An elegant homage to the great Czech storyteller Bohumil Hrabal, The Book of Hrabal is also a glowing paean to blues music, saxophones, and the mixed blessings of domestic life. It is also a farewell to the years of communism in Eastern Europe. And it is a treatise on the ongoing relationship between God and humankind as reflected in the lives of a Hungarian writer and his wife. The novel centers on Anna, the blues-singing housewife and mother of three (soon to be four) who suffers through her husband's often impossible writing experiments. She addresses her reminiscences and reflections to Hrabal, his current subject. Her thoughts swing from domestic matters to the injustices suffered by her family during the Stalinist 1950s, the police harassment in subsequent years, and the many strains on her marriage. Her husband, in turn, is so hopelessly entangled in his project celebrating Hrabal that he is incapable of actually writing it. The story develops into a literary love triangle, as Hrabal becomes Anna's confidant and an invisible participant in the marriage. Meanwhile two angels shadow the house, disguised as secret policemen and speaking with God via walkie-talkie in a surprising blend of celestial and urban slang. Their mission: to prevent Anna from aborting her fourth child. When this outcome is in doubt, God himself (aka Bruno) enters the scene; he chats with Hrabal, takes saxophone lessons from an irreverent Charlie Parker, and plays the sax for Anna to try to dissuade her from ending the pregnancy. Unfortunately the Lord is tone deaf, and his love for jazz and blues is matched only by his utter lack of musical talent. A brilliant stylist, Esterhazy creates a complex and playful novel through deft manipulation of language, tone, and perspective. A New York Times Book Review Notable Book of theYear

The Last Princess of Rosenly is dying. Born of a wish made upon a star, she's spent her life kissing strangers in a desperate attempt to find her true love and anchor herself to the earth before turning eighteen. What only she knows, however, is that no kiss will save her. The Last Princess of Rosenly realized years ago that she will never fall in love; she wasn't built capable of it. When an assassination attempt leaves a wound on her throat and a Wish Weaver in her dungeon, The Last Princess of Rosenly allows herself to hope. Maybe the stars have finally decided to send her a soulmate after all, with two months to share and an unwavering animosity between them. The prisoner is going nowhere. She'll reform her, she'll kiss her, and then, she'll save an entire kingdom. CW: nonconsensual touch/kissing, swearing, negative self talk, death & dying, subconscious self-harm, blood, imprisonment, panic/anxiety attacks