The weather is cooling as we recommend sagas of literary frenemy-ship, skewing satires centuries apart, and the stories of superstars like Cher and Taylor Swift in our November list.
The Man in the Banana Trees, Marguerite Sheffer (November 5)
Winner of the Iowa Short Fiction Award, Marguerite Sheffer’s debut short story collection blends surreal, fantasy, and realism with surprising dexterity. Billed for fans of authors like George Saunders, Kelly Link, and Gabriel García Márquez, The Man in the Banana Trees takes readers to 1493, 2036, and in between with illuminating creativity and sharp wit.
Didion and Babitz, Lili Anolik (November 12)
In this saga about two literary frenemies and rivals, Lili Anolik unearths boxes of diaries found at Eve Babitz’ home shortly after her death. They describe a collaborative version of late 60s and early 70s Hollywood, where a two-story apartment was home to a rotating selection of artists and writers, Joan Didion among them. Both women are uncovered in a new light in this invigorating and provocative dual biography.
Every Arc Bends Its Radian, Sergio de la Pava (November 12)
Riv del Rio upends his life in New York City after a breakup for his homeland of Cali, Colombia, his only job prospect uncovering the disappearance of a local woman’s daughter his cousin knew. Once the criminal syndicate Mondragon is revealed to be involved, the operation takes on a dangerous quality that Riv might not be equipped to handle. Poignant, philosophical, and very funny, Sergio de la Pava’s latest novel is a new kind of detective story.
Camp Jeff, Tova Reich (November 12)
In this skewering satire for fans of Philip Roth and Joshua Cohen by a finalist of the Jewish National Book Award, a New York Catskills resort is converted into a rehabilitation center for high-profile #MeToo offenders. An indictment of therapy culture, wellness retreats, and cancel culture, Tova Reich’s latest is another humorous takedown sure to provoke.
The Endless Refrain: Memory, Nostalgia, and the Threat to New Music, David Rowell (November 12)
The internet’s influence on the music industry is heard but rarely felt — it’s changed the landscape (for better or for worse) on how music is produced, consumed, and written about. Brilliant records fall to the wayside for not being algorithmically viable, and inoffensive corporate fodder rises to the top. In journalist and critic David Rowell’s new exploration on Napster, Pandora, Spotify and iTunes, he combines personal research, data, and memoir to uncover the stifling of new music in the name of nostalgia.
Heartbreak Is the National Anthem: How Taylor Swift Reinvented Pop Music, Rob Sheffield (November 12)
For the Swiftie in your life, this definitive account of the rise of pop megastar Taylor Swift by Rolling Stone journalist Rob Sheffield is a must-read. Sheffield has been following Swift’s career since “Our Song” in 2006, and his new book tracks her rises and falls with the rigor of an investigative journalist and the eyes and heart of a superfan.
What We Tried to Bury Grows Here, Julian Zabalbeascoa (November 12)
Julian Zabalbeascoa’s debut novel, What We Tried to Bury Grows Here, is a love letter both to writing and to a historic, divided Europe. Inspired by the words of a political essayist, teenager Isidro Elejalde joins the Spanish Civil War to protect his country against a military coup. Elsewhere, a mother known as Mariana writes about the war, inadvertently and briefly influencing Isidro’s life. Through competing narratives in history, Zabalbeascoa’s debut introduces himself as a prime storyteller.
Cher: The Memoir, Part One, Cher (November 19)
It shouldn’t be a surprise that the legend of Cher could be limited to only one memoir. A legend and activist with an unparalleled decades-long career, Cher started as a dyslexic child dreaming of stardom with not much confidence to back it up. The first part of the memoir traces her meeting and collaborating with Sonny Bono to their eventual separation, and reveals Cher the human as well as Cher the superstar.
Rosenfeld, Maya Kessler (November 19)
Initially published in Hebrew, Maya Kessler’s debut novel is perfect for fans of the exhilarating and sexy All Fours, Acts of Desperation, or Cleopatra and Frankenstein. When Noa Simon, a filmmaker, meets Teddy Rosenfeld, an older CEO, she has her target set. What follows is an intoxicating and exciting siphoning of power, romance, and desire that will keep your heart pounding and mind lingering.
An Earthquake Is a Shaking of the Surface of the Earth, Anna Moshovakis (November 19)
Poet and novelist Anna Moshovakis returns with her latest, a vibrant and uncanny retelling of an earthly disaster of seismic proportions. An unnamed narrator struggles to regain her consciousness and bodily autonomy after a massive earthquake that disrupts her mind. Driven to paranoia by an intense need to find and kill her younger roommate in order to find some sense of stability on earth and in her body, her descent into madness is intense, bizarre, and urgent.
Twilight Sleep, Edith Wharton (November 26)
Edith Wharton’s satirical portrayal of New York’s Jazz Era of the 1920s gets picked up by Smith & Taylor Classics, an imprint of Our Culture favorite Unnamed Press. Helmed by novelist Brandon Taylor and editor Allison Miriam Smith, the press strives to feature both literary icons and lesser known classicists. In Twilight Sleep, Mrs. Pauline Manford is a woman racked with indecision and movement — her daughter keeps dating the wrong men, her son can’t settle on a career — but all is upended by a handsome Italian actor that she finally feels right with.