6
the
BOOK NOOK
Thursday, April 22, 2021
GO! magazine — A&E in Northeast Oregon
6 new paperbacks for a refreshing spring read
Moira Macdonald
The Seattle Times
(TNS) — Need some fresh fi ction
(or semi-fi ctionalized memoir) for
spring? Here are six good bets,
newly out in paperback.
Happy reading!
“BECOMING DUCHESS
GOLDBLATT”
by Anonymous (HMH Books)
Quite possibly the greatest book
ever to be born from a pseudony-
mous Twitter account, this nonfi c-
tion gem is written by a reclusive
real-life writer who created a wise,
enchanting online persona for
herself, inspired by the Frans Hals
painting “Portrait of an Elderly
Lady.” (Sample recent tweet: “I’ve
left a cardboard box lined with old
towels by the back door. When my
sadness comes crawling home in
the wee hours, it can sleep it off
outside.”)
Duchess Goldblatt wants the
world to be a better place; by the
time you’ve fi nished this moving,
funny memoir, it will be.
“IF I HAD YOUR FACE”
by Frances Cha
(Random House)
Cha’s debut novel, set in contem-
porary Seoul, South Korea, follows
four young women making their
way through a world in which suc-
cess seems dictated by appearance.
“At fi rst you might make the mis-
take of thinking Cha’s story is all
about wealth and plastic surgery
and the pursuit of an impossible
standard of beauty,” wrote New
York Times reviewer Elisabeth
Egan. “But take a closer look and
you’ll fi nd the sisterhood at the
heart of this ambitious book. It’s
the scaffolding — and also, occa-
sionally, the wrecking ball.”
“THE CACTUS LEAGUE”
by Emily Nemens (Picador)
Need a good baseball novel for
spring? This one’s a delight, written
by a former Seattleite who said she
was inspired by going to Mariners
games with her father. Set during
spring training, the book follows a
series of people connected to profes-
sional baseball: a coach, a player’s
wife, a sports agent, a fan.
Reading it last year, I wrote, “We
get inside their heads, one by one,
and watch as their stories gradu-
ally and gracefully converge under
the cool, late-February Arizona
sunshine — a complex structure
that Nemens makes look as easy
as a major-leaguer nonchalantly
catching a line drive.”
“ALL ADULTS HERE”
by Emma Straub
(Penguin)
Straub, master of sunny vacation
novels (“The Vacationers,” “Mod-
ern Lovers”), centers this novel
on a 68-year-old widow belatedly
wondering what kind of parent she
had been.
The book is “deliciously funny
and infectiously warm — a clever
blend of levity and poignant in-
sights,” wrote Washington Post
reviewer Angela Haupt. “Straub’s
fl air for irony and wit shine, and
she puts a fresh (and progressive)
spin on the age-old multigenera-
tional family saga.”
“THE LAST TRIAL”
by Scott Turow (Grand
Central Publishing)
Turow’s 1987 novel “Presumed
Innocent” (which I recently reread;
it holds up superbly) is one of the
great courtroom thrillers. His latest
novel lets us check in, for perhaps
the last time, with recurring
character Alejandro “Sandy” Stern,
the defense attorney in “Presumed
Innocent” and a frequent name in
Turow’s pages; he’s now 85, ailing,
and wondering if he’s facing his
last case.
New York Times reviewer Janet
Maslin wrote, “In this meticulously
devised courtroom drama, rich
with character detail, Turow again
demonstrates what he does best:
roll out a complex, keenly observed
legal case yet save a boatload of
surprises for its ending.”
“SHARKS IN THE TIME OF
SAVIORS”
by Kawai Strong Washburn
(Picador)
A PEN/Hemingway Award for
Debut Novel fi nalist, Washburn’s
novel focuses on a working-class
Hawaiian family, taking place over
many years and beginning with a
gripping sequence in which a child
is saved from drowning by sharks.
“By turns lyrical and gritty, a
moving family story focuses on
the aftermath of miracles,” wrote
Kirkus Reviews in a starred review.
The stories of the grown children
“go in unexpected directions, from
hilarious to heartbreaking. ... Strik-
ing style, memorable characters,
and a believably miraculous prem-
ise add up to a beautifully crafted
fi rst novel.”
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ATTENTION READERS
GO! editors are seeking book
reviews written by local readers and
information on book clubs and other
literary happenings in Northeast
Oregon. Send submissions and ideas
to lkelly@lagrandeobserver.com.
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