Books We Like archive
Brave, Brainy, Changeable — Zadie Smith Revealed
November 11, 2009 The payoff in Zadie Smith's book of essays, Changing My Mind, comes not from her discussion of her literary influences but in three essays about her "gentle, sentimental" father, Harvey Smith, a salesman who died at 81 in 2006.
A Reluctant Femme Fatale In Postwar London
November 9, 2009 The heroine of Elizabeth Wilson's new mystery novel, War Damage, lives an outwardly respectable life, but a murder threatens to bring the secrets of her past into the light. Watson is also the author of Twilight Hour, published in 2007.
Seduction And Betrayal In Paul Auster's 'Invisible'
November 6, 2009 Intricate plotting, intermittent erotic tension and the author's powerful moral imagination combine to make Paul Auster's latest novel an absorbing literary thriller.
A Candid Take On The Evolving Immigrant Experience
November 5, 2009 In his wide-ranging, expertly curated anthology Becoming Americans, Ilan Stavans collects four centuries of immigrants' stories.
'SuperFreakonomics': Forget What You Know (Again)
November 2, 2009 In the follow-up to their 4-million-selling Freakonomics, Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner fire yet another provocative salvo at conventional wisdom.
300 Years of American Terror, Insanity And Awe
October 29, 2009 The impulse to scare ourselves has been around for centuries, as American Fantastic Tales, the new two-volume horror anthology from The Library of America, proves. Editor Peter Straub has done a superb job with both his story selections and hyperliterate introductions.
In Roth's Newest, Exit The Actor, Sans Everything
October 28, 2009 The Humbling blooms brightly in the extraordinary garden of Philip Roth's later work. Swift but piercing, uncluttered yet nuanced, the novel tells the tale of an actor who loses his talent and therefore his sense of self.
Crime Comics Make A Comeback With 'Noir'
October 27, 2009 Dark Horse Comics has commissioned short stories from several creators behind the current crime comic renaissance. The result, Noir: A Collection of Crime Comics, is a seamy, exploitative walking tour through man's basest desires. Which is to say, it's a lot of fun.
'Blame' Pushes Past Tragedy To Self-Discovery
October 26, 2009 Michelle Huneven's new novel — featuring a repeat-offender drunk driver who kills a mother and daughter — raises questions about self determination and fate.
The Inner Life Of An Imperfect Marriage
October 22, 2009 Jane Gardam has spent her long career writing dry, honest books about British life. Her new novel, The Man in the Wooden Hat, showcases the regrets of a woman never quite sure that marrying her husband was the right choice. Critic Maureen Corrigan calls Gardam the best British writer you've never heard of.
R. Crumb's Awesome, Affecting Take On 'Genesis'
October 19, 2009 The godfather of cartoon counterculture takes on the Bible in his new comic, The Book of Genesis Illustrated. Reviewer Susan Jane Gilman says R. Crumb's latest effort is serious — and brilliant.
Whimsical Novel Puts Happiness Under Microscope
October 19, 2009 Richard Powers' Generosity features a preternaturally buoyant Algerian refugee who is found to have a gene for happiness. Is joyousness catching? Reviewer Jane Ciabattari says it is.
Women's Lib, From Bedroom To Boardroom
October 14, 2009 In When Everything Changed, Gail Collins outlines the way the women's liberation movement transformed of the lives of women in the United States. Reviewer Glenn Altschuler says Collins takes on topics from the Pill to Sarah Palin.
'Wimpy Kid': A Hilarious Take On Middle School Life
October 13, 2009 If a comic book about surviving middle school doesn't sound like a must read to you, think again. Critic Maureen Corrigan says that Jeff Kinney's Dog Days — the latest in his Diary of a Wimpy Kid series — hits home with any crowd.
Bold Novel Of Art, Ideas And One 'Dead Man'
October 12, 2009 Sarah Hall's How to Paint a Dead Man weaves together time-shifted stories of four visual artists, all at crisis points in their lives. The book is clever in structure and sweeping in ambition. Hall's skill makes the journey worth the commitment.
