Top Indie Press Picks You Shouldn't Miss

This original novel chronicling the European Jewish experience definitely meets SJP Lit’s bar for “expansive, thought-provoking, and big-hearted” literary fiction. When a young girl lost in a forest encounters a gang of unruly Bolsheviks in 1913, she and her brother escape to England in a family saga that the Financial Times found "constantly moves forward even as it looks sorrowfully back."

As a conceptual artist prepares for a pivotal exhibition, she spirals into obsession, seeking validation from her rational chef husband, devoted TikTok followers, and a mysterious stalker. Accompanied by bizarre alter egos, she navigates voyeurism and online performance, leading to a surreal climax in a mesmerizing romp praised by The Millions as a must-read for fans of Sheena Patel’s I’m a Fan and Chris Kraus’s I Love Dick.

In 1930s Taiwan, a Japanese novelist falls for her charming Taiwanese interpreter as they navigate the complexities of “language, politics, and popular culture,” according to the National Book Foundation. With delicious meals and scenic adventures, the bittersweet romance between the two women uncovers hidden truths about colonialism and the art of connection.

In this “memorable and disturbing” debut murder mystery set in 1920s French-occupied Vietnam, four of Saigon’s most powerful scions gather for a night of luxury—until one is killed. As secrets unfold, the story reveals the harsh realities of wealth, power, and colonialism in “a tense and unique dispatch from a key period in Vietnamese history,” according to Publishers Weekly. “Pham's prose is lyrical, and her evocation of the period immersive.”