Six November Books Span Myth and Hockey
New releases this month include Louise Kennedy's Stations and a long-lost Don DeLillo novel.
By Mateo Castillo ·
Louise Kennedy releases her second novel, Stations, this month. The Northern Irish author previously published Trespasses. In a 2022 interview with All Things Considered, Kennedy described her transition from a career as a chef to writing. She stated that she felt "strangely liberating" while working on her debut.
Mary Beth Keane publishes Whale Harbor. The book features an Irish father and his sons. Maureen Corrigan compared Keane to Ann Patchett in a review of Keane's 2019 novel, Ask Again, Yes. Corrigan noted that Keane transforms domestic tales into universal themes. Keane's latest work spans years, seas, and continents.
Matt O'Hara, a history professor at the University of California, Santa Cruz, writes The Flying Death. The book examines curare, a poison known as "flying death" in the Amazon. O'Hara traces the pursuit of the substance from the 1930s. He details how rivalries and the quest for medicinal properties impacted Amazon tribes and pharmacology.
Daisy Johnson publishes Long Wave. The British writer became the youngest Booker Prize finalist in 2018 at age 27. Her debut, Everything Under, earned that distinction. Johnson has since published another novel and a short story collection. Long Wave continues her style of sparse prose and foreboding atmosphere.
Tahmima Anam releases Uprising. The story is set on a river island in Bangladesh. Women on the island are trapped in prostitution by a cruel madam. The narrative is told largely from the perspective of the women's children. Anam notes that the arrival of a new girl sets events in motion on the island.
Cleo Birdwell publishes Amazons: An Intimate Memoir by the First Woman Ever to Play in the National Hockey League. The book was originally released more than four decades ago. The name Birdwell is a pseudonym for American novelist Don DeLillo. DeLillo publicly acknowledged the work in 2020. He approved its republication earlier this year. His preface includes a business card with the statement, "I don't want to talk about it."
Source: KPBS
