Jerusalem has a particularly fraught archaeological heritage, with the battle over the city’s present and future reflected in disagreements surrounding its past. In “Under Jerusalem: The Buried History of the World’s Most Contested City,” Andrew Lawler shows how, just as the city reveals layers of history, so does the story of its excavation, with generations of archaeologists breaking earth in pursuit of radically different agendas.

It’s always rewarding when a story collection feels like more than the sum of its parts, as is the case with two compelling new debut releases.

Veronica Schanoes is a professor of English at Queens College in New York City whose academic research has included a focus on fairy tales. And, with particular attention to labor history and Jewish history, her inventive short story collection “Burning Girls and Other Stories” often turns to fairy tales as a framework for exploration.