“The Kite Runner” by Khaled Hosseini

One of my life goals is to read every one of my friends’ favorite books. In this process, I picked up “The Kite Runner,” a novel I would otherwise not gravitate towards simply because of its genre. The historical fiction follows Amir, a privileged young boy, and his friend and servant, Hassan, in Afghanistan. At the beginning of the story, the two are close friends who often hung out together after school. Yet, one fateful night Amir leaves Hassan behind to face a traumatic event on his own, tarnishing their friendship forever. Through exploring Amir’s decades of guilt following that night, Khaled Hosseini expertly crafts a touching story of self discovery and redemption.

— Skylar Boilard, Arts Editor

“There Is a Rio Grande in Heaven” by Ruben Reyes Jr.

When I was still young enough to speak the broken Spanglish I inherited from my mother, I thought everyone was Latino. Flipping open Ruben Reyes Jr.’s collection of short stories, “There is a Rio Grande in Heaven,” made me wonder if maybe my childhood delusions weren’t so crazy. Over 12 stories, Reyes Jr. imagines worlds in which the Spanish never made it to the Isthmus of Panama, where every Central American suddenly fell ill at the same time and Selena Quintanilla never became the singing icon we now know her as. Magical realism merges with historical fiction, with some stories highlighting the harrowing injustices of migration and others imagining a mass Latino exodus to Mars. I found each of the ways Reyes Jr. portrayed Latino experiences immensely moving, especially as politicians seek to cram us all together in one box.

— Chantal Mann, Performing Arts Editor

“Carnality” by Lina Wolff

When I picked up this book, I only read the first line of the story’s description on the back cover. I expected to indulge in a romantic and calming story about a Swedish writer’s retreat to Madrid for research. But, just like the protagonist Bennedith’s experience, I was stunned by the thrilling and horrific stories of the people she meets. While having a drink at a bar, Bennedith meets a man on the run from an evil nun. In order to atone for his sin of adultery, the nun wants him to donate his heart to his ex-wife who needs a transplant. Following this encounter, the writer becomes entangled with their complex and violent pasts, challenging the deepest sides of her humanity. “Carnality” is the type of book that will have you wondering if any of these characters have a soul. 

— Siobhán Minerva, Editor-at-Large

“On the Calculation of Volume I” By Solvej Balle, translated by Barbara J. Haveland

I grabbed this book for its vibrant yet ambivalent cover, and started it without any idea of what to expect. The book takes a stale trope, the time loop, and flips it on its head. I quickly lost track of time while reading about Tara, who we meet in a time loop on the 122nd repeat of Nov. 18th. As the days pass, I couldn’t help but think what I would do if time stopped tomorrow. In this case, only Tara knows what that’s like. As she struggles with unimaginable isolation, her husband Thomas is blissfully unaware of the loop. All the while, Tara takes meticulous notes in hopes of escaping. “On the Calculation of Volume I” is the first of a seven-volume series, in which Balle places her mortal subjects in new dimensions of time and space. 

— Addison Alvarado, Staff Writer

Contact the Arts desk at [email protected].