New Books

A few new books arrived by mail that I wasn't expecting and, I must admit all of them sound good.

• The Hopefuls; Jennifer Close - (sent by Knopf) - A brilliantly funny novel about ambition and marriage from the best-selling author of Girls in White Dresses, The Hopefuls tells the story of a young wife who follows her husband and his political dreams to Washington, DC, a city of idealism, gossip, and complicated friendships among the young aspiring elite. 
• This Must Be the Place; Maggie O'Farrell - (sent by Knopf) This Must Be the Place is a novel about family, identity, and true love: an intimately drawn portrait of a marriage, both the forces that hold it together and the pressures that drive it apart. O’Farrell writes with complexity, insight, and laugh-out-loud humor in a narrative that hurtles forward with powerful velocity and emotion. 
• All the Time in the World; Caroline Angell (sent by Holt) - An unforgettable debut about a young woman's choice between the future she's always imagined and the people she's come to love.
• Agnes; Peter Stamm (sent by Other Press) - Peter Stamm's best-selling debut novel, Agnes, now available for the first time in the United States. "Write a story about me," Agnes said to her lover, "so I know that you think of me." So he started to write the story of everything that had happened to them from the moment they met.
       At first, he works with Agnes to create a narrative that is most true to life, but as time passes and he grows more enamored with the narrative he has begun, he continues writing on his own, imagining a future for them after he reaches the present. Happy couples do not necessarily make for compelling reading, and as Agnes sees the unexpected plot he has planned for her, the line between fiction and reality begins to blur. 
       In this unforgettable and haunting novel Stamm incisively examines the power of storytelling to influence thought and behavior, reaching a chilling conclusion.
• The Last September; Nina DeGramont - (sent by Algonquin) - Set in the desolate autumn beauty of Cape Cod, this riveting emotional puzzle explores the psyche of a woman facing down the meaning of love and loyalty.

Although I already read, The Last September, I can't wait to share it with my SIL, it's a page turner - Loved it.