Beethoven Was One-Sixteenth Black: And Other Stories, Gordimer, Nadine.; Farrar, Straus And Giroux

“‘You’re not responsible for your ancestry, are you . . . But if that’s so, why have marched under banned slogans, got yourself beaten up by the police, arrested a couple of times; plastered walls with subversive posters . . . The past is valid only in relation to whether the present recognizes it.’ In this collection of new stories Nadine Gordimer crosses the frontiers of politics, memory, sexuality, and love with the fearless insight that is the hallmark of her writing.”
Robin’s Note: If you’re curious about South Africa, there are a few trademark writers, Nadine Gordimer being one of them.  Also check out Doris Lessing and J. M. Coetzee for excellent writers from the same region.  This collection of short stories will give you a taste of what her writing is like, and is a strong recent collection of her work.

Bone Key, Sarah Monette; Prime Books

“An unwilling foray into necromancy makes Booth attractive to the creatures who roam the darkness of the world. Ghouls, ghosts, and incubi single him out as one of their own in these ten stories.”

Robin’s Note: This collection of interconnected short stories is fueled by an old-fashioned sense of horror, built around frightening ideas and situations rather than gore or violence.  Monette has a keen sense of atmosphere, and Booth, her lead character, is an appealingly awkward lead.  Lightened by flashes of humor, Booth’s entanglements with spirits and ghouls haunt the reader long after this collection ends.  If you like horror but not gore, these stories are a great new collection to consider, and the spookiness can’t be beat.