Westport Public Library BOOK blog

Use some of your vacation time to settle in with a recent novel.
Here are ten new books that may not have made it onto your literary radar, yet.

Sons and Other Flammable Objects by Porochista Khakpour
The travails of an Iranian-American family in the post 9/11 culture of fear and confusion; “luminously intelligent debut” novel.

The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz
Diaz dazzles in this tragic, historical, intelligent multicultural look at what it means to be Dominican wherever life unfolds.

Snake Stone by Jason Goodwin
Challenging mystery set in early 19th-century Istanbul abuzz with a mix of religions and cultures; sequel to Janissary Tree.

The Exception by Christian Jungersen
Four women working in a small office – studying genocide- become infected with distrust and paranoia in this interesting spin on office politics.

Year of Fog by Michelle Richmond
A woman loses her fiance’s 6-year-old daughter on a foggy beach; suspense builds as the couple search for the girl and seek to regain their trust of each other.

Last Rituals by Yrsa Sigurdardottir
Murder with hints of demon worship- the victim was in Iceland to study the country’s history of witch hunting.

Fall of Troy by Peter Ackroyd
Clever mirror of the Helen of Troy legend with a novel about archeology and the snags of truth and deception; a romance, a mystery and a meditation on reality and imagination.

Trespass by Valerie Martin
Moral fiction with complex characters; a young wife disappears to her homeland of Bosnia to find her mother. Her husband and his self-righteous parents seek to understand.

Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett
Imagine if George W. became besotted with books and reading and wanted to talk of nothing else. That is the fate of Queen Elizabeth II in this humorous political & literary satire.

Cheating at Canasta by William Trevor
Unexcelled writing with pitch-perfect dialogue, amazing detail and characters who linger; even readers who eschew short stories will appreciate these bleak and wise pictures from the 80-year-old Irish master.