Editor’s Choice
The Piano Teacher, by Janice Y.K. Lee, $25.95. In 1952 Hong Kong, Claire Pendleton, newly married to a bland, postwar British government official, lucks into a job as piano teacher to the untalented young daughter of the powerful and wealthy Victor and Melody Chen. Thrust from privilege into imprisonment virtually overnight, Lee’s characters are caught up in the intrigue and collusion that were part of wartime survival. Library Journal
FICTION
Going to See the Elephant, by Rodes Fishburne, $22. Fishburne’s zany and entertaining, if somewhat uneven, first novel tells the story of Slater Brown: Writer Extraordinaire (at least in his own mind), as he whimsically romps through San Francisco. Publishers Weekly
The 7th Victim, by Alan Jacobson, $25.95. Jacobson’s third novel (after “False Accusations” and “The Hunted”) has all the ingredients for a best-selling psychological thriller: strong female lead, multifaceted serial killer, compelling plot, and just enough secrets and surprises to keep the adrenaline racing. Library Journal
NONFICTION
Roads to Quoz: An American Mosey, by William Least Heat-Moon, $27.99. Heat-Moon (nee William Trogdon) has been a chronicler of small-town America since his “Blue Highways: A Journey Into America” in 1982. He has a gift for seeing beauty and mystery in even the remotest areas of the country. In his new book, he and his wife, Jo Ann (who refers to herself as “Q”), set out to explore the Ouachita River, which begins in Mena, Ark., and ends in Louisiana. Library Journal
American Buffalo: In Search of a Lost Icon, by Steven Rinella, $24.95. An experienced outdoorsman and hunter, Rinella writes with authority about the process of turning a living creature into steak, and easily renders an enormous amount of historical and scientific information into a thoroughly engaging narrative. Publishers Weekly
Reborn: Journals & Notebooks, 1947-1963, by Susan Sontag; edited by David Rieff, $25. The first of three planned volumes of Sontag’s private journals, this book is extraordinary for all the reasons we would expect from Sontag’s writing — extreme seriousness; stunning authority; intolerance toward mediocrity. Sontag’s vulnerability throughout will also utterly surprise the late critic and novelist’s fans and detractors. Publishers Weekly
PAPERBACKS
Shadow Country, by Peter Matthiessen, $16. Matthiessen’s National Book Award-winning Watson trilogy is a touchstone of modern American literature. This reworking is remarkable. Where Watson was a magnificent character before, he comes across as nothing short of iconic here. Publishers Weekly
The Seventh Well, by Fred Wander; translated by Michael Hofmann, $13.95. Wander, who was born in Vienna and died in 2006, has crafted a series of tales that make up this novel based on his experiences in such German camps as Auschwitz and Buchenwald. Library Journal
Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain, by Oliver Sacks, $14.95. Sacks is an unparalleled chronicler of modern medicine, and fans of his work will find much to enjoy when he turns his prodigious talent for observation to music and its relationship to the brain. Publishers Weekly
COMING UP
Cheever: A Life, by Blake Bailey, $35. With unprecedented access to sources, including the author’s massive journal, Bailey tells the story of a soul in conflict — a high school dropout, an alcoholic who recovered to write the great novel “Falconer” and a secret bisexual who struggled with his longings and fierce homophobia. (March)
