Huffington Magazine Issue 85 | Page 81

Exit CULTURE friends meet, and many realize that they’re disappointed with what their lives are turning out to be. 27 The Last Illusion by Porochista Khakpour Khakpour tells the story of a child with an upbringing so devastating, he becomes nearly feral. His mother shuns him due to his light skin and hair, raising him in the same cage as her pet birds. Though eventually discovered and brought to New York by a behavioral analyst, Zal finds it difficult to escape his upbringing. 28 Lost for Words: A Novel by Edward St. Aubyn St. Aubyn’s latest is no harrowing tale of aristocratic families. Instead, his new novel is a satirization of a British literary prize, which he has renamed the Elysian Prize for Literature. One frontrunner seeks revenge, another accidentally submits a cookbook instead of her novel; St. Aubyn pens all of this with his token wit. Summer House With Swimming Pool by Hermann Koch The author of The Dinner brings us another insightful-sounding story. This one is about a botched medical procedure, performed by Marc “doctor to the stars” Schlosser, and resulting in the death of actor Ralph Meier. The pair and their families had spent the previous summer together near the Mediterranean — that’s when things started going wrong. 30 I’ll Be Right There by KyungSook Shin Shin’s book takes place in South Korea in the 1980s, amid political turmoil. The novel’s protagonist is well-read in both Eastern and Western literature, so allusions abound. When her former longtime boyfriend gives her a call seemingly out of nowhere, she’s forced to remember her tumultuous past. HUFFINGTON 01.26.14