You know about the season's blockbusters, but if you're looking for something different and exceptional, take a closer look at these small-press gems.
This short, sparkling novel from Europa Editions imagines life a few weeks toward the end of the great dramatist Noel Coward's life, with walk-ons from Gielgud, Guinness, Redgrave, and Dietrich. It opens: "The sky is a wavering sheet of blue, and when the lilo stays in one place it feels like he's flying, suspended halfway between heaven and no-man's land."
-Dawn Raffel