THE GUEST
Emma Cline
Described as “one of the best and most discomfiting young writers working today,” Emma Cline ’10 has published her second novel, The Guest, to the same acclaim of literary achievement she received for her first novel, The Girls. The title character is a young woman named Alex, a disturbing, darkly complex character who has landed on the East End of Long Island as the guest of an older man she has met. After a misstep at a party, she is kicked out by the man, who provides a ticket back to the city, but she stays in the area, drifting among the rich homes and creating destructive chaos along the way. The prose is tense and edgy and leaves you disoriented, wondering just what might be coming next—the suspense will keep you reading even if you’re not sure you want to find out.
MAPS YOU CAN’T MAKE
Mariella Saavedra Carquin
In her debut book of poems, Mariella Saavedra Carquin ’11, MA English ’22 reflects on her personal experiences to tell stories that explore the depths of trauma, relationships, love, loss and grief, and those dark places we can slip to that have no clear path or “map” to navigate away from. Having grown up as an undocumented immigrant in Miami, she speaks poignantly of the fear and uncertainty that come with a lack of status. She writes about the complexities of immigration, race, and identity, and how transgressions can deeply wound. As Julia Alvarez ’71, mentor to Saavedra Carquin, says, the poet explores “those hurting places both internally in each of us and externally in the world, spaces where healing and wholeness need to happen.” In a tender, lyrical yet penetrating voice, Saavedra Carquin makes us pay attention and find a way forward, even if we don’t have a map.
THE SAME BRIGHT MOON
Wendy Bashant
In 2019, Wendy Bashant ’84, a burned-out college dean, quit her job and moved with her husband to Xi’an, China, where she had accepted a position teaching 200 students American literature and writing. A longtime educator, she felt comfortable with the subject matter but soon found she had a lot to learn about the complexities of teaching in a foreign country, especially one with stringent rules. While tensions between China and the U.S. escalated and a pandemic shut down the country, Bashant grappled with trying to help her students succeed. In some ways, however, the tables turned and she became the student, learning through the stories of the Chinese youth what it meant for them to grow up in an emerging global power. By sharing those stories and her own observations in The Same Bright Moon: Teaching China’s New Generation during COVID, Bashant hopes to give Western readers a better understanding of a culture—too often vilified by anti-Asian sentiment—from the clear, bright voices of its future leaders.
SPORTS AND LIFE: AN OLYMPIAN’S VIEW
John Morton
John Morton ’68 knows how to tell a good story. And with a lifetime of engagement in sports of all types, from a rough game of pond hockey to Olympic biathlon training, he has a plethora of sports stories and perspectives on life with which to entertain readers in Sports and Life: An Olympian’s View. The book is a compilation of articles and commentaries he has written over the years and includes everything from humorous and insightful sports vignettes to longer, more thought-provoking reflections on political issues such as climate change and gun legislation. The stories are divided into three sections, “A Love of Sports and the Outdoors,” “Family,” and “Commentary on Sports and Life,” which give Morton the opportunity to cover a wide range of his life experiences. You will laugh, maybe tear up, maybe feel inspired, or you might just settle in for a good read, but you won’t be bored—and you may even find your own experiences reflected somewhere in Morton’s stories.
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