What We’re Reading
by Dean Smith
The Tide King
by Jen Michalski
Michalski’s The Tide King is the story of burnette saxifrage, an herb rumored in Polish folklore to provide those who eat it with immortality, and its effects on three generations of a Polish family over two continents beginning in nineteenth-century Poland through World War II Germany and ending in 1976 America. She has an amazing ear for language—including the use of “prolly” which is Baltimorese for “probably”—and is one of the most exciting fiction writers on the planet.
The Laughter of Strangers
by Michael Seidlinger
Seidlinger’s first-person exploration into the psyche of a boxer is mesmerizing and reflects his roots as a poet.