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The Week's Best Stories From NPR Books This week: Meg Wolitzer's latest, Charles Frazier returns to the Civil War, the pressures of being the only black person in the room, a new Macbeth, and marriage-saving tips from a divorce lawyer.
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The Week's Best Stories From NPR Books

This week: Meg Wolitzer, Charles Frazier, Jo Nesbo, Nafissa Thompson-Spires and James Sexton.
Brilliant To Dead: The High Art Of 'Lampoon' Satire

Rick Meyerowitz's The Mona Gorilla was featured on the cover of the National Lampoon's March 1971 issue. Courtesy of National Lampoon Inc. hide caption

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Courtesy of National Lampoon Inc.

Brilliant To Dead: The High Art Of 'Lampoon' Satire

In the spring of 1970, a daring new product hit American newsstands. It was called National Lampoon, and it made its name with sex- and drug-laden satire of everyday American life. Drunk Stoned Brilliant Dead is Lampoon contributor Rick Meyerowitz's account of the magazine's best years.

Brilliant To Dead: The High Art Of 'Lampoon' Satire

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David Sedaris, Anatomizing Us In 'Squirrel' Tales
Ian Falconer

David Sedaris, Anatomizing Us In 'Squirrel' Tales

The humorist, who made his name with personal essays and other nonfiction, tells Steve Inskeep that his return to fiction kept taking him to surprising places. But the unhappy endings? Those he could have predicted.

David Sedaris, Anatomizing Us In 'Squirrel' Tales

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In Donoghue's 'Room,' A Child Makes A World Of His Own

Irish playwright and novelist Emma Donoghue is also the author of the novels The Sealed Letter, Stir Fry, Hood and Slammerkin. Her latest novel, Room, has been shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize. Nina Subin hide caption

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Nina Subin

In Donoghue's 'Room,' A Child Makes A World Of His Own

Emma Donoghue's captivating novel Room is narrated by a 5-year-old boy named Jack. The setting is an 11-by-11-foot room where he lives with his mother — and when the book begins, it is the only world he has ever known.

In Donoghue's 'Room,' A Child's World Of His Own

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Ingrid Betancourt's Six Years In The Jungle

The Colombian politician was on her way to a remote village when she was abducted by members of the FARC in 2002. At first she thought she'd be held for only a few weeks — but then six years passed. She says she didn't want to make it easy on her captors despite being tortured, underfed and forced to march through the rain forest.

Ingrid Betancourt's Six Years In The Jungle

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Per Petterson: A Family Approach To Fiction

Born in Oslo, Per Petterson worked as a bookseller, a translator and literary critic before becoming a full-time writer. Finn Stale Felberg hide caption

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Finn Stale Felberg

Per Petterson: A Family Approach To Fiction

Let's get one thing straight: Norwegian author Per Petterson is not Stieg Larsson. They may both be Scandinavian, but Petterson's books are as quiet and contemplative as Larsson's are violent and action-packed.

Per Petterson: A Family Approach To Fiction

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'Girls Don't Cry': Hazards Of 'Campaigning While Female'

In a now famous moment during the 2008 presidential primaries, Hillary Clinton fought back tears after an undecided voter asked her how she managed to keep at it, day after day. Above, Clinton responds to a reporter's question about that uncharacteristic display of emotion. Joe Raedle/Getty Images hide caption

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Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Review

'Girls Don't Cry': Hazards Of 'Campaigning While Female'

Fresh Air

Rebecca Traister's incisive analysis of misogyny and gender roles in the 2008 election takes on Tina Fey's satire, "Iron My Shirt" T-shirts and Hillary Clinton's "Night of the Imaginary Tears."

'Girls Don't Cry': Beware 'Campaigning While Female'

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David Rakoff's 'Half Empty' Worldview Is Full Of Wit

David Rakoff's 'Half Empty' Worldview Is Full Of Wit

Fresh Air

Writer David Rakoff's glass is never half full. In Half Empty, his latest essay collection, Rakoff explains the powers of pessimistic thought as he analyzes topics such as a pornography trade fair, his neurotic childhood and his recent cancer diagnosis.

David Rakoff's 'Half Empty' Worldview Is Full Of Wit

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'Geometry Of Pasta': Full Of All Shapes And Sauces

Chef Jacob Kenedy created the recipes for the book — and says he struggled with some of them, like the dischi volanti.. Suzanne Mitchell hide caption

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Suzanne Mitchell

'Geometry Of Pasta': Full Of All Shapes And Sauces

In their new cookbook, The Geometry of Pasta, designer Caz Hildebrand and chef Jacob Kenedy set out to explain how certain sauces complement certain pasta shapes. From eliche to fusilli to strozzapreti, Kenedy says people simply have to tap into what he calls an enjoyable "mouth feel."

'Geometry Of Pasta': Full Of All Shapes And Sauces

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Michele Norris On Race, And 'The Grace Of Silence'
Matthew Worden

Michele Norris On Race, And 'The Grace Of Silence'

In her new memoir, NPR's All Things Considered co-host uncovers some painful family secrets — the "things left unsaid" by her African-American relatives as they tried to shield the younger generation from memories that haunted the past.

Michele Norris On Race, And 'The Grace Of Silence'

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Roald Dahl: The Story Of The 'Storyteller'

Roald Dahl in his writing hut. He used the hut as a place to escape and reconnect with his inner child. The Roald Dahl Museum and Story Centre hide caption

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The Roald Dahl Museum and Story Centre

Roald Dahl: The Story Of The 'Storyteller'

Readers know Roald Dahl through his books, specifically his children's stories. But Donald Sturrock's Storyteller: The Authorized Biography of Roald Dahl delves much deeper into the life of the famed author.

Roald Dahl: The Story Of The 'Storyteller'

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