If happiness usually proves duplicitous, and melancholy a dependable constant, then the journey of an epic Joyce Carol Oates novel is always going to be a trip worth experiencing, as with My Life As a Rat.
Disaffected prep school youth, seemingly from another era, stumble through the immediate wake of a post-9/11 America in Ann Beattie's A Wonderful Stroke of Luck.
Does the experience of reading Susan Choi's Trust Exercise leave us with anything but frustration? Is it all tease and no release?
This ambitious and empathic debut explores complications and consequences between sisters, cultures, and mental illness.
