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Major fall book releases
Some of the year’s biggest hits are on their way.
By Jonathan Messinger
Published: August 31, 2011
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Chango’s BeadsandTwo-Tone Shoes by William Kennedy WHEN September 29 SYNOPSIS A journalist gets caught up in pre-revolutionary Cuba, where he happens to meet Hemingway. WHY IT’S ANTICIPATED It’s the Albany Cycle author’s first novel in a decade. WILL IT SURVIVE THE HYPE? It likely won’t recapture the magic of Ironweed, but it’ll be nice to have Kennedy back.
Ghost Lights by Lydia Millet WHEN October 24 SYNOPSIS A man flies to Belize to seek out his wife’s boss, lost in the jungle. WHY IT’S ANTICIPATED It’s the follow-up to Millet’s 2009 extinction novel, How the Dead Dream. WILL IT SURVIVE THE HYPE? How the Dead Dream was our least-favorite Millet novel, so she’s likely to have a rebound.
Last Man in Tower by Aravind Adiga WHEN September 20 SYNOPSIS A Mumbai developer faces off with a resident who refuses to allow a new tower to be built on his property. WHY IT’S ANTICIPATED Adiga’s The White Tiger won the Man Booker, and was the first of countless books to come out with Tiger in the title. WILL IT SURVIVE THE HYPE? Who doesn’t love a good zoning dispute?
The Marriage Plot by Jeffrey Eugenides WHEN October 11 SYNOPSIS Three college friends engage in a highly philosophical love triangle. WHY IT’S ANTICIPATED It’s his first novel since 2002’s Middlesex, which everyone loved. Everyone. WILL IT SURVIVE THE HYPE? It won’t be Middlesex, but it’ll be the next book you see everyone on the train reading.
11/22/63by Stephen King WHEN November 8 SYNOPSIS A man travels back in time to stop the Kennedy assassination. WHY IT’S ANTICIPATED King has been talking about doing a time-travel novel for years, and it’s finally here. WILL IT SURVIVE THE HYPE? Scientists just proved time travel impossible, but so is a King book not becoming a best-seller.
There but for theby Ali Smith WHEN September 13 SYNOPSIS A dinner guest locks himself in the pantry, and the rest of the characters try to persuade him to come out. WHY IT’S ANTICIPATED The Accidental (2007) established Smith as one of Britain’s wittiest authors. WILL IT SURVIVE THE HYPE? It’s already out in Britain and they love it, so it should catch on here in about five years.
IQ84 by Haruki Murakami WHEN October 25 SYNOPSIS It’s Murakami’s ode to George Orwell’s 1984. WHY IT’S ANTICIPATED It’s Murakami’s ode to George Orwell’s 1984. WILL IT SURVIVE THE HYPE? It’s Murakami’s ode to George Orwell’s 1984. Of course it will.
Blue Nights by Joan Didion WHEN November 1 SYNOPSIS Didion writes about outliving her daughter, Quintana. WHY IT’S ANTICIPATED The author’s last book, The Year of Magical Thinking, was beautiful and heartbreaking. WILL IT SURVIVE THE HYPE? Yes. No one outwrites Didion.
Reamdeby Neal Stephenson WHEN September 20 SYNOPSIS An entrepreneur’s addiction to an online fantasy game puts him in real-life danger. WHY IT’S ANTICIPATED His last book required reading three other books first. And this one clocks in at a paltry 1,000 pages. WILL IT SURVIVE THE HYPE? Stephenson’s fan base will eat it up, but outsiders may be wary of another baroque brick.
Zone Oneby Colson Whitehead WHEN October 18 SYNOPSIS The U.S. is in ruins after a pandemic turns half the country into zombies. WHY IT’S ANTICIPATED One of our nation’s vaunted literary authors writes a zombie novel. WILL IT SURVIVE THE HYPE? Whitehead is better the weirder he gets, and this one sounds pretty weird.
Chango’s BeadsandTwo-Tone Shoes by William Kennedy WHEN September 29 SYNOPSIS A journalist gets caught up in pre-revolutionary Cuba, where he happens to meet Hemingway. WHY IT’S ANTICIPATED It’s the Albany Cycle author’s first novel in a decade. WILL IT SURVIVE THE HYPE? It likely won’t recapture the magic of Ironweed, but it’ll be nice to have Kennedy back.
It's okay to be a show-off.
With social reading, seamlessly share your favorite TOC articles, reviews and more with your Facebook friends, and check out what they're reading as well.
Share what you want, when you want: Once you've enabled social reading, easily enable/disable sharing anytime.
See what others are reading: With our new social activity feed, don't miss out on what your friends (and others) are reading.