Welcome to this “Dusty pages in Wonderland” new column, which each month will take you through the new releases of worldwide literary to guide you towards a possible reading in foreign languages or simply to satisfy your curiosity about new trends in the international publishing scene. I will not deal with English publications only, but I will also give space to non-English texts appearing to be interesting, making you known the plot, the publishing house from which they are published and, of course, the prize.
Too many realeases have caught my attention, but I want to pick up five books that seem the most compelling, ranging from young adult with a pinch of paranormal to metaphysics fiction, from chick-lit to mystery. Some of these novels are coming soon in Italy, such as Libba Bray’s new book, and others are almost awaited all over the world, such as JK Rowling’s "The casual vacancy".
Hope you’ll enjoy this first "episode" and find it useful.
“The Time Keeper” by Mitch Albom
In Mitch Albom's newest work of fiction, the inventor of the world's first clock is punished for trying to measure God's greatest gift. He is banished to a cave for centuries and forced to listen to the voices of all who come after him seeking more days, more years. Eventually, with his soul nearly broken, Father Time is granted his freedom, along with a magical hourglass and a mission: a chance to redeem himself by teaching two earthly people the true meaning of time. He returns to our world-now dominated by the hour-counting he so innocently began-and commences a journey with two unlikely partners: one a teenage girl who is about to give up on life, the other a wealthy old businessman who wants to live forever. To save himself, he must save them both. And stop the world to do so. Told in Albom's signature spare, evocative prose, this remarkably original tale will inspire readers everywhere to reconsider their own notions of time, how they spend it and how precious it truly is.
Publisher: Hyperion
Publication date: 9/4/2012
Pages: 240
Literary Genre: Visionary & Metaphysical Fiction
Prize: $24.99
“The Mistery of Mercy Close” by Marian Keyes
Helen Walsh doesn't believe in fear - it's just a thing invented by men to get all the money and good jobs - and yet she's sinking. Her work as a Private Investigator has dried up, her flat has been repossessed and now some old demons have resurfaced. Not least in the form of her charming but dodgy ex-boyfriend Jay Parker, who shows up with a missing persons case. Money is tight and Jay is awash with cash, so Helen is forced to take on the task of finding Wayne Diffney, the 'Wacky One' from boyband Laddz. Things ended messily with Jay. And she's never going back there. Besides she has a new boyfriend now, the very sexy detective Artie Devlin and it's all going well. But the reappearance of Jay is stirring up all kinds of stuff she thought she'd left behind. Playing by her own rules, Helen is drawn into a dark and glamorous world, where her worst enemy is her own head and where increasingly the only person she feels connected to is Wayne, a man she's never even met.
Publisher: Michael Joseph Ltd (UK)
Publication date: 09/13/2012
Pages: 528
Literary Genre: Chick-lit
Prize: £18.99
“Les désorientés” by Amin Maalouf
Adam, a historian, came from the Middle East to Paris twenty-five years ago, and never went back. But he gets a phone call: Mourad, a close friend of him, is dying. Adam takes the first plane. It is time to go back and review: love and friendship, ideals and compromises, politics, desire, betrayal, fate?
Publisher: Grasset (FR)
Publication date: 09/05/2012
Pages: 528
Literary Genre: Novel
Prize: € 28,63
“The Diviners” by Libba Bray
Evie O'Neill has been exiled from her boring old hometown and shipped off to the bustling streets of New York City--and she is pos-i-toot-ly thrilled. New York is the city of speakeasies, shopping, and movie palaces! Soon enough, Evie is running with glamorous Ziegfield girls and rakish pickpockets. The only catch is Evie has to live with her Uncle Will, curator of The Museum of American Folklore, Superstition, and the Occult--also known as "The Museum of the Creepy Crawlies."
When a rash of occult-based murders comes to light, Evie and her uncle are right in the thick of the investigation. And through it all, Evie has a secret: a mysterious power that could help catch the killer--if he doesn't catch her first.
Publisher: Little, Brown Books (UK)
Publication date: 09/18/2012
Pages: 608
Literary Genre: Young Adult
Prize: $19.99
“The Casual Vacancy” – JK Rowling
When Barry Fairbrother dies in his early forties, the town of Pagford is left in shock.
Pagford is, seemingly, an English idyll, with a cobbled market square and an ancient abbey, but what lies behind the pretty façade is a town at war.
Rich at war with poor, teenagers at war with their parents, wives at war with their husbands, teachers at war with their pupils…Pagford is not what it first seems.
And the empty seat left by Barry on the parish council soon becomes the catalyst for the biggest war the town has yet seen. Who will triumph in an election fraught with passion, duplicity and unexpected revelations?
Publisher: Little, Brown Books (UK)
Publication date: 09/27/2012
Pages: 480
Literary Genre: Mistery
Prize: £ 20,00
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