As we dive into April, we’re excited to share the books on our bedside tables. From intricate portrayals of history to grotesquely humorous work, this month’s picks span a range of stories that provoke thought, evoke emotion and explore new perspectives. Here’s what we’re reading – and why we think you’ll want to add them to your list, too.
The Multi-Generational Tale
The Violence: My Family’s Colombian War by Adriana E Ramírez
This is a powerful, intimate look at Colombia’s La Violencia, beginning with the 1948 assassination of Jorge Eliécer Gaitán and unfolding through one family’s story. Told from the perspective of author Adriana’s grandmother on their rural finca, it blends personal and national history in a really gripping way. It is, at times, genuinely hard to read. But it is beautifully written and precise about how violence shapes everyday life and relationships.
The Untold Story
Upward Bound by Woody Brown
Woody Brown, the first nonspeaking autistic graduate of UCLA, makes his literary debut with Upward Bound, a novel inspired by his own lived experience. Through a series of interlinked stories of clients and staff at Upward Bound, a cash-strapped adult daycare for autistic and disabled adults in California, the book reveals a system constrained by limited resources and low expectations, affecting those it’s meant to help. With wit and empathy, Woody offers a perspective that is profoundly underrepresented in literature. Characters include Carlos, a dedicated aide grieving his mother; Jorge, a gentle, nonspeaking man; and Walter, a college graduate dealing with family tragedy. It is his strong, trusting bond with his mother that grounds this tender and important novel.
The Latest Must-Read
My Year In Paris With Gertrude Stein by Deborah Levy
A new Deborah Levy book is always an event and this one is no exception. The unnamed narrator arrives in Paris to uncover the life of Gertrude Stein, an avant-garde poet, queer icon and friend of Picasso. As she explores the city, she pays homage to its early 20th-century artistic and literary icons. Along the way, she forms deep friendships with Eva, an artist in a long-distance marriage, and Fanny, a sexually adventurous financier. What emerges is not just a portrait of Gertrude Stein, but a characteristically Levy-esque reflection on friendship, life and how women must navigate the world, whichever century we are living in.
The Breakout Cult Satire
Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke
Brilliant, unhinged and witty, Yesteryear is a wild satire of tradwifery gone too far. Natalie seems to have it all: the Instagram-perfect life on Yesteryear Ranch, complete with handsome cowboy husband and six gorgeous children – plus an army of farm-hands, nannies and content creators carefully hidden behind the scenes (but her followers don’t need to know about that). When Natalie wakes up one day seemingly transported to the very era she has spent years emulating in front of her millions of online fans, the illusion shatters. Has she been abducted, forced into a twisted reality show, or is she being condemned by higher powers? Caro Claire Burke masterfully flashes between Natalie’s past and present, tracing the making of a trad wife – and the undoing of her. If you loved the relentless pacing and spiralling protagonist of Yellowface, you’re going to adore Yesteryear. Burke also hosts the podcast Diabolical Lies, which is worth your time.
The Modern Horror Story
All Flesh by Ananda Devi, translated by Jeffrey Zuckerman
It’s rare you’ll have read a book quite like All Flesh. It’s a true horror story – but instead of the usual ghosts and suspense, it provides a mirror that reflects our societal prejudices back to us. (That’s the real horror.) It follows a 16-year-old girl born with an insatiable hunger, overfed by her father and subjected to constant torment by her peers. Ananda’s absorbing narrative been described as “repugnantly beautiful prose”, which captures it perfectly – and Jeffery’s masterful English translation hooks you from the beginning. A poignant – and often disturbing – reflection on beauty, belonging, obesity and recognition, that will repel and draw you in, all at the same time.
