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Book Reviews
The End Is Near, And It's No Walk 'On The Beach'
()Growing up in the '80s, author Myla Goldberg crafted a survival plan in the event of a nuclear war. But all that changed when she read On the Beach by Nevil Shute. Have you ever read a book that gave you a sobering picture of the world? Tell us in the comments.
Teenage Tales: Sneaking Looks In Sexy Books
The lesbian narrator of Rubyfruit Jungle helped Emily Danforth figure out who she wanted to be.
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'I Am The Cheese': A Nightmarish Nail-Biter
The book tells the story of a boy whose mind creates a new, safer world for him to inhabit.
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'Pradeep Mathew': For The Love Of Cricket
A writer tracks down an elusive cricketer in Shehan Karunatilaka's The Legend of Pradeep Mathew.
()'Bodies': 'Wolf Hall' Sequel Outshines Original()
May 23, 2012 The second novel in Hilary Mantel's trilogy positions Thomas Cromwell as Henry VIII's trusted consigliere and a specialist at getting unwanted wives out of the way. But if the machinations in Bring Up the Bodies are of the cruelest kind, Mantel's language couldn't be more sublime.
'Right-Hand': A Lush Prequel To 'Mason's Retreat'()
May 22, 2012 In The Right-Hand Shore, Christopher Tilghman returns to the racially charged landscape and the crumbling plantations of his book Mason's Retreat. Fresh Air critic Maureen Corrigan calls the prequel "the real deal."
You Must Read This
Wisteria And Sunshine: One Enchanted Italian April()
May 21, 2012 An April spent in an Italian castle? Yes, please. The four women of Elizabeth von Arnim's The Enchanted April are lucky to have a grand adventure. But author Madeline Miller recommends the book even if you're stuck at home. Do you have a favorite book about exotic travel? Tell us in the comments.
'The Chemistry Of Tears' And The Art Of Healing()
May 16, 2012 After a museum conservator's lover dies, she becomes consumed with reanimating a 19th-century silver swan automaton. Critic Heller McAlpin says that Peter Carey's new novel is part historical, part fanciful and completely wonderful.
'Home': Toni Morrison's Taut, Triumphant New Novel()
May 15, 2012 Toni Morrison's latest novel revisits the story of the prodigal son, as a Korean War veteran returns to his hometown in the pre-civil rights era South. Critic Heller McAlpin says Home is as accessible and visceral as anything Morrison has written.
You Must Read This
Mamma Mia! A Mother Tougher Than The Godfather()
May 24, 2012 Mario Puzo isn't known for his strong female characters — but if you've read his pre-Godfather work, The Fortunate Pilgrim, you might think otherwise. Author Zoe Ferraris recommends this book, which is based on Puzo's own mother. Do you have a favorite literary matriarch? Tell us in the comments.
China Mieville's 'Railsea': 'Moby-Dick' Remixed()
May 10, 2012 The new novel reimagines Moby-Dick in a future where the oceans have become barren wastelands teeming with fantastical carnivores, and crisscrossed by a network of railroads.
'Tai Lake': Murder Most Ecological In China()
May 9, 2012 A Chinese poet-turned-detective investigates a slaying seemingly linked to industrial dumping. Don't Cry, Tai Lake is the politically charged seventh novel in Chinese expatriate Qiu Xiaolong's Inspector Chen series.
Haunted By 'Hunger' In The Soviet Gulag()
May 8, 2012 In Nobel laureate Herta Muller's take on one of the great tragedies of the 20th century, a starving man in a Soviet labor camp hallucinates that hunger is an otherworldly being out to destroy him.
Three Books...
Three Cheers (And Three Books) For Mummy Dearest()
May 7, 2012 Mother's Day may arrive earlier in England than in the U.S., but British writer Rosamund Lupton is always happy to celebrate. She recommends three books that distill motherhood to its essential elements. Do you have a favorite book about moms? Tell us in the comments.
Book Reviews
'Almost Invisible': New Poems From Mark Strand()
May 3, 2012 The new collection offers small treasures of wry amusement, elegance and effortlessness, but critic Joel Whitney wonders if Strand is just rehashing themes — and even lines — from his best books.
'Newlyweds': A Big, Fat Cross-Cultural Marriage ()
May 3, 2012 In Nell Freudenberger's new novel, a young Bangladeshi woman marries an American man she meets online and struggles to adjust to life in Rochester, N.Y.
'Power': Robert Caro's Life Of Johnson Hits The '60s()
May 2, 2012 Robert A. Caro's multipart study of President Lyndon B. Johnson is hailed as one of the greatest biographies of the 20th century. Reviewing his latest, critic Michael Schaub writes, "Even at more than 700 pages, there's not a wasted word, not a needless anecdote."
'The Newlyweds': A Match Made Online()
May 1, 2012 As accusations of sexism ricochet through the book industry, Nell Freudenberger continues to craft wonderful literary fiction, writes Maureen Corrigan. Freudenberger's latest novel, The Newlyweds, tells the story of an Internet-arranged, cross-continental marriage.
