In 'My Ideal Boyfriend Is A Croissant', The Heroine Is No Flake July 21, 2019 • Laura Dockrill's young adult novel stars a refreshingly direct, unapologetic — and occasionally crass — plus-sized girl who uses her doctor-imposed food diary to record her life and feelings.
'At Dusk' Exposes South Korea Through A Variety Of Lenses July 21, 2019 • Hwang Sok-yong's novel is a perfect slice of Koreana; a touching, somewhat depressive narrative full of nostalgia exposing the underbelly of a nation via the people inhabiting society's bottom rung.
Spirited 'Family Of Origin' Defends The Maligned Millennial July 20, 2019 • CJ Hauser's new novel centers on two estranged siblings trying to unravel their late father's work with a group of fringe biologists who believe evolution is running backward, away from millenials.
An Imagined Future Speaks In 'Talking To Robots' July 19, 2019 • If you want to see what that future might look like, David Ewing Duncan's book is a fun place to start; he envisions various bots based on interviews with scientists and engineers, among others.
34 Ways To Beat The System In 'Raised In Captivity' July 18, 2019 • Chuck Klosterman's new collection of "fictional nonfiction" is full of people who subvert expectations and find ways around the systems that rule our lives. Also, there's a puma in an airplane toilet.
Letters Serve To Bond Time-Traveling Rivals In 'This Is How You Lose The Time War' July 18, 2019 • Rather than the time travel or war, the thrill of Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone's book becomes the connection between two lonely professional killers with the ability to inscribe letters on lava.
For The 'Nickel Boys,' Life Isn't Worth 5 Cents July 18, 2019 • Colson Whitehead's harrowing new novel is based on a true story about a brutally abusive reform school in Florida where the grounds were pocked with the unmarked graves of the boys who died there.
'Escalante's Dream' Retraces The Steps Of The 'Spanish Lewis And Clark' July 17, 2019 • After a cancer diagnosis, author and noted mountaineer David Roberts sets out on the trail of Atanasio Domínguez and Silvestre Vélez de Escalante, remaining dutiful to the route some 240 years later.
George Takei Recalls Time In An American Internment Camp In 'They Called Us Enemy' July 17, 2019 • Through his graphic memoir, the Star Trek actor-turned-author shows that while it may be too late to undo the WWII incarceration of Japanese Americans, it's not too late to learn from it.
Rooted In History, 'The Nickel Boys' Is A Great American Novel Fresh Air July 16, 2019 • Colson Whitehead's deeply affecting new novel is based on the true story of a segregated reform school in Florida where African American boys were brutalized and possibly murdered. Rooted In History, 'The Nickel Boys' Is A Great American Novel Listen · 6:35 6:35 Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/742129946/742283699" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
Rooted In History, 'The Nickel Boys' Is A Great American Novel Listen · 6:35 6:35 Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/742129946/742283699" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
'Spin The Dawn' Stitches Up A Fabulous Fantasy July 15, 2019 • Elizabeth Lim's new young adult novel follows a girl who disguises herself as a boy and sets off for the emperor's court in place of her ailing father, who's been summoned as an imperial tailor.
'The Golden Hour' Is A Refreshingly Bittersweet Read July 14, 2019 • Beatriz Williams' new novel follows a woman searching for her missing husband in London during World War II, jumping back and forth in time to show all the people and events that led her there.
'Late Migrations' Essays Create A Jeweled Patchwork Of Nature And Culture July 12, 2019 • New York Times columnist Margaret Renkl astonishes with her essays, a woven tapestry that makes one of all the world's beings that strive to live — and, in one way or another, face mortality.
'Delayed Rays Of A Star' Sheds Light On 3 Film Legends July 12, 2019 • Amanda Lee Koe's new novel was inspired by a famous photograph — Anna May Wong, Marlene Dietrich and the notorious actress and director Leni Riefenstahl, posing together at a Berlin party in 1928.
3 Sisters Come Of Age, Dreamily, In 'Three Summers' July 12, 2019 • Margarita Liberaki's novel, first published in 1946, follows three young women growing up in the Athens countryside alongside a colorful cast of family members, secret-keeping servants and local boys.
'The Cuban Comedy' Walks The Line Between Politics And Poetry July 11, 2019 • Pablo Medina's The Cuban Comedy walks a fine line between poetry and political satire. It follows a woman in rural 1960s Cuba who longs to be a poet, and the troubles she faces when she succeeds.
Enter The Quarantine Around 'Wilder Girls' At Your Own Risk July 11, 2019 • Rory Power's debut novel combines creeping, corrupting body horror with the intense bonds between teenage girls at an isolated school for a post-apocalypse story that's fresh, horrible and beautiful.
Girls Captured By Boko Haram Brought Into Focus In 'Beneath The Tamarind Tree' July 10, 2019 • Former CNN journalist Isha Sesay argues that the Nigerian government, the media and the public have failed the 276 Chibok schoolgirls kidnapped by the terrorist group five years ago.
'Saturday Night Ghost Club' Celebrates The Wonders And Horrors Of Being A Kid July 10, 2019 • Craig Davidson's new novel follows a group of kids through a strange summer of hunting urban legends — it's a coming-of-age story that's also about loss, particularly what we lose when we grow up.
Image Comics You've Heard 'Monstress' Is Great. But Just How Great Is It? July 9, 2019 • Marjorie Liu and Sana Takeda's epic, gorgeous tale of a young woman with a monster inside her has won countless awards and been heaped with praise — but does it truly break new ground?
Smart And Propulsive 'Copperhead' Asks: Can You Outrun Your Family's Sins? Fresh Air July 9, 2019 • Alexi Zentner's new novel follows a high school football star's efforts to separate himself from his racist family. It's an unsparing story about race, class and the limits of individual possibility. Smart And Propulsive 'Copperhead' Asks: Can You Outrun Your Family's Sins? Listen · 6:47 6:47 Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/739844176/739914542" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
Smart And Propulsive 'Copperhead' Asks: Can You Outrun Your Family's Sins? Listen · 6:47 6:47 Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/739844176/739914542" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
'The Vagabonds' Details The Publicity-Encouraged Road Trips Of Edison And Ford July 9, 2019 • Jeff Guinn weaves in a portrait of America's burgeoning love affair with the automobile. But his book rests heavy on the men's positive attributes, while shying away from their "unfortunate flaws."
In 'For The Good Of The Game,' Bud Selig Tells Of The MLB Steroid Era July 9, 2019 • The baseball commissioner's charming, informative memoir is about the best you can hope to read from a powerful professional sports insider — even if Selig is too defensive on steroids.
Debut Book Tells Of The Real-Life Longings And Frustrations Of 'Three Women' July 8, 2019 • Lisa Taddeo's first book is a work of deep observation, long conversations, and a kind of journalistic alchemy. She spent years with her subjects — and the investment pays off.
