Reader's Place: March 1, 2024
PANDEMIC LITERATURE
The beginning of the COVID 19 pandemic is now 4 years behind us. Writers commemorate that unprecedented time, exploring the different ways people coped, and how they processed their own and our collective losses.
Fourteen days: a literary project of the Authors Guild of America, Harper, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers, 2024 Library copy
One week into the COVID-19 shutdown, tenants of a Lower East Side apartment building in Manhattan have begun to gather on the rooftop and tell stories. Gradually the tenants--some of whom have barely spoken to each other--become real neighbors. In this Decameron-like serial novel, general editors Margaret Atwood and Douglas Preston and a star-studded list of contributors create a beautiful ode to the people who couldn't escape when the pandemic hit.
Life without children: stories, by Roddy Doyle, 2022. Library copy
Love and marriage. Children and family. Death and grief. Life touches everyone the same. But living under lockdown, it changes us alone. In these ten beautifully moving short stories, Booker Prize winner Roddy Doyle paints a collective portrait of our strange times.
Violeta: a novel, by Isabel Allende, 2022. Library copy
Born during the Spanish flu outbreak in an unnamed South American country (clearly based on Chile) in 1920, Violeta addresses her memoir to a beloved relative, Camilo, during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. She spins a captivating, cinematic tale of her century-long existence, intertwining large-scale political and social transformations with reflections on her life.
Bigger than bravery: Black resilience and reclamation in a time of pandemic, Lookout Books, 2022. Library copy
Valerie Boyd curates this anthology of original essays and poems, alongside some of the most influential nonfiction published on the subject, inviting readers into a conversation of restorative joy and enduring wisdom.
Living & dying in America: A daily chronicle 2020-2022, by by Steve Brodner, 2022. Library copy
Brodner's daily graphic diary of the COVID-19 years is a testament to those who died and those who lived through it, and it is a searing indictment of the leaders who failed us.
The quarantine princess diaries, by Meg Cabot, 2023. Library copy
Princess Mia Thermopolis of Genovia records her most heartfelt emotions while dealing with personal and political battles, such as imposing health restrictions on her small European nation; living in lockdown; and dealing with her demanding grandmother.
Deadly quiet city: Stories from Wuhan, by by Murong, Xuecun, 2023. Library copy
From one of China's most celebrated-and silenced-literary authors, riveting portraits of eight Wuhan residents at the dawn of the pandemic.
Inside the curve: Stories from the pandemic, National Geographic, 2022. Library copy
Journalists and photographers share an extraordinary collection of stories of the COVID pandemic: from the isolation and devastation of quarantine to the joy of reunion.
Compiled by Ina Rimpau.