Great Circle by Maggie Shipstead
#literarynovel, author interview, character driven fiction, coming of age, domestic fiction, family drama, feminist literature, historical fiction, literary fiction, Sense of Place Fiction, women's issues Lin Salisbury #literarynovel, author interview, character driven fiction, coming of age, domestic fiction, family drama, feminist literature, historical fiction, literary fiction, Sense of Place Fiction, women's issues Lin Salisbury

Great Circle by Maggie Shipstead

THE GREAT CIRCLE is a big book – not just because it is nearly 600 pages long – but because of the breadth of the subject matter – art, aviation, prohibition, noncomformity, war, isolation, connection – and the period it spans 1909-2014 – give or take a few decade gaps. There will be So. Much. To. Discuss. with your book group! Maggie Shipstead has a keen understanding of longing and what it means to be human.

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Send for Me by Lauren Fox
#literarynovel, author interview, family drama, historical fiction, Holocaust Literature, immigrant experience, literary fiction #literarynovel, author interview, family drama, historical fiction, Holocaust Literature, immigrant experience, literary fiction

Send for Me by Lauren Fox

Powerfully conveyed through shifting narratives, SEND FOR ME is not a lament, but rather an ode to family and a love that transcends time and place. I recommend SEND FOR ME for fans of Kristin Hannah and Geraldine Brooks. Listen to my interview with Lauren Fox on Superior Reads, May 27 at 7:00 pm.

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Early Morning Riser
#literarynovel, author interview, character driven fiction, domestic fiction, family drama, fiction humor, women's issues #literarynovel, author interview, character driven fiction, domestic fiction, family drama, fiction humor, women's issues

Early Morning Riser

I cannot recommend EARLY MORNING RISER enough. EARLY MORNING RISER brims with love and hope and humor. Heiny redefines family in this enchanting novel and I felt my heart lifted from the heaviness of the past year. Her characters are complex and quirky – they’re your mother, your brother, or your neighbor – they are just like all those complicated people you encounter on a daily basis. Whether you live in a small town, or your village of people is in a big city, you’ll recognize them and after reading EARLY MORNING RISER, you’ll find the things that may have previously annoyed you, endearing. Heiny is like that – through her lens, you’ll see things differently.

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Brood by Jackie Polzin
#literarynovel, author interview, character driven fiction, domestic fiction, family drama, literary fiction, midwestern fiction, Minnesota Fiction, Minnesota interest, women's issues #literarynovel, author interview, character driven fiction, domestic fiction, family drama, literary fiction, midwestern fiction, Minnesota Fiction, Minnesota interest, women's issues

Brood by Jackie Polzin

BROOD brims with hope in the midst of grief and tenderness in spite of loss. “Life is the ongoing effort to live,” Polzin writes, “some people make it look easy. Chickens do not.” BROOD is an honest look at life, love, loss, and to some extent, chickens.

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SOMEWHERE IN THE UNKNOWN WORLD, A COLLECTIVE REFUGEE MEMOIR by Kao Kalia Yang
#education, author interview, Global politics, immigrant experience, Memoir, Minnesota interest #education, author interview, Global politics, immigrant experience, Memoir, Minnesota interest

SOMEWHERE IN THE UNKNOWN WORLD, A COLLECTIVE REFUGEE MEMOIR by Kao Kalia Yang

“Life will teach you the strength of the human heart, not of its weakness or fragility,” Kao Kalia Yang’s father tells her. It is a lesson that Yang passes on to her children and one that she hopes will fortify the hearts of children everywhere, passed on through the stories in Somewhere in the Unknown World. The book is dedicated to “Refugees from everywhere – men, women, and children whose fates have been held by the interests of nations, whose rights have been contested and denied, whose thirst and hunger go unheeded and unseen.” Through this important work, we see them, Kalia, we see them.

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Little Faith by Nickolas Butler
#literarynovel, author interview, character driven fiction, midwestern fiction, sense of place, Sense of Place Fiction #literarynovel, author interview, character driven fiction, midwestern fiction, sense of place, Sense of Place Fiction

Little Faith by Nickolas Butler

Butler masterfully examines the tenuous bonds of family against the backdrop of faith. The emotional landscape fittingly mirrors the physical as we progress through the seasons. LITTLE FAITH explores the significance of lifelong friendships, the fickleness of the seasons, and the capriciousness of romantic and familial love. In Butler’s world, as in real life, nothing comes without a price.

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American Gospel by Lin Enger
#literarynovel, author interview, family drama, literary fiction, Minnesota Fiction, Sense of Place Fiction #literarynovel, author interview, family drama, literary fiction, Minnesota Fiction, Sense of Place Fiction

American Gospel by Lin Enger

AMERICAN GOSPEL will be out in October and is Lin Enger’s third novel. The plot revolves around the apocalyptic vision of an old man whose message resonates with a nation in turmoil. Like his other novels, Undiscovered Country and High Divide, AMERICAN GOSPEL flawlessly weaves together personal stories of fractured families with historical events resulting in a satisfying, yet surprising resolution.

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The Land by Thomas Maltman
#literarynovel, author interview, dystopian literature, literary fiction, Minnesota Fiction, Sense of Place Fiction #literarynovel, author interview, dystopian literature, literary fiction, Minnesota Fiction, Sense of Place Fiction

The Land by Thomas Maltman

There’s a lot at stake in Maltman’s THE LAND – will Lucien be able to infiltrate the Rose of Sharon and maintain his integrity? Can a soul in search of meaning unwittingly find it in a corrupt religion? These questions, dear reader, are the ingredients of a page turner.

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Tell Me Your Names and I will Testify by Carolyn Holbrook
author interview, essays, Memoir, women's history, women's issues author interview, essays, Memoir, women's history, women's issues

Tell Me Your Names and I will Testify by Carolyn Holbrook

Confronted by racism, both subtle and audacious, she persevered. She inspired students, regardless of their race, class, or age to write their own stories. As a mother, she helped her daughter leave an abusive relationship, stood by her son through his own years of incarceration, and as a grandmother envisioned a world where her granddaughters could develop a strong sense of self and personal freedom.

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