Each month, Beyond The Page: A GBH Book Club features a notable author, who takes part in a live Q&A with a GBH personality to discuss the intricacies of that month's novel. With each monthly book selection, we also ask the author for a list of reading recommendations. For its October edition, Beyond The Page selected Alena Dillon’s novel, The Happiest Girl in the World. And if you are looking for some good autumn reads, here are Alena Dillon's picks:
5 recommended books:
Valentine by Elizabeth Wetmore: Set in a dusty Texas town thirsting for oil, this literary novel of race, class, power, and vulnerability centers around a violent sexual assault and is narrated through multiple perspectives of female characters adjacent to the tragedy. The language is sparse but exquisite, and each voice is as distinct and compelling as the next.
The Book of V by Anna Solomon: Anchored in three vastly different time periods--ancient Persia, the 1970s, and modern day--this novel rotates between three unique but equally independent women flexing their identities and grappling the constraints of their eras which, held up beside one another, are more similar than comfort allows.
The Opposite of Fate by Alison McGhee: A young woman wakes to discover that the assailant who put her in a coma also impregnated her, yet she isn't pregnant anymore. The circumstances of the crime and aftermath are revealed through family, friends, and media coverage in this beautifully written confrontation of who gets to decide and who gets to heal.
The Mothers by Brit Bennett: When a grieving teenager finds solace with the pastor's son and ends up pregnant, she makes a choice whose pulse will be felt by those around her for years. It will pit her against her best friend, haunt the man she never stops loving, and contort the pastor into somebody he didn't think he was. Interspersed with a Greek chorus of church elders, each of these characters are held under the light of who mothered them, and what kind of parents they could be.
Thieves, Beasts, & Men by Shan Leah: In this hot of the presses debut, a suicidal woods recluse finds herself caring for two feral children and must decide if she is ready for purpose again. Part literary fairytale and part thriller, this novel asks questions about humanity, wildness, survival, and motherhood.
What Alena’s reading now:
Catastrophic Happiness by Catherine Newman: This collection of essays on mothering beyond the toddler years is tender, smart, funny, and most importantly, genuine. The imagery is evocative and inventive, and the curated stories capture the heart of parenting that makes its aggravation more than worthwhile.
Next up on Alena's “To be read” list:
Bad Fat Black Girl by Sesali Bowen: In this cross between memoir and cultural journalism, the author presents the concept of Trap Feminism, where the musical genre intersects with sexism, body image, capitalism, and race. A fierce intellect, Bowen is out to teach, rage, and share, and does it in compelling, touching, and rollicking prose.
Alena Dillon is the author of Mercy House, a Library Journal Best Book of 2020, which has been optioned as a television series produced by Amy Schumer, as well as The Happiest Girl in the World, a Good Morning America pick, and My Body Is A Big Fat Temple, a forthcoming memoir of pregnancy and early parenting. Alena’s work has appeared in publications including LitHub, River Teeth, Slice Magazine, The Rumpus, and Bustle. She currently teaches creative writing.
Looking for more? Then join the club. Don't miss out on the next selection and virtual session by joining the Beyond The Page Facebook Group and signing up for the e-mail newsletter.
