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Eight best new books to read this month

From a tale of a son who reappears 50 years after his drowning to a hilarious story of a half-Hungarian teenage girl trying to find her identity, these page-turners will entertain you all month long.
Eight best new books to read this month

Photo, Getty Images.

8 books to read in November

Almost English, Charlotte Mendelson, $20

In this hilarious, heartbreaking story of self-discovery, 16-year-old Marina is desperate to shed her embarrassing Hungarian relatives and her own awkward half-foreign identity. She escapes to English boarding school but finds herself equally out of place there. Meanwhile, her mother, Laura, struggles to escape her own painful secrets and find happiness again. Readers can’t help but be charmed by Charlotte Mendelson’s refreshingly authentic voice and characters in this poignant commentary on the labours of love and loyalty.  — Jenna WallaceAvailable at Indigo.ca and Amazon.ca.

Eight best new books to read this month

Longbourn, Jo Baker, $30

Of all the books bequeathed to us by Jane Austen, it is arguably Pride and Prejudice that has most captured our collective imagination. Published in 1813, it has been adapted for countless movies, miniseries and spinoffs (including, regrettably, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies in 2009). Now, British author Jo Baker offers an elegantly executed twist on the celebrated story. In her new novel, Longbourn, the trivial pursuits and pampered personalities of the Bennet family take secondary roles, and it’s the long-suffering servants, who exist in the margins of the household, who become the primary focus of the narrative.Carefully crafted so that the plot follows the trajectory of events established by Austen, Longbourn conjures the behind-the-scenes lives of the men and women who keep the Bennet family fed, dressed and arriving punctually at every dinner party. There is careworn Mrs. Hill, with her own tragic ties to the family; James, the quiet footman with a mysterious past; and pretty young Sarah, an orphaned housemaid with callused hands and an unwavering hope for a love — and life — of her own. It has as much suspense, drama and romance as any Austen fan could hope for, coupled with a smart social commentary on the injustices of poverty and class in 19th-century England.  — Sydney LoneyAvailable at Indigo.ca and Amazon.ca.

Eight best new books to read this month

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The Hired Man, Aminatta Forna, $29

When a British family buys a home in the Croatian town of Gost, handyman Duro makes their acquaintance and earns money fixing up the house — and their lives. Sixteen years ago, the town was a darker place, with the house inhabited by Duro’s first love, and Duro is forced to try to protect his new friends from its shadowy past. A stunning character-driven drama.  — Jillian BellAvailable at Indigo.ca and Amazon.ca.

Eight best new books to read this month

How to Be a Good Wife, Emma Chapman, $29

Marta has spent many years cooking and cleaning for her family like a dutiful wife, even swallowing the little pink pill her husband gives her to “keep calm.” But when her son moves out, she stops taking her medication and starts having hallucinations that reveal flashes about her past that are incredibly vivid — and terrifying. Is it real, or a trick of her mind?  — Janet HoAvailable at Indigo.ca and Amazon.ca.

Eight best new books to read this month

Infidelity, Stacey May Fowles, $19

Fictional depictions of adultery usually focus on the physics of attraction — that gravitational pull that makes characters take the sort of crazy risks that let readers live vicariously. One pleasing aspect of Toronto author Stacey May Fowles’ engaging new novel, Infidelity, is how she nails the way affairs are also fuelled by an equal force of propulsion. Both Veronica (Ronnie) Kline, a hairdresser, and her lover, Charlie Stern, an acclaimed poet and writer-in-residence at the University of Toronto, are settled in long, uneasy relationships when they cross paths at a party. Charlie’s marriage to an environmental consultant “for one of those companies that destroys the environment,” as he puts it, is tested by the challenges of raising an autistic son. Ronnie lives with hunky chef Aaron, a straight arrow who wants her to marry him and have a baby. The fact that Ronnie and Charlie are an unlikely couple — she’s 35 and reads little more than her horoscope; he’s an anxiety-prone literary lion pushing 50 — has nothing to do with the logic of their desire. Fowles deftly captures the details: the heat of the freshly piqued libido, the compensatory behaviour with the betrayed partner, the way every adulterous folie à deux is at least a quartet. Some elements fail to gel, among them a shifting narrative point of view and a subplot involving Ronnie’s shadowy illness. Yet Infidelity succeeds as a page-turner, one that reminds us that for every infidelity, a price must be paid — only we never know exactly what that is until it’s over.  — Anne KingstonAvailable at Indigo.ca and Amazon.ca.

November-2012-novel-Infidelity

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The Luminaries, Eleanor Catton, $29

One man is dead, another is missing, and 12 have gathered to solve the mystery. Spinning an extensive and intricate tale of love, lust and mayhem, Eleanor Catton’s The Luminaries weaves together a colourful cast of characters in the small gold-mining town of Hokitika, New Zealand. Reminiscent of Wilkie Collins’ mysteries The Moonstone and The Woman in White and winner of the 2013 Man Booker Prize, Catton’s novel blends the eloquence of classic literature with the gripping pace of a contemporary thriller. Don’t be overwhelmed by the book’s hefty size; it’s completely addictive and you won’t be able to put it down!  — Anna RedmanAvailable at Indigo.ca and Amazon.ca.

Eight best new books to read this month

Perfect, Rachel Joyce, $30

Like his mother, Diana, 11-year-old Byron Hemmings likes things to be just so. But when two extra seconds are added to the clock one morning in 1972, an accident occurs that will alter the course of his life. A heartbreaking story of what happens when innocent kids are forced to grow up too fast by Chatelaine Book Club author Rachel Joyce (The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry).  — Lora GradyAvailable at Indigo.ca and Amazon.ca.

Eight best new books to read this month

The Lowland, Jhumpa Lahiri, $30

Growing up in India in the ’40s, brothers Subhash and Udayan are inseparable. As they age, their lives take different paths. Passionate Udayan is drawn to a radical movement, while gentle Subhash moves to America to study. Called home when his brother is killed, Subhash finds his brother’s widow newly pregnant and segregated in his parents’ home. He sees only one solution: to marry her and bring her back to America. Will they be able to live as a family and raise the child together, or will Udayan’s death always haunt them? On the 2013 Man Booker Prize short list, this beautifully composed tale is by Pulitzer Prize–winning author Jhumpa Lahiri.  — Dominique LambertonAvailable at Indigo.ca and Amazon.ca.

Eight best new books to read this month

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