Set in 1989 Romania, Oana Aristide’s new novel is titled, Astronaut!, and that’s “Astronaut” with an exclamation point at the end. The book follows two characters as they navigate life under a communist regime - Constantin is a police detective who begins investigating a series of mysterious murders that the government pins on a bear; and Lia is a young girl trying to make her way in a world that’s literally losing its color. I recently spoke with Oana Aristide about life under such a communist regime and how her characters defy the expectations set for them.
Astronaut! by Oana Aristide was published by W. W. Norton & Company.
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David Mallmann, Midwest Trade Sales Representative for W. W. Norton & Company, joined us from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, with more book recommendations. Here's his list:
- Astronaut! by Oana Aristide
- Night Night Fawn by Jordy Rosenberg
- Tenderness by Rowan Beaird
- The Divorcees by Rowan Beaird
- Questions 27 & 28 by Karen Tei Yamashita
- Eye Hotel by Karen Tei Yamashita
- Villa Coco by Andrew Sean Greer
- Less by Andrew Sean Greer
- Field Notes from an Extinction by Eoghan Walls
- The Universal Baseball Association, Inc., J. Henry Waugh, Prop. by Robert Coover
- Drayton and Mackenzie by Alexander Starritt
- Behind the Gate and Other Stories by Amparo Dávila
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Editors: Lu Anne Stephens & Haley Crowson
Producer: Haley Crowson
Theme Music: Torin Andersen
Host: Beth Golay
