Of Loss and Lavender, by Sinan Antoon, translated from the Arabic by the creator (Different Press). The central characters of this contemplative novel are two Iraqi males—unknown to one another—who each immigrate to the U.S. within the wake of the Gulf Conflict, and proceed down totally different paths. Sami, a retired physician, strikes to Brooklyn to dwell along with his son’s household. After arriving, he’s identified with dementia, and clings to reminiscences of the house that he was reluctant to depart behind. Omar, an Military deserter, is keen to “amputate” Iraq “completely from his reminiscence”; as he settles into life on a farm in New Jersey, he tells folks that he’s from Puerto Rico. The narrative, which roams freely amongst its characters’ views, is a piece of translation in each sense, because it seeks to convey, usually by way of metaphor, the incomparable expertise of exile.
No Means Residence, by T. C. Boyle (Liveright). This novel of quiet menace begins when a medical resident in Los Angeles, Terrence, receives a cellphone name informing him that his mom has died. He quickly goes to Nevada, the place she lived, the place he meets Bethany, a receptionist with a consuming downside. He’s instantly—and dangerously—drawn to Bethany, who has a sinister ex-boyfriend who refuses to maintain a distance. Because the three characters develop entangled in damaging methods, Boyle’s novel turns into a psychological drama stuffed with rigidity, whilst Terrence involves really feel that he’s at an deadlock.
