Happy May. As usual lately I’m behind in putting up my start-of-the-month post, but it’s been busy. Much to do this spring. And already May has started off with dryer and hotter conditions than normal and the threat of wildfires caused the provincial government on Saturday to declare a “state of emergency.” Yikes it’s so early in the season. Apparently more than a hundred fires are burning around Alberta — about 28 of them are uncontrolled and are mostly in the north and to the west in the mountains. But we’re hoping rain and cooler temps this week will help the situation. Crazy eh? It went from snowing to burning in a very short time.
Meanwhile in book news I see that the novels Trust by Hernan Diaz and Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver both won this year’s Pulitzer Prize for fiction. It is first time there’s been a dual winner. Though it reminded me of when Margaret Atwood and Bernardine Evaristo both won the Booker Prize in 2019. I sort of would like it if the judges could settle on just one winner. I’m not sure why, but they need to make a judgement call, right? Is this two-winner choice setting a new precedence? Regardless I’m looking forward to reading Demon Copperhead this month for my book club. And I need to snap to it quick.
Also congrats to debut novelist Fatimah Asghar for winning the inaugural Carol Shields prize for fiction for her novel When We Were Sisters, which came out in October 2022. Apparently it’s a moving coming-of-age novel that follows three orphaned Muslim-American siblings left to raise one another in the aftermath of their parents’ death.
It sounds poetically written and experimental too (the author was a poet prior to this). I’m not exactly sure what to expect, but I’ve added it to my list. I think it’s based on the author’s own life about losing her parents early on, and the sisters are all forging their own paths. Now let’s see what’s releasing this month.
First off, Abraham Verghese’s new novel The Covenant of Water (out May 2) can not be overlooked. Sure it’s a long, epic saga clocking in at around 736 pages that will take a big commitment, but then again it’s Abraham Verghese! Spanning 1900 to 1977 and set on South India’s Malabar Coast, the novel follows several generations of a family as they search for the roots of why they are afflicted by drownings. Apparently it pays homage to the progress of medicine and human understanding.
So what are we waiting for? Verghese’s writing first came to me by a luminous memoir of his I read called The Tennis Partner about a tennis friend of his with an addiction. As a tennis player, this story of Verghese’s earlier years as a physician practicing in El Paso with an unraveling marriage went down like ice cream on a deserted island. It was tense and poignant. And I still need to read his other three books!
Next up, I’m curious about French author Anne Berest’s novel The Postcard (due out May 16 from Europa Editions), which is described as thus: “When Anne, the protagonist of the novel, finds an anonymous postcard among the usual holiday cards from her maternal great-grandparents who died in Auschwitz, she sets off to discover who sent it and why. Her journey leads her through the history of her family and exposes the secrets her ancestors hid for generations.”
Whoa. From all I’ve read about this bestselling novel in France, it sounds very powerful and moving, and a mystery that Anne not only solves but gains her identity in the process too. It’s probably one not to be missed.
Also Luis Alberto Urrea’s novel Good Night, Irene (due out May 30) looks enticing about two women who become friends as members of the Red Cross during WWII. They run snack trucks called Clubmobiles at the front lines, which I hadn’t heard about, but which sounds pretty courageous. From the Battle of the Bulge to the liberation of Buchenwald, the two become embroiled in danger in this novel that paints a portrait of friendship and valor.
I know I’ve selected two WWII novels this month but sometimes you got to go where the good reads lead you. Apparently this novel is inspired by the author’s own mother and her Red Cross service during the war.
As for what to watch this month, the six-part series A Small Light, beginning May 1 on National Geographic (and Disney+ and Hulu) looks to be a moving drama about the Dutch woman Miep Gies who risked her life to shelter Anne Frank’s family from the Nazis for more than two years during World War II.
If you haven’t read Miep Gies’s 1987 book Anne Frank Remembered: The Story of the Woman Who Helped to Hide the Frank Family, I think you’ll find it compelling. Gies was a remarkable hero, and she’s played in the series by British actress Bel Powley, whom I first saw on The Morning Show series. A Small Light was filmed in Prague and Amsterdam and I’m hoping to catch it.
Another series that looks intriguing is the four-part espionage thriller Ghosts of Beirut starting May 21 on Showtime about the manhunt for Imad Mughniyeh, the elusive Lebanese terrorist who eluded capture for over two decades. He was implicated in the Hezbollah attacks of the 1980s and ’90s. Apparently the drama includes a mix of documentary elements and interviews within the show. I think sometimes that works and other times it takes away from the flow. We will have to see.
My husband and I enjoy spy shows and have liked: Slow Horses, Homeland, Jack Ryan, The Looming Tower, The Night Manager, among others. So we will have to see about this one, it looks scary.
For movies this month, the Canadian film BlackBerry (due out May 12) looks quite good about the epic rise and fall of the world’s first smartphone. It seems pretty satirical and funny and perhaps also an expose of the tech world. Remember the BlackBerry? Some people were so addicted. I still had the flip phone back then, LoL, so I was never a BlackBerry aficionado.
As well as Julia Louis-Dreyfus has a new comedy-drama coming out May 24 called You Hurt My Feelings that looks a bit fun. She’s plays a novelist whose marriage is suddenly upended when she overhears her husband giving his honest reaction to her latest book. Uh-oh, that’s awkward. Louis-Dreyfus is a gem; we see her sometimes when watching early reruns of Curb Your Enthusiasm … in between nights of Succession Season 4. You got to mix it up.
And finally in music this month, there’s new albums by Dave Matthews, the Smashing Pumpkins, Matchbox Twenty, and Graham Nash among others. But I think I’ll pick country singer-songwriter Brandy Clark’s new self-titled album due out May 19. I don’t really know her music too much yet, but I think I might be turning a little country since moving to the country, LoL. We’ll see.
That’s all for now. What about you — which new releases are you looking forward to?
Hi Susan, I am sorry to hear about the wildfires. I hope the rain comes and stay safe. This climate situation is worrisome. Here in Florida hurricane season starts in June.
Great group of books and shows and you describe them so well. The author that jumped out at me on your list is Abraham Verghese. Maybe 20 years ago I read his memoir My Own Country about his time as a young infectious disease doctor at the start of the AIDS epidemic in the 1980’s. He was practicing in a rather small conservative town in Tennessee where many of the sons of that town who had moved away years ago, not telling their families that they were gay, started coming back when they got sick and the great thing is that the town and their families didn’t reject their sons but welcomed them back and cared for them. Very moving and beautifully written.
Hey thanks Kathy. May your hurricanes be calm this season. And I’m glad you let me know about My Own Country. I’ve been eyeing that book for awhile. It sounds so good. An oldie but a goodie. Verghese is a master and I slightly wonder if I like his nonfiction better than his fiction but I still need to read his fiction first. And I probably will read Cutting for Stone before his latest one. It’s back to the backlist! But I’m glad Verghese is back – he’s been gone for over a decade.
Have a great week.
Happy May! I am sorry to hear about the wildfires and hope they are get under control and are out soon. And may the rain come and help with that. It’s overcast here today, but no rain.
I tried listening to the audiobook version of Cutting For Stone by Abraham Verghese and didn’t make it too far, sadly. I think that’s a book I would be better off reading the print version of. His new book sounds good.
I hope you have a good month of May, Susan. Happy reading!
I saw an ad for A Small Light recently and it caught my attention. I will have to make time to watch that.
I have been wanting to read something by Luis Alberto Urrea for awhile now–ever since I got the chance to meet him at the festival of books years ago. I think I have three of his books on my TBR shelf–so I have no good excuse.
Hi Wendy, yeah I’ve been meaning to read Luis Alberto Urrea for a long time too, so I guess here’s my chance. It’s cool you go to the LA Festival — some year I’m going to make it there. So many authors, right?
I think I’ll attempt Cutting for Stone as an ebook this year. That’s my plan anyways but not sure when. I’ve just started Demon Copperhead for book club.
I hope you have a great May too. We’ll see if some of these fires can get doused. fingers crossed.
It’s good that you’re turning country if you’re living in the country. 🙂 I’m reading Verghese; so far so good but I’m not reading as fast as I’d like or need to to finish in 20-25 days. I would like to tackle Kevin Power’s latest, which will release mid- month. I’m glad that Trust won the Pulitzer, for me it was 4.5*. I’m watching the second season of HBO’s Perry Mason; hopefully after that I’ll start Succession and get close to the end as the end approaches. 😛
Great info Carmen. Love it. Keep me posted on the new Verghese. I hope to finally get to Cutting for Stone this year. I just started Demon Copperhead for book club (another long one!). But not as long as Covenant. I’m not sure why I didn’t see A Line in the Sand … by Kevin Powers. It looks like a good thriller to read. I will add it. And you called Trust long ago … I still think I might get to it. Interesting to have a dual winner this year, hmm. We are finishing The Capture Season 2 on Prime and also mixing in a bit of Succession. But we always need a break from those characters, LoL. Enjoy your reading. ps. loving the country life. LoL.
Both books Demon Copperhead and Trust were amongst the very best of last year’s crop, so why not a dual winner? I think the Pulitzer jury made the right call. Let me know your thoughts on DC and I‘lol add it to my reading list.
Okay Carmen. Just starting DC, will let you know. They were two good ones from 2022. Happy reading this week.
I wonder if Demon Copperhead is also going to win the Women’s Prize. I might have to read it if it does. 🙂
Hi AJ: Yeah I think DC might win Women’s Prize too. June 14th it’ll be decided. But I’d be surprised if it didn’t. I’m just now starting it.
I have many good suggestions from you in this post. Just added a few book titles to Goodreads list and I am going to look at some of the spy shows as well. If our library has it, we watch it!
Hope you aren’t getting too much smoke from the wildfires. Whe they do controlled burns in nearby counties here we have to stay in the air quality is so bad.
Thanks Tina. Yeah it’s really early to have all this smoke. Ugh. And one controlled burn near Banff became out of control on a windy day. Seems dumb to have set it.
Some of the spy shows I mention we’ve seen were riveting stuff. See what you think. Much to see. Have a great week.
It sure seems early for wildfires, doesn’t it? I’m keeping my fingers crossed that you get a lot of rain in the next couple of weeks, and that we don’t have to switch our plans for Banff & Jasper!
I’m looking forward to reading/listening to Demon Copperhead, but I’ll probably hold off until we return from our road trip. Too many distractions to sink into a heavy book when we’re traveling. I’m not sure I’ll try The Covenant of Water. Having recently re-read Cutting for Stone, I’m not feeling compelled to dive into another long novel by Verghese. The reviews are mixed, with many saying it’s too long. Maybe I’ll try The Tennis Partner, which I have intended to read for many years. Good Night, Irene sounds right up my alley. Thanks for bringing it to my attention!
Have a good week!
Hi Lesley. Ugh it might be smoky on your trip. I’ve been watching it on this site:
https://firesmoke.ca/forecasts/current/ and https://www.jasperlocal.com
I’m keeping my fingers crossed. But a heat wave is coming early next week. Is this El Nino or what? Most of the fires seem quite a bit north & west of Edmonton. Hope they will be doused.
Perhaps you might like Verghese’s nonfiction better. I still want to read his other memoir My Own Country (1994) sometime but that was long ago.
I hope Good Night Irene is a winner. I’ve been meaning to read that author for awhile. I just started Copperhead. We’ll see. Enjoy your week.
I heard Abraham Verghese speak and read from his new book this week in Houston, and I left the theater feeling like I had been in the presence of greatness. I cannot wait for my library copy to appear; I am going to buy this book today.
I am a wishy-washy sort of person, and I like the idea of two winners of a prize. I’ve put in a request for Trust and I’d like to request Demon Copperhead again some time in the future and finish reading it.
I do like the sound of You Hurt My Feelings. I will definitely look for it.
Hi Deb, That Verghese talk must have been Wow. I would’ve loved to have heard that. I hope to read Cutting for Stone this year first and maybe also his first memoir from 1994. I just started Demon Copperhead and I sort of fear it will take me forever. We will see. I guess 2 winners is Okay. I should re-try Trust.
I hope you have a great May.
I love that each month you lay out the reading, listening, and watching that you’re thinking about. I enjoyed Abraham Verghese’s Cutting for Stone, but 700+ pages is a bit intimidating; maybe in the summer when I feel I have a bit more time (and some long plane rides).
I love that our hills are covered in green and wildflowers, but I’ll be honest that I know it is providing lots of fodder for fire season. I hope the rain dampens the current BC fires.
Thanks Helen. It’s crazy how far smoke travels. We are in the south and it’s coming from the far north. I hope it won’t be a smoky summer.
I *try* to stay organized with these Preview posts but it takes me a long while to get around to some of the books. The Verghese are a big commitment … I just started Kingsolver’s Demon Copperhead … and it might take me forever. LoL.
Enjoy your weekend!
All those wildfires in Alberta…yikes! It’s too early in the year for that. I wish spring would stay cool and wet a little bit longer. I’ve been watching A Small Light about Miep Gies and quite enjoying it. It’s been really good. And there are two books on your list that I’ve added to my TBR list: The Postcard and Good Night, Irene. Happy reading this month! 😀
Thanks Lark. Glad to hear you are liking A Small Light. We plan to watch it after a couple more episodes drop. It looks good. Apparently a heat wave is headed our way for the next week … which will not be good for putting out the fires. Hmm. It is so early for this. Hope you are well.
Yes, May is way to early for wildfires. I’m currently traveling but CO has been getting lots of rain, for which I am thankful, though that does mean lots of potential fuel for late summer heat.
I got Demon Copperfield for Xmas and have still yet to crack it. I think I will in June. My husband read my copy and said it takes focus, or which I don’t have in abundance at the moment.
Hope your May cools off and happy reading!
Thanks Jane. I’m glad you all have gotten rain in CO. Next week looks like an early heatwave here – so we will be in need of any moisture. I just started Demon Copperhead – so far my head’s not really into it but we will see if I get hooked.
I hope you are enjoying your travels! And other reads.
It seems early for wildfires… I hope it’s not going to be an issue all summer! I think we have a prescribed burn coming up soon, so we’ll definitely be indoors then.
I was thrilled to see both Trust and Demon Copperhead get Pulitzers. Absolutely loved Trust, both the writing and the unique structure. DC is exactly the type of novel that should win a Pulitzer. It will be one of my favorites this year.
The Covenant of Water is one of my most anticipated reads this year… can’t wait to sink into it. And I want to give The Postcard a try, too. So many great books this year!!
Good to hear JoAnn that you liked DC and Trust so much. I’ve started DC. I must get cracking on it for my book club at the end of the month.
Sigh the wildfires are not looking good for summer … right now there’s 89 fires in the north of the province – of those 23 are out of control. Luckily we are in the south of the province and a bit under 3 hours from the Montana border. No rain in sight which is unusual for this time of year. Cross fingers.
The Covenant of Water looks good. But not sure when I’ll get to it. Cheers!
Hope the wild fires are under control by now. It does seem like you went from one extreme to the other. I don’t think I’ve got similar taste to the Pulitzer judges. I didn’t particularly love Trust or Demon Copperhead. Anyway… I think I’m in minority, especially when it cones to Demon.
Hi Stargazer. Unfortunately the wildfires in the province have grown: now 92 fires, 27 out of control, Ugh! All are to the north a few hours away but we have much smoke now. I hope this isn’t all summer.
I am reading Demon Copperhead right now but I have a long way to go. I will be curious if Kingsolver wins the Women’s Prize as well. June 14th is the announcement. Enjoy your week.
I’ve developed an interest in memoirs lately and have read several for Asian Heritage Month . I’ll be looking at others too.
Yeah Harvee, I’ve been seeing several of your reviews and the memoirs look good. I’m glad you are spotlighting these books for us to check out. Enjoy.