August Preview

Wow it’s August now. The summer is flying by … but wait, hold on, don’t let it go by just yet. Check out my photo at left of a black bear we saw in the mountains last weekend. He was eating berries on a bush by the side of the road. Glorious.

This month, I have two short trips, and luckily one is to the beach in California to meet up with family, woohoo. It’ll be fun to figure out what reading to bring and what is worthy of the sand. The second trip will be to Toronto, to participate in the annual senior national tennis tournament. Yikes, we will see how it goes. I have been trying to practice, but now there’s not much time left. I’ll just have to do the best I can with what I have at this point.

Meanwhile, this month offers quite a few strong releases in fiction. I guess the publishing industry isn’t totally on vacation after all. There’s new books by such well-known authors as Ruth Ware, Edwidge Danticat, and Mary Doria Russell that look good.

In addition I have my eye on a few others, such as Amy Waldman’s new novel “A Door in the Earth” about an Afghan-American college senior who, inspired by a memoir, travels to a remote village in her birth country to join the work of a charitable foundation that is running a maternity clinic. There she thinks she’ll be able to make a difference but things turn out much more complicated than she ever  imagined. Uh-oh. 

“A Door in the Earth” is the long-awaited second novel by Amy Waldman, whose debut “The Submission” was one of the best novels of 2011. I remember it being my first e-book, which I read on one of the first Kindles available. Now it’s eight years later, and finally Waldman’s new novel is coming out, which is based on her years reporting out of Kabul for the New York Times. Publishers Weekly says the novel “paints a blistering portrayal of the misguided aspirations and convenient lies that have fed the war in Afghanistan” so count me in. If it’s Waldman, then I say, “Yes.” 

Similarly, I need to read Tea Obreht’s second novel out this month called “Inland.” Ever since her 2011 debut “The Tiger’s Wife,” Obreht has been lauded as a young phenom and indeed she was only 25 when her first award-winning novel came out. I thought it was amazing. Now her new one is here and it’s quite a departure from her debut set in the Balkans.

This one is a frontier tale set in the lawless, drought-ridden lands of the Arizona Territory in 1893. It features a homesteading woman whose husband and sons have gone missing — and an outlaw on the run — whose paths gradually converge. It seems to be a rollicking tale, one that includes ghosts, the Army’s camel cavaliers, and other fantastical elements, so count me in. 

Another author’s second novel I’ll pick is Graham Norton’s new one called “A Keeper” about a young woman who discovers layers of secrets surrounding her parentage when she returns to Ireland to settle her mother’s estate. I hope it’ll be right up my alley, especially since I enjoyed Graham Norton’s entertaining first novel “Holding” from 2017.

Who would’ve guessed Norton, an Irish television host, whose show I’ve never seen, could spin such fun, light tales. I’m hoping this new one holds up to his debut, though it remains to be seen whether Norton, Amy Waldman, or Tea Obreht can break the sophomore hex that derails some and have their new books live up to their original successes. I sure hope so.

One last author’s second novel I’ll pick this month is Rajia Hassib’s new book “A Pure Heart” about a “pair of Cairo-born sisters whose fates spin in radically different directions in the wake of the Egyptian revolution.”

I didn’t read Hassib’s 2015 debut novel “In the Language of Miracles,” but this new one, according to Booklist, is said to be quite moving and profound, and examines the “complicated legacies of identity, religion, and politics in Egypt after the Arab Spring emerges.” It’s a portrait of two Muslim women, and the decisions they make in work and love that determine their destinies. Since I’m curious about fiction having to do with the Arab Spring, count me in. 

For my last pick in novel releases, I’m torn between Christy Lefteri’s new one “The Beekeeper of Aleppo” and Cara Wall’s debut “The Dearly Beloved,” both of which look very good and have received strong marks on Goodreads.

The Beekeeper story is about a man and his wife, Syrian war refugees, who escape Aleppo after their home is destroyed and undertake a perilous journey to the U.K.; while “The Dearly Beloved” follows the lives of two men and their wives over the decades as the men come to co-pastor a NYC church starting in the 1960s.

Susie at the blog Novel Visits, who’s already read The Dearly Beloved, says she loved it, and from what I understand, it seems to effectively explore the role of faith, or lack of it, in dealing with the pressures of marriage, child-rearing, and work. The Aleppo novel, on the other hand, addresses issues of exile and dislocation that is going on quite tragically in various places around the world today. So take your pick.

As for movies in August, I look forward to two movie adaptations of novels I read in “The Art of Racing in the Rain” and “Where’d You Go Bernadette.” Both were pretty good reads (and coincidentally both were set in Seattle) but who knows if they will do as well on the Big Screen.

“The Art of Racing in the Rain” is about a race car driver who faces some tough challenges in his life and the bond and support he gets from his dog, Enzo, who narrates the story. By the book’s end, I was pretty much putty in its hands from the touching story. But the movie features Kevin Costner as the dog Enzo’s voice so I’m sort of skeptical it will work that well. Also you might recall in the book the dog is a terrier mix but in the movie Enzo is a golden retriever — a bit more of a looker. Undoubtedly the movie poster is pretty fetching. 

As for the Bernadette movie, it’s been a movie long in the making from the funny 2012 novel by Maria Semple. It was originally set to be released in May 2018 but was pushed back a number of times, making one wonder if there’s been a problem with it all along.

It’s likely not the cast’s fault with Cate Blanchett, Kristen Wigg and Billy Crudup, or the director’s with the inimitable Richard Linklater, but perhaps the script and scenes needed more finessing. Who knows, it can’t be easy at times adapting a satirical novel to the big screen. Regardless, I will likely see it.

Another movie getting attention this month is the drama “Luce” about a married white couple — played by Naomi Watts & Tim Roth — who is forced to reckon with the idealized image of their adopted son from Eritrea, after he is found to back political violence. Hmm. Apparently the kid at first appears to be an overall A-student but then his darker sides, from his days as a child soldier, emerge and are found out by a high school teacher, played by Octavia Spencer. 

It’s gotten some strong reviews so far but could be a tough cup of coffee so I might need a comic diversion afterward, such as the movie “Brittany Runs a Marathon” that looks to have some laughs in it. Starring Jillian Bell, it’s about a woman in NYC who begins to take control of her life little by little. Judging by the trailer, she’s a hoot, and though out of shape, begins training for the NYC marathon one block at a time. It might be perfect for a late summer sleeper. 

Last but not least, in albums for August, there’s new one by such big names as Taylor Swift, Vince Gill, Sheryl Crow, and Trisha Yearwood among others. Granted I was a big Sheryl Crow fan in her early years, but her new album “Threads” is a collaborative album with various other artists. It sounds interesting but likely won’t be my favorite of hers.

Instead, I’ll pick a lesser-known Kentucky singer, Joan Shelley’s new album “Like the River Loves the Sea” as my choice this month. She has quite a voice as you can tell by her latest single “Coming Down for You.” Check it out. 

That’s all for now. What about you — which releases are you most looking forward to this month?