Many of the novels I’ve read lately fall within odd groups. I especially recommend the starred titles:
1. Plots involving characters, nearly all female, being held captive for ideological reasons, either involuntarily or as a way of life.
2. Plots focusing on fraternal pairs whose relationships surpass normal sibling bonds.
3. Characters with the name Louisa.
1:
★ Flashlight, by Susan Choi
Louisa, an American citizen of Korean/Caucasian heritage, and her Korean-born, Japanese-raised father walk on the beach in Japan and are seized by North Koreans; she escapes, but he is held captive in a DPRK prison, made to teach N. Koreans about western ways and languages.
★ In The Bombshell, by Darrow Farr
Severine, a rich, spoiled teen, is brutally kidnapped by a Corsican faction. She at first rails against her captors, but eventually sympathizes with their cause. She exploits her appealing persona on social media to gain attention to the cause, and takes radical actions that even her captors aren’t willing to broach. Farr’s style feels akin to Rachel Kushner’s punky, radical tone and how female characters are pushed beyond norms.
In Heartwood, by Amity Gaige
A hiker, Valerie, is held by militant prepper protesting a radical military training camp in Maine. A search team led by veteran warden Beverly comes up empty, but a retiree seeking friends online happens across the kidnapper in a chat room and provides intel on Valerie’s location.
What Kind of Paradise, Janelle Brown
Jane is being raised, and essentially held captive, by her Ted Kaczynski-like father in a remote cabin in Montana. He’s trying to protect her from the outside world and the downfall of society cause by technology. She escapes after abetting a serious crime for her father, and wrestles with this secret in the aftermath.
1 & 2:
Our Last Resort, by Clémence Michallon
Frida and Gabriel, biologically unrelated but basically siblings, escape from the cult where they were raised, committing what they deem necessary crimes to remain loyal to one another—which takes precedence above all.
2:
I’ll Be Right Here, Amy Bloom
Two Algerian siblings escape Paris during the war, and resettle in New York. Their shared challenging upbringing draws them closer than the average filial bond, at least one pair in an unorthodox relationship (and which includes the odious term "throuple.")
3:
Louisa. I suppose that similar to “most popular baby names,” there exists a category of “most popular novel names” at any given moment. It’s time to hear it for Louisa!
★ My Friends, Fredrik Backman
Louisa, a burgeoning artist, unwittingly inherits a masterpiece painting done by an artist whom she runs into in an alley. She makes every attempt at dis-inheriting the artwork, leading up to a clever twist of a resolution.
Gingko Season, Naomi Xu Elegant
Okay, it’s a secondary character who’s named Louisa in this coming-of-age novel revolving around a Philadelphia woman curating an exhibition on bound-foot shoes who seeks love and humanity in unlikely places.
1 & 3: Flashlight, see above
