KUOW Book Club's November read: Sonora Jha's subversive novel 'The Laughter'

The KUOW Book Club is reading "The Laughter" by Sonora Jha this month.

Readers may know Jha best from her "memoir and manifesto" masterpiece, "How to Raise a Feminist Son." I'm not a parent myself. But I know a fair number of mothers, particularly those with sons — do we call them Boy Moms? — and every one of them has raved about Jha's 2021 book.

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Cut to 2023, a decade after her first book, "Foreign," was published, Jha gave us "The Laughter." The novel follows a white male college professor who develops a dangerous obsession with his new Pakistani colleague. Jha tackles themes of privilege, radicalization, class, and modern academia, forcing the reader to confront our preconceptions.

And her efforts have been widely recognized. "The Laughter" made NPR's 2023 "Books We Love" list and the New Yorker's "Best Books We've Read in 2023 So Far" list. Plus, "The Laughter" just won the Washington State Book Award for Fiction last month. Suffice to say, this is going to be a great read.

Here's the reading schedule:

• Read the first nine chapters by November 18.
• Finish the book by November 25.

I'm pleased to tell you all that Jha has signed on for an interview at the end of our reading. We're working out details, so look out for more on that later this month. As per usual, I’ll send out a newsletter at the halfway point and when we finish the book.

Subscribe to the book club newsletter here, and join the conversation by emailing me directly at kcampbell@kuow.org.

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Spoiler alert: For those of you who like to plan ahead, our December pick is "The Egg and I" by Betty MacDonald. Betty moved to the Olympic Peninsula in the early 1900s with her marine husband, a move that would yield the kind of stories that feed a successful writing career. Published in 1945, "The Egg and I" was the first of four autobiographical bestsellers Betty wrote. She also wrote children's books, including the popular "Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle" books. 

"The Egg and I" was a hit back in Betty's day (she died in 1958 at the early age of 50), and it continues to be a hilarious, heartwarming story today. I hope y'all enjoy. (Full disclosure: I almost picked "Heavier Than Heaven" by Charles R. Cross, but I had second thoughts about a book that's so, erm, heavy.)

As always, you can join the conversation by emailing me directly at kcampbell@kuow.org.