True Love Doesn’t Come Easy in David Nicholls’ Us
David Nicholls, author of the phenomenally successful One Day, delivers again with Us, a bittersweet family drama that was long-listed for…
Book Reviews
5 Facts About The Princess Bride We Learned From As You Wish
If there is a universal cultural touchstone in this fractured world, it is, perhaps, The Princess Bride. Between the ever-quotable Rob…
Marilynne Robinson’s Lila is 2014’s Great American Novel
Author Marilynne Robinson has written either two or three Great American Novels, depending on who’s counting, most prominently the 2005…
Ancillary Sword Is a Fantastic Follow-up to an Award-Winning Debut
Whether through kismet or design, Ann Leckie’s 2013 debut novel, Ancillary Justice, was exactly the right book, released at exactly the…
7 Things I Learned from Atul Gawande’s Being Mortal
Sometimes the right book comes your way at exactly the right time. I’ve always loved Atul Gawande’s writing—with his compassion…
Meg Wolitzer’s YA Debut, Belzhar, Turns Grief Into A Special Realm
Who isn’t emotionally fragile at some point in their teen years? And who doesn’t long to be picked out of…
YA Romance Across Segregationist Lines: Lies We Tell Ourselves by Robin Talley
Segregation and the battle for civil rights is a fundamental part of American history, showing our nation’s people at both…
Wide-Angle Madness In David Cronenberg’s Consumed
David Cronenberg is a film director with a flair for the visually abstract (Scanners, Videodrome, eXistenZ, Crash), and a particular talent…
War, Murder, and Intrigue: James Ellroy’s Perfidia
James Ellroy’s newest novel, Perfidia, is a rollicking ride through the depths of L.A.’s seedy wartime underbelly. The story picks…
A Relentless Thriller Moves from Page to Screen in Dennis Lehane’s The Drop
Fans of author Dennis Lehane know that his novels are smart, sharp page-turners. They’re thickly plotted, laced with violence, and…
Tana French’s The Secret Place Will Lose You in a Thick, Irish (Teenage) Fog
Sometimes there’s nothing better than cozying up with a big, juicy thriller that sets your heart racing. Tana French fans…
In The Frangipani Hotel, the Story Doesn’t End at the Grave
When it comes to magical realism, especially magical realism set in East Asia, Japanese superstar Haruki Murakami gets all the…
Lay It On My Heart Is a Rare and Lovely Novel
Lay It On My Heart is a rare, lovely novel. It is about, and from the point of view of, a…
On Reading Bad Feminist at the Spa
I took Roxane Gay’s collection of essays, Bad Feminist, to a nail salon and read it while getting a pedicure. Though she…
Jillian and Mariko Tamaki’s Latest, Luminous Graphic Novel
The huge bummer of the graphic novel is that someone labors for ages over their creation and then you sit…
Marie-Helene Bertino’s 2 A.M. at The Cat’s Pajamas is Mesmerizing
Madeleine, a brassy 9-year-old girl with an exquisite singing voice and a grim home life; Sarina, a lonely, divorced fifth-grade…
Elizabeth Little’s Dear Daughter Is an Up-All-Night Whodunit
I was kneeling in the proofs section of a local used bookshop, ripping titles down with that animal angst you…
Robin Black’s Life Drawing Resonates
At a time when novels’ female characters are routinely declawed in order to make them “sympathetic,” Gus, the narrator of…
Alan Furst’s Midnight in Europe Is a Fast-Paced, Dangerous Ride
It’s tempting, if you’re not already interested in war stories, to overlook the works of Alan Furst. “Oh yeah,” you…
Close Your Eyes, Hold Hands is a Searing Portrayal of a Nuclear Disaster
The newest book by Chris Bohjalian (best-selling author of The Sandcastle Girls), Close Your Eyes, Hold Hands tells the haunting story of…