RIF’s Gifts for the Fiction Lover

All the action in this novel takes place on the night before Christmas Eve in Philadelphia, when three disparate characters are all motivated by hope—nine-year-old Madeline dreams of one day becoming a jazz singer; her fifth-grade teacher Sarina, still stinging from her divorce, anxiously awaits a dinner party where she will be reunited with an old flame; and Lorca, owner of legendary jazz club The Cat’s Pajamas, desperately wishes he can find the money to save his venue in time. Seeking love, music and their individual hopes, it’s a night all three of them will never forget.

This much-buzzed-about book from Lauren Groff is a must-read for any fiction lover. The dual-narrative is brilliantly rendered and tells the fascinating story of a married couple. The writing is gorgeous and poignant while the story is mysterious with plenty of twists and turns that result in an ending no one will see coming.

The quintessential book for book lovers, this story introduces readers to Monsieur Perdu, a literary apothecary who, from his floating bookshelf-cum-barge, prescribes novels to customers to heal the hardships of their lives. However, heartbroken Monsieur Perdu is the only one who cannot find solace in his books until he sets off on a journey that re-starts his joie de vivre. A novel that truly captures the restorative power of reading.

No matter how many titles are hailed as The Next “Gone Girl”, there is only one Gillian Flynn. For anybody on your list who is looking for her signature inky black humor and acidic social commentary, look no further than her latest short story. Originally published in a George R. R. Martin compendium, this gripping tale is small in stature but chock-full of creeping dread.

On December 3, 1976, just days before the Jamaican general election, seven gunmen burst into reggae singer Bob Marley’s house and opened fire, wounding Marley, his wife and a host of others. Insufficient details about the incident were released at the time; Marlon James’ Man Booker prize-winning novel is an exploration of what happened, who did it and why, and how the events shaped an entire culture.

Nominated for a National Book Award, this sweeping novel follows four friends as they leave their Massachusetts college campus and settle in New York City. Willem, JB and Malcom’s orbit rotates around Jude, a razor-sharp litigator with an acerbic dark side that lingers from childhood trauma. An expansive and profoundly moving novel that explores the magnetic power of friendship and love.