As part of The Colorado Sun’s literature section — SunLit — we’re featuring staff picks from book stores across the state. >> Click here for more SunLit
This week’s bookstore: BookBar, 4280 Tennyson St., Denver
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From the publisher: Gala, a young trans woman, works at a hostel in Truth or Consequences, New Mexico. She is obsessed with the Get Happies, the quintessential 1960s Californian band, helmed by its resident genius, B—-. Gala needs to know: Why did the band stop making music? Why did they never release their rumored album, Summer Fun?
And so she writes letters to B—- that shed light not only on the Get Happies, but paint an extraordinary portrait of Gala. The parallel narratives of B—- and Gala form a dialogue about creation—of music, identity, self, culture, and counterculture.
From Moira Brownwolfe, Backlist Bookbuyer: A delightful summer read for those who are looking for imaginative trans fiction, or those familiar with bands from the era of the Beach Boys. A fascinating and fresh tale from an extraordinary writer. Highly recommend!
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From the publisher: One minute Kelly’s a free-spirited artist in Chicago going to her best friend’s art show. The next, she opens a door and mysteriously emerges in her Michigan hometown. Suddenly her life is unrecognizable: She’s got 12 years of the wrong memories in her head and she’s married to Eric, a man she barely knew in high school. Racing to get back to her old life, Kelly’s search leads only to more questions.
But the closer Kelly gets to putting the pieces together, the more her reality seems to shift. And if she can’t figure out what happened on her birthday, the next change could cost her everything.
From Georgia Meagher, Booktender: One of the best books I’ve read this year. Like the best of the best of a “Black Mirror” episode, this book tackles the “what if” question – what if we had made different choices leading up until now? This was one of those books that is equal parts thrilling and thought provoking. Fans of Blake Crouch will love this parallel universes thriller that kept me on the edge of my seat. I have a feeling this book is going to be one that I think about for the rest of the year and then some.
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From the publisher: The residents of Blue Moon Mountain form a tight-knit community of those living off the land, stunned by the beauty and isolation all around them. So when, at the onset of winter, the town veterinarian commits a violent act, the repercussions of that tragedy are felt all across the mountainside, upending their lives and causing their paths to twist and collide in unexpected ways.
The housecleaner rediscovering her sexual appetite, the farrier who must take in his traumatized niece, the grocer and her daughter, the therapist and the teacher, reaching out to the world in new and surprising ways, and the ragged couple trapped in a cycle of addiction and violence. They will all rise and converge upon the blue hour—the l’heure bleu, a time of desire, lust, honesty—and learn to navigate the often confusing paths of mourning and love.
From Bess Maher, Event Liaison: The winner of the 2018 Colorado Book Award in fiction, The Blue Hour explores the ways in which those living in a rural mountain town are both interconnected and isolated. The tragedy that takes place at the beginning of the novel affects them all, though in different ways. Each chapter comes from the point of view of a different resident, so readers are able to feel as if they know the whole town. If you are a Coloradan and haven’t read The Blue Hour yet, I highly recommend it, especially if you like literary fiction. Laura Pritchett’s poetic, generous writing is luminescent.
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