October 2023 Book Vote
This month's genre: Literary Fiction
Welcome to October's book vote.
Take a look at the synopses below and vote for the one that appeals to you most as a Gloss Book Club selection.
Each month we spend a considerable amount of time researching books to include in our vote, we consider a wide range of factors such as global availability, price per market, author diversity, book length, and reader review ratings. It's not a quick process, but it's an important one. We hope you'll enjoy our selections.
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Dinosaurs
by Lydia Millet
Pages:230
Synopsis
A man named Gil walks from New York to Arizona to recover from a failed love. After he arrives, new neighbors move into the glass-walled house next door, and his life begins to mesh with theirs. In this warmly textured, drily funny, and philosophical account of Gil’s unexpected devotion to the family, Lydia Millet explores the uncanny territory where the self ends and community begins―what one person can do in a world beset by emergencies. Dinosaurs is both sharp-edged and tender, an emotionally moving, intellectually resonant novel that asks, In the shadow of existential threat, where does hope live?
Nightcrawling
by Leila Mottley
Pages:277
Synopsis
Kiara and her brother, Marcus, are scraping by in an East Oakland apartment complex optimistically called the Regal-Hi. Both have dropped out of high school, their family fractured by death and prison. But while Marcus clings to his dream of rap stardom, Kiara hunts for work to pay their rent--which has more than doubled--and to keep the nine-year-old boy next door, abandoned by his mother, safe and fed.
One night, what begins as a drunken misunderstanding with a stranger turns into the job Kiara never imagined wanting but now desperately needs: nightcrawling. Her world breaks open even further when her name surfaces in an investigation that exposes her as a key witness in a massive scandal within the Oakland Police Department.
They're Going to Love You
by Meg Howrey
Pages:288
Synopsis
Carlisle Martin dreams of becoming a professional ballet dancer just like her mother, Isabel, a former Balanchine ballerina. Since they live in Ohio, she only gets to see her father Robert for a few precious weeks a year when she visits Greenwich Village, where he lives in an enchanting apartment on Bank Street with his partner, James.
Brilliant but troubled, James gives Carlisle an education in all that he holds dear in life--literature, music, and most of all, dance. Seduced by the heady pull of mentorship and the sophistication of their lives, Carlisle's aspiration to become a dancer herself blooms, born of her desire to be asked to stay at Bank Street, to be included in Robert and James' world even as AIDS brings devastation to their community. Instead, a passionate love affair creates a rift between them, with devastating consequences that reverberate for decades to come.
Nineteen years later, Carlisle receives a phone call which unravels the fateful events of her life, causing her to see with new eyes how her younger self has informed the woman she's become. They're Going to Love You is a gripping and gorgeously written novel of heartbreaking intensity. With psychological precision and a masterfully revealed secret at its heart, it asks what it takes to be an artist in America, and the price of forgiveness, of ambition, and of love.
The Latecomer
by Jean Hanff Korelitz
Pages:439
Synopsis
The Latecomer follows the story of the wealthy, New York City-based Oppenheimer family, from the first meeting of parents Salo and Johanna, under tragic circumstances, to their triplets born during the early days of IVF. As children, the three siblings--Harrison, Lewyn, and Sally--feel no strong familial bond and cannot wait to go their separate ways, even as their father becomes more distanced and their mother more desperate. When the triplets leave for college, Johanna, faced with being truly alone, makes the decision to have a fourth child. What role will the “latecomer” play in this fractured family?
A complex novel that builds slowly and deliberately, The Latecomer touches on the topics of grief and guilt, generational trauma, privilege and race, traditions and religion, and family dynamics. It is a profound and witty family story from an accomplished author, known for the depth of her character studies, expertly woven storylines, and plot twists.
17 Comments
In an attempt to have a more uplifting October, I voted for Dinosaurs ! 🙂
Yep. I need uplifting. Dinosaurs
Me too. I’m tired of death. You think one death book a year and make it January when everyone is depressed anyways. Lol
I thought it was just me. I’m still trying to make it through the April book!!! The reading selections have been depressing!
I agree maybe something uplifting-
Dinosaurs 🦕 is the one to go with –
Agreed!
I concur!
The Latecomer
Nighcrawlimg sounds like a good one!
I’m really intrigued by Nightcrawling (the author was only 19 when it was published!!) but the CW’s have me saving it for another time.
Per Deedi Speaks review:
Sexual violence/rape (graphic)
Police brutality
Death of a child
Suicide attempt (non-narrator)
Addiction (non-narrator)
I agree, the books this year have been quite the downers, need something more energizing,less depressing
My vote is for They’re Going to Love You ❤
I second this!! Ew sad books!!
Dinosaurs 🦕 gets my vote!
They’re going to love you
I thought there would be something Witchy for October.
But yes, let’s get something a little more uplifting…Dinosaurs please.
Omg, Definitely They’re Going to Love You! You had me at dance … but any book about how hard it is to be a creative person in this country is gold.