Can't-Wait Wednesday: Anthem by Noah Hawley & Devil House by John Darnielle

  

Can't-Wait is a weekly meme hosted by Wishful Endings that spotlights exciting upcoming releases that we can't wait to be released! This meme is based off of Jill @ Breaking the Spine's Waiting on Wednesday meme.

This week's upcoming book spotlights are: 

Anthem by Noah Hawley
Publication: January 4th, 2022

Grand Central Publishing

Hardcover. 448 pages.

Pre-order: Amazon | Bookshop.org

From Goodreads:

"An epic literary thriller set where America is right now, in which a band of unlikely heroes sets out on a quest to save one innocent life—and might end up saving us all. 

Something is happening to teenagers across America, spreading through memes only they can parse. 

At the Float Anxiety Abatement Center, in a suburb of Chicago, Simon Oliver is trying to recover from his sister’s tragic passing. He breaks out to join a woman named Louise and a man called The Prophet on a quest as urgent as it is enigmatic. Who lies at the end of the road? A man known as The Wizard, whose past encounter with Louise sparked her own collapse. Their quest becomes a rescue mission when they join up with a man whose sister is being held captive by the Wizard, impregnated and imprisoned in a tower. 

Noah Hawley’s new novel is an adventure that finds unquenchable lights in dark corners.  Unforgettably vivid characters and a plot as fast and bright as pop cinema blend in a Vonnegutian story that is as timeless as a Grimm’s fairy tale.  It is a leap into the idiosyncratic pulse of the American heart, written with the bravado, literary power, and feverish foresight that have made Hawley one of our most essential writers."

and...

Devil House by John Darnielle

Publication: January 25th, 2022

MCD

Hardcover. 416 pages.

Pre-order: Amazon | Bookshop.org

From Goodreads:

"Gage Chandler is descended from kings. That's what his mother always told him. 

Now, he is a true crime writer, with one grisly success--and movie adaptation--to his name, along with a series of subsequent lesser efforts that have paid the bills but not much more. But now he is being offered the chance for the big break: To move into the house--what the locals call "The Devil House"--in which a briefly notorious pair of murders occurred, apparently the work of disaffected 1980s teens. He begins his research with diligence and enthusiasm, but soon the story leads him into a puzzle he never expected--back into his own work and what it means, back to the very core of what he does and who he is."

What do you think about these upcoming releases? What are your anticipated upcoming releases?

Wolf in White Van by John Darnielle

Wolf in White Van by John Darnielle. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2014. Hardcover. 208 pages.

This is a really hard book to review. I mean, I generally loved it and gave it five stars, but somehow it still left me not knowing what to think just uncertain in general. I know that sounds confusing, so let me try to explain.

Wolf in White Van is not your average story. This book is narrated by Sean Phillips, a man disfigured by an accident when he was 17 who also created a game called Trace Italian, "a text-based, roleplaying game played through the mail."* Much of the content of this story has already happened in the past and Sean is now retelling it to us through bits and pieces after two of his customers take the game a bit too seriously. 

Initially, I was a little confused about the game - Trace Italian - itself. It felt odd to consider the idea of playing a game in which you write down your chosen move in a creative (or not creative) letter and send it to the creator of the game, who then writes down what happens after that move and mails it back; it's hard for me to imagine that it would appeal to very many people, but apparently it did! I have to admit, though, that I really came around to the idea, and found the entire concept pretty interesting. 

What I loved about this book and what pushed me to give it five stars was because of frequent moments in Sean's narrative when I felt as if I understood exactly what he meant. Not in a simple, 'oh, that's relatable' sort of way, but almost on a deeper level, a level that tells me that Darnielle is an incredibly gifted writer who can capture some intense, often difficult to describe emotions and feelings. I was so blown away with Darnielle's writing and his ability to craft such an odd book in such a fascinating manner. On the one hand, the plot and story is simple, but on the other, it's is so dazzingly (is that a word?) complex that I just don't know how to describe it.

Sean is a compelling character. He's undergone an immense tragedy, which gives him a unique perspective on the world, yet even when he discusses his childhood it is apparent that he was a particularly unique child. I held onto his every word with immense interest, making it hard to step away from Sean and the thoughts he shared and enter back into my everyday life.

Wolf in White Van is a quick, engrossing read, and I recommend it to anyone who wants a more thoughtful, out of the ordinary book. This book is only about 200 pages, and it goes by fast, so it is definitely doable. Oerall, I am giving it five stars!

Buy the book: Amazon | Book Depository

*Quote from book synopsis on Goodreads.

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