An impressionistic modern classic and a Regency romp

Plus second chance romance and a StoryGraph profile

There’s a particular delight in putting the books I review in a Sunday newsletter side by side in a graphic and thinking, “well, I bet these books have never been next to each other before.” That is certainly the case with today’s books! I’ve mentioned this in my last several newsletters, but my reading has been all over the place recently in the very best way. I’m feeling more freedom in my book selections and apparently freedom for me means a little bit of everything. I’ve also been finding some very exciting titles for this year’s Paperback Summer Reading Guide. I hate not being able to talk about them now, but—trust me—they will be worth the wait.

Before I get into this week’s books, I want to share the link for my newsletter request form. I haven’t shared this in many many months, and it’s long overdue. This form allows you to submit reading life questions, book recommendation queries, and suggestions for Reading in Public topics. I have gotten some great ideas from these in the past—you all are my greatest source of inspiration! Thanks so much for taking the time to offer suggestions and send me your requests.

This week in books.

This week I read…

• The Rushworth Family Plot by Claudia Gray (out June 17). Gray’s Mr. Darcy and Miss Tilney murder mysteries are my favorite fun reads. These books bring characters from across Austen’s six novels altogether and have the grown children of Elizabeth and Fitzwilliam Darcy and Catherine and Henry Tilney solve the mysterious deaths (or near-deaths) of Austen villains. They are silly and fluffy and full of Austen-y goodness. They’re also well-plotted, well-paced mysteries that keep me guessing without forcing me to solve a puzzle. And, most important to me for pastiche and beach reads, they don’t take themselves too seriously. I loved the first and second in the series, but the third took a serious dip for me, and I was so happy that this fourth installment clicked for me. This book revolves around the cast of Mansfield Park, which was so fun to read after just finishing a reread of that classic. Gray does a wonderful job of highlight just how dramatic the events of MP are, because they really really are! Gray also grapples with the role of slavery in MP and the book—silly mystery that it is—is clearly informed by Said’s commentary on MP in Culture and Imperialism. I’m not sure how successful this was as I felt like it allowed the characters we like off the book, but I appreciated that she wrestled with it. Plot wise, this book does have some common middle-of-series problems with drawing out things even when we readers know the final outcome, but while that felt lazily done in the previous book, Gray got more inventive and over-the-top in this installment, which I appreciated. If you haven’t read this series, I do recommend them if you want something fun and escapist. If you’ve been reading the series and didn’t love book three, I think you’ll still want to continue with this one. Bookshop | Libro.fm

• Snow Country by Yasunari Kawabata. The preeminent novel by Japan’s first Nobel winner was the FictionMatters Book Club selection for February, and I’m so glad I read it. As a reader who loves “the classics,” my knowledge of classics is quite limited to the western canon, so I always enjoy picking up much lauded work in translation. Snow Country is very impressionistic in style. It’s full of recurring imagery and moments frozen in ice that the reader can examine and explicate. The story follows a man from Tokyo who travels to a remote mountain hot springs town to visit a geisha. Their feelings for each other are complicated and not entirely reciprocal and there’s a push and pull between them throughout the novel. I didn’t really care about the plot and I would recommend reading this because you’re looking for a complicated love story. But I did appreciate how the plot, the setting, the motifs, and the characterization all came together to examine the ideas of remoteness, isolation, and disassociation. You know I love a book that forces me to slow down and read like an English major, and this one fits the bill. I’m also not typically struck by imagery in a novel—it’s just not how my brain works—but the final image in Snow Country is breathtaking and not something I will soon forget. Bookshop

Now I’m reading…

• The new Torrey Peters! I’m concerned about this being overstuffed with a novella and three short stories, but I’m excited about all of them individually and to see the common threads running through.

New on my TBR…

• Everyone is raving about Dream State by Eric Puchner. I have a copy and hope I can get to it soon.

Links I love.

The Department of Defense is on a book banning spree. It’s absurd and infuriating. (Vulture)

StoryGraph’s founder Nadia Odunayo was profiled in The Guardian.

5 book reviews to read this week. (Lit Hub)

The best second-chance romance novels according to Tia Williams. (NYT)

The books of my life: Ben Okri. (The Guardian)

On the romance genres mainstream come up. (Lit Hub)

7 books about a prophesy that changes everything. (Electric Lit)

7 books about women coming of age in their 30s and 40s. (Electric Lit)

In purging language about trans people, this administration is trying to purge the people themselves. (Lit Hub)

End Notes.

• I’m obsessed with

  Traci Thomas
  ’s new Nonfiction Files series.

• I got sucked into the new season of Love is Blind, and I’m mad about it. It’s so dumb, but I can’t look away and it has eaten up so much of my reading time.

• I’m trying to actually take a lunch break on work days (hence watching Love is Blind), and it’s been such a great reset in the middle of each day.

• My preschooler’s current screen time show is Tumble Leaf, and it’s really lovely! The stop-motion animation is beautiful and the show’s focus on “figuring it out” has lead to some fun real life problem-solving in her play life.

• I bought something. I needed new leggings and decided to try these. I love them! They kind look like worn-in leather, and I think I’ll end up wearing them a lot.

---

For questions, comments, or suggestions, please don’t hesitate to reach out by emailing fictionmattersbooks@gmail.com or responding directly to this newsletter. I love hearing from you!

This email may contain affiliate links. If you make a purchase through the links above, I may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you.

If you enjoyed today’s newsletter, please forward it to a book-loving friend. That’s a great way to spread bookish cheer and support the newsletter!

Happy reading!

Sara