Fall is in the air, which means it's time for a change—at least according to the author's in this month's crop of new releases. October's new books bring genre-shifts from best-selling authors, Pulitzer Prize-winners experimenting with form, and a treasure trove of unexpected material for every kind of reader.
Her Body and Other Parties by Carmen Maria Machado
Between “sexy” Halloween costumes, racy violence in slasher flicks, and those ubiquitous pink ribbons, October comes with a certain fixation on the female body, making Machado’s debut short story collection feel especially timely. With supernatural flair, an engaging pop culture awareness (one story features a dark, fantasy-influenced re-write of Law & Order: SVU) and an intimate, unrelenting style that grabs you by the throat and sinks its perfectly-polished nails in, Machado explores “femaleness” in a way that makes women who evaporate or telepathically hear the thoughts of porn stars feel eerily, impossibly, like long-lost friends.
Her Body and Other Parties by Carmen Maria Machado, $11, amazon.com on October 3. Shop
