This year is shaping up to be one of the best years to be a reader. It’s only been a few weeks, and I already have a backlist starting to accumulate. To help you sift through the ocean of new releases, here are a few books scheduled to release very soon that you should have on your bookshelf.
Quesadillas, Juan Pablo Villalobos (FSG Originals, February 11th)
This is one of the tersest novels I’ve read in years, but don’t let the brevity fool you. Juan Pablo Villalobos has created a Mexico full of wonder, adventure, and satire. This compendium is absolutely hilarious from start to finish.
The plot centers on a large family constantly on the brink of starvation, each competing for his or her own precious quesadillas. Our narrator, named Orestes after the Greek hero but lovingly called Oreo, is a schemer in every sense of the word. I should mention now (because you are obviously wondering why a Mexican boy would be named Orestes) that the father of this family has chosen to name all of his children after mythical Greek figures. When the youngest two siblings, Castor and Pollux, go missing, Orestes finds opportunity where most would find grief. Two less mouths to feed means the quesadilla rations are more generous. It’s a dog eat quesadilla world.
Villalobos uses this family as the perfect conduit for his satirical assault on 1980s Mexico. It is a period of time that is rampant with corruption, revolution, and poverty. He tells the story in hindsight, which gives the reader the contrasting viewpoints of an insightful adult and the natural bias of a child who experienced the events firsthand. This approach provides the reader with lines that are instantly quotable. The literary reader will not be disappointed. I absolutely loved this book and can’t wait to have more people read it so we can talk about those last fifteen pages.
Those last fifteen pages … sheesh.
The Martian, Andy Weir (Crown, February 11th)
They say not to judge a book by its cover, and then they go and spend hundreds of thousands of dollars investing in the psychology of readers and why we pick books up in the first place. I love judging covers, and you should too! I judged the crap out of The Martian’s cover, and that is because it is absolutely terrifying.
As is the book.
In The Martian, Andy Weir takes us to the believable future in which space travel has advanced enough for human missions to Mars. The problem with progress though, is that all the kinks have not been worked out and the latest crew sort of left someone behind during an emergency evacuation. That someone is our protagonist, Mark Watney.
I have found that science fiction writers often fail to write truly compelling characters, but Andy Weir has found himself a winner in Mark Watney. Although his situation is dire and the odds of his survival are fractal, he just sort of takes everything in stride. It’s easy to feel yourself there with him, figuring things out and making progress regardless of the limitations. We find our character comfortable with who he is and accepting of his situation without trudging through 200 pages of self discovery.
With no communication with NASA, a hole in his space suit, and his ride home a couple of light seconds away, Mark Watney is the loneliest person in the solar system. Fans of mysteries should really look out for this book. Slow revelations aplenty, this book is chock-full of suspense.
The Orenda, Joseph Boyden (Knopf, May 13th)
Oh, and finally, the obligatory The Orenda push. This book is absolutely amazing. If you don’t read anything else this year, do yourself a favor and read this book. My good friend Hannah already blogged about it. You should read her write-up if you haven’t. Go ahead, I’ll wait…
And now that you’re sold, come into Lemuria and pre-order your copy now. You’re going to want it as soon as it releases, trust me.
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