#The best books of the week

Rodham

Curtis Sittenfeld (fiction, Random House)


What if Hillary had never married Bill? What if they had a serious relationship at Yale Law School and then went their separate ways? That’s the premise of this fascinating novel, which kicks off in 1971 and imagines a young HRC eventually breaking up with Bill and embarking on a career and a political life of her own.

The Vanishing Half

Brit Bennett (fiction, Riverhead Books)


The Vignes twin sisters are identical, but they’ve led very different lives. One sister resides with her black daughter in the same Southern town she once ran away from; the other passes for white, and lives with a white husband who knows nothing about her backstory. An emotional family story that traces from the 1950s to the ‘90s.

Friends and Strangers

J. Courtney Sullivan (fiction, Knopf)


After decades in New York City, Elisabeth and her husband have just moved to a small town upstate. A new mom, Elisabeth is struggling to acclimate to her new life while keeping constant tabs on the Brooklyn Moms Facebook group back home (as for the moms in her new town, she can’t decide whether to befriend or mock them). She begins a friendship with her babysitter, a college student struggling with debt. Extremely timely.

The Dilemma

B. A. Paris (fiction, St. Martin’s Press)


A 40th birthday bash is filled with anticipation and dark family secrets — each family member waiting until the party is over before spilling them. But when that time comes, none of them will ever be the same.

The Chiffon Trenches

Andre Leon Talley (memoir, Ballantine Books)


The fashion legend, formerly the longtime creative director of Vogue, reveals his life in fashion, a journey that took him from the deep South to the fashion runways of New York, hobnobbing with the likes of Andy Warhol, Karl Lagerfeld, etc. And yes, he absolutely dishes about Anna Wintour, too. A fascinating book by a fascinating man.

The Request

David Bell (fiction, Berkley)


Ryan Francis has the perfect life. Everything has been smooth sailing until, one day, his friend Blake asks him to help break into a woman’s house to retrieve some items that would implicate Blake in an affair. At first, Ryan refuses; but when Blake threatens to reveal his worst secret, he agrees. When Ryan arrives at the woman’s home, he is shocked to find her dead — and horrified to realize he knows her.