The Wise Owl Picks
The April Reads
Here are some books The Wise Owl has taken note of ...
WINNER OF THE 2024 PULITZER PRIZE
Nathan Thrall’s A Day in the Life of Abed Salama is a profoundly moving and meticulously reported narrative that captures the tragic entanglements of life in Palestine. At its core, the book follows Abed Salama, a Palestinian father, as he embarks on a harrowing journey to locate his son, Milad, after a devastating school bus accident on the outskirts of Jerusalem. What unfolds is not just a personal odyssey but a piercing examination of the deep inequalities, bureaucratic roadblocks, and human suffering that define life under occupation.
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Thrall’s storytelling is immersive, weaving together the perspectives of Jewish and Palestinian characters whose fates become entwined in the aftermath of the crash. The book does not just recount a single day’s tragedy but exposes the systemic forces that shape daily life in Israel and the West Bank. Through compassionate and razor-sharp prose, Thrall paints a vivid picture of grief, resilience, and the inescapable weight of history.
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More than a journalistic account, A Day in the Life of Abed Salama is a searing indictment of an unequal system and a tribute to ordinary people caught in its grip. It is a must-read for those seeking to understand the lived realities behind the headlines.
Miranda July’s All Fours is a bold, exhilarating meditation on reinvention, intimacy, and female autonomy. At 45, the novel’s protagonist—a semi-famous artist—sets out on a road trip from LA to New York but almost immediately abandons her plan, holing up in a roadside motel where she embarks on an unpredictable, deeply personal detour. What begins as an impulsive pause morphs into a surreal journey of self-discovery, where the boundaries of sexual, romantic, and domestic identity blur in July’s signature offbeat style.
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July’s prose crackles with wry humor, acute observations, and an uncanny ability to capture the absurdity of human desire. Her protagonist’s exploration of pleasure, power, and agency is rendered with a mix of vulnerability and comedic sharpness, making the novel both deeply personal and universally resonant. The narrative defies convention, shifting between moments of stark emotional honesty and playful, even surreal, experimentation.
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With All Fours, July once again proves her mastery in reimagining the familiar, turning an ordinary midlife reckoning into an exhilarating act of defiance. This novel is both wildly entertaining and profoundly alive, offering a fresh, unfiltered look at the complexities of womanhood, creativity, and freedom.
SHORTLISTED FOR BRITISH BOOK AWARDS 2025.
Amitav Ghosh’s Wild Fictions is an illuminating collection of essays that seamlessly blends history, ecology, language, and literature into a compelling tapestry of ideas. Spanning twenty-five years of Ghosh’s intellectual pursuits, the book offers sharp insights into the entanglements between colonialism, environmental degradation, and cultural storytelling. Through topics as diverse as the commodification of spices, the resilience of Bengal’s mangrove forests, and the fluidity of multilingualism, Ghosh challenges the reader to reconsider the narratives that shape our understanding of the world.
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What makes Wild Fictions especially powerful is its ability to connect seemingly disparate themes into a cohesive argument about the urgent need for empathy, sensitivity, and a reimagined relationship with nature. Ghosh’s writing is both erudite and accessible, balancing meticulous research with personal reflection and lyrical prose. His critique of imperial violence is not merely historical but deeply relevant to contemporary climate crises, exposing the enduring consequences of exploitative systems.
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With his signature moral clarity and intellectual depth, Ghosh presents a striking vision for a world in which human stories and ecological realities are inseparably linked. Wild Fictions is not just a collection of essays—it is a call to rethink how we inhabit and narrate our planet’s fragile landscapes.
The March Trio
Here are some books The Wise Owl has taken note of ...
Samantha Harvey’s Orbital is a mesmerizing and contemplative novel that takes readers on an introspective journey through space and time. Set aboard the International Space Station over a single day, the novel follows six astronauts as they orbit Earth, experiencing the vastness of the cosmos while reflecting on their lives below.
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Harvey’s prose is lyrical and immersive, weaving together moments of awe, longing, and existential wonder. The novel’s structure—fluid and almost meditative—mirrors the weightlessness of its setting, creating an ethereal reading experience. Rather than focusing on plot, Orbital delves into the fragility of human existence, the insignificance of borders from above, and the paradox of being closer to the universe yet farther from home.
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A novel of ideas and atmosphere, Orbital is a profound meditation on perspective, time, and what it means to be human in the face of infinity. Harvey has crafted a quiet yet deeply resonant
Han Kang’s Greek Lessons is a deeply introspective novel that explores language, loss, and human connection. The story follows a woman who, after a profound personal tragedy, loses her ability to speak. She enrolls in a Greek language class, where her teacher—a man slowly losing his eyesight—becomes attuned to her silence. Their fragile bond unfolds through fragmented narratives, reflecting themes of memory, grief, and the limitations of communication.
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Han’s prose, translated by Deborah Smith and Emily Yae Won, is lyrical and meditative, capturing the raw interiority of her characters with poetic precision. Like The Vegetarian and Human Acts, this novel is haunting in its quiet intensity, immersing readers in an emotional landscape where words are both refuge and barrier. Greek Lessons is a profound meditation on the power of language and the ways in which human beings seek connection, even in silence and solitude.
Sangeeta Sharma’s Under the Sapphire Sky is a luminous poetry collection that seamlessly blends classical elegance with contemporary insight. With a keen eye for both the micro and macro, Sharma navigates themes of nature, existential reflection, and modern dilemmas with lyrical precision. Her poetry, rich in imagery and intellectual depth, evokes the spirit of literary greats like Rumi and Yosa Buson while retaining her own distinct voice.
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Sharma’s exploration of ecology, alienation, and mortality resonates deeply, offering both poignant personal reflections and broader cultural observations. Her dual heritage as a Canadian of Indian origin infuses the collection with a unique sensibility, bridging seasonal contrasts and diverse worldviews. This collection is not only a poetic journey but also a heartfelt plea for environmental stewardship and human connection. Thought-provoking and evocative, Under the Sapphire Sky is a compelling read that will captivate poetry lovers and thinkers alike.