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The Butchers' Blessing by Ruth Gilligan

The Butchers’ Blessing centers on the Butchers, a group of men who spend most of the year traveling from farm to farm in the Irish countryside to perform an ancient method of cattle slaughter. In 1996 — one of the book’s two timelines, along with the present day — the method (and men) are seen as remnants of an ancient folklore that most believe should be left in the past. To photographer Ronan, the Butchers are a sort of muse, and he travels the countryside capturing their world — but when he discovers one of the Butchers gruesomely murdered, it changes the trajectory of his life. It’s gripping, Gothic, and moody, following not only Ronan and the Butchers, but also their families and neighbors. Get your copy. — Arianna Rebolini

This Week in Virtual Book Events:

Nov. 16–Nov. 22

Monday, Nov. 16

Kiese Laymon discusses How to Slowly Kill Yourself and Others in America with Amina Wilson — hosted by Boswell Books, 7 p.m. CT. More info.
Carmen Maria Machado (The Low, Low Woods) and Laura Marks (Daphne Byrne) discuss horror and graphic novel writing — hosted by Greenlight Bookstore, 7:30 p.m. ET. More info.

Tuesday, Nov. 17

R.F. Kuang discusses The Burning God with Ken Liu — hosted by Brookline Booksmith, 7 p.m. ET. More info.
Kwame Alexander discusses Light for the World to See with Charlane Oliver — hosted by Parnassus Books, 6 p.m. CT. More info.

Wednesday, Nov. 18

Cazzie David discusses her essay collection, No One Asked For This, with Amy Schumer and Owen Thiele — hosted by the Strand, 7 p.m. ET. More info.
Bryan Washington (Memorial) and Simon Han (Nights When Nothing Happened) discuss their new books — hosted by Harvard Book Store, 7 p.m. ET. More info.

Thursday, Nov. 19

Poets Layli Long Soldier, Mark Turcotte and Tanaya Winder read from and discuss When the Light of the World Was Subdued, Our Songs Came Through: A Norton Anthology of Native Nations Poetry — hosted by the American Writers Museum, 11: 30 a.m. CT. More info.
Darryl Pinckney discusses Blackballed: The Black Vote and US Democracy with Zack Graham — hosted by Community Bookstore and NYRB, 7:30 p.m. ET. More info.

Friday, Nov. 20

Chloe Gong discusses These Violent Delights with Amélie Wen Zhao — hosted by Mysterious Galaxy, 7 p.m. PT. More info.
Veronica Roth discusses Chosen Ones with Charlie Jane Anders — presented by the Portland Book Festival, 3 p.m. PT. More info.

Saturday, Nov. 21

Daniel Riley discusses Barcelona Days with Caity Weaver — hosted by White Whale Bookstore, 7 p.m. ET. More info.
Marcus Samuelsson discusses The Rise: Black Cooks and the Soul of American Food with Dawn Davis — co-presented by the Miami Book Fair and the Portland Book Festival, 3 p.m. ET. More info.

Sunday, Nov. 22

Chuck Palahniuk discusses The Invention of Sound with Ben Greenman — presented by the Miami Book Fair, 3:30 p.m. ET. More info.