Starred Review Roundup (9/25/2024)

Stars all around! These titles all received multiple starred reviews:

THE SEQUEL by Jean Hanff Korelitz
9781250875471 | 10/1/24

“Wicked entertainment.”—Kirkus Reviews, starred review

“Korelitz makes hay with her satirical depiction of the publishing industry’s ego parade—untended slush piles play a pivotal role—and she brilliantly ushers the action toward a shocking conclusion. She also offers satisfying glimpses into what makes Anna tick, placing her alongside Tom Ripley in the pantheon of amoral antiheroes. It’s another taut and compulsively readable spellbinder from Korelitz.”—Publisher’s Weekly, starred review

LAZARUS MAN by Richard Price
9780374168155 | 11/12/24

“An affecting novel by a literary urbanologist in top form.”—Kirkus Reviews, starred review

“As these vivid characters cross paths following the tragedy, they compose a searing snapshot of contemporary Harlem annotated with the author’s precise observations . . . Price once again proves he’s the bard of New York City street life.”—Publisher’s Weekly, starred review

THE CITY IN GLASS by Nghi Vo
9781250348272 | 10/1/24

“Vo’s newest is a beautiful, bloody-yet-cozy, intensely hopeful novel about the power to rebuild.”—Booklist, starred review

“Hugo Award winner Vo (SIREN QUEEN) delivers an astonishing standalone novel of grief, retribution, and love that evokes the best of Italo Calvino and Ursula K. Le Guin . . . This beautifully crafted tale of resilience and transformation may be Vo’s best yet.”—Publisher’s Weekly, starred review

BLUFF by Danez Smith
9781644452981 | 8/20/24

“Smith’s collection is a powerful exploration of what it means to live in a world that feels like it is collapsing, amid global warming, racism, gentrification, and gun violence. Not to be missed; sure to be one of the best collections of the year.”—Library Journal, starred review

“Smith’s searing fourth collection (after HOMIE) offers a powerful self-indictment of art and the artist in an age of social and political collapse. “—Publisher’s Weekly, starred review

SALVAGE: READINGS FROM THE WRECK by Dionne Brand
9780374614843 | 10/1/24

“Award-winning novelist Brand, Toronto’s former poet laureate, melds autobiography and literary criticism to offer a shrewd, intimate reading of the 17th-, 18th-, and 19th-century novels that shaped her sense of self . . . Penetrating cultural criticism.”—Kirkus Reviews, starred review

“Brand’s piercing analysis is at once sweeping and deeply personal, shedding light on how English literature whitewashed imperial conquests one reader at a time. It’s a potent reevaluation of the British literary canon.”—Publisher’s Weekly, starred review

THE BLACK UTOPIANS: SEARCHING FOR PARADISE AND THE PROMISED LAND IN AMERICA by Aaron Robertson
9780374604981 | 10/1/24

“Robertson ties this story to reflections on his family inheritance in the all-Black Tennessee town of Promise Land, his father’s letters from prison, and the life of painter Glanton Dowdell, the visionary creator of the shrine’s mural of a Black Madonna and child. This fascinating and resonant history has been hidden far too long.”—Booklist, starred review

“Translator Robertson (BEYOND BABYLON) debuts with an ambitious and captivating group portrait of African American visionaries who sought to escape the ‘persistence of abysmal realities for black people’ . . . Robertson paints a vivid and beguiling picture of the indomitable human yearning for a safe and nurturing home. It’s a must-read.”—Publisher’s Weekly, starred review

MODEL HOME by Rivers Solomon
9780374607135 | 10/1/24

“Solomon’s genre-defying achievement subverts and reclaims the tropes of the gothic haunted house to create something wholly original and unforgettable.”—Booklist, starred review

“With this exhilarating and unforgettable work, Solomon proves to be a formidable writer.”—Kirkus Reviews, starred review

LINGUAPHILE: A LIFE OF LANGUAGE LOVE by Julie Sedivy
9780374601836 | 10/15/24

“A remarkable book about how language is an essential trait of human beings—and also one of the most mysterious . . . Sedivy blends a tender memoir with a fascinating study of how language defines the human condition.”—Kirkus Reviews, starred review

“For lovers of the written and spoken word, this enchanting study is a must.”—Publisher’s Weekly, starred review