Book Review: ‘Violeta,’ by Isabel Allende

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A centenarian’s life mirrors the turbulence of her country’s in “Violeta.”

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/31/books/review/violeta-isabel-allende.html

Why Book Ban Efforts Are Spreading Across the U.S.

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Challenges to books about sexual and racial identity are nothing new in American schools, but the tactics and politicization are.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/30/books/book-ban-us-schools.html

Guns, Race, Abortion: Jennifer Haigh’s New Novel Humanizes Hot-Button Topics

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Haigh’s latest book, “Mercy Street,” is set at a women’s clinic in Boston where the threat of violence is pervasive.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/30/books/review-mercy-street-jennifer-haigh.html

One Good Antarctic Explorer Deserves Another

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The adventurer Ranulph Fiennes has written a biography of Ernest Shackleton, telling the life story of the famed explorer while also describing his own exploits.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/28/books/review/shackelton-ranulph-fiennes.html

Ron Goulart, Writer Who Spanned Genres, Dies at 89

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He wrote science fiction, mystery, fantasy and romance novels, collaborated with William Shatner on the “TekWar” books and turned Groucho Marx into a private eye.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/28/books/ron-goulart-dead.html

Toni Morrison’s Only Short Story Addresses Race by Avoiding Race

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“Recitatif,” originally published in 1983 and now available in book form, features a Black girl and a white girl, but Morrison never identifies which is which.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/28/books/review/toni-morrison-recitatif.html

Elizabeth Taylor, Jim Harrison and Other Letters to the Editor

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Readers respond to recent issues of the Sunday Book Review.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/28/books/review/elizabeth-taylor-letters-to-the-editor.html

Newly Published, From Afro-Atlantic Histories to GameStop

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A selection of books published this week.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/28/books/review/new-this-week.html

A Cooks Tour: 3 Picture Books About Famous Foodies

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Georgia Gilmore, Alice Waters and Julia Child show kids that food has the power to make our worlds bigger, better and more connected.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/28/books/review/julia-child-alex-prudhomme-alice-waters-georgia-gilmore.html

This winter’s comfort foods.

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What we’re eating.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/27/at-home/newsletter.html

12 New Books Coming in February

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Epics from Olga Tokarczuk and Marlon James, long-awaited new novels by Sheila Heti and Julie Otsuka, Chuck Klosterman’s investigation into the 1990s and more.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/27/books/february-new-books.html

Poem: Self-Portrait With Father

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A heartbreaking ending points to the selective memory of trauma.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/27/magazine/poem-self-portrait-with-father.html

Want to Be a Writer? Get Your Training as a Wedding Planner.

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Before Xochitl Gonzalez wrote her best-selling debut novel, “Olga Dies Dreaming,” she produced elaborate events. The experience was invaluable.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/27/books/review/olga-dies-dreaming-xochitl-gonzalez.html

The Lyric Decision: How Poets Figure Out What Comes Next

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There are endless ways to write a poem, but Rilke offered one foolproof formula that echoes throughout several recent collections.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/25/books/review/elisa-gabbert-lyric-decision-poetry.html

Piecing Together God’s Body, From Head to Toe

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In “God: An Anatomy,” Francesca Stavrakopoulou attempts to understand divinity as our ancestors did, as having a corporeal presence.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/25/books/review/god-francesca-stavrakopoulou.html

Book Review: ‘South to America,’ by Imani Perry

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In “South to America: A Journey Below the Mason-Dixon to Understand the Soul of a Nation,” Imani Perry straddles genres to find her own — and our — South.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/25/books/review/south-to-america-imani-perry.html

It’s Just a Game. Or Is It?

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In “Seven Games: A Human History,” Oliver Roeder presents a study of checkers, backgammon, chess, Go, poker, Scrabble and bridge — and asks why we play.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/25/books/review/seven-games-oliver-roeder.html

A Shipwreck Leads to a Reckoning

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In “The Last Slave Ship,” Ben Raines tells the story of the Clotilda, the founding of Africatown, Ala., and a history that wouldn’t stay buried.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/25/books/review/the-last-slave-ship-ben-raines.html

Book Review: ‘The Books of Jacob,’ by Olga Tokarczuk

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Set in the mid-18th century, Olga Tokarczuk’s enormous novel is about a charismatic self-proclaimed messiah who attracts and repels crowds and authorities in equal measure.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/24/books/review-books-of-jacob-olga-tokarczuk.html

Donna Barba Higuera Wins Newbery Medal for ‘The Last Cuentista’

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“Watercress,” illustrated by Jason Chin and written by Andrea Wang, won the Caldecott Medal.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/24/books/newbery-last-cuentista-caldecott-watercress.html

Dennis Smith, Firefighter Who Wrote Best Sellers, Dies at 81

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“Report from Engine Co. 82” was the first of his 16 books. He also started Firehouse magazine and was the founding chairman of the New York City Fire Museum.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/23/obituaries/dennis-smith-dead.html

How a Nostalgic Novel About Spain’s Heartland Joined the Political Fray

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Ana Iris Simón wrote “Feria” to depict a way of life she fears is vanishing. She didn’t expect its message to be embraced by conservatives in her country.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/23/books/ana-iris-simon-feria-spain.html

Weike Wang’s Antisocial Novel, ‘Joan Is Okay’

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The author of “Chemistry” returns with a wry and awkward heroine who prefers the company of machines to her fellow humans.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/23/books/review/weike-wang-joan-is-okay.html

What to Do This Weekend

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It’s a TV bumper crop.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/21/at-home/newsletter.html

Michael Schur’s Unending Quest to Be Perfect

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The comedy writer, known for shows like “Parks and Recreation” and “The Good Place,” has a surprising new project: a book about moral philosophy that explores how to be a good person.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/20/books/michael-schur-how-to-be-perfect.html

Tom McCarthy Thinks the Wrong Kurt Vonnegut Book Is Famous

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“I was really disappointed when I read ‘Slaughterhouse-Five,’” says the author of “The Making of Incarnation” and other novels. “But then I read his ‘Mother Night,’ and thought it was brilliant.”

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/20/books/review/tom-mccarthy-by-the-book-interview.html

They Made the Most of the Opioid Crisis. Until They Didn’t.

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In “The Hard Sell,” the journalist Evan Hughes tells the story of the rise and fall of Insys Therapeutics — and the larger pharmaceutical industry.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/19/books/review/hard-sell-evan-hughes.html

A Recovery Journey That Isn’t

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David Sanchez’ debut novel, “All Day Is a Long Time,” paints a kaleidoscopic portrait of life with addiction.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/18/books/review/all-day-is-a-long-time-david-sanchez.html

How the English Language Conquered the World

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Rosemary Salomone’s “The Rise of English” looks at the economic, social and cultural impact of English around the world.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/18/books/review/the-rise-of-english-rosemary-salomone.html

Is Civil War Coming to America?

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Two books, “How Civil Wars Start,” by Barbara F. Walter, and “The Next Civil War,” by Stephen Marche, examine if the United States is facing upheaval.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/18/books/review/how-civil-wars-start-barbara-f-walter-the-next-civil-war-stephen-marche.html

Did John F. Kennedy and the Democrats Steal the 1960 Election?

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“Campaign of the Century,” a new book by Irwin F. Gellman, revives an old contention that Richard Nixon actually won the presidency in 1960.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/18/books/review/campaign-of-the-century-kennedy-nixon-1960-irwin-f-gellman.html

‘The Kite Runner’ Is Coming to Broadway

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The 2007 play based on Khaled Hosseini’s novel has been widely produced, including on the West End in London. It will come to Broadway in July.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/18/theater/kite-runner-broadway.html

Steve Jenkins, 69, Dies; His Children’s Books Brought Science to Life

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In plain language, he answered many burning questions: How do you catch a fly? What do animals do the day they’re born? How loud is a lion’s roar?

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/16/books/steve-jenkins-dead.html

Letters to the Editor

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Readers respond to recent issues of the Sunday Book Review.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/14/books/review/letters-to-the-editor.html

Newly Published, From Virtual Worlds to a History of Clothing

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A selection of books published this week.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/14/books/review/new-this-week.html

Mommy Is Going Away for Awhile

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The antiheroine of the moment, in movies like “The Lost Daughter” and novels like “I Love You But I’ve Chosen Darkness,” commits the mother’s ultimate sin: abandoning her children.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/14/movies/bad-moms-lost-daughter.html

Book Review: ‘You Don’t Know Us Negroes,’ by Zora Neale Hurston

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A new collection of essays, some appearing here for the first time, reveals the Harlem Renaissance author’s intellectual breadth.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/14/books/review/you-dont-know-us-negroes-zora-neale-hurston.html

Hope Gained and Lost, in New Fiction From Around the World

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In novels from Ireland, Sweden and Japan: tales of terminal illness, a gruesome murder and time travel.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/14/books/review/as-you-were-elaine-feeney-sara-stridsberg-the-antarctica-of-love-toshikazu-kawaguchi-tales-from-the-cafe.html

Two High-Powered Black Attorneys Confront a Justice System’s Flaws

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“Just Pursuit,” by Laura Coates, a former federal prosecutor, and “The Rage of Innocence,” by Kristin Henning, a longtime juvenile defense lawyer, detail the moral quandaries and bias they encountered in their work.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/14/books/review/just-pursuit-laura-coates-the-rage-of-innocence-kristin-henning.html

What Does It Mean to Be a ‘High-Risk Homosexual’?

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Edgar Gomez’s debut memoir recounts a life of resisting compulsory masculinity.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/14/books/review/high-risk-homosexual-edgar-gomez.html

The Book That Turned Annie Leibovitz Into a Photographer

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“I became a photographer because of ‘The World of Henri Cartier-Bresson,’ which was published when I was a student at the San Francisco Art Institute. I was studying painting. Maybe it was something about the word ‘world,’ as well as the pictures, that seduced me.”

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/13/books/review/annie-leibovitz-by-the-book-interview.html

Finding Joy Through Art at the End of the World in ‘Station Eleven’

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Emily St. John Mandel talks about the pandemic novel she wrote years before Covid-19 and the HBO Max adaptation that some viewers have found oddly life-affirming.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/13/books/station-eleven-hbo-emily-st-john-mandel.html

Leading Bookseller’s Private Collection Goes Up for Sale

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Christie’s will auction the personal Americana collection of William Reese, which carries an estimate of $12 million to $18 million.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/13/arts/christies-rare-books-william-reese.html

Into the Belly of the Whale With Sjón

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The Icelandic novelist, poet and Bjork collaborator is a surrealist for our time.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/13/magazine/sjon-poet-novelist-lyricist.html

Poem: My Sister, Who Died Young, Takes Up the Task

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This poem is an example of how abundant emotions can be conveyed by stripping language down to the bone.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/13/magazine/poem-my-sister-who-died-young-takes-up-the-task.html

New Best Sellers Run the Gamut From Escapist to Galvanizing

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Nita Prose’s novel whisks you to a luxury hotel, while Jamie Raskin’s memoir is a reminder of what really matters: home, family and democracy.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/13/books/review/the-maid-nita-prose.html

‘American Urbanist,’ a Well-Timed Biography of a Man Who Reshaped City Life

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Richard K. Rein’s book tells the story of William H. Whyte, a sociologist who wrote “The Organization Man” and helped to rethink how cities look and feel.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/12/books/review-american-urbanist-william-h-whyte-biography-richard-rein.html

Does Art Have to Be Relevant? One Prominent Critic Says No.

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The composer John Adams reviews a new book by Jed Perl, “Authority and Freedom: A Defense of the Arts.”

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/12/books/review/authority-and-freedom-a-defense-of-the-arts-jed-perl.html

A Memoir of a Young Girl’s Survival Amid Mounting Horrors

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In “Mala’s Cat,” Mala Kacenberg describes her time hiding out in the forest during World War II after losing her family.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/12/books/review/malas-cat-mala-kacenberg.html

A Chilling Debut Novel Puts Mothers Under Surveillance and Into Parenting Rehab

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Jessamine Chan’s “The School for Good Mothers” takes up themes of autonomy and technology in imagining an experimental facility where parents go through mandatory retraining.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/11/books/review-school-for-good-mothers-jessamine-chan.html

Book Review: ‘To Paradise,’ by Hanya Yanagihara

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“To Paradise” spans centuries and continents with a dizzying array of themes, situations and motifs.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/07/books/review/to-paradise-hanya-yanagihara.html

National Endowment for the Humanities Announces $24.7 Million in New Grants

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The awards will support projects including Cherokee language translation, a digital map of jazz and hip-hop in Queens, and a study of the secret language of French butchers.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/11/arts/neh-grants.html

Overlooked No More: Theresa Hak Kyung Cha, Artist and Author Who Explored Identity

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She was murdered after the publication of her first novel, “Dictee,” a challenging exploration of Korean history and immigrant life that inspires Asian American writers today.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/07/obituaries/theresa-hak-kyung-cha-overlooked.html

10 New Books We Recommend This Week

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Suggested reading from critics and editors at The New York Times.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/06/books/review/10-new-books-we-recommend-this-week.html

Where Do Best-Selling Authors Want You to Buy Their Books?

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Writers are always extolling the virtues of independent bookstores, but sometimes their websites tell a different story.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/06/books/review/the-lincoln-highway-amor-towles.html

F.B.I. Arrests Man Accused of Stealing Unpublished Book Manuscripts

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Filippo Bernardini, an Italian citizen who worked in publishing, was charged with wire fraud and identity theft for a scheme that prosecutors said affected hundreds of people over five or more years.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/05/books/publishing-manuscripts-phishing-scam-filippo-bernardini.html

The New Year Begins

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Let’s hear it for achievable goals.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/05/at-home/newsletter.html

YIVO Institute Makes Archives of Yiddish Life Available Online

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After a lengthy effort, artifacts from collections in Lithuania and New York that document Yiddish culture in Eastern Europe before World War II will be accessible to scholars and others.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/05/arts/yivo-institute-archives-yiddish-life-online.html

‘How Civil Wars Start,’ a Warning About the State of the Union

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In her new book, Barbara F. Walter makes the case that the United States is firmly within the “danger zone” for more political violence.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/03/books/review-how-civil-wars-start-barbara-walter.html

‘Three Minutes: A Lengthening’ Looks at Jewish Life Before Nazi Invasion

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A documentary based on a home movie shot by an American in 1938 provides a look at the vibrancy of a Jewish community in Europe just before the Holocaust.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/03/movies/three-minutes-a-lengthening-documentary.html

Noah Hawley Keeps Changing Lanes

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The show runner behind “Fargo” and “Legion” is also a novelist. His latest, “Anthem,” is set in a divided America with a touch of magical realism.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/02/books/noah-hawley-anthem.html

Dread, Lust and Russians

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Our critic recommends old and new books.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/01/books/read-like-the-wind.html