Seven hot new books to read in April

After the attack

When Air India Flight 182 left Toronto on June 23, 1985, and exploded over the Atlantic Ocean, the bomb on board destroyed more lives than just those of the 329 passengers on the plane.

In her novel The Ever After of Ashwin Rao, Padma Viswanathan explores the aftermath of the disaster nearly 20 years later. The story is told from the perspective of Ashwin Rao, an Indian psychologist who returns to Canada for the trial of the two men accused of the bombing.

Unable to come to terms with his own emotions over the deaths of his sister and beloved niece and nephew, Ashwin embarks on a mission to chronicle the grief of the other passengers’ surviving friends and family. When one family in particular embraces Ashwin, sharing their private heartbreak in the face of public tragedy, he gains insight into the emptiness that has overtaken his own life. Finally, Ashwin is able to open himself up to the possibility of forgiveness and salvation. Viswanathan tackles the story with great empathy and a journalist’s attention to detail, exploring the civil unrest in India at the time of the bombing and the conflict between Sikhs and Hindus that became the backdrop for the worst terrorist attack in Canadian history. This is a provocative and compelling exploration of the brutality of political violence and the effect it has on those left behind. — Sydney Loney

The Ever After of Ashwin Rao, Padma Viswanathan, $30, Indigo and Amazon. 

The living dead

After her mother mysteriously vanishes in the middle of the night from their desolate farmhouse, Ruthie discovers a diary under the floorboards of her mother’s bedroom. It belonged to Sara Harrison Shea, the house’s previous owner, who dabbled in black magic. In 1908, Sara was found dead in the field behind the house just months after the death of her daughter, Gertie.

Follow Ruthie’s quest to find her mother and prevent history from repeating itself in this thrilling, chilling read. — Anna Redman

The Winter People, Jennifer McMahon, $30, Indigo and Amazon.

A dark secret

Diana is a history professor at Oxford who’s fascinated by the ancient Greek legend of the Amazon warrior women. She accepts a job on an archeological excavation where she is asked to decipher an ancient language, one that she suspects belongs to the Amazons. Before long she finds herself entangled in a complicated web of lies. This epic work of historical fiction takes you through ancient Greece to Troy and offers an exciting new take on the Trojan War. — Kristene Quan

The Lost Sisterhood, Anne Fortier, $23, Indigo and Amazon.

Love song

Vivien Shotwell’s debut will transport you to the grand opera houses of 18th-century Europe, as she fictionalizes the early life and career of English soprano Anna Storace and her alleged love affair with the up-and-coming Wolfgang Mozart. A child prodigy from London, Anna journeys to Naples,Milan, Venice and finally Vienna, where she reaches the height of her stardom at only 21 years of age. An opera singer herself, Shotwell lyrically navigates her protagonist through love affairs, heartache and dazzling high-stakes performances. This is an exquisite read for history fans, classical-music lovers and romance aficionados alike. — Dominique Lamberton

Vienna Nocturne, Vivien Shotwell, $30, Indigo and Amazon.

Life uprooted

Based on her own life as the daughter of academics in the rarefied circles of Harvard, Susanna Kaysen (author of Girl, Interrupted) provides a glimpse into the pretentions, and charm, of that cloistered existence. As a precocious seven-year-old, Susanna longs to stay home in Cambridge, Massachusetts, but is whisked away by her father, an economist who lectures around the world. Part memoir, part fiction, the book is a poignant reflection on being an outsider. — Lora Grady

Cambridge, Susanna Kaysen, $29, Indigo and Amazon.

Snow White revisited

When Boy Novak becomes stepmother to her new husband’s daughter, Snow Whitman, she’s made an unwitting accomplice to a family secret. It’s 1953, and the light-skinned Whitman family have been passing for white until now. Boy gives birth to a daughter whose dark skin reveals their African ancestry. Mirroring the tale of Snow White, the novel plays with the idea of appearances, beauty and illusion. — Tasleen Adatia

Boy, Snow, Bird, Helen Oyeyemi, $22, Indigo and Amazon.

American idyll?

Celebrated short-story writer Lorrie Moore returns with a collection of eight insightful snapshots exploring post-9/11 life in the U.S. Her tales are a pithy commentary on the more irrational elements of the American psyche as the country struggles to redefine itself after the attack: A recently divorced man contends with the seemingly insignificant details of trying to date again, against news of an impending Iraq invasion by U.S. troops. A dinner party devolves into heated political grandstanding, and in another story a wedding is spectacularly interrupted by the mother of the bride. Moore peppers her glimpses into the banal trivialities of daily life with just enough offbeat humour to temper the pathos of her characters. We’re all perfectly flawed, Moore seems to say, full of wanting, anxiety and regret — and that makes for the best kind of story. — Alanna Glassman

Bark, Lorrie Moore, $30, Indigo and Amazon.