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The motion picture teller / by Cotterill, Colin,author.;
"Thailand, 1996: Supot, a postman with the Royal Thai Postal Service, hates his job. The only bright light in his life is watching classic movies with his best friend, Ali, the owner of a video store. These cinephiles adore the charisma of the old Western stars, particularly the actresses, and bemoan the state of modern Thai cinema--until a mysterious cassette, entitled Bangkok 2010, arrives at Ali's store. Bangkok 2010 is a dystopian film set in a Thailand run by chauvinistic Security Council officers--and Supot and Ali, immediately obsessed, agree it's the most brilliant Thai movie they've ever seen. But nobody else has ever heard of the movie, the director, the actors, or any of the crew. Who would make a movie like this and not release it, and why? Feeling a powerful calling to solve the mystery of Bangkok 2010, Supot journeys deep into the Thai countryside and discovers a curse around the motion picture, one that keeps Bangkok 2010 from ever being viewed. But does that mean its story can never be told? Colin Cotterill, author of the award-winning Dr. Siri Paiboun series, presents a complex, captivating narrative, interposed with fascinating flashes of Bangkok 2010's gritty screenplay, as the two intertwined tales of a Thailand in deep conflict begin to meet in the middle"--
Subjects: Detective and mystery fiction.; Black humor.; Novels.; Blessing and cursing; Male friendship; Motion pictures;

Blowout : corrupted democracy, rogue state Russia, and the richest, most destructive industry on earth / by Maddow, Rachel,author.;
Includes bibliogrpahical references and index."Rachel Maddow's Blowout offers a dark, serpentine, riveting tour of the unimaginably lucrative and corrupt oil-and-gas industry. With her trademark black humor, Maddow takes us on a switchback journey around the globe-from Oklahoma City to Siberia to Equatorial Guinea-exposing the greed and incompetence of Big Oil and Gas. She shows how Russia's rich reserves of crude have, paradoxically, stunted its growth, forcing Putin to maintain his power by spreading Russia's rot into its rivals, its neighbors, the United States, and the West's most important alliances. Chevron, BP, and a host of other industry players get their star turn, but ExxonMobil and the deceptively well-behaved Rex Tillerson emerge as two of the past century's most consequential corporate villains. The oil-and-gas industry has weakened democracies in developed and developing countries, fouled oceans and rivers, and propped up authoritarian thieves and killers. But being outraged at it is, according to Maddow, "like being indignant when a lion takes down and eats a gazelle. You can't really blame the lion. It's in her nature.""--
Subjects: Tillerson, Rex W., 1952-; Gas companies; Gas industry; Gas industry;

Not forever, but for now : a novel / by Palahniuk, Chuck,author.;
"From the bestselling author of Fight Club comes a hilarious horror satire about a family of professional killers responsible for the most atrocious events in history and the young brothers that are destined to take over. Meet Otto and Cecil. Two brothers growing up privileged in the Welsh countryside. They enjoy watching nature shows, playing with their pet pony, impersonating their Grandfather ... and killing the help. Murder is the family business after all. Downton Abbey, this is not. However, it's not so easy to continue the family legacy with the constant stream of threats and distractions seemingly leaping from the hedgerow. First there is the matter of the veritable cavalcade of escaped convicts that keep showing up at their door. Not to mention the debaucherous new tutor who has a penchant for speaking in Greek and dismembering sex dolls. Then there's Mummy's burgeoning opioid addiction. And who knows where Daddy is. He just vanished one day after he and Mummy took a walk in the so called "Ghost Forest." With Grandfather putting pressure on Otto to step up, it becomes clear that this will all end in only two ways: a nuclear apocalypse or just another day among the creeping thistle and tree peonies. And in a novel written by Chuck Palahniuk, either are equally possible."--
Subjects: Black humor.; Satirical literature.; Novels.; Assassins; Brothers; Families; Grandfathers; Murder; Rich people;

She's a lamb! : a novel / by Hambrock, Meredith,author.;
"A darkly comic suspense in the vein of All's Well and Yellowface, She's a Lamb! is an edgy and incisive novel that marches toward showtime with a growing unease about the dangers of magical thinking and the depths of delusion. Jessamyn St. Germain is meant to be a star. Not an actor who occasionally books yogurt commercials and certainly not a lowly usher at one of Vancouver's smallest regional theaters. No, she is bound for greatness, and that's why the part of Maria in the theater's upcoming production of The Sound of Music is hers. Or it's going to be. Jessamyn may have been relegated to the position of childminder for the little brats playing the von Trapp children, but it's so obvious she's there for a different reason -- the director wants her close to the role so when Samantha, the lead, inevitably fails, Jessamyn will be there to take her place in the spotlight. This must be it. Because if it isn't, well, then every skipped meal, every brutal rehearsal, every inch won against a man attempting to drag her down will have all been for nothing. Sharp, relentless, and darkly funny, She's a Lamb! is a cutting satire about the grotesque pall patriarchy casts over one woman's delusional quest to achieve her dreams and the depths she will sink to for a chance at the life she's convinced she deserves."--
Subjects: Black humor.; Psychological fiction.; Satirical fiction.; Novels.; Acting in musical theater; Actresses; Narcissism; Patriarchy; Women in musical theater;

Friends of the Museum : a novel / by McGowan, Heather,author.;
When Diane Schwebe, the director of a major New York museum, is awakened in the early morning by a text message from the museum's lawyer, it is the start of a twenty-four hour roller-coaster ride. Diane has sacrificed many things in her life to help the fading institution stave off irrelevance and financial ruin. In this battle, she's surrounded by her stalwart supporters: her enigmatic and tireless personal assistant, Chris; the museum's trusty head of security, Shay; and its general counsel, Henry -- a man whose ability to weasel his way out of a jam is matched only by his capacity to avoid learning anything from the experience. Orbiting Diane is a motley assortment of museum employees, each on the precipice of collapse or revelation: among them a line cook staring down a huge opportunity he's not sure he wants; a costume curator stuck in an inescapable rut; and the ambivalent curator of the museum's film program, whose first day on the job might very well be his last. On this day of the museum's annual gala, every plate that Diane has kept spinning will fall and by daybreak, someone will be dead. Wise, surprising, and darkly funny, Friends of the Museum is a kaleidoscopic tragicomedy that surges along to the unstoppable tick of the clock, leaving you on the edge of your seat until the final second.
Subjects: Black humor.; Psychological fiction.; Novels.; Anthropological ethics; Cultural property; Museum directors; Museums; Women museum directors;

Your driver is waiting : a novel / by Guns, Priya,author.;
"In this spiky and hilarious 21st century reboot of the iconic film Taxi Driver, a ride share driver is barely holding it together on the hunt for love, dignity and a living wage ... until she decides she's done waiting. Damani is tired. Her father just passed away and now she lives paycheck to paycheck in the basement of her parents' old house, caring for her mom, and driving for an app to (not even) pay the bills. Protests are all the rage--everybody's in solidarity with somebody-- and the city is roiling with them, but while she keeps hearing that they're fighting for change on behalf of people like her she's too broke to even afford to pay attention. And they're blocking the roads. That is, until she gives a ride to Jolene, and life opens up. Jolene seems like she could be the perfect girlfriend - attentive, attractive, liberal - and their chemistry is incredible. So maybe Damani can look past the one thing that's holding her back: She's never dated a white girl before. But Jolene's done the reading, she goes to every protest, and she says all the right things. Still, just as their romance intensifies, just as Damani is learning to trust, Jolene does something unforgivable, setting off an explosive chain of events. A wild ride brimming with dark comedy, piercing social commentary and propulsive writing, Your driver is waiting is a feverish take on our culture of modern alienation"--
Subjects: Black humor.; Novels.; Interracial dating; Lesbians; Ridesharing; Social movements;

Bellevue Square : a novel / by Redhill, Michael,1966-author.;
Jean Mason has a doppelganger. At least, that's what people tell her. Apparently it hangs out in Kensington Market, where it sometimes buys churros and shops for hats. Jean doesn't rattle easy, not like she used to. She's a grown woman with a husband and two kids, as well as a thriving business, and Toronto is a fresh start for the whole family. She certainly doesn't want to get involved in anything dubious, but still ... why would two different strangers swear up and down they'd just seen her--with shorter hair furthermore? Jean's curiosity quickly gets the better of her, and she visits the market, but sees no one who looks like her. The next day, she goes back to look again. And the day after that. Before she knows it, she's spending an hour here, an afternoon there, watching, taking notes, obsessing and getting scared. With the aid of a small army of locals who hang around in the market's only park, she expands her surveillance, making it known she'll pay for information or sightings. A peculiar collection of drug addicts, scam artists, philanthropists, philosophers and vagrants--the regulars of Bellevue Square--are eager to contribute to Jean's investigation. But when some of them start disappearing, it becomes apparent that her alleged double has a sinister agenda. Unless Jean stops her, she and everyone she cares about will face a fate stranger than death.
Subjects: Thrillers (Fiction); Black humor.; Doppelgängers; Paranoia;

Wild houses / by Barrett, Colin,1982-author.;
"The riotous, raucous, and deeply resonant debut novel from "one of the best story writers in the English language today" (Financial Times), Wild Houses follows two outsiders caught in the crosshairs of a small-town revenge kidnapping gone awry. With his acclaimed and award-winning collections Young Skins and Homesickness Colin Barrett cemented his reputation as one of contemporary Irish literature's most daring stylists. Praised by Oprah Daily as "a doyen of the sentence," and by the Los Angeles Times as a writer of "unique genius," Barrett now expands his canvas with a debut novel that contains as much grit, plot, and linguistic energy as any of his celebrated short stories. As Ballina prepares for its biggest weekend of the year, introspective loner Dev answers his door on Friday night to find Doll English-younger brother of small-time local dealer Cillian English-bruised and in the clutches of Gabe and Sketch Ferdia, County Mayo's fraternal enforcers and Dev's cousins. Dev's quiet homelife is upturned as he is quickly and unwillingly drawn headlong into the Ferdias' frenetic revenge plot against Cillian. Meanwhile, Doll's girlfriend, seventeen-year-old Nicky, reeling from a fractious Friday and plagued by ghosts and tragedy of her own, sets out on a feverish mission to save Doll, even as she questions her future in Ballina. Set against Barrett's trademark depictions of small-town Irish life, Wild Houses is a thrillingly told story of two outsiders striving to find themselves as their worlds collapse in chaos and violence"--
Subjects: Thrillers (Fiction); Black humor.; Domestic fiction.; Psychological fiction.; Novels.; Kidnapping; Revenge; Siblings; Small cities; Tragedy;

The bandit queens : a novel / by Shroff, Parini,author.;
"A young Indian woman falsely rumored to have killed her husband finds a way to make her unfortunate reputation surprisingly useful--but complications arise when other village women seek her help offing their husbands--in this provocative, razor-sharp debut. "The Bandit Queens heralds a prodigious and sophisticated literary talent." Taea Obreht, New York Times bestselling author of Inland. In the five years since her husband's disappearance, Geeta has become accustomed to a solitary life; you'd be surprised how difficult it is to make friends when your entire village believes you're a witch who murdered your husband. And since she can't convince anyone that she didn't murder him, she figures she might as well use her fearsome reputation to protect herself as a woman on her own. But when other women in the village decide that they, too, want to be "self-made" widows and rid themselves of their abusive husbands, Geeta's reputation becomes a double-edged sword--the very thing that's meant to keep her safe is now threatening everything she's built as she unwittingly becomes the go-to consultant for village husband-disposal. Unfortunately, Geeta finds that even the best-laid plans of would-be widows tend to go awry, and the women find themselves caught in a web of their own making--and long-estranged friendships will have to be re-formed if they hope to make it out of their mess alive. Acerbic, insightful, and full of dark humor, Parini Shroff's The Bandit Queens--with its unique combination of poignant social commentary and irreverence--is an absolutely unforgettable novel"--
Subjects: Domestic fiction.; Black humor.; Novels.; Female friendship; Villages; Widows; Wife abuse;

Everyone in this room will someday be dead : a novel / by Austin, Emily,author.;
This hilarious and profound debut for fans of Mostly Dead Things and Goodbye, Vitamin, follows a morbidly anxious young woman--"the kindhearted heroine we all need right now" (Courtney Maum, New York Times bestselling author)--who stumbles into a job as a receptionist at a Catholic church and becomes obsessed with her predecessor's mysterious death. Gilda, a twenty-something, atheist, animal-loving lesbian, cannot stop ruminating about death. Desperate for relief from her panicky mind and alienated from her repressive family, she responds to a flyer for free therapy at a local Catholic church, and finds herself being greeted by Father Jeff, who assumes she's there for a job interview. Too embarrassed to correct him, Gilda is abruptly hired to replace the recently deceased receptionist Grace. In between trying to memorize the lines to Catholic mass, hiding the fact that she has a new girlfriend, and erecting a dirty dish tower in her crumbling apartment, Gilda strikes up an email correspondence with Grace's old friend. She can't bear to ignore the kindly old woman, who has been trying to reach her friend through the church inbox, but she also can't bring herself to break the bad news. Desperate, she begins impersonating Grace via email. But when the police discover suspicious circumstances surrounding Grace's death, Gilda may have to finally reveal the truth of her mortifying existence. A delightful blend of warmth, deadpan humor, and pitch-perfect observations about the human condition, Everyone in This Room Will Someday Be Dead is a crackling exploration of what it takes to stay afloat in a world where your expiration-and the expiration of those you love-is the only certainty.
Subjects: Humorous fiction.; Black humor.; Lesbians; Receptionists; Death;

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