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Hot Reads for Cold Nights: 15 Books to Read in November
Engrossing novels from Anne Michaels, Nita Prose, Michael Cunningham and Jann Arden round out this month's fiction picks / BY Nathalie Atkinson / November 2nd, 2023
The Zed book club has everything you need to make short work of the lengthening autumn days. Nita Prose’s heroine Molly returns in the author’s follow up to 2022’s bestselling The Maid, Irish writer Naoise Dolan is back with The Happy Couple – a look at pleasures and pitfalls of modern romance – and Cory Doctorow imagines a world gutted by climate change with The Lost Cause. Read on for our November fiction highlights.
Obsessive Book Buyers: Zoomer editors have carefully curated our book coverage to ensure you find the perfect read. We may earn a commission on books you buy by clicking on the cover image.
1The Spy Coast Smart, self-deprecating and pacy, this novel could easily be the love child of Slow Horses and The Thursday Murder Club. When a dead body shows up in Maggie Bird’s New England driveway, the former CIA operative (now in her 60s) gets drawn back into her past life of espionage and must recruit a few retired spy neighbours to help out. Gerritsen, a former physician whose bestselling Rizzoli & Isles procedurals spawned the popular cable TV show starring Angie Harmon and Sasha Alexander, was inspired by Maine’s real-life community of retired intelligence operatives and hopes The Spy Coast will be the first in a long series. So do I. (Nov. 1)
Smart, self-deprecating and pacy, this novel could easily be the love child of Slow Horses and The Thursday Murder Club. When a dead body shows up in Maggie Bird’s New England driveway, the former CIA operative (now in her 60s) gets drawn back into her past life of espionage and must recruit a few retired spy neighbours to help out. Gerritsen, a former physician whose bestselling Rizzoli & Isles procedurals spawned the popular cable TV show starring Angie Harmon and Sasha Alexander, was inspired by Maine’s real-life community of retired intelligence operatives and hopes The Spy Coast will be the first in a long series. So do I. (Nov. 1)
2Restless Dolly Maunder Loosely reconstructed by Australian author Grenville based on family lore, this portrait of a determined young hospitality entrepreneur who lives through some of the 20th century’s most important events, imagines the story of her own formidable maternal grandmother (and builds on One Life, a previous memoir about her mother). As with the driven and resilient heroines in Grenville’s Orange and Commonwealth prize-winning novels about obscure historical figures (The Idea of Perfection, The Secret River), Dolly rose above her impoverished upbringing in New South Wales at the turn of the last century and is finally restored to her place in history. (Nov. 2)
Loosely reconstructed by Australian author Grenville based on family lore, this portrait of a determined young hospitality entrepreneur who lives through some of the 20th century’s most important events, imagines the story of her own formidable maternal grandmother (and builds on One Life, a previous memoir about her mother). As with the driven and resilient heroines in Grenville’s Orange and Commonwealth prize-winning novels about obscure historical figures (The Idea of Perfection, The Secret River), Dolly rose above her impoverished upbringing in New South Wales at the turn of the last century and is finally restored to her place in history. (Nov. 2)
3The Liberators Seattle poet and book translator Koh’s debut novel opens with a Korean man recalling his boyhood in the last years of Japanese colonial rule. It then flits between Korea and the U.S. along a timeline that touches on the American occupation of South Korea, the 1988 Seoul Olympics through to 2014’s MV Sewol ferry disaster. Through these events, Koh weighs in with his personal take on world politics as well as trauma inherited through generations. (Nov. 7)
Seattle poet and book translator Koh’s debut novel opens with a Korean man recalling his boyhood in the last years of Japanese colonial rule. It then flits between Korea and the U.S. along a timeline that touches on the American occupation of South Korea, the 1988 Seoul Olympics through to 2014’s MV Sewol ferry disaster. Through these events, Koh weighs in with his personal take on world politics as well as trauma inherited through generations. (Nov. 7)
4The Bittlemores For her first novel, singer-songwriter and beloved Canadian personality Arden writes about what she knows: a remote farm where not much goes right. Billed as a rural fairytale, coming-of-age story and prairie mystery rolled into one, it involves rebellious teen Willa coming into her own while investigating her sister’s disappearance; added to this is a parallel investigation of a local cold case. Yet somehow her grim life on the farm with horrible parents who have all the charm of Roald Dahl’s atrocious Twits (trigger warning for animal cruelty) is still imbued with Arden’s signature humour and heart. (Nov. 7)
For her first novel, singer-songwriter and beloved Canadian personality Arden writes about what she knows: a remote farm where not much goes right. Billed as a rural fairytale, coming-of-age story and prairie mystery rolled into one, it involves rebellious teen Willa coming into her own while investigating her sister’s disappearance; added to this is a parallel investigation of a local cold case. Yet somehow her grim life on the farm with horrible parents who have all the charm of Roald Dahl’s atrocious Twits (trigger warning for animal cruelty) is still imbued with Arden’s signature humour and heart. (Nov. 7)
5Same Bed Different Dreams Park, a co-founder of the Believer literary journal, pens a clever alternative history of Korea’s last century through the eyes of an underground nationalist group. That structure allows his speculative novel to posit what would happen if the Korean Provisional Government (formed in 1919 in exile) were still around and continuing to work toward reunification. (Nov. 7)
Park, a co-founder of the Believer literary journal, pens a clever alternative history of Korea’s last century through the eyes of an underground nationalist group. That structure allows his speculative novel to posit what would happen if the Korean Provisional Government (formed in 1919 in exile) were still around and continuing to work toward reunification. (Nov. 7)
6The Happy Couple Dolan’s bestselling, tart debut Exciting Times anointed her as the latest of Ireland’s (seemingly bottomless) supply of bright young novelists. Her follow-up traces the foibles, insights and second-guessing about modern romance in the lead up to the nuptials of twenty-somethings Luke and Celine. Contemporary women’s fiction doyenne Marian Keyes, who called it “witty, observant, wise and funny,” also described it as: “Nihilistic about heteronormative relationships but so charmingly done I barely noticed.” (Nov. 7)
Dolan’s bestselling, tart debut Exciting Times anointed her as the latest of Ireland’s (seemingly bottomless) supply of bright young novelists. Her follow-up traces the foibles, insights and second-guessing about modern romance in the lead up to the nuptials of twenty-somethings Luke and Celine. Contemporary women’s fiction doyenne Marian Keyes, who called it “witty, observant, wise and funny,” also described it as: “Nihilistic about heteronormative relationships but so charmingly done I barely noticed.” (Nov. 7)
7Baumgartner Sy Baumgartner is a retiring Princeton philosophy professor haunted by glimpses of his late wife Anna, who died in a swimming accident nearly a decade prior, and who now often finds himself in reverie about his youth. Like Auster and his wife the novelist Siri Hustvedt, they’ve been together more than 40 years. These facts make this 18th novel — and a digressive rumination on life, memory, happenstance and grief (completed while the 76-year-old author was ill; he is being treated for cancer) — all the more poignant. (Nov. 7)
Sy Baumgartner is a retiring Princeton philosophy professor haunted by glimpses of his late wife Anna, who died in a swimming accident nearly a decade prior, and who now often finds himself in reverie about his youth. Like Auster and his wife the novelist Siri Hustvedt, they’ve been together more than 40 years. These facts make this 18th novel — and a digressive rumination on life, memory, happenstance and grief (completed while the 76-year-old author was ill; he is being treated for cancer) — all the more poignant. (Nov. 7)
8The Vulnerables There are tinges of the absurd in the unlikely companions in the latest literary fiction from National Book Award-winning writer of The Friend, who returns with an inquiry into what human connection means at this moment in history. A unique bond between two women is forged against the backdrop of New York City’s early Covid lockdowns, when an academic of a certain ‘vulnerable’ age and a troubled Gen Z college student end up as housemates looking after a miniature macaw. (Nov. 7)
There are tinges of the absurd in the unlikely companions in the latest literary fiction from National Book Award-winning writer of The Friend, who returns with an inquiry into what human connection means at this moment in history. A unique bond between two women is forged against the backdrop of New York City’s early Covid lockdowns, when an academic of a certain ‘vulnerable’ age and a troubled Gen Z college student end up as housemates looking after a miniature macaw. (Nov. 7)
9Day Nearly a decade since his last book, Pulitzer Prize-winner Cunningham, 70, has penned what might be the great pandemic novel. Set close to the Brooklyn-based writer’s home, it’s about the changing lives of a New York family, beginning in 2019, but with a twist: it’s told in three parts and like his million-selling The Hours, (he’s still indebted to Virginia Woolf), each part takes place on a single day in April over 3 successive years. (Nov. 14)
Nearly a decade since his last book, Pulitzer Prize-winner Cunningham, 70, has penned what might be the great pandemic novel. Set close to the Brooklyn-based writer’s home, it’s about the changing lives of a New York family, beginning in 2019, but with a twist: it’s told in three parts and like his million-selling The Hours, (he’s still indebted to Virginia Woolf), each part takes place on a single day in April over 3 successive years. (Nov. 14)
10The New NaturalsThis novel about two young Boston academics fleeing campus racism who attempt to create a Black utopian commune at an abandoned restaurant in western Massachusetts is among the season’s most anticipated reads. The tragicomic novel includes jabs at current controversies (like the teaching of real African American history), lacing together the stories of several rudderless characters — a disillusioned journalist, a former soccer player — who make their way to the group. It’s a remarkable novel from the already acclaimed Bump (Everywhere You Don’t Belong), who teaches at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. (Nov. 14)
This novel about two young Boston academics fleeing campus racism who attempt to create a Black utopian commune at an abandoned restaurant in western Massachusetts is among the season’s most anticipated reads. The tragicomic novel includes jabs at current controversies (like the teaching of real African American history), lacing together the stories of several rudderless characters — a disillusioned journalist, a former soccer player — who make their way to the group. It’s a remarkable novel from the already acclaimed Bump (Everywhere You Don’t Belong), who teaches at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. (Nov. 14)
11Held “As with everything I’ve written, at the core of Held is a profound hope that has been tested to the limit, the only kind of redemption one might trust and therefore offer to a reader,” Canadian poet Michaels (Fugitive Pieces) told CBC Books of her novel. It spans four generations and mingles historical figures covering more than a century, starting on the battlefield during the first world war. “Hope is never a luxury. It is a necessity, and it is powerful. Especially in these times. Asserting what matters, what we aspire to, how we live, why we live, can — over time, and in a moment — determine a future.” (Nov. 14)
“As with everything I’ve written, at the core of Held is a profound hope that has been tested to the limit, the only kind of redemption one might trust and therefore offer to a reader,” Canadian poet Michaels (Fugitive Pieces) told CBC Books of her novel. It spans four generations and mingles historical figures covering more than a century, starting on the battlefield during the first world war. “Hope is never a luxury. It is a necessity, and it is powerful. Especially in these times. Asserting what matters, what we aspire to, how we live, why we live, can — over time, and in a moment — determine a future.” (Nov. 14)
12The Syrian Ladies Benevolent Society The idea for linked narratives about members of a family of Arab immigrants and how they helped shape the fabric of Canadian society came in 2019, after former Coach’s Corner host Don Cherry “made inflammatory and racist remarks about new immigrants.” For Estima, whose grandfather was one of the few Arab men to serve in the Canadian Army during World War II, it was a gut punch. The Toronto-based author (an Arab woman of Lebanese, Syrian and Portuguese ethnicity) digs deep into her history and heritage for her debut. (Nov. 14)
The idea for linked narratives about members of a family of Arab immigrants and how they helped shape the fabric of Canadian society came in 2019, after former Coach’s Corner host Don Cherry “made inflammatory and racist remarks about new immigrants.” For Estima, whose grandfather was one of the few Arab men to serve in the Canadian Army during World War II, it was a gut punch. The Toronto-based author (an Arab woman of Lebanese, Syrian and Portuguese ethnicity) digs deep into her history and heritage for her debut. (Nov. 14)
13The Lost Cause Probably my favourite piece of writing this year is Canadian journalist and activist Doctorow’s “The Enshittification of TikTok,” a pithy essay that explains the craven greed of misguided tech strategies specifically, while also pinpointing the decline of social media platforms (and of culture) generally. The past Canada Reads finalist (with Radicalized) now based in Los Angeles, has a new sci-fi novel that plausibly imagines a near-future world where climate change is such a reality that entire cities are being relocated inland in order to avoid its worst repercussions. This, while climate change deniers are still clinging to the idea that it’s all a scam. I’ll be reading it on publication day. (Nov. 14)
Probably my favourite piece of writing this year is Canadian journalist and activist Doctorow’s “The Enshittification of TikTok,” a pithy essay that explains the craven greed of misguided tech strategies specifically, while also pinpointing the decline of social media platforms (and of culture) generally. The past Canada Reads finalist (with Radicalized) now based in Los Angeles, has a new sci-fi novel that plausibly imagines a near-future world where climate change is such a reality that entire cities are being relocated inland in order to avoid its worst repercussions. This, while climate change deniers are still clinging to the idea that it’s all a scam. I’ll be reading it on publication day. (Nov. 14)
14Hot Springs Drive This dark character study from culture critic Roxane Gay’s imprint is about neighbours Theresa and Jackie, best friends who do everything together (from socializing with their families to joining a dieting club together). Oh and one is having an affair with the other’s husband! When one of them is found murdered the plot (obviously) thickens but who did it is almost beside the point in the Chicago author’s suspenseful dissection of suburban secrets, food, desire and friendship. (Nov. 17)
This dark character study from culture critic Roxane Gay’s imprint is about neighbours Theresa and Jackie, best friends who do everything together (from socializing with their families to joining a dieting club together). Oh and one is having an affair with the other’s husband! When one of them is found murdered the plot (obviously) thickens but who did it is almost beside the point in the Chicago author’s suspenseful dissection of suburban secrets, food, desire and friendship. (Nov. 17)
15The Mystery Guest When a world-renowned mystery author drops dead while giving a press conference at the five-star hotel where Molly (heroine of 2022’s The Maid) is now head housekeeper, her protégés are in the crosshairs of a police investigation. If you enjoyed Canadian publishing executive Prose’s #1 New York Times bestselling debut, it’s another cozy mystery in the same vein, that delves even deeper into Molly’s personal history and that of her grandmother, also a housekeeper. (Nov. 28)
When a world-renowned mystery author drops dead while giving a press conference at the five-star hotel where Molly (heroine of 2022’s The Maid) is now head housekeeper, her protégés are in the crosshairs of a police investigation. If you enjoyed Canadian publishing executive Prose’s #1 New York Times bestselling debut, it’s another cozy mystery in the same vein, that delves even deeper into Molly’s personal history and that of her grandmother, also a housekeeper. (Nov. 28)