With so many good books being published every month, some literary titles worth exploring can get lost in the stacks. Page One offers the first lines of a dozen recently released books, including The Crane Wife: A Memoir of Essays by CJ Hauser and Gods of Want by K-Ming Chang.
“days left: 10…money you got: $0…money you need: $350” Stories From the Tenants Downstairs (Scribner, August 2022) by Sidik Fofana. First book, story collection. Agent: Ethan Bassoff. Editor: Kathryn Belden. Publicist: Clare Maurer.
“You cannot cut an apple with an apple.” [3] The Book of Goose (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, September 2022) by Yiyun Li. Tenth book, fifth novel. Agent: Sarah Chalfant. Editor: Mitzi Angel. Publicist: Lauren Roberts.
“By negative space, by forgetting’s lining.” [4] The Rupture Tense (Graywolf Press, September 2022) by Jenny Xie. Second book, poetry collection. Agent: Sarah Bowlin. Editor: Jeff Shotts. Publicist: Claudia Acevedo-Quiñones.
“heaped therefore residually heaped / beside myself on the bed next / i fetch my son’s pretzels, but prerogative / lingers upended could poweR’s lengths / also belittle me between your visits am i / belittled am i less pure” or, on being the other woman (Duke University Press, August 2022) by Simone White. Fourth book, poetry collection. Agent: None. Editor: Ken Wissoker. Publicist: Laura Sell.
“I’ve never needed to be reminded to play nice.” [5] She’s Nice Though: Essays on Being Bad at Being Good (HarperOne, August 2022) by Mia Mercado. Second book, essay collection. Agent: Monica Odom. Editor: Sydney Rogers. Publicist: Ashley Yepsen.
“One morning Anders, a white man, woke up to find he had turned a deep and undeniable brown.” [6] The Last White Man (Riverhead Books, August 2022) by Mohsin Hamid. Sixth book, fifth novel. Agent: Jay Mandel. Editor: Rebecca Saletan. Publicist: Glory Anne Plata.
“breathe…some reddish dolphins (these bare feet busted), / tore through my capezios, unmoisturized, they join / your pilgrim black boot—oh my mammal…” [7] Togetherness (Nightboat Books, September 2022) by Wo Chan. First book, poetry collection. Agent: None. Editor: Kazim Ali. Publicist: Caelan Nardone.
“I have tried and tried to add Jean to the story here, but every time I try to write her, I write her all wrong.” [8] Enjoy Me Among My Ruins (Feminist Press, August 2022) by Juniper Fitzgerald. Second book, first memoir. Agent: None. Editor: Nick Whitney. Publicist: Jisu Kim.
“Even before speech / Revealed your secret, / There was looking.” [9] Selected Books of the Beloved (Copper Canyon Press, August 2022) by Gregory Orr. Eighteenth book, thirteenth poetry collection. Agent: None. Editor: Michael Wiegers. Publicist: Ryo Yamaguchi.
“Juan pulling out his penis is the first time I ever see one.” [10] Fruit Punch (Ecco, August 2022) by Kendra Allen. Third book, first memoir. Agent: Marya Spence. Editor: Gabriella Doob. Publicist: Sonya Cheuse.
“You don’t need white people’s approval to be happy, the Mirror said.” [11] Bright (Sarabande Books, August 2022) by Kiki Petrosino. Sixth book, first memoir in essays. Agent: None. Editor: Sarah Gorham. Publicist: Joanna Englert.
“They say the Freeway is going to cut through the city, from top to bottom.” Freeway: La Movie (Deep Vellum, October 2022) by Jorge Enrique Lage, translated from the Spanish by Lourdes Molina. Seventh of seven books, second of two novels. Agent: Andrea Montejo. Editor: Will Evans. Publicist: Walker Rutter-Bowman.