If you love discovering a new book and sharing it with a friend, here’s a chance to do both by reading and discussing recent novels recognized by the National Book Critics Circle.
The organization was founded in 1974 at New York’s Algonquin Hotel, inspired by extending the lively literary spirit of the hotel’s legendary Round Table into a national conversation. An outgrowth is the annual National Book Critics Circle Awards, honoring the best literature published in the United States in six categories—autobiography, biography, criticism, nonfiction, poetry, and the focus of the series, fiction.
Join Lisbeth Strimple Fuisz, a lecturer in the English department at Georgetown University, in spirited lectures and informal discussions about the books. Participants should read the first book prior to class. Sherry and cookies are available for refreshment.
Individual sessions are available for purchase. Click on the session dates below for more information.
Sept. 26 Kiran Desai, The Inheritance of Loss (2006)
Set in India and New York, the book’s characters face numerous difficult choices that highlight what happens when colonialism collides with the modern world.
Oct. 24 Edith Pearlman, Binocular Vision (2011)
Short stories that take place around the world, from Jerusalem to Central America, tsarist Russia to London during the Blitz, central Europe to Manhattan, and the Maine coast.
Nov. 21 Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Americanah (2013)
A story of love and race centered on a young man and woman from Nigeria who face difficulties as they discover their choices and challenges in the countries they call home.
Dec. 19 Anthony Marra, A Constellation of Vital Phenomena (2014)
In a small rural village in Chechnya, a young girl hides and watches as Russian soldiers abduct her father in the middle of the night and then set fire to her home. For five days she travels with her neighbor to find refuge in a constantly shifting environment. (Winner of the inaugural John Leonard Prize for best first book.)
4 sessions
