Part comedy and part Western, Johnson's novel unfolds in 1938 Reno, Nevada, on a dude ranch for wealthy women looking to get legally divorced. Emily and Nina are two such guests, and during one memorable summer they become inseparable from Ward, a young cowboy, whose perspective shapes the narrative. As he recounts the trio's various hijinks, adventures, and the passion that would alter their lives forever, the novel sparkles with brilliant, witty dialogue, romance, and plot twists.
Aimee Bender has a knack for finding the surreal in mundane, everyday life. Following the success of The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake, Bender continues to explore our deep, psychological attachment to the sights, smells, sounds, and treasured keepsakes of our childhoods. (Why do we continue to hang on to dried roses and beetle carcasses?) A fascinating rumination on memory, mental illness, and how we associate people and emotions with "stuff," The Butterfly Lampshade is sure to fill readers with a sweet-and-sour sense of nostalgia.
Set in 1980s North Korea, what seems like a prosaic story about marriage and family offers a compelling look into a culture that outsiders rarely see. The novel unfolds during a transitional period that sought to highlight the lives and achievements of ordinary citizens while also promoting self-improvement so that people could better serve the party. It is against this background that we are drawn into the lives of a divorcing couple who cannot settle their perceptions of their roles in society. The judge responsible for their divorce takes it upon himself to investigate whether their marriage indeed must be dissolved, and what follows is a thorough examination of the intricacies of relationships within North Korean society and how these relationships affect how one contributes to the party.
