11 New Books for November
This month, we’ve got our eyes on My Name Is Barbra, Resurrection Walk, and nine other titles by writers on the West.
THE LIBERATORS, BY E.J. KOH
Koh’s multigenerational love story excavates South Korean and immigrant histories. A couple in an arranged marriage flee life under a military dictatorship for San Jose, California, with their son and the woman’s mother. But when the woman, Insuk, begins an affair in their new home, it sets off years of uncertainty and other consequences for the family. The novel weaves personal narratives with historical events for a captivating, moving result. Tin House, November 7
THE FUTURE, BY NAOMI ALDERMAN
In Alderman’s novel, two women on opposite sides of the world face the collapse of civilization as Big Tech gets bigger. Martha, a cult survivor who works for a social media giant, watches the companies around her become more powerful—and insatiable in their greed for dominance. Meanwhile, across the Pacific Ocean, Zhen confronts an assassination attempt while a mysterious app directs her to safety. As their paths draw closer together, the powerful figures around them approach ultimate control, making for a thrilling plot. Simon & Schuster, November 7
CLASS: A MEMOIR OF MOTHERHOOD, HUNGER, AND HIGHER EDUCATION, BY STEPHANIE LAND
Land’s bestselling memoir, Maid, broke hearts with its clear-eyed, tragic, yet uplifting portrayal of the author as a house cleaner trying to create a better life for herself and her young daughter. This new work picks up where Maid left off, with Land now in college. As she nears graduation, she must navigate an entirely new set of obstacles to complete her studies and pursue her ambition, while still living below the poverty line. Atria/One Signal Publishers, November 7
WRONG WAY, BY JOANNE MCNEIL
AI meets the gig economy meets the scourge of self-driving cars in this inventive, not-so-distant-future fiction. A woman named Teresa takes a job at AllOver, a fintech company betting big that self-driving cars can distinguish it from its competitors. But as the proliferation of AI widens already gaping distances between the rich and the working class, Teresa finds out that her job is far from what she signed up for. MCD x FSG Originals, November 14
THE BOOK OF AYN, BY LEXI FREIMAN
Poking fun at both our political landscape and the dissenters within it, Freiman tells the story of Anna—a recent outcast turned Ayn Rand follower who has left New York for Los Angeles, where she hopes to create the first TV show on the author’s life. The heat of Southern California, however, is soon replaced by the island of Lesbos, where what she’s learned of Rand so far is put to the test and Anna stands to gain a new perspective on freedom. Catapult, November 14
MY NAME IS BARBRA, BY BARBRA STREISAND
Die-hard fans and casual observers alike, this memoir is for you. Streisand bares her life in these pages, recalling her upbringing in Brooklyn, her friendships and career, and her relationship with James Brolin. No detail is spared: we learn how much effort went into Yentl and how some of her most famous albums were recorded. This is the full tale of a living legend. Viking, November 7
DATA BABY: MY LIFE IN A PSYCHOLOGICAL EXPERIMENT, BY SUSANNAH BRESLIN
Decades after being an unwitting participant in a UC Berkeley study, Breslin is ready to talk. Alongside more than 100 other children, her personality and mannerisms as a toddler were studied to predict what her adulthood would be like. Now a successful journalist—who has overcome breast cancer and an abusive marriage—she struggles with this unconventional childhood and the lasting impact it had on her. Legacy Lit, November 7
CRITICAL HITS: WRITERS PLAYING VIDEO GAMES, EDITED BY J. ROBERT LENNON AND CARMEN MARIA MACHADO
Since their introduction more than 50 years ago, video games have affected nearly every facet of American society, evolving from simple systems featuring 2-D graphics into immersive and complex virtual worlds. In this collection of essays, writers such as Charlie Jane Anders, Alexander Chee, and Jamil Jan Kochai consider the multiplicity of video game options, their legacy of escapism, and their impact on the interface between reality and abstraction. Graywolf Press, November 21
RESURRECTION WALK, BY MICHAEL CONNELLY
In Connelly’s newest novel, defense attorney Mickey Haller begins to receive letters from legions of supposedly innocent incarcerated people after he’s gotten an unjustly convicted man out of prison. Overwhelmed, he calls on his half brother, retired LAPD detective Harry Bosch, to help sort through the flood. When Harry discovers a case that doesn’t make sense—involving a woman imprisoned for killing her husband—Mickey accepts it, pitting the brothers against ruthless individuals bent on keeping the truth hidden. Little, Brown and Company, November 7
PANDORA’S BOX: HOW GUTS, GUILE, AND GREED UPENDED TV, BY PETER BISKIND
It started with HBO’s The Sopranos. After that, entertainment would never be the same. Movies were dethroned, cable was forgotten, and the era of peak TV arrived. Yet even as Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Apple TV have come to dominate the small screen, they face internal and external threats that can spell unforeseen changes for consumers throughout the world. Covering early television hits as well as modern sensations such as Succession, Biskind’s book seeks to document television’s trajectory and predict where things may go. William Morrow, November 7
STARKWEATHER: THE UNTOLD STORY OF THE KILLING SPREE THAT CHANGED AMERICA, BY HARRY N. MACLEAN
Bruce Springsteen sang about them on his album Nebraska. Oliver Stone was inspired to make Natural Born Killers. Still, in the more than 60 years since Charles Starkweather and his then-14-year-old girlfriend, Caril Ann Fugate, went on a 10-person murder spree across Nebraska and Wyoming, the story has never been told so fully. In this new account, Maclean attempts to present a definitive version of the horror Starkweather unleashed, while offering an updated conclusion on the role of Fugate, whose parents and sister were the first victims. Counterpoint, November 28
Elizabeth Casillas is an assistant editor at Alta Journal. A graduate of California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, she has previously written for the Poly Post and Enspire Magazine.
Jessica Blough is a freelance writer. A former associate editor at Alta Journal, Blough is a graduate of Tufts University where she was editor in chief of the Tufts Daily.
Ajay Orona is an associate editor at Alta Journal. He earned a master’s degree from USC Annenberg’s School of Journalism in 2021 and was honored with an Outstanding Specialized Journalism (The Arts) Scholar Award. His writing has appeared in Los Angeles Review of Books, Ampersand, and GeekOut.
