Fresh December books bring family drama to life in unique settings

This winters book releases focus on home-life stories that show how different places shape family relationships

Weike Wangs new book “Rental House“ looks at a marriage between two very-different people: Nate (from poor Appalachia) and Keru (whose family left China). The story happens in two vacation homes - first at Cape Cod then in a fancy-looking Catskills house; their big sheepdog Mantou is there for both trips

To use a dishwasher is to admit defeat

The book shows culture-clash moments between in-laws (who dont get along much) and brings up topics like belonging in America. Its written in a straight-forward way that makes you think about what family means today

Nayantara Roys first book “The Magnificent Ruins“ tells about Lila De; a 29-year old publishing worker who goes back to Kolkata after her grandpa dies about 9 years ago. She gets his old mansion which makes other family members mad; theres also some romance drama and political stuff going on

The story has many parts:
* Family fighting about the house
* Love problems with two different guys
* Mother-daughter issues
* Indian politics in the background
* Some mystery elements with lawyers

The book shows how hard it is to live between two cultures - American and Indian. Its interesting that the writer picked 2015 as the year for the story; when things seemed more simple in America

Here are some other cool books coming this month:
* A story about problems at a Nile River hotel
* A Chinese folktale in modern New York
* Stories about life in Namibia
* A climate-change version of King Lear
* Some books about Buddhist retreats and life in Seoul