Debutiful’s Adam Vitcavage recommends noteworthy debut books for readers to discover each month.
Masquerade by Mike Fu (Tin House; October 29)
From the publisher: Exploring social, cultural, and sexual identities in New York, Shanghai, and beyond, Mike Fu’s Masquerade is a skillfully layered, brilliantly interwoven debut novel of friendship, queer longing, and worlds on the brink, asking how we can find ourselves among ghosts of all kinds, and who we can trust when nothing–and no one–is as it seems.
An enchanting and vibrant story about a young person discovering the truth about identity and reality. Fu provides impressive plotting coupled with brilliant prose. He seemlesses bounces between place while make every setting feel completely whole and lived in.
Women Surrounded by Water by Patricia Coral (Mad Creek; November 1)
From the publisher: Coral evokes the beauty, love, and language of her family and of Puerto Rico as well as the pain of yearning for more. Tastes, colors, and the dreamlike lushness of childhood memories infuse this mournful and propulsive memoir of personal and natural disasters—and the self-discovery made possible only when we choose what to leave behind.
A beautiful and intimate memoir with a lot of heart. It’s a treasure to read.
The Man in the Banana Trees by Marguerite Sheffer (University of Iowa Press; November 5)
From the publisher: The stories in The Man in the Banana Trees take place in the past, present, and future–from the American Gulf South to the orbit around Jupiter. We meet teachers and students, ghosts and aliens.
The unique blend of stories in Sheffer’s collection gives new insight into our world. She uses genre and setting to explore the unfamiliar and push readers into using a mirror to see our reality in them. I never knew what to expect from story to story. Sheffer kept me on my toes and each story felt like the story of the collection. She outdid herself time and time again.
What We Tried to Bury Grows Here by Julian Zabalbeascoa (Two Dollar Radio; November 12)
From the publisher: A masterly crafted and haunting tale of survival, longing, and empathy, set during the Spanish Civil War.
A kaleidoscopic historical fiction that introduces readers to distinct voices with a lot to say. This is a complex and engrossing tale that will make you forget we’re almost in the 2030s and not in 1930s Northern Spain.
Deadly Animals by Marie Tierney (Henry Holt; November 12)
From the publisher: Finding a dead body is not normal. But Ava is not a normal teenager. In this chillingly beautiful mystery, only the obsessive spirit of youth can save a desperate town from the savagery within.
Tierney offers a unique and bewitching spin on the modern murder mystery. This book pulls off eerie like no other. It’s a thoughtprovoking page-turner that will leave readers extremely satisfied.
The Flat Woman by Vanessa Saunders (FC2; November 12)
From the publisher: Driven by complex academic and moral questions, The Flat Woman is certain to appeal to fans of feminist and experimental literature, as well as fans of Margaret Atwood, Renee Gladman, Bhanu Kapil, Maggie Nelson, Kelly Link, and Anne Carson.
This book packs a punch in only 160 pages. Provocative, engageing, and informative. We need this book more now than ever.
Rosenfeld by Maya Kessler (Avid Reader Press; November 19)
From the publisher: For readers of Luster, All Fours, and Vladimir: a brazenly sexy and scathingly candid novel about a white-hot relationship and the two intractable characters who emerge from it transformed.
At times sexy, at times hilarious, this book offers a new spin on forbidden lust. Originally written in Hebrew, the translation provides Americans a new lens when it comes to reading sex scenes and what romance could be about. It challenged me to think about frequented themes in new and unexpected ways.
Hollow: A Memoir of My Body in the Marines by Bailey Williams (Abrams; November 19)
From the publisher: A powerful, coming-of-age memoir of one girl’s struggle, adrift in warrior culture. Hollow is a story for anyone whose identity has been prescribed to them– and has dared question if there is another way to live.
A must-read memoir on war, identity, and sexism, essential for anyone who came of age during the Iraq War. It’s both a time capsule and a powerful education—destined to become one of the most discussed war memoirs in recent memory.
Love Can’t Feed You by Cherry Lou Sy (Dutton; October 8)
From the publisher: A beautiful, tender yet searing debut novel about intergenerational fractures and coming of age, following a young woman who immigrates to the United States from the Philippines and finds herself adrift between familial expectations and her own burning desires
Cherry Lou Sy’s debut novel is a powerful and tender story that is richly written. She keenly captures the complexities of identity, family, and self-discovery through engrossing prose on every page.