Beatrice and Virgil Yann Martell 224 pages Random House
Man Booker prizewinner Yann Martell’s third novel focuses on an author named Henry who is struggling to meaningfully portray the horrors of the Holocaust in his latest fiction. When he receives a mysterious manuscript from a taxidermist who shares his name, the story spins into a heady examination of human atrocity and the nature of fiction itself.
Other Lives Peter Bagge 136 pages Vertigo
In the first graphic novel from the creator of Harvey Award-winning series Hate, the prolific Peter Bagge explores identity in the 21st century. A satiric look at life in the era of social networking sites and MMORPGs, Other Lives may be one of the most insightful and humourous fictional treatments of virtual reality; the mesmerizing R. Crumb-esque graphics perfectly complement the post-modern fable. Even comics newbies will appreciate Bagge’s deft social commentary.
Anthropology of an American Girl Hillary Thayer Hamann 600 pages Spiegel and Grau
Hamann’s debut chronicles the coming of age of a blighted East Hampton adolescent. The story is as much a third-wave feminist critique of 1980s America as it is a heartbreaking literary tragedy. Critics are hailing it as highly addictive read (Publishers Weekly made a comparison to crack), but Anthropology is much more than a beach read – it’s an insightful look into what it means to be a woman.
