Number 10
ISSN 0000-0019
March 7,
2016
20 Books in Spanish
We talk with Raquel Roque, who returned to Cuba recently as part
of a U.S. publishing mission to the Havana International Book Fair.
Roque runs a wholesale and distribution company in Miami, which
began as a bookstore in Havana started by her father. Plus, we survey new children’s and YA books from Cuban writers.
30 Fast-Growing Indie Presses
The independent publishers that made our fast-growing list this year
are a mix of veterans and newcomers.
36 Elizabeth Brundage
The author tells us about All Things Cease to Appear, her fourth
novel. The book is about a man living in upstate New York in 1979
who is suspected of killing his wife.
NEWS
7 B&N’s Next Act
Cutting Nook, revamping bn.com, and opening concept stores are
priorities for the retailer for fiscal 2017.
8 Hachette, Ingram Split Perseus’s Businesses
Perseus signed binding agreements last week to sell its publishing
business to Hachette and its distribution arm to Ingram.
8 The Weekly Scorecard
Unit sales of print books rose 5% in the week ended February 28,
compared to the similar week last year.
13 Checking In with New Booksellers
In the past three years, 58 independent bookstores have come under
new ownership; we checked in with six to see how they’re faring.
Everybody’s Fool
Richard Russo. Knopf, $27.95 (496p) ISBN 978-0-307-27064-1
When Doug Raymer, chief of police of the forlornly depressed
town of North Bath, Maine, falls into an open grave during a
funeral service, it is only the first of many farcical and grisly
incidents in Russo’s shaggy dog story of revenge and
redemption. Among the comical set pieces that propel the
narrative are a poisonous snakebite, a falling brick wall, and a
stigmatalike hand injury. North Bath, as readers of Nobody’s
Fool will remember, is the home of Sully Sullivan, the hero of
the previous book and also a character here. Self-conscious,
self-deprecating, and convinced he’s everybody’s fool, Raymer
is obsessed with finding the man his late wife was about to run
off with when she fell down the stairs and died. He’s convinced
that the garage door opener he found in her car will lead him to
her lover’s home. Meanwhile, he pursues an old feud with
Sully; engages in repartee with his clever assistant and her
twin brother; and tries to arrest a sociopath whose preferred
means of communication are his fists. The remaining circle of
ne’er-do-wells, ex-cons, daily drunks, deadbeats, and thieves
behave badly enough to keep readers chuckling. The give-and-take of rude but funny dialogue is Russo’s trademark, as is his
empathy for down-and-outers on the verge of financial calamity.
He takes a few false steps, such as giving Raymer a little voice
in his head named Dougie, but clever plot twists end the novel
on lighthearted note. 250,000-copy announced first printing.
(May)
Publishers Weekly
Fool Me Twice
Pick of the week
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