Abraham Verghese mines the history of Kerala’s St. Thomas Christians — and larger debates about faith and science — in his sprawling second novel, The Covenant of Water. Verghese will discuss the book at a ticketed event at Parnassus Books in Nashville on May 18.
FROM THE CHAPTER 16 ARCHIVE: “Pick a thing up, study it, shake it, skip it across a still surface to see how much felt and lively life got baked into it,” writes Lorrie Moore in her collection, See What Can Be Done: Essays, Criticism, and Commentary.
Captain America’s legacy creates high expectations. Writers who tell the story of the iconic superhero must respect over 80 years of comic book history, and Alan Gratz, known for his award-winning novels for young readers, rises to the challenge with Captain America: The Ghost Army.
Memphis native Elizabeth Passarella’s second collection of essays, It Was an Ugly Couch Anyway, covers a lot of ground, both personally and existentially. Earthy, articulate, and uninhibited, Passarella is an engaging storyteller with a wicked sense of humor. She’ll discuss the book at Novel in Memphis on May 2.
The vicious Creek War determined control of the Southeast. In A Brutal Reckoning: Andrew Jackson, the Creek Indians, and the Epic War for the American South, Peter Cozzens places Old Hickory at the war’s epicenter.
In Michael Farris Smith’s Salvage This World, a young mother, fleeing unknown pursuers, seeks asylum with her estranged father while a hurricane threatens to decimate the Gulf Coast. Smith will discuss the book at Novel in Memphis on May 1 and Parnassus Books in Nashville on May 2.
