“People who claim that they’re evil are usually no worse than the rest of us… It’s people who claim that they’re good, or any way better than the rest of us, that you have to be wary of.” – Gregory Maguire, Wicked
Barbara by Joni Murphy
fiction / historical fiction.
Barbara is born shortly before World War II and lives through the conflict as a desert child trailing her father, an engineer in the famed and infamous Manhattan Project. When Barbara is thirteen, her beautiful, sensitive mother commits suicide. From that point on, these twin poles—the historic and the personal, the political and the violently intimate—vie for control of Barbara’s consciousness.
As Barbara grows up and becomes a successful actress, traveling the world between film sets and love affairs, she takes on and sheds various roles—vampire’s victim and frontier prostitute; a saint and a bored housewife. She marries and divorces and marries again, the second time to a visionary director who proves to be the love of her life. Though they are not faithful to each other, their relationship provides the most enduring anchor in a remarkable life turbulent with fiction.
Joni Murphy’s Barbara is a deep character study of a woman losing hold and recapturing her identity through the art and technology of moviemaking. Through an intimate first-person perspective, the novel follows Barbara as she navigates decades and genres—from austere 1950s family dramas to countercultural 1970s gothics—glimpsing herself in the reflective and deadly shards of the long 20th Century.
“…blisteringly beautiful… [a] captivating book about the performance of femininity, the illusory magic of cinema, and the geopolitical landscape of mid-20th century America.” – Hannah Bonner, Hyperallergic
“…elegant… the prose, particularly the descriptions of acting and filmmaking, is exceptional. Readers will enjoy this atmospheric work.” – Publishers Weekly
“Restless and inquisitive, Barbara is acutely sensitive to time, irony, the zeitgeist, metaphorical dimensions of filmmaking and nuclear physics, and power dynamics personal and professional. Murphy’s atmospheric, Didionesque portrait of a creatively brilliant and cruelly underestimated ‘permanent outsider’ is exquisitely perceptive and lushly resonant.” – Donna Seaman, Booklist, STARRED REVIEW
Elphie: A Wicked Childhood by Gregory Maguire
fiction / fantasy.
Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West, will grow to have a feisty and somewhat uncompromising character in adult life. But she is always a one-off, from her infancy; Elphie is the riveting coming-of-age story of a very peculiar and relatable young girl.
Young Elphie is shaped and molded by the behaviors of her promiscuous mother, Melena, and her pious father, Frex. She suffers ordinary childhood jealousies when her sister, saintly Nessarose, and brother, junior felon Shell, arrive. She first encounters the mistreatment of the Animal populations of Oz, which live adjacent to but not intertwined with human settlements, haunted by a Monkey and receiving aid from Dwarf Bears. She thrashes through her first bruising attempts at friendship, a possible lifeline from her tricky family life. And she gleans the benefits of an education, haphazard though it must be—until she arrives at the doors of Shiz University, about to meet the radiant creature that is Galinda.
Elphie is destined to be a witch; she bears the markings from childhood—most evidently in her green skin but more obscurely and profoundly in her cunning and perhaps amoral behaviors, as she seeks to make do, to slip by, to sneak out, to endure, and to aspire.
“We’ve seen the musical, watched the movie, and re-read the original novel dozens of times. Finally, this is the origin story we’ve all been waiting for. Get to know the girl behind the witch in this dazzling coming-of-age tale from bestselling author Gregory Maguire.” – Isabelle McConville, B&N Reads
“…Elphie is an emotional coming-of-age story that thrums with injustice, regret, and the complicated characters who made a young girl into the serious, stubborn witch destined to take on all of Oz.” – Leah von Essen, Booklist, STARRED REVIEW
“…Maguire enchants with his whimsical narrative voice and the detailed wonders of the world he’s spent so many years playing in. This is a must-read for fans of both the original novel and the Broadway musical. ” – Publishers Weekly
Free: My Search for Meaning by Amanda Knox
nonfiction / memoir.
Amanda Knox spent nearly four years in prison and eight years on trial for a murder she didn’t commit—and became a notorious tabloid story in the process. Though she was exonerated, it’s taken more than a decade for her to reclaim her identity and truly feel free.
Free recounts how Knox survived prison, the mistakes she made, the misadventures she had reintegrating into society, and culminates in the untold story of her return to Italy—and the extraordinary relationship she’s built with the man who sent her to prison. It is the gripping saga of what happens when you become the definition of notorious, but have quietly returned to the matters of a normal life—seeking a life partner, finding a job, or even just going out in public.
In harrowing (and sometimes hilarious) detail, Amanda tells the story of her personal growth and hard-fought wisdom, recasting her public reckoning as a private reflection on the search for meaning and purpose that will speak to everyone persevering through hardship.
“Candid, compelling, and deeply convincing.” – Kathleen McBroom, Booklist, STARRED REVIEW
“An engrossing reflection on reclaiming identity and finding peace in the aftermath of global notoriety.” – Kirkus Reviews
“[A] profound meditation on what it means to truly be free when the world has already decided who you are. Knox writes with unflinching candor… an intimate, visceral account that goes far beyond her previous writings… a remarkable achievement—a prison memoir that transcends its genre… powerfully rendered and profoundly moving.” – Book Club*
Harriet Tubman: Live in Concert by Bob the Drag Queen
fiction.
In an age of miracles where our greatest heroes from history have magically, unexplainably returned to shake us out of our confusion and hate, Harriet Tubman is back, and she has a lot to say.
Harriet Tubman and four of the enslaved persons she led to freedom want to tell their story in a unique way. Harriet wants to create a hip-hop album and live show about her life, and she needs a songwriter to help her.
She calls upon Darnell Williams, a once successful hip-hop producer who was topping the charts before being outed on a BET talk show. Darnell has no idea what to expect when he steps into the studio with Harriet, only that they have a short period of time to write a legendary album she can take on the road. Over the course of their time together, they not only create music that will take the country by storm, but confront the horrors of both their pasts, and learn to find a way to a better future.
Original, evocative, and historic, Harriet Tubman: Live in Concert is a landmark achievement that will burrow deep into our hearts (and ears).
“…vibes with energy and humor but never wavers in its focus on the resilience and power of Black Americans, ‘made out of something stronger than steel and diamonds combined,’ and the universal passion for liberation.” – Lesley Williams, Booklist, STARRED REVIEW
“…the novel is funny and wild and sharp, about fame and race and creativity and America. Harriet’s is a show not to be missed.” – Drew Broussard, Literary Hub
“[A] fun and imaginative blend of history and science fiction… As Darnell gets to know the members of [Tubman’s] reanimated bandmates, the Freemans, history comes to life before his eyes, and past and present mix in fresh new ways.” – Becky Meloan, Washington Post
King of the North: Martin Luther King Jr.’s Life of Struggle Outside the South by Jeanne Theoharis
nonfiction / biography / history.
The Martin Luther King Jr. of popular memory vanquished Jim Crow in the South. But in this myth-shattering book, award-winning and New York Times bestselling historian Jeanne Theoharis argues that King’s time in Boston, New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago—outside Dixie—was at the heart of his campaign for racial justice. King of the North follows King as he crisscrosses the country from the Northeast to the West Coast, challenging school segregation, police brutality, housing segregation, and job discrimination. For these efforts, he was relentlessly attacked by white liberals, the media, and the federal government.
In this bold retelling, King emerges as a someone who not only led a movement but who showed up for other people’s struggles; a charismatic speaker who also listened and learned; a Black man who experienced police brutality; a minister who lived with and organized alongside the poor; and a husband who—despite his flaws—depended on Coretta Scott King as an intellectual and political guide in the national fight against racism, poverty, and war.
King of the North speaks directly to our struggles over racial inequality today. Just as she restored Rosa Parks’s central place in modern American history, so Theoharis radically expands our understanding of King’s life and work—a vision of justice unfulfilled in the present.
“A powerful must-read that sheds new light on King and the Civil Rights Movement.” – Kirkus Reviews, STARRED REVIEW
“Meticulous research and feminist analysis frame this long-overdue examination of Dr. King’s work outside of the Jim Crow South, which pays special attention to the contributions of Coretta Scott King.” – Karla J. Strand, Ms.
“This stellar biography from political scientist Theoharis makes a persuasive case that Martin Luther King Jr.’s campaign for racial justice has been significantly misrepresented… an exemplary history that forces readers to reassess their assumptions about America’s racial reckoning.” – Publishers Weekly, STARRED REVIEW
Nobody’s Fool by Harlan Coben
fiction / suspense / mystery.
Sami Kierce, a young college grad backpacking in Spain with friends, wakes up one morning, covered in blood. There’s a knife in his hand. Beside him, the body of his girlfriend. Anna. Dead. He doesn’t know what happened. His screams drown out his thoughts—and then he runs.
Twenty-two years later, Kierce, now a private investigator, is a new father who’s working off his debts by doing low level surveillance jobs and teaching wannabe sleuths at a night school in New York City. One evening, he recognizes a familiar face at the back of the classroom. Anna. It’s unmistakably her. As soon as Kierce makes eye contact with her, she bolts. For Kierce there is no choice. He knows he must find this woman and solve the impossible mystery that has haunted his every waking moment since that terrible day.
His investigation will bring him face-to-face with his past—and prove, after all this time, he’s nobody’s fool.
“[An] explosive mystery…” – Isabelle McConville, B&N Reads
“…Nobody’s Fool stands as one of Coben’s most accomplished works. It delivers the twists and turns his readers expect while offering deeper insights into human nature and the cost of secrets.” – Book Club*
“Nobody’s Fool successfully combines the page-turning suspense Harlan Coben is known for with deeper themes about identity, redemption, and the price of protecting those we love… some of Coben’s best work in recent years.” – The Bookish Elf*
Nowhere by Allison Gunn
fiction / horror / mystery / suspense.
After losing her young son in an accident, Rachel Kennan throws herself into her career as police chief of a small Virginia town to avoid focusing on her grief. Meanwhile, her husband, Finn, a washed-up writer whose alcoholism led to the devastating tragedy that changed everything, struggles to redeem himself before his family completely falls apart. Their two daughters are the only things keeping Rachel and Finn together, but the girls have demons of their own.
At the same time, a disturbing crime rocks their tightknit, religious community, sending Rachel chasing leads in a place that does not take kindly to outsiders. When an ominous force in the forest starts calling to the children, fear spawns hate among the townspeople, placing the Kennan family directly in the line of fire. Left with no choice but to rely on each other, Rachel and Finn must come together to face threats inside and out.
A haunting family saga and a disquieting horror debut, Nowhere draws from Appalachian folklore to caution us that true terror is what we bury in our own hearts.
“…eerie… The author competently blends mythic horror with a delicate, introspective portrait of a family broken by grief and the self-defeating ways they try to cope. With this intense story, Gunn proves herself an assured new voice in horror.” – Publishers Weekly
“…Gunn creates a combustible mixture as volatile as nitroglycerin… [she] knows how to generate tension, and this trip into the woods should enchant fans of Stephen King’s The Outsider as well as readers of supernatural thrillers.” – James Gardner, Library Journal
“Gunn’s depiction of a family that lost its center is shot through with ghostly apparitions, a lot of dead-eyed kids, and the threat of possession at every turn… this first novel has appeal for new and seasoned horror fans.” – Erin Downey Howerton, Booklist
rekt by Alex Gonzalez
fiction / horror / science fiction / suspense.
> be me, 26
> about to end it all
> feels good, man
Once, Sammy Dominguez thought he knew how the world worked. The ugly things in his head—his uncle’s pathetic death, his parents’ mistrust, the twisted horrors he writes for the Internet—didn’t matter, because he and his girl, Ellery, were on track for the good life in this messed-up world.
Then a car accident changed everything.
Spiraling with grief and guilt, Sammy scrambles for distraction. He finds it in shock-value videos of gore and violence that terrified him as a child. When someone messages him a dark web link to footage of Ellery dying, he watches—first the car crash that killed her, then hundreds of other deaths, even for people still alive. Accidents. Diseases. Suicides. Murders.
The host site, chinsky, is sadistic, vicious, impossible. It even seems to read his mind, manipulate his searches. But is chinsky even real? And who is Haruspx, the web handle who led him into this virtual nightmare? As Sammy watches compulsively, the darkness in his mind blooms, driving him down a twisted path to find the roots of chinsky, even if he must become a nightmare himself…
“Alex Gonzalez has perfectly captured the horrors of the dark web in this disturbing exploration of grief, trauma, and violence.” – Molly Odintz, CrimeReads
“A gripping, unsettling and poignant read, rekt fuses the cautionary tones of Black Mirror with the visceral rawness of Chuck Palahniuk. The novel relentlessly examines how we fill the emotional voids within us with digital content—and the disturbing consequences that follow.” – Howard Gorman, Scream
“With the adrenaline of The Running Man, the violence and cruelty of the Squid Game series, and a dash of Fight Club, Sammy’s story links toxic masculinity and the rise of shock videos on the 2000s internet. Like clicking links online, Gonzalez’s world is addictive, compulsive, and impossible to leave—precisely because it could be our own.” – Erin Downey Howerton, Booklist, STARRED REVIEW
The Savage, Noble Death of Babs Dionne by Ron Currie
fiction / mystery / suspense.
Babs Dionne, proud Franco-American, doting grandmother, and vicious crime matriarch, rules her small town of Waterville, Maine, with an iron fist. She controls the flow of drugs into Little Canada with the help of her loyal lieutenants, girlfriends since they were teenagers, and her eldest daughter, Lori, a Marine vet struggling with addiction.
When a drug kingpin discovers that his numbers are down in the upper northeast, he sends a malevolent force, known only as The Man, to investigate. At the same time, Babs’s youngest daughter, Sis, has gone missing, which doesn’t seem at all like a coincidence. In twenty-four hours, Sis will be found dead, and the whole town will seek shelter from Babs’s wrath.
The Savage, Noble Death of Babs Dionne is a gripping, propulsive, darkly funny thriller, with a ferocious matriarch at its bruised, beating heart. Award-winning author Ron Currie delivers an unforgettable crime saga about love, duty, and vengeance.
“…that’s what’s so exciting about Babs Dionne: it has all the familiar trappings of a crime novel but packed with immense amounts of thematic beef jerky to gnaw on… There’s an immense amount of weight to the novel, both on the surface and beneath it… Like all worthwhile literature, The Savage, Noble Death of Babs Dionne is a novel about the abject horrors of the human condition.” – Matt Wolfbridge, Typebar Magazine
“Currie has touched upon a variety of genres in his work and never shies away from big questions about morality, history, and what role people play in the history of the universe… Currie has created a vividly relatable and universal world.” – Mary Kassel, Screen Rant
“Violence, heartbreak, sorrow, and a dash of grim humor are splashed across the pages with abandon as Currie carefully chronicles the fascinating, unforgettable life of a woman who will do anything for her family, her French American heritage, and her town. Fans of Dennis Lehane’s Mystic River, as well as readers who appreciate their crime fiction served straight up with no chaser, will be mesmerized by Currie’s latest.” – John Charles, Library Journal, STARRED REVIEW
Sister Europe by Nell Zink
fiction / comedy.
Naema, an elderly princess dedicated to her pet causes, is in a bind: struck by a malady that maroons her in Montreux, she’s unable to host an exclusive gala dinner in Berlin to honor the author Masud al-Huzeil for his lifetime achievement in Arabic literature. Not only is she unable to attend, RSVPs have been slow to materialize, and she’s reduced to begging the ancient award winner to find some attendees at the last minute. Masud invites his old friend Demian, a native Berliner, who in turn invites his two best friends: the troubled innocent Livia and an American publisher, Toto, who will do anything for a free meal.
But Toto doesn’t come alone. In tow are his younger Internet date—she’s stood him up often enough to be nicknamed “the Flake”—and Demian’s fifteen-year-old daughter, Nicole. Not to mention the cop who’s been trailing Nicole since she left the red-light district. Presiding over the affair is Naema’s infinitely rich, endlessly disaffected grandson, Prince Radi, whose pass at Nicole culminates in an epic midnight food run that changes all their lives.
With sophistication and tenderness, Nell Zink weaves a vividly colored tapestry of a milieu at odds with itself, taking her trademark ambiguity, daring, and humor to new heights.
“Picaresque, amusing, and brisk, this is a worldly hangout novel of 21st-century manners.” – Taylor Antrim, Vogue
“Zink is one of the most humane writers we’ve got, and one of the best.” – Kirkus Reviews, STARRED REVIEW
“…witty… Zink cleverly and expertly combines hilarious scenes at the awards ceremony and the seven-course dinner with razor-sharp observations on culture, Americans in Europe, literature in the Middle East, sexuality, and the heavy hand of history.” – Jacqueline Snider, Library Journal, STARRED REVIEW
Summer in the City by Alex Aster
fiction / romance / comedy.
Twenty-seven-year-old screenwriter Elle has the chance of a lifetime to write a big-budget movie set in New York City. The only problem? She’s had writer’s block for months, and her screenplay is due at the end of the summer.
In a desperate attempt at inspiration, Elle ends up back in the city she swore she would never return to, in an apartment she could never afford (floor-to-ceiling windows, skyline views, and a new coffee shop to haunt included). It’s the perfect place to write her screenplay…until she realizes her new neighbor is tech “Billionaire Bachelor” Parker Warren, her stairwell hookup from two years ago. It’s been a lovers-to-enemies situation ever since.
When seeing him again turns into a full night of hate-fueled writing, Elle realizes her enemy/twisted muse might just be the key to finishing her screenplay… if she can stand being around her polar opposite. She writes anonymously, and he’s on the cover of every business magazine. He frequents fancy red carpeted events, and she doesn’t like leaving her emotional support five block radius.
One summer. One wall apart. He needs to fake a buzzy relationship during his company’s precarious acquisition. She needs to write a movie around a list of NYC locations. Both need a break from their unrelenting schedules, and a chance to rediscover the skyscraper glimmering, pizza crusted, sunlit charms of the city.
Summers always end, and so will this agreement. It’s all pretend. Promise.
Until it isn’t.
“Discover the charms of city life and fall in love with Alex Aster’s brand-new sizzling summer romance.” – Isabelle McConville, B&N Reads
“Aster’s excellent adult debut, full of angst, steamy scenes, laugh-out-loud banter, absorbing storylines, and relatable characters, will be devoured by fans of Emily Henry.” – Migdalia Jimenez, Library Journal
“[A] superbly crafted, splendidly entertaining romance that deftly delivers all the snappy repartee and crackling sexual chemistry of Nora Ephron at her cinematic rom-com best while also offering readers a beautifully crafted love letter to the many joys of New York City.” – John Charles, Booklist
This Book Will Bury Me by Ashley Winstead
fiction / suspense / mystery.
It’s the most famous crime in modern history. But only she knows the true story.
After the unexpected death of her father, college student Jane Sharp longs for a distraction from her grief. She becomes obsessed with true crime, befriending armchair detectives who teach her how to hunt killers from afar. In this morbid internet underground, Jane finds friendship, purpose, and even glory…
So when news of the shocking deaths of three college girls in Delphine, Idaho takes the world by storm, and sleuths everywhere race to solve the crimes, Jane and her friends are determined to beat them. But the case turns out to be stranger than anyone expected. Details don’t add up, the police are cagey, and there seems to be more media hype and internet theorizing than actual evidence. When Jane and her sleuths take a step closer, they find that every answer only begs more questions, and begin to suspect their killer may be smarter and more prolific than any they’ve faced before. Placing themselves in the center of the story starts to feel more and more like walking into a trap…
Told one year after the astounding events that concluded the case and left the world reeling, when Jane has finally decided to break her silence about what really happened, she tells the true story of the Delphine Massacres. And what she has to confess will shock even the most seasoned true crime fans…
“…the novel spins in unpredictable ways that will keep readers guessing at every police misstep and each personal revelation along the way.” – Emily Bowles, Library Journal, STARRED REVIEW
“Readers will be hooked from the first chapter, and true-crime fans especially will appreciate Winstead’s blend of fact and fiction.” – Stephanie Howes, Booklist
“Well-written and thoughtful, Ashley Winstead’s This Book Will Bury Me is a must-read for true crime fans… This book isn’t simply the story of amateur sleuths solving a mystery. It’s a story of a young woman finding herself, finding her place, and making peace with the loss of her father… This isn’t a popcorn thriller. This Book Will Bury Me is much more satisfying than that.” – Sarah Reida, Crime Spree
Tilt by Emma Pattee ★
fiction / suspense.
Last night, you and I were safe. Last night, in another universe, your father and I stood fighting in the kitchen.
Annie is nine months pregnant and shopping for a crib at IKEA when a massive earthquake hits Portland, Oregon. With no way to reach her husband, no phone or money, and a city left in chaos, there’s nothing to do but walk.
Making her way across the wreckage of Portland, Annie experiences human desperation and kindness: strangers offering help, a riot at a grocery store, and an unlikely friendship with a young mother. As she walks, Annie reflects on her struggling marriage, her disappointing career, and her anxiety about having a baby. If she can just make it home, she’s determined to change her life.
A propulsive debut, Tilt is a primal scream of a novel about the disappointments and desires we all carry, and what each of us will do for the people we love.
“[A] jarringly propulsive debut… Tilt heralds the arrival of a powerful new literary voice.” – Chloe Schama, Vogue
“…fascinating and emotional… Instantly readable and filled with dry humor, this book follows in the footsteps of other disaster novels while bringing a fresh take to the genre.” – Cari Dubiel, Booklist, STARRED REVIEW
“[A] nail-biting debut… Pattee’s depiction of a post-earthquake Portland feels bracingly realistic, and her depictions of marriage and impending motherhood are achingly raw. Shocking and full of heart, this leaves a mark.” – Publishers Weekly, STARRED REVIEW
“With Annie at its helm, this all-in-one-day survival story manages to be thrilling and thoughtful, distressing and joyful… a devastating and funny, wrenching yet hopeful portrait of motherhood and marriage in the near-apocalyptic context of environmental devastation.” – Alice Martin, Shelf Awareness
Twist by Colum McCann
fiction / mystery / suspense.
“Everything gets fixed, and we all stay broken.”
Anthony Fennell, an Irish journalist and playwright, is assigned to cover the underwater cables that carry the world’s information. The sum of human existence—words, images, transactions, memes, voices, viruses—travels through the tiny fiber-optic tubes. But sometimes the tubes break, at an unfathomable depth.
Fennell’s journey brings him to the west coast of Africa, where he uncovers a story about the raw human labor behind the dazzling veneer of the technological world. He meets a fellow Irishman, John Conway, the chief of mission on a cable repair ship. The mysterious Conway is a skilled engineer and a freediver capable of reaching extraordinary depths. He is also in love with a South African actress, Zanele, who must leave to go on her own literary adventure to London.
When the ship is sent up the coast to repair a series of major underwater breaks, both men learn that the very cables they seek to fix carry the news that may cause their lives to unravel. At sea, they are forced to confront the most elemental questions of life, love, absence, belonging, and the perils of our severed connections. Can we, in our fractured world, reweave ourselves out of the thin, broken threads of our pasts? Can the ruptured things awaken us from our despair?
Resoundingly simple and turbulent at the same time, Twist is a meditation on the nature of narrative and truth from one of the great storytellers of our times.
“Readers will be dazzled.” – Publishers Weekly, STARRED REVIEW
“Another astounding novel from a fiction master.” – Kirkus Reviews, STARRED REVIEW
“Each line is keenly crafted and every element is momentous in McCann’s ravishing deep dive into connectivity and estrangement, power and plunder, protest and sabotage, creativity and madness.” – Donna Seaman, Booklist, STARRED REVIEW
When the Moon Hits Your Eye by John Scalzi
fiction / science fiction / fantasy / comedy.
The moon has turned into cheese.
Now humanity has to deal with it.
For some it’s an opportunity. For others it’s a moment to question their faith: In God, in science, in everything. Still others try to keep the world running in the face of absurdity and uncertainty. And then there are the billions looking to the sky and wondering how a thing that was always just there is now… something absolutely impossible.
Astronauts and billionaires, comedians and bank executives, professors and presidents, teenagers and terminal patients at the end of their lives — over the length of an entire lunar cycle, each get their moment in the moonlight. To panic, to plan, to wonder and to pray, to laugh and to grieve. All in a kaleidoscopic novel that goes all the places you’d expect, and then to so many places you wouldn’t.
It’s a wild moonage daydream. Ride this rocket.
“When the Moon Hits Your Eye does what sf does best: offers a mirror up to society and explores how humanity might respond to sudden and seemingly impossible things.” – Terrence Miltner, Booklist, STARRED REVIEW
“A ridiculous concept imbued with gravity, charm, humor, plausible cynicism, and pathos—and perhaps the merest touch of spite.” – Kirkus Reviews, STARRED REVIEW
“…cleverly entertaining… Scalzi’s ability to balance scathing satire with heartfelt optimism shines.” – Publishers Weekly
Yoko: A Biography by David Sheff
nonfiction / biography / music / art / history.
John Lennon once described Yoko Ono as the world’s most famous unknown artist. “Everybody knows her name, but no one knows what she does.” She has only been important to history insofar as she impacted Lennon. Throughout her life, Yoko has been a caricature, curiosity, and, often, a villain—an inscrutable seductress, manipulating con artist, and caterwauling fraud. The Lennon/Beatles saga is one of the greatest stories ever told, but Yoko’s part has been missing—hidden in the Beatles’ formidable shadow, further obscured by flagrant misogyny and racism. This definitive biography of Yoko Ono’s life will change that. In this book, Yoko Ono takes centerstage.
Yoko’s life, independent of Lennon, was an amazing journey. Yoko spans from her birth to wealthy parents in pre-war Tokyo, her harrowing experience as a child during the war, her arrival in the avant-garde art scene in London, Tokyo, and New York City. It delves into her groundbreaking art, music, feminism, and activism. We see how she coped under the most intense, relentless, and cynical microscope as she was falsely vilified for the most heinous cultural crime imaginable: breaking up the greatest rock-and-roll band in history.
This book was nearly a half century in the making. In 1980, David Sheff met Yoko and John when Sheff conducted an in-depth interview with them just months before John’s murder. In the aftermath of the killing, he and Yoko became close as she rebuilt her life, survived threats and betrayals, and went on to create groundbreaking art and music while campaigning for peace and other causes. Drawing from his experiences and interviews with her, her family, closest friends, collaborators, and many others, Sheff shows us Yoko’s nine decades—one of the most unlikely and remarkable lives ever lived.
Yoko is a harrowing, moving, propulsive, and vastly entertaining biography of a woman whose story has never been accurately told. The book not only rehabilitates Yoko Ono’s reputation but elevates it to iconic status.
“…illuminating and affectionate… an intimate and perceptive portrait.” – Publishers Weekly
“[A] capacious biography, foregrounding her work as an avant-garde artist and musician and attempting, once and for all, to banish the stereotyping that has shadowed her for decades.” – New York Times
“…at age 92, Yoko Ono—even if her work is absolutely not to everyone’s taste—has by now firmly established her own cred, and not just as an adjunct to one of the world’s most famous and beloved musicians. Yoko more than gives this ‘Ocean Child’ (the literal Japanese translation of her name) her just due.” – Bob Ruggiero, Houston Press
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