious, action-packed horror debut.
Their Divine Fires
By Wendy ChenIntriguing multigenerational tale set across a century of Chinese history, Their Divine Fires weaves love, politics, and family secrets, spanning from rural China to contemporary America.
Cinema Love
By Jiaming TangExperience a unique epic following gay men in rural China and their intertwined fate with women in an emotional journey across decades and continents.
Whale Fall
By Elizabeth O’ConnorIn 1938, on a remote Welsh island, Manod faces a whale carcass that sparks a longing to escape her insular life, challenging her community’s traditions.
The Light Eaters
By Zoë SchlangerExplore the astonishing intelligence of plants in this captivating popular science book. Delve into the world of green life, challenging our views on agency and consciousness.
skin & bones
By Renée WatsonDive into a poignant novel of sisterhood, motherhood, and love as Lena navigates life’s challenges and rediscovers herself while uncovering forgotten Black history.
Shanghailanders
By Juli MinIn a riveting debut novel, journey with a Shanghai family from 2040 back to the present, unraveling their secrets, losses, and enduring family ties across generations and continents.
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