Exit
CULTURE
friends meet, and many realize that
they’re disappointed with what
their lives are turning out to be.
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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.
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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.
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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