A summer of exciting book releases continues, with another batch of new books to distract you from the hot weather. Here’s a list of July book releases to add to your bucket list, including new takes on old literary classics, an ode to Florida weirdness, and a sequel from bestselling author Taffy Brodesser-Akner.
“Masquerade” by OO Sangoyomi (July 2)
In this historical novel set in West Africa, author OO Sangoyomi blends 15th century history with a loose retelling of the myth of Persephone. When the warrior king of Yorùbáland conquers Òdòdó’s hometown of Timbuktu, life takes a turn for the worse for her and the other women in her blacksmiths’ guild. Then she is kidnapped and taken to the capital city of Sàngótè, where the king chooses her as his bride. Her status in the medieval warrior society quickly rises as she becomes embroiled in the intrigues and machinations of power. The “richly detailed world-building” and mythological inspiration all contribute to a layered, haunting storyline in Sangoyomi’s debut,” said the Library Journal. Order here.
“Long Island Compromise” by Taffy Brodesser-Akner (July 9)
In her follow-up to her 2019 bestselling debut, Fleishman Is In Trouble, journalist Taffy Brodesser-Akner begins forty years after the kidnapping of Carl, the patriarch of the Fletcher family. Carl still struggles with post-traumatic stress disorder from the incident, and his now-grown children have also suffered the aftermath. The story follows each of the children as they return home to cope with the death of their mother and the lingering shock of the kidnapping ordeal.
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In her second work, Brodesser-Akner’s way of wreaking havoc on her hapless characters is associated with a “lip-smacking delight” and the “slow, inevitable flow of failure that the character can only watch but is powerless to stop.” The guard said. Brodesser-Akner’s maximalist style delivers a story that is “sometimes too much,” but “sometimes too much is just right.” Pre-order here.
“State of Paradise” by Laura van den Berg (July 9)
The eccentricities of the Sunshine State are on full display in this upcoming novel. The unnamed narrator of Laura van den Berg’s latest work is a ghostwriter who returns to Florida to be closer to her family and care for her ailing father. When an unknown pandemic strikes, the narrator and her husband, a historian, remain there. Her father’s death leads to her mother becoming the unwitting leader of a cult and her younger sister becoming obsessed with sophisticated virtual reality technology that helps her contact her father. When her sister disappears, the narrator becomes embroiled in an investigation that uncovers things about her employer and VR technology.
“State of Paradise” is van den Berg’s sixth work of fiction, a “heady mix of speculation and autofiction with an obvious claim”, Elle said, “to settle in the thick soup of the reader’s brain and become permanently at home there.” Pre-order here.
“The Coin” by Yasmin Zaher (July 9)
The protagonist of Palestinian journalist Yasmin Zaher’s debut novel also happens to be an unnamed narrator. A wealthy Palestinian, she is “rich and poor at the same time” because she cannot access her inheritance in the US. But that doesn’t stop her from keeping up appearances as she tries to find her place in New York City. In the midst of all this, she begins to compulsively clean and rub her skin raw. With her debut novel, Zaher “creates a hypnotic portrait of a woman on the verge of a nervous breakdown.” Time said.
If you know Ottessa Moshfegh, Rachel Cusk, Sally Rooney or Raven Leilani, you will recognize Zaher’s tone: “cultured but suicidal, functional but on the verge of actively giving up on the world and all its bigoted, sexist microaggressions and outright cruelty,” said The Washington Post. Pre-order here.
“The Bright Sword” by Lev Grossman (July 16)
The author of the Magicians trilogy returns with an epic set in the Arthurian age that offers a new take on the well-known story following the death of King Arthur. Collum, a young knight, joins some lesser-known Knights of the Round Table to restore Camelot and discover what led to the king’s death. The novel weaves together the lives and pasts of each knight as they search for a successor to the king. “Fans of epic fantasy will hang on every word,” Publishing Week said. Pre-order here.
