SINGAPORE - In this monthly feature, The Sunday Times picks out 10 books from around the world that have hit the shelves.
Top of the Stack
1. Run Rose Run
Dolly Parton (left) and James Patterson's new novel, Run, Rose, Run.
PHOTO: DOLLY PARTON, CENTURY
By Dolly Parton and James Patterson
Fiction/Century/Paperback/437 pages/$30.94/Buy here/Borrow here
3 out of 5
Who does not love Dolly Parton? The legendary American country singer has won hearts the world over with hits such as Jolene, 9 To 5 and I Will Always Love You.
Her brand is one of wholesome goodness. She started a library programme for children, voiced her support for the Black Lives Matter movement and donated US$1 million (S$1.36 million) to help fund coronavirus research.
Now, at 76, Parton has released her first novel.
Run Rose Run, which she co-wrote with prolific author James Patterson, tells the story of a young woman on the run who dreams of becoming a country music star.
In Nashville, Rose McCord performs at a bar and is spotted by hunky guitarist Ethan Blake, who happens to be an associate of retired country legend Ruthanna Ryder.
2. The Invisible Kingdom: Reimagining Chronic Illness
wlstack27 - The Invisible Kingdom: Reimagining Chronic Illness by Meghan O’Rourke
PHOTO: RIVERHEAD BOOKS
By Meghan O'Rourke
Non-fiction/Riverhead Books/Paperback/288 pages/$32.64/Buy here/Borrow here
A look at the silent epidemic of poorly understood illnesses in America - autoimmune diseases, post-treatment Lyme disease syndrome, long Covid-19 and more. O'Rourke, a journalist and critic as well as a long-time sufferer of autoimmune issues, draws on interviews with doctors, patients, researchers and public health experts.
3. The Impossible City: A Hong Kong Memoir
wlstack27 - The Impossible City: A Hong Kong Memoir by Karen Cheung
PHOTO: RANDOM HOUSE
By Karen Cheung
Non-fiction/Random House/Hardcover/320 pages/$37.99/Buy here/Borrow here
Cheung, a Hong Kong journalist who was born before the handover to China in 1997, blends cultural criticism, memoir and reportage in this insider's view of Hong Kong - from the city's counterculture and creative underbelly, to its transformation over the years and the recent protests.
4. A Long Road To Justice: Stories From The Frontlines In Asia
wlstack27 - A Long Road To Justice: Stories From The Frontlines In Asia by Sylvia Yu Friedman
PHOTO: Penguin Random House SEA
By Sylvia Yu Friedman
Non-fiction/Penguin Random House South-east Asia/Paperback/284 pages/$28.78/Buy here
This memoir, which draws on the Hong Kong-based author's work in journalism and counter-trafficking, is an account of the abuse and enslavement of women and girls in the Asia-Pacific region.
5. The Stasi Poetry Circle: The Creative Writing Class That Tried To Win The Cold War
wlstack27 - The Stasi Poetry Circle: The Creative Writing Class that Tried to Win the Cold War by Philip Oltermann
PHOTO: FABER & FABER
By Philip Oltermann
Non-fiction/Faber & Faber/Paperback/304 pages/$29.96/Buy here/Borrow here
In socialist East Berlin, a group of soldiers and border guards used to gather for monthly meetings at a military compound to learn how to write lyrical verse. German-born journalist Oltermann, who spent five years looking through Stasi files, tells their story.
6. French Braid
wlstack27 - French Braid by Anne Tyler
PHOTO: CHATTO & WINDUS
By Anne Tyler
Fiction/Vintage/Hardcover/256 pages/$37.98/Buy here
The Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist returns to familiar territory in this story of a Baltimore family which spans from the 1950s to the present.
7. Paradais
wlstack27 - Paradais by Fernanda Melchor
PHOTO: Fitzcarraldo Editions
By Fernanda Melchor, translated by Sophie Hughes
Fiction/Fitzcarraldo Editions/Paperback/118 pages/$23.03/Buy here
This brutal, intense story of two teenagers in a luxury housing complex shines a light on the faultlines in Mexican society. It was one of 13 titles longlisted for this year's International Booker Prize.
8. Portrait Of An Unknown Lady
wlstack27 - Portrait Of An Unknown Lady by Maria Gainza, translated by Thomas Bunstead
PHOTO: HARVILL SECKER
By Maria Gainza, translated by Thomas Bunstead
Fiction/Vintage/Paperback/192 pages/$32.95/Buy here
An auction house employee gets on the trail of a master forger whose counterfeits have rocked the Buenos Aires art world.
9. Cherish Farrah
wlstack27 - Cherish Farrah: A Novel by Bethany C. Morrow
PHOTO: DUTTON
By Bethany C. Morrow
Fiction/Dutton/Paperback/321 pages/$32.64/Buy here/Borrow here
In this social horror novel, best friends Farrah Turner and Cherish Whitman are the only two black teenage girls in their country club commmunity. When her family faces foreclosure, the troubled Farrah insinuates herself into her best friend's wealthy and white adopted family. However, she might not be the only one with an ulterior motive.
10. Gallant
wlstack27 - Gallant by V. E. SchwabCredit: Titan Books
PHOTO: TITAN BOOKS
By V. E. Schwab
Young adult/Titan Books/Paperback/310 pages/$19.94/Buy here/Borrow here
Sixteen-year-old Olivia Prior, who grew up in an orphanage, receives a letter from her uncle summoning her to his estate. She arrives to find her uncle dead, and she searches the shadowy house for answers.
