If this month\u2019s selections could be awarded superlatives, they\u2019d include Longest (for Jill Lepore\u2019s 720-page history), Shortest (for the under-200-pages \u201cPick a Color\u201d), Most Striking (for Stephen Curry\u2019s gorgeous autobiography) and Most Surprising (for David Gelles\u2019s portrait of Yvon Chouinard). There\u2019s a book for every attention span and every interest out there. Writers, journalists and authors continue to find stories and perspectives that surprise us. It\u2019s your choice whether you want to escape or explore this world. Happy reading!<\/p>\n
FICTION <\/p>\n
Mercy<\/b><\/a> Silber\u2019s \u201cMercy\u201d is not strained, pace Shakespeare, but stretches easily to include \u201cthe mercy of untold secrets told.\u201d Secrets abound among the characters whose brief encounter at a New York emergency room sets action across decades in motion: Ivan and Eddie, as well as Cara and Nina, are only tangentially connected. Yet Silber, winner of PEN\/Faulkner and National Book Critics Circle awards, helps readers to see that even the most subtle moments can change lives and lead to peace.<\/p>\n The Wilderness<\/b><\/a> Flournoy (\u201cThe Turner House\u201d) tells the story of five female friends whose lives from 2008 into the near future rise and fall, with the added impact of their identities as Black Americans on both personal and societal events. As sisters Desiree and Danielle and their friends January, Monique and Nakia navigate adult life, they also confront racism, the global pandemic and their evolving dreams. This novel is a triumph.<\/p>\n Underspin<\/b><\/a> Zhao\u2019s debut opens with the memorial service for competitive table-tennis star Ryan Lo, dead at just 24, told from the perspective of his grieving mother, Annie. The first half consists of narratives from Ryan\u2019s training mate Kevin; a referee named Kagin; Ellen, whose skills don\u2019t match her love for the sport; and finally Rahul, who wants to have a life instead of a regimen. But what role did Ryan\u2019s coach Kristian play in pushing his top seed over the edge?<\/p>\n What We Can Know<\/b><\/a> \u201cMy ambition in this novel was to let the past, present and future address each other across the barriers of time,\u201d McEwan said earlier this year. It\u2019s up to readers to determine whether he succeeded, but it\u2019s a magnificent attempt nonetheless. In 2119, with Great Britain transformed into an archipelago by rising tides, a humanities professor named Thomas Metcalfe tries to solve the mystery of a lost poem. The real mystery, the author seems to believe, is human memory.<\/p>\n Pick a Color<\/b><\/a> Thammavongsa lives in Toronto, the city to which her Lao parents immigrated from a Thai refugee camp when she was a baby. As a Canadian author, she won that nation\u2019s prestigious Giller Prize in 2020 for her short-story collection \u201cHow to Pronounce Knife.\u201d Her first novel is set at a North American nail salon run by the pragmatic and witty Ning, who was once a professional boxer. The narrative is less sucker punch than brilliant feints and jabs. <\/p>\n NONFICTION All the Way to the River<\/b><\/a> Gilbert\u2019s journey from \u201cEat Pray Love\u201d to \u201cAll the Way to the River\u201d has been long and winding. Here she focuses on Rayya, whom she met in 2002 and for whom she left her husband in 2016. Both women struggled with addiction, and the narrative is harrowing, especially as Rayya grows sicker and then dies from cancer in 2018. What makes this book worthy is the author\u2019s fierce self-reckoning: There\u2019s no easy triumph, just more hard work.<\/p>\n Dirtbag Billionaire<\/b><\/a> Yvon Chouinard<\/a> was a \u201cdirtbag\u201d \u2014 someone committed to an alternative lifestyle \u2014 long before founding outdoor giant Patagonia in 1970. His family\u2019s move to California when he was 8 sparked his love for falcon nests and led to his passion for climbing. He built his company intentionally, and in 2022, its value at $3 billion, he sold it to a trust and nonprofit. The 86-year-old iconoclast is now sought after by corporations as a consultant.<\/p>\n Shot Ready<\/b><\/a> Divided into three sections \u2014 rookie, pro and veteran \u2014 basketball superstar Curry\u2019s new book is less a memoir than a philosophic take on how to succeed at different stages of life, no matter who you are or what you do. Packed with 100 photographs, the book is \u201can in-depth look into my approach to the journey, built on preparation, growth, creativity, connection, mindfulness, and finding joy in everything along the way,\u201d the sports icon says.<\/p>\n
By Joan Silber
Counterpoint: 256 pages, $27
(Sept. 2)<\/p>\n <\/p>\n
By Angela Flournoy
Mariner Books: 304 pages, $30
(Sept. 16)<\/p>\n <\/p>\n
By E. Y. Zhao
Astra House: 304 pages, $27
(Sept. 23)<\/p>\n <\/p>\n
By Ian McEwan
Knopf: 320 pages, $30
(Sept. 23)<\/p>\n <\/p>\n
By Souvantham Thammavongsa
Little, Brown & Co.: 192 pages, $28
(Sept. 30)<\/p>\n <\/p>\n
By Elizabeth Gilbert
Riverhead: 400 pages, $35
(Sept. 9)<\/p>\n <\/p>\n
By David Gelles
Simon & Schuster: 320 pages, $30
(Sept. 9)<\/p>\n <\/p>\n
By Stephen Curry
One World: 432 pages, $50
(Sept. 9)<\/p>\n <\/p>\n