Floodlines, by Saleem Haddad (Europa). In this sprawling family saga, three Iraqi British sisters strain against one another while contending with political turmoil. In 2014, the three women are living distant lives in the U.K. and Dubai when they are forced to reconnect after paintings made by their late father, a prominent artist, are suddenly rediscovered. At the same time, the Islamic State entrenches itself further into the siblings’ homeland, prompting them to reflect on the meaning of their newfound status as cultural stewards. Haddad, who was born in Kuwait and has been an aid worker throughout the Middle East, writes in a prose that is erudite and engaging. His intimate knowledge of the region’s politics enriches this layered drama of sisterhood.
Murder Bimbo, by Rebecca Novack (Avid Reader). The narrator of this timely comic novel is a thirty-two-year-old sex worker who has just assassinated a reactionary politician known as Meat Neck. In the novel’s first section—framed as a letter to the producers of a feminist podcast about historical women who have been unjustly maligned—the protagonist attempts to exonerate herself. In the next—a letter to an ex-girlfriend—details come to light that complicate her earlier version of events. While obviously a pessimistic satire of the current political moment, Novack’s book is also an exploration of the ways that people fashion themselves in order to influence others’ perceptions of them.