Word’s pick: “A Brief History of Seven Killings” by Marlon James
This acclaimed novel, winner of the 2015 Man Booker prize, follows the collision of many different lives after the 1976 attempted assassination of Bob Marley, with a story that spans decades and stretches across Kingston, Miami, and New York. A frenzied read, it blends the plot with an examination of geopolitics, gender, and the War on Drugs.
— Kelly Stacy, Word [126 Franklin St. at Milton Street in Greenpoint, (718) 383–0096, www.wordbrooklyn.com].
Community Bookstore’s pick: “The Knack of Doing” by Jeremy M. Davies
If there is a certain knack that Jeremy M. Davies has, it is for breaking apart a story, guts and all, right in front of the reader. In his first collection, Davies shows off his brilliant, bizarre short fiction, including a tale of two young lovers torn apart, literally, by falling glass; a lynch mob in pursuit of a magical tax man, told from the perspective of the mob; and the story of an executioner with a penchant for breeding mice. These 13 heady, hilarious stories reaffirm the author’s place as one of the best and brightest of modernist writers.
— Hal Hlavinka, Community Bookstore [43 Seventh Ave. between Carroll Street and Garfield Place in Park Slope, (718) 783–3075, www.communitybookstore.net].
Greenlight Bookstore’s pick: “The Minotaur” by Benjamin Tammuz
Europa Editions brought this lost classic back into print as part of its “World Noir” series. Despite its spy-story trappings (Israeli spy in London in the 1960s develops obsession with a young English woman, tradecraft ensues), it is really a love story that unfolds over the course of decades, evoking all the great literary questions of love, fate, and the consequences of deceit. Graham Greene loved it. I loved it. You will love it.
— Christien Shangraw, Greenlight Bookstore [686 Fulton St. between S. Elliott Place and S. Portland Avenue in Fort Greene, (718) 246–0200, www.greenlightbookstore.com].
