Mule Boy by Andrew Krivak

 

Themes of survivor guilt and death loom large in this slender novel set in a coal mining disaster that took the lives of everyday workers in 1929. Ondro Prach, the son of Slovak immigrants, was just 13, in charge of the mule that transports loads of coal from the shafts to the surface. Haunted by what he witnessed during his critical teen years, Ondro can’t shake off the resulting sorrow and guilt. A search to find new meaning leads him to remote New Hampshire. Soulful with not an extra word, a haunting story told in a stream of consciousness narrative.

Ghost-Eye by Amitav Ghosh

 

Ghost eyes are proof that our lives are more fluid than we imagine them to be. They just might also help us avoid climate collapse. Three-year-old Varsha Gupta, born into a strictly vegetarian Hindu family, remembers being a discerning fish eater. The ways her past life weaves in with the narrator’s, make for fascinating reading despite the frequent and clinical digressions into fish species. It’s reassuring to see that psychoanalysis makes room for the vast gamut of human experiences. An intriguing addition to the growing body of climate literature, complete with mesmerizing fables about deeply held nativistic and religious beliefs. 

Moonlight Express: Around the World By Night Train by Monica Rajesh

The COVID-19 pandemic and the growing clamor for slow travel have increased the popularity of night trains and Monisha Rajesh wants in. A jaunty travelogue through routes close to home in England and far, Rajesh captures the charm of train travel that makes the mode a hit. Some of it focuses too inward so it feels almost like a memoir of sorts and after a while each journey feels a little repetitive, with only a few facets distinguishing one from the other. Worth dipping into when a staycation feels confining. The ride to northern regions of Scandinavia is especially noteworthy.

The Old Man by the Sea by Domenico Starnone

 

Days spent by the water watching life pass by might not seem like much, but to Nicola, an 82-year-old Italian man, it’s everything. At that age, when bringing closure to your life’s arc seems like an important task, Nicola plops his chair down and remembers his mother, a beauty whose ego was a mismatch for her husband. In a young retail store associate, Lu, Nicola finds traces of his mother’s personality. The narrative is an eloquent capture of the joy and wonder in every routine, especially in the sunset of one’s life, and richly evokes the whimsy of small-town machinations.

Transcription by Ben Lerner

 

Memory is fleeting. It’s why we have recorded our lives since time immemorial— on stone tablets and today, we connect through digital tablets. At its heart, Lerner’s brilliant novel, tinged with evanescence, is about communication. The narrator’s daughter Emmie, struggling with a lack of interest in food, turns the corner with soothing (to her) videos through a tablet. When his father is quarantined with COVID in the early days of the pandemic, it’s again an inefficient medium that serves as communication vector. Do these methods amplify or dilute our memories? Lerner explores this thesis well in this delightfully cerebral novel. 

Ingrained: The Making of a Craftsman by Callum Robinson

 

The tools of the trade for Callum Robinson might be the predictable ones, but it’s true grit and the ability to look outside the box that end up rescuing the author’s fragile business. When a significant client bails, the bottom caves under and Robinson and his enterprise and ever-resourceful architect wife, Marisa, learn how to pivot. They decide to sell directly to consumers and slowly build their failing business back up. The descriptions of woodworking are entrancing but they’re not as abundant as I hoped they would be. Part memoir, part business how-to, the book nevertheless is an engaging read.

Bug Hollow by Michelle Huneven

When teenage Ellis Samuelson decides to just up and stay in Bug Hollow one summer, the events that unfold will affect him and his family forever. Spanning the 70s through contemporary times, Huneven gives the Samuelson family story a touching and simultaneously vivacious arc. The smallest moments of tenderness and joy permeate practically everything, including a deeply touching deathbed scene. The family packs into the old beatup sedan to rescue one of their own and have the battle scars to prove it. Through it all they share life’s vicissitudes, accommodating each person’s foibles as they go. Profound and simultaneously propulsive.