The best new books arriving this month delve into a variety of topics, from a harrowing portrait of homelessness and poverty in America to the dissection of a marriage and its eventual fall apart. October welcomes the return of bestselling novelist Amor Towles, as well as a posthumous book by British espionage master John Le Carré. Between thought-provoking nonfiction, exciting reviews of fictional relationships, and more, there’s something for everyone this month. here, the best new books to read this October.
invisible child: poverty, survival & hope in an american city, andrea elliott (october 5)
In her first book, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Andrea Elliott tells a girl’s harrowing coming-of-age story against the backdrop of New York City’s homeless crisis. Invisible Girl She traces nearly a decade of Dasani Coates’ life, beginning in 2012 when she was living in a Brooklyn shelter at age 11. As she grows older, Dasani is forced to decide whether to keep her family intact or attend boarding school and leave them behind. Following her journey, Elliott creates an intimate exploration of poverty and racism in the United States, as well as a portrait of one young person’s resilience.
buy now: invisible child in bookstore | Amazon
You are reading: Best books of october 2021
Right Inside: How to Heal From Racial Trauma in the Workplace, Minda Harts (October 5)
in 2019, minda harts introduced the memo, a career guide written specifically for women of color. Following Her is a self-help book designed for the same readers, this time offering practical advice on how to heal from racial trauma that occurs in the workplace. Incorporating guidance from therapists and religious leaders, Harts takes a comprehensive look at what this trauma can look like and provides strategies on how to talk about it. Going beyond how to heal, Harts also points to the future and shares tactics to help women of color succeed in their workplaces.
buy now: directly in the bookstore | Amazon
sankofa, chibundu onuzo (October 5)
while going through her late mother’s belongings, anna makes some curious discoveries about her father, who has never been a part of her life. Her student diaries reveal her involvement in radical politics in 1970s London. she learns that he became president of a country in West Africa and that he is still alive. The revelation comes in the midst of Anna’s own identity crisis (she is no longer with her husband, her daughter is grown) and sends her on a quest to find out who she is and where her father really is. Author Chibundu Onuzo offers a moving narrative about family, our ability to change, and the need to belong.
buy now: sankofa in bookstore | Amazon
lincoln highway, love towles (October 5)
It’s June 1954, and 18-year-old Emmett Watson has just gotten out of a youth labor farm. he served 15 months for involuntary manslaughter and is now back at his childhood home in nebraska, where he plans to pick up his little brother and hit the road, aiming to start over in California. But the brothers’ plans are quickly thwarted by the surprise arrival of two escaped inmates, and soon the group heads to New York City. Alternating between perspectives and taking place over just 10 days, Lincoln Highwayshowcases the talents of Amor Towles, author of A Gentleman in Moscow and Rules of Civility i>. i>, as he guides readers through a vivid and exciting cross-country road trip.
shop now: the lincoln highway in the bookstore | Amazon
the loneliest americans, jay caspian kang (october 12)
In his nonfiction debut, writer-editor Jay Caspian Kang dissects the loneliness of the Asian American experience. The son of Korean immigrants, Kang combines his personal family history with deft reporting in a provocative and sweeping examination of racial identity, belonging, and family. “There are still only two races in America: black and white,” he writes. “everyone else is part of a demographic that is headed in one direction or another.”
shop now: the loneliest americans in bookstore | Amazon
silverview, john le carré (October 12)
Coming almost a year after his death in December 2020, john le carré’s thriller promises to be a fitting final installment in his 60-year career as an espionage novelist. silverview is a classic le carré spy tale. in it, a bookseller in an English seaside town is mystified by the presence of a new visitor in his shop, someone who knows too much about his family history. In London, news of a possible leak sends a spy chief to the same seaside town. what follows is a story of surveillance, loyalty and betrayal.
See Also: Joe Hill – Book Series In Order
shop now: silverview in the bookstore | Amazon
the days of afrekete, asali solomon (october 19)
In asali solomon’s scathing satirical novel, two middle-aged black women who dated in college return to each other’s orbit after losing touch for years. Liselle is planning a dinner party after her white husband’s unsuccessful run for state legislature. When she learns that he could be indicted for corruption, she is consumed with questions about everything she thought she knew and leaves a message for her old friend and ex-lover Selena de Ella, who lives across the street. the city. Salomón alternates between the past and the present, and in describing the time women spend together and apart, he questions the conversations and intimate moments that shape a relationship.
buy now: the days of afrekete in the bookstore | Amazon
oh william, elizabeth strout (october 19)
pulitzer prize winner elizabeth strout, author of olive kitteridge and my name is lucy barton, returns to the world of the latter in her new novel, oh william!. strout explores lucy’s relationship with william, her ex-husband and father of her two adult daughters, while a newly discovered family secret brings the divorcees closer together. is a story about marriage, mystery and the revelations about humanity that can come in an instant. Like the rest of her acclaimed fiction, Strout’s latest work is a quiet domestic drama that tackles the thorns of everyday existence in incisive and sometimes harrowing terms.
shop now: oh william! in bookstore | Amazon
write to annabel gutterman at annabel.gutterman@time.com.