April showers bring May flowers and a lot more springtime fiction reads. This month offers a rich selection of literary fiction, featuring a blend of debut voices and returning authors. New narratives explore themes of identity, family dynamics, and personal transformation, inviting readers into diverse worlds and experiences. These stories promise to engage with their compelling characters and thought-provoking plots, reflecting the complexities of contemporary life. Whether delving into intimate personal journeys or broader societal shifts, this month’s releases provide a tapestry of storytelling that resonates with a wide range of readers.
New York Review Books, $18.95, 384 pages
Paul Griffiths’s Let Me Tell You and Let Me Go On are dazzling, inventive novels that give Ophelia from Hamlet a voice entirely her own—crafted solely from the words Shakespeare originally gave her. In Let Me Tell You, Ophelia recounts her life before the play, shedding fresh light on the characters and choices around her. In Let Me Go On, she steps into a strange, lyrical world beyond tragedy, seeking transformation and meaning. Brilliantly original and emotionally resonant, Griffiths’s work is a masterclass in literary remixing—poetic, poignant, and full of wonder. A triumph of imagination and constraint.
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Regal House Publishing, $19.95, 264 pages
A Campus on Fire is a gripping, razor-sharp novel that captures the volatile collision of truth, power, and ideology in today’s polarized world. When a suspicious death shakes a prestigious writing program, student journalist Tess Azar dives into an investigation that uncovers cult-like secrecy, artistic obsession, and a rising far-right student movement. As tensions mount, Tess finds herself at the center of a storm that threatens to consume the campus—and her sense of self. Timely, provocative, and unflinchingly bold, A Campus on Fire is a masterful exploration of institutional rot and the peril of seeking truth in a post-truth age.
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Henry Holt and Co., $28.99, 304 pages
My Own Dear People is a stunning, unflinching debut that follows Nyjah Messado, a Jamaican teenager haunted by his silence after witnessing a brutal assault. Set in Montego Bay, the novel charts his journey from youth to adulthood as he grapples with guilt, masculinity, and identity within a world shaped by colonial legacies, religion, and gang violence. Dwight Thompson’s lyrical prose—infused with poetic patois—brings depth and nuance to a story that examines the complexities of sexual predation across both queer and straight experiences. Bold, emotionally resonant, and ambitious, this is a vital coming-of-age story that leaves a lasting impression.
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The Colors of April edited by Quan Manh Ha and Cab Tran
Three Rooms Press, $20.00, 306 pages
The Colors of April is a stunning, essential anthology marking 50 years since the end of the Vietnam War. Edited by Quan Manh Ha and Cab Tran, it brings together over two dozen voices from the Vietnamese diaspora and within Vietnam, including Viet Thanh Nguyen and Vu Tran. These richly diverse stories span generations and continents, exploring memory, identity, loss, and resilience. From war-torn Vietnam to American cities, each piece is a testament to the enduring power of Vietnamese storytelling. A beautifully curated, deeply moving collection that gives voice to a global Vietnamese experience long overdue in contemporary literature.
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Bad Nature by Ariel Courage
Henry Holt and Co., $28.99, 304 pages
Bad Nature is a brilliantly subversive, darkly funny debut that turns the road trip novel on its head. After a terminal diagnosis, Hester quits her high-powered job and sets out to kill her estranged father—picking up an idealistic hitchhiker along the way. What follows is a wildly entertaining journey through toxic landscapes, cult compounds, and emotional reckoning. With razor-sharp wit and surprising heart, the novel blends revenge, grief, and ecological despair into a deeply original story. Fierce, fearless, and unexpectedly moving, Bad Nature is a masterful exploration of rage, redemption, and what we truly owe each other.
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