The Day and Night Books of Mardou Fox

Shawl (Everfair) wows in this alternate history of the Beat generation told through the diaries of an overlooked Black poet. As a child in the 1940s, Mardou Fox learns she can go “outside”—a dreamlike place beyond reality, ungoverned by space and time—but stifles her ability for fear of making trouble for her family. Still, as Mardou gets older, growing into herself as a Black woman and a poet, the ability follows her and her control of it gradually grows. The narrative spans years, chronicling Mardou’s struggles to be recognized as an author among her white peers, her romances with various other Beat artists, and her relationships with her sisters, one an activist lesbian and the other incarcerated in a psychiatric facility for the same powers that Mardou hides. It’s all delivered through simple yet evocative diary entries that showcase the author’s wit. Mardou’s mysterious abilities almost come second to the fascinating evolution of her personal life, which is loosely based on Alene Lee, a lesser-known Beat figure. This concise novel packs a powerful punch. Agent: DongWon Song, Howard Morhaim Literary. (Sept.)