Publishing: Six new titles hit shelves this month
November releases include works by Louise Kennedy, Don DeLillo, and Matt O'Hara, spanning domestic drama and Amazonian history.
By Lucas Collins ·
Publishers have released six new books this month.
The lineup includes fiction, nonfiction, and a reissued memoir. Several authors have built reputations over the past decade. Louise Kennedy, a Northern Irish writer, spent nearly 30 years as a chef before turning to fiction. She described the transition as "strangely liberating" in a 2022 interview. Her new novel, Stations, follows the aftermath of a young romance. The couple struggles under the weight of their family histories rather than religious differences. Her debut novel was Trespasses.
Mary Beth Keane is publishing Whale Harbor. The American writer previously published Ask Again, Yes in 2019. Fresh Air book critic Maureen Corrigan compared Keane to Ann Patchett in a review of that earlier work. Both authors were noted for transforming domestic tales into universal narratives. The new book tells the story of an Irish father and his sons. The narrative spans years, seas, and continents.
Matt O'Hara, a history professor at the University of California, Santa Cruz, has released The Flying Death: Poison, Plunder, and the Quest for a Miracle Medicine in the Amazon. The book is rooted in archival study. It details the pursuit of curare, a poison known as "flying death." Amazon tribes used the herbal mixture in blowdarts. Researchers began studying its medicinal properties in the 1930s. The quest spanned continents and incited rivalries. The work opened new avenues in pharmacology and commerce while impacting the tribes involved.
Daisy Johnson, a British writer, is publishing Long Wave. She became the youngest Booker Prize finalist ever at age 27 when her debut novel Everything Under made the shortlist in 2018. Her new work features elusive images and spare prose. The story centers on women carrying family bonds that are described as broken glass. The tone is foreboding and redolent of myth.
Tahmima Anam has published Uprising. The novel is set on a river island in Bangladesh. Women there have been trapped in prostitution by a cruel madam. Climate change contributes to rising waters in the region. The story is told largely from the perspective of the children fathered by customers. The arrival of a new girl sets events in motion.
Cleo Birdwell is the author of Amazons: An Intimate Memoir by the First Woman Ever to Play in the National Hockey League. The book is a reissue of a work published more than four decades ago. It was written by the American novelist Don DeLillo under a pseudonym. DeLillo did not publicly acknowledge authorship until 2020. He approved the republication earlier this year. A preface includes a business card with the statement: "I don't want to talk about it."
