A Curable Romantic
By Joseph Skibell
608 pages; Algonquin
An irresistible romp about a lovelorn 19th-century doctor who falls in with Sigmund Freud—and some dangerously attractive women.
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Bitter in the Mouth
By Monique Truong
304 pages; Random House
A deeply compassionate and artfully crafted novel about being foreign and family at the same time—by the writer whose debut, The Book of Salt, swept us away.
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Ape House
By Sara Gruen
320 pages; Spiegel & Grau
From the author of Water for Elephants, a novel about bonobos who are smarter and more interesting than their human "caretakers."
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Russian Winter
By Daphne Kalotay
480 pages; HarperCollins
This tale of a Russian ballerina who defected to Boston is a history lesson inside an evocative novel about art and betrayal.
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Book of Days
By Emily Fox Gordon
320 pages; Spiegel & Grau
These accessible yet sophisticated essays on modern life are so astute, you'll think the author has been hiding in your closet.
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