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Home//Local Coverage//Arts & Culture

WINTER BOOKS GUIDE


12 BOOKS WITH NEW ENGLAND TIES TO READ THIS WINTER


January 20, 2022
 * Katherine OuelletteTwitter

TwitterfacebookEmail

Literature writer Katherine Ouellette selects 12 books to read this winter.
(Courtesy the publishers)

We have officially been in the pandemic for so long, there are now books being
published that contend with COVID-19. (For context, most books take two years to
publish, at minimum.) But the vivid imagination of authors has not been
quarantined during that time either. These picks for winter 2022 also grapple
with the stark differences for the children of immigrants seeking the American
dream, the interconnectedness of local communities, and fearless protagonists
who have been backed into a corner. Take inspiration from these authors that no
matter the circumstances, humankind will persevere.


'THE CHOSEN ONE: A FIRST-GENERATION IVY LEAGUE ODYSSEY'
BY ECHO BROWN


JAN. 4

Author Echo Brown has transformed the concept of “Black girl magic” into two
uniquely awe-inspiring novels based on her own life. “The Chosen One” follows
first-generation college student Echo at Dartmouth College, Brown’s own alma
mater. (Although Brown’s 2020 debut “Black Girl Unlimited: The Remarkable Story
of a Teenage Wizard” also features a protagonist named Echo, this is not a
sequel to the previous novel.) At Dartmouth, this new Echo grapples with
challenging coursework as she realizes the campus is not as inclusive as
advertised. After Echo attends a college hypnotist show, suddenly she can access
portals across time and space. A hearty helping of magical realism transforms
this coming of age story into the titular “chosen one” fantasy narrative, but
the real magic is being able to process her trauma and forge a path forward for
herself. [Listen to Here & Now’s interview with Echo Brown and read an excerpt
from “The Chosen One” here.] 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


'OLGA DIES DREAMING'
BY XOCHITL GONZALEZ


JAN. 4

Brown graduate Xochitl Gonzalez tells the tale of two siblings who each splinter
in different directions, avoiding the path of their radical activist mother.
Olga and Prieto Acevedo grew up in New York City with their grandmother after
their mother abandoned them to fight for Puerto Rican independence when Olga was
12. Now, Olga is a high-end wedding planner, Prieto is a closeted congressman,
and their mother is a fugitive. With Hurricane Maria looming, Olga reevaluates
her priorities and Prieto tries to fight for his district and his people. An
impressive debut with rich prose, salient political intrigue, and a lot of
heart.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


'DEAD EYES, VOLUME 2'
BY GERRY DUGGAN, ILLUSTRATED BY JOHN MCCREA


JAN. 11

In this gritty graphic novel, Martin thought he left his criminal past behind in
the ‘90s. Not many people could double-cross the mob and live to tell the tale,
so Martin hung up his Dead Eyes mask to quietly care for his disabled wife,
Megan. But now the money has run dry and he has to don the mask once more
without Megan, the police, or the mob knowing. Recovering the stolen paintings
from the Isabella Stewart Gardner museum might be the windfall he’s been looking
for. He has to keep a low profile, or his eyes won’t be the only thing dead
about him. Equal parts action-packed, funny and poignant, this fictional
hometown antihero thrives in a fictional world where Boston’s criminal
underbelly didn’t die with Whitey Bulger, and still runs amok.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


'YONDER'
BY JABARI ASIM


JAN. 11

In the antebellum South, Asim explores the complex inner lives of enslaved Black
people through the eyes of four characters who have nuanced perspectives on love
and freedom. William doesn’t dare waste his energy on thinking of escape, while
Cato — whose first love was torn from him without warning — still dreams of what
life could be like if they were free. When a preacher comes to town with the
promise of independence, they are unsure if they can trust the word of a man who
teaches from the religious text that captors use to justify their enslavement.
In adroit prose, Asim shows how the power of words, storytelling, and
philosophical debate could have persevered across generations. Asim is a
professor of writing, literature and publishing at Emerson College. [Jabari Asmi
will be in conversation with Lily Rugo of Harvard Book Store on Tuesday, Jan.
25, at 6 p.m.]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


'REAL EASY'
BY MARIE RUTKOSKI


JAN. 18

Harvard graduate Marie Rutkoski draws on her previous experience as an exotic
dancer in this layered thriller. Told through the perspective of nearly a dozen
characters, the story starts with Samantha, a longtime stripper at the Lovely
Lady. She takes new dancer Jolene under her wing until one evening, Jolene is
found dead and Samantha is missing. Who’s to blame for these tragedies? A
jealous boyfriend? The shady owner of the Lovely Lady? Fellow dancer Georgia
helps detective Holly Meylin collect information for the murder and missing
person cases. Each vibrant new perspective twists the knife of mystery a little
more. By giving depth to characters who might be reduced to stereotypes in
lesser crime novels, “Real Easy” helps humanize the people who have the oldest
profession in the world. [Porter Square Books hosts a virtual event with Marie
Rutkoski on Wednesday, Jan. 26, at 7 p.m.]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


'JOAN IS OKAY'
BY WEIKE WANG


JAN. 18

In Weike Wang’s second novel, the titular Joan, daughter of Chinese immigrants, 
feels at odds with the different facets of her identity: on one hand, she’s a
successful ICU doctor in New York City; on the other hand, she feels like she
can’t meet the familial and cultural expectations that her family has placed on
her. But the death of her father is the catalyst for the stoic workaholic to do
some self-reflection. In short succession, her mother returns to the U.S. after
18 years and the COVID-19 pandemic takes the world by storm. How can she help
her brother take care of their now-stranded mother during one of the most
challenging times in global health? Despite the high external stakes, Wang
paints an intimate portrait of a family with wry humor. Wang received her
undergraduate and doctorate degrees at Harvard University, and her MFA from
Boston University.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


'GOLIATH'
BY TOCHI ONYEBUCHI


JAN. 25

After interviewing Tochi Onyebuchi in 2020 prior to the release of his adult
novella “Riot Baby,” I’m excited to recommend his next novel for adults,
“Goliath.” By the 2050s, most wealthy people had left the climate change-ravaged
Earth in favor of space colonies. In the wreckage of New Haven, Connecticut,
working class laborers — the majority of whom are Black and brown — have the
chance to reimagine an equitable society on their terms as they navigate daily
survival. Meanwhile, the colonies yearn for a romanticized version of Earth.
What starts as demand for Earth objects selling at a premium evolves into
colonizers deciding to move back to the planet, gentrifying the neighborhoods
they had left to rot. Onyebuchi masterfully pivots through a range of
perspectives in nonlinear fashion to create this entirely believable landscape
of future history. [Tochi Onyebuchi will celebrate the launch of his book in an
event at Brookline Booksmith on Wednesday, Jan. 26, at 7 p.m.]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


'REDWOOD AND WILDFIRE'
BY ANDREA HAIRSTON


FEB. 1

Smith professor Andrea Hairston reimagines 1890s Georgia, steeped with hoodoo
magic and haint hauntings. Redwood Phipps has the power to hold a hurricane in
her hands, but even she could not stop her mother’s death by a racist mob. The
ghost of her mother haunts half Irish, half Seminole Aidan Wildfire after he
witnesses her lynching. Redwood and Aidan connect over complex feelings about
their respective heritages and magic, and decide to venture to Chicago together
in promise of a safer life where they are free to be themselves. But the road is
treacherous so they must perform their magic and their storytelling in
vaudeville shows to survive the journey. Hairston’s evocative prose speaks to a
painful past, a spellbinding future, and wondrous demonstration of a Black woman
coming into her power.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


'THE GREAT MRS. ELIAS'
BY BARBARA CHASE-RIBOUD


FEB. 8

The real life of Hannah Elias reads like fiction. Named the richest Black woman
of her generation, in the late 19th century, Elias was imprisoned for borrowing
her employer’s dress, supported herself through sex work after she was released,
ran off with a wealthy business owner and moved into a mansion thanks to her
savvy investments — all to have her elite Manhattan landlord status called into
question after one of her former tenants shot a man. So although Barbara
Chase-Riboud’s book can’t be classified as nonfiction because she fleshed out
this narrative, the story beats are based on historical events. Follow the
glamorous rise and fall of a woman who society couldn’t stand to see succeed.
Chase-Riboud was the first African American graduate of Yale University’s School
of Design and Architecture in 1960.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


'WHEN I'M GONE, LOOK FOR ME IN THE EAST'
BY QUAN BARRY


FEB. 22

The expansive imagination of Massachusetts-raised Quan Barry knows no bounds.
Following the success of the delightfully strange “We Ride Upon Sticks,” Quan
Barry returns with a sweeping tale of two estranged brothers traversing Mongolia
in search of the reincarnation of a spiritual leader. Chuluun and Mun were both
raised in a monastery, but after Mun renounced his monastic vows, Chuluun hasn’t
seen him in over a year. What would have been an undoubtedly tense journey is
made all the more difficult because they possess the power to hear each other’s
thoughts. Barry explores large questions about Buddhist philosophy and faith in
general while painting a lush portrait of the Mongolian terrain.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


'THE LAST SUSPICIOUS HOLDOUT'
BY LADEE HUBBARD


MARCH 8

In this collection of interconnected short stories, Massachusetts-born Ladee
Hubbard traverses 15 years of one unnamed Southern Black community. Everyday
life and sweeping social issues are equally intimate for each character. After
the city separates the neighborhood from the rest of town by a highway project,
police respond with violence. When Leon Moore creates an activist group to
empower the community, he receives a suspicious murder charge that his neighbors
can’t help but question, and his legacy shimmers across the length of the book.
Businesses struggle to stay afloat, families of all shapes and sizes try to
provide better lives for their children, and difficult situations ranging from
infidelity to gentrification are given nuance. Whatever their situation,
characters rise to the occasion with aplomb.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


'THE GREAT BOSTON FIRE: THE INFERNO THAT NEARLY INCINERATED THE CITY'
BY STEPHANIE SCHOROW


MARCH 15

Stephanie Schorow, former Boston Herald journalist and author of eight books on
Boston history, collaborates with the Boston Fire Historical Society to recount
the most calamitous fire in Boston’s history. The downtown fire spanned two days
and would end up destroying 776 buildings across 65 acres of land. It spread
easily across the wooden roofs of buildings, where the fire department struggled
to get enough water pressure to put the fire out. Many fire fighting units from
neighboring towns and states arrived to help. Contemporary illustrations and
photographs accompany Schorow’s portrayal of the unfortunate circumstances that
lead to one of the most expensive fires in American history.

Books/PoetryWinter Arts Guides


RELATED:

 * Explore our 2022 winter arts guides
 * Author Sara Freeman explores a woman's desperate attempt at transformation in
   'Tides'

Katherine Ouellette Twitter Literature Writer
Katherine Ouellette covers literature for WBUR.

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