The setting of Cassandra Khaw’s new book The Salt Grows Heavy is one steeped in mythology and atmosphere. The landscape through which its central characters — a mermaid and a plague doctor — move is one that’s been through unspeakable trauma, and yet still has room to reveal new horrors. (One of those is a cult centered around resurrection.) I spoke with Khaw about the creation of this new book, how it relates to their other work, and what’s next.
How, exactly, did we get to May already? Normally, we’d make a joke here about the collapse of time and space or something similarly esoteric, but the hour is at hand when we should get to the recommending of books. And so here are some book recommendations for the month we’re in — and, if you’re behind on your reading, these books aren’t going anywhere.
In our weekend reading: new work by Kate Zambreno and K Chess, Jennifer Egan interviews Terese Svoboda, and more.
In our afternoon reading: an interview with Barbara Browning, reviews of books by Han Kang and Catherine Lacey, and more.
In our morning reading: an interview with Sara Driver, books with strange timelines, and more.
In our afternoon reading: thoughts on Cassandra Khaw’s new collection, thoughts on robots on film, and more.
In our morning reading: reviews of books by Donald Antrim and Cassandra Khaw, notes on mourning restaurants, and more.
In our morning reading: nonfiction from Rebecca Solnit, thoughts on Jackson Bliss’s new book, and more.