December 11, 2019
A Mirror of Our Times: 2019 Fiction
From the New School Community
This week we conclude our yearend wrap-up of published works from New School faculty and alums with a selection of fiction and poetry titles.
Watch Us Rise
by Renee Watson, BA Liberal Arts (2008) and Ellen Hagan, MFA Creative Writing (2003). Bloomsbury.
A YA anthem for the #MeToo era. Jasmine and Chelsea are friends at a “progressive” New York City high school who form a Women’s Rights Club. Their videos and writings go viral – and, inevitably, prompt trolling attacks. Then major challenges come up in their real lives as well.
Deathwish
by Ben Fama, assistant director, Creative Writing MFA program. Newest New York Arts Press.
Fama’s poetry has been praised by the arts and politics magazine Guernica as “speaking to all of us living in a world inundated with celebrity chatter, governed by social media, and contending with ever-expanding definitions of intimate relationships.”
The Desire Card
by Lee Matthew Goldberg, MFA Creative Writing (2006). Fahrenheit Press.
A fast-paced thriller called a “Bonfire of the Vanities for a new generation” by one reviewer. What will a man do to survive when his seemingly privileged life becomes a train wreck and money alone won’t make things right?
The Parting Glass
by Gina Marie Guadagnino, MFA Creative Writing (2010). Atria Books.
A debut novel, set in 19th century upstairs/downstairs New York City. A seemingly proper lady’s maid leads a double life on her nights out – and her mistress has her own secrets to keep, too. With a well-paced plot that examines historic issues of social class, immigrant life, race, and sexuality that resonate today.
Another Life
by Robert Haller, MFA Creative Writing (2015). Blackstone Publishing.
It’s the onset of summer in a sleepy small town in upstate New York. A one-time high school rock band hotshot finds himself back home from New York City, broke, jobless, and living with his mother. Over the course of the summer his life collides with those of young people and their parents in his hometown in surprising and thought-provoking ways that encompass identity, religion, race, and family.
The Good Mother of Marseille
by Christopher X. Shade, BA Liberal Arts (2011). Paloma Press.
Young and old American visitors fall under the spell of Marseille as they confront their widely varied pasts and possible futures, dreams and fears. This is a set of linked stories that’s also a love letter to the rhythms and character of an ancient, gritty, yet enduringly seductive port city.
A Dream Life
by Patrick Suraci, PhD. Psychology (1981). Archway Publishing.
It’s 1961 and Philip Greco, formerly part of New York City’s permissive theater community, is called up for military service. He decides not to disclose his sexual orientation – and the threat of apprehension, and confinement in Fort Leavenworth, is never far from his mind. But in Germany, against the backdrop of the Berlin Wall crisis, he and another soldier find each other, find love, and begin to work their way around the obstacles in their path.
A Drama in Time: The New School Century
by John Reed, associate professor, School of Public Engagement. Profile Books.
Founded in 1919 by political dissidents and independent thinkers, for 100 years The New School has pushed cultural and intellectual boundaries and challenged the status quo. Published to celebrate its centennial, A Drama in Time weaves together history, interviews, and more than 400 striking images from The New School’s archives.
Eventown
by Corey Ann Haydu, MFA Creative Writing (2012). HarperCollins.
The Lively family is ready for a fresh start, so they pack up and head to Eventown, an enchanting utopia without modern amenities like cars, TV, or the internet. At first, 11-year-old Elodee Lively and her twin sister, Naomi, delight in a town filled with identical homes, rosebushes, waterfalls, perfectly ripe blueberries, and a heavenly ice cream shop. But why does the library only have books with blank pages? Is this really Utopia – or are secrets being hidden?
You Asked for Perfect
by Laura Silverman, MFA Creative Writing (2015). Sourcebooks Fire.
High School senior Ariel Stone has cultivated the perfect college résumé. He barely has time to think about a social life until a failed calculus quiz puts his future on the line, forcing him to enlist Amir, a classmate, as a tutor. Ariel discovers he may not like calculus, but he does like Amir. It’s a relationship that makes him ask questions about the price of perfection.