Creation Lake by Rachel Kushner

 

Sadie Smith’s mission is to infiltrate Pascal Balmy’s radical farming cooperative, Le Moulin, in the remote French countryside and to use it as a vehicle to sow chaos. By befriending a Parisian filmmaker, Lucien, she gains access to his family home in Vantome from where she can execute her plan. Balmy himself is a disciple of Bruce Lacombe, an anti-civver, who believes capitalism is the sure path to the end times. While the forays into philosophy are convincing, the central thesis as to why Sadie is planning subversion and under whose command, remains less certain. Passionate but needs more cohesion.

Help Wanted by Adelle Waldman

Movement is responsible for breaking up pallets off the delivery truck early in the morning before customers hit Town Shop in Pottstown, New York. The division’s boss, Meredith, is universally reviled so when a chance shows up to get her a promotion and off their backs, the store workers hatch a plan. The character portrayals of low-wage workers, each with their own back stories and motivations, is the best part of this engaging novel. A brilliant description of work in the age of Amazon, the immense readable novel is proof you don’t need a murder mystery to make things gripping.

Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar

 

When Cyrus Shams was barely a toddler, his mother died in an Iranian flight shot down by an American missile. Now an American recovering from addiction, Cyrus is determined to explore the meaning of death, to make it matter. A performance artist who’s dying at a New York museum might provide answers. As the plot builds its tension, reveals included, what emerges is a necessary ray of hope amid despondency. It’s not just that Martyr! is one of the most beautiful meditations on death, it’s also one on life. The superbly crafted sentences only add to the luminous transporting experience. 

Mina's Matchbox by Yoko Ogawa

 

I’ve not read such a heartwarming capture of childhood friendship in a long time! Tomoko spends a crucial middle school year with her mother’s aunt’s family in a stunning manor in the hillsides of Ashiya. She quickly strikes up a deep friendship with her sickly cousin Mina, with whom she tries to learn about life’s truths. The house has a favored pet, a Pygmy hippopotamus, who adds a touch of whimsy to the readable story. From the gorgeous Japanese countryside, to the subtle portrayals of class, to the wistfulness that imbues every page, this is a coming-of-age novel worth savoring.