I'm writing this post on May 19, 2022. The temperature in Denver reached the high 80s today. Although it was only Thursday, it was a day for long hikes, picnics, gardening, cold beer and fried chicken. Tomorrow we will experience a huge drop in temperature and cold winds. A winter storm warning has been issued and we expect three to five inches of snow in the city. We are having an early summer and a late winter -- at the same time. But don't dwell on the weather or the consequences of climate change. That's no fun. Here are a few upcoming books that may help get you through the rest of spring or summer or winter -- whatever this is.
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Daniel Guebel, translated by
Jessica Sequeira
Seven Stories Press - May 17
[from the publisher]
Called a "masterpiece" and the author a "genius," this English-language debut of one of Argentina’s best writers is the story of a family of artists, scientists, and politicians who are responsible for the great cultural and political advancements of modernity, yet remain mysteriously unknown.
This monumental novel tells the story of the Deliuskin family’s secret interventions in music, mysticism and revolutionary thought over the course of three centuries, spanning six generations. Each figure engages in obsessive and absurd acts, which—depending on who controls the narrative— could be genius or madness, so often indistinguishable. Countless minor characters also appear, intersecting with these stories in a suggestion of infinite parallel narratives.
The title predestines this philosophical, political, historical, literary, sentimental, erotic, religious, scientific and artistic book to evocative incompleteness. To attempt perfection is a joyful act of throwing oneself into the world, the task at hand is not to capture life but create, in and through words. Poised on the edge of something between reality and its negation, Daniel Guebel's The Absolute is an undeniable masterpiece even as it questions if the novel is a failed project.
Winner of Premio Municipal de la Novela, 2021
Winner of Premio Nacional de Literatura Argentina, 2018
Winner of Premio Literario de la Academia Argentina de Letras, 2017
Winner of Best Novel Award by La Nación, 2016
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Kali Fajardo-Anstine
One World - June 7
[from the publisher]
Luz “Little Light” Lopez, a tea leaf reader and laundress, is left to fend for herself after her older brother, Diego, a snake charmer and factory worker, is run out of town by a violent white mob. As Luz navigates 1930s Denver, she begins to have visions that transport her to her Indigenous homeland in the nearby Lost Territory. Luz recollects her ancestors’ origins, how her family flourished, and how they were threatened. She bears witness to the sinister forces that have devastated her people and their homelands for generations. In the end, it is up to Luz to save her family stories from disappearing into oblivion.
Written in Kali Fajardo-Anstine’s singular voice, the wildly entertaining and complex lives of the Lopez family fill the pages of this multigenerational western saga. Woman of Light is a transfixing novel about survival, family secrets, and love—filled with an unforgettable cast of characters, all of whom are just as special, memorable, and complicated as our beloved heroine, Luz.
Luz “Little Light” Lopez, a tea leaf reader and laundress, is left to fend for herself after her older brother, Diego, a snake charmer and factory worker, is run out of town by a violent white mob. As Luz navigates 1930s Denver, she begins to have visions that transport her to her Indigenous homeland in the nearby Lost Territory. Luz recollects her ancestors’ origins, how her family flourished, and how they were threatened. She bears witness to the sinister forces that have devastated her people and their homelands for generations. In the end, it is up to Luz to save her family stories from disappearing into oblivion.
Written in Kali Fajardo-Anstine’s singular voice, the wildly entertaining and complex lives of the Lopez family fill the pages of this multigenerational western saga. Woman of Light is a transfixing novel about survival, family secrets, and love—filled with an unforgettable cast of characters, all of whom are just as special, memorable, and complicated as our beloved heroine, Luz.
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Tom Segura
Grand Central Publishing - June 14
[from the publisher]
From Tom Segura, the massively successful stand-up comedian and co-host of chart-topping podcasts 2 Bears 1 Cave and Your Mom’s House, hilarious real-life stories of parenting, celebrity encounters, youthful mistakes, misanthropy, and so much more.
Tom Segura is known for his twisted takes and irreverent comedic voice. But after a few years of crazy tours and churning out podcasts weekly, all while parenting two young children, he desperately needs a second to himself. It’s not that he hates his friends and family — he’s not a monster — he’s just beat, which is why his son’s (ruthless) first full sentence, “I’d like to play alone, please,” has since become his mantra.
In this collection of stories, Tom combines his signature curmudgeonly humor with a revealing look at some of the ridiculous situations that shaped him and the ludicrous characters who always seem to seek him out. The stories feature hilarious anecdotes about Tom's time on the road, including some surreal encounters with celebrities at airports;, his unfiltered South American family; the trials and tribulations of parenting young children with bizarrely morbid interests; and, perhaps most memorably, experiences with his dad who, like any good Baby Boomer father, loves to talk about his bowel movements and share graphic Vietnam stories at inappropriate moments. All of this is enough to make anyone want some peace and quiet.
I'd Like to Play Alone, Please will have readers laughing out loud and nodding in agreement with Segura's message: in a world where everyone is increasingly insane, sometimes you just need to be alone.
From Tom Segura, the massively successful stand-up comedian and co-host of chart-topping podcasts 2 Bears 1 Cave and Your Mom’s House, hilarious real-life stories of parenting, celebrity encounters, youthful mistakes, misanthropy, and so much more.
Tom Segura is known for his twisted takes and irreverent comedic voice. But after a few years of crazy tours and churning out podcasts weekly, all while parenting two young children, he desperately needs a second to himself. It’s not that he hates his friends and family — he’s not a monster — he’s just beat, which is why his son’s (ruthless) first full sentence, “I’d like to play alone, please,” has since become his mantra.
In this collection of stories, Tom combines his signature curmudgeonly humor with a revealing look at some of the ridiculous situations that shaped him and the ludicrous characters who always seem to seek him out. The stories feature hilarious anecdotes about Tom's time on the road, including some surreal encounters with celebrities at airports;, his unfiltered South American family; the trials and tribulations of parenting young children with bizarrely morbid interests; and, perhaps most memorably, experiences with his dad who, like any good Baby Boomer father, loves to talk about his bowel movements and share graphic Vietnam stories at inappropriate moments. All of this is enough to make anyone want some peace and quiet.
I'd Like to Play Alone, Please will have readers laughing out loud and nodding in agreement with Segura's message: in a world where everyone is increasingly insane, sometimes you just need to be alone.
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Erika L. Sánchez
Viking - July 12
[from the publisher]
Growing up as the daughter of Mexican immigrants in Chicago in the nineties, Erika Sánchez was a self-described pariah, misfit, and disappointment—a foul-mouthed, melancholic rabble-rouser who painted her nails black but also loved comedy, often laughing so hard with her friends that she had to leave her school classroom. Twenty-five years later, she’s now an award-winning novelist, poet, and essayist, but she’s still got an irrepressible laugh, an acerbic wit, and singular powers of perception about the world around her.
In these essays, Sánchez writes about everything from sex to white feminism to debilitating depression, revealing an interior life rich with ideas, self-awareness, and perception. Raunchy, insightful, unapologetic, and brutally honest, Crying in the Bathroom is Sánchez at her best—a book that will make you feel that post-confessional high that comes from talking for hours with your best friend.
Growing up as the daughter of Mexican immigrants in Chicago in the nineties, Erika Sánchez was a self-described pariah, misfit, and disappointment—a foul-mouthed, melancholic rabble-rouser who painted her nails black but also loved comedy, often laughing so hard with her friends that she had to leave her school classroom. Twenty-five years later, she’s now an award-winning novelist, poet, and essayist, but she’s still got an irrepressible laugh, an acerbic wit, and singular powers of perception about the world around her.
In these essays, Sánchez writes about everything from sex to white feminism to debilitating depression, revealing an interior life rich with ideas, self-awareness, and perception. Raunchy, insightful, unapologetic, and brutally honest, Crying in the Bathroom is Sánchez at her best—a book that will make you feel that post-confessional high that comes from talking for hours with your best friend.
J. Reeder Archuleta
Izzard Ink Publishing - July 27
[from the publisher]
The Best Good Horse is a collection of stories that celebrate both the rugged individual and the grace that comes when two people join forces. These are characters who are playing the cards that life has dealt them, ordinary people who would not stand out in a crowd; and although they are from different walks of life, they have one thing in common: they all live and die in a work-a-day world. From the dry farm fields of Texas to the damp streets of San Francisco, from the rodeo circuit to Mexico’s Sierra Madre, these characters meet life head on and offer no apologies. Some names and faces are familiar from Archuleta’s other collections, but there is also a host of new characters who are every bit as unyielding, gritty, and engaging.
In the title story, an old cowboy befriends the young daughter of a ranch cook and becomes her protector as she grows up. In A Prayer to St. Michael, a World War II spy tries to adjust to living with human depravity in a small Texas town. Imperfections tells the story of an indigenous prostitute in Mexico who is beaten by her pimp. She summons incredible strength and cunning to come out on top.
Every story in this collection stuns and satisfies with its mix of sweet innocence and awful experience. The scope of problems confronted is breathtaking, and the volume is wrought with brilliant talent by Archuleta.
Every story in this collection stuns and satisfies with its mix of sweet innocence and awful experience. The scope of problems confronted is breathtaking, and the volume is wrought with brilliant talent by Archuleta.
Later.
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Manuel Ramos lives in Denver on the Northside. His latest novel is Angels in the Wind: A Mile High Noir.
Love the blog, really enjoyed reading it!
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