Our Back Pages: Notes From the Book Review Archives
In which we consult the Book Review’s past to shed light on the books of the present. This week: Amy Tan’s debut, “The Joy Luck Club.”
Letters to the Editor
Readers respond to recent issues of the Sunday Book Review.
The Enthusiast: In Praise of Elizabeth Hardwick
“Of all the books I have reread to comfort myself, I have turned most often to ‘Sleepless Nights,’ not without a little bitter tang of irony because of its title.”
Editors’ Choice: 10 New Books We Recommend This Week
Suggested reading from critics and editors at The New York Times.
Fiction: Neither Here Nor There: Living and Loving Between China and America
Two debut novels, “Number One Chinese Restaurant,” by Lillian Li, and “The Emperor of Shoes,” by Spencer Wise, feature characters whose lives are deeply entangled with two cultures.
An Aging Philip Marlowe Returns In 'Only To Sleep'
Lawrence Osborne's new Marlowe novel brings us a version of the gumshoe in his 70s, lonely and slow, looking into another mysterious death. It's a book that seems simple, but hides cavernous depths.
(Image credit: )
By the Book: Simon Rich: By the Book
The humor writer Simon Rich, whose latest collection is “Hits and Misses,” would love to see his life as a Ken Burns documentary: “Just a lot of slow pans of me typing on my computer, while sitting in different positions. And the whole time, inexplicably, there’s jazz.”
Fiction: A Novel About Growing Up in the Middle of Death
Ingrid Rojas Contreras’s “Fruit of the Drunken Tree” describes life in war-torn Colombia, based on the author’s personal experience.
Fiction: A Debut Novel Mixes Lust With the Directionless of Youth
In Andrew Martin’s “Early Work,” the already shiftless life of a struggling writer is derailed by romantic infatuation.
Fiction: When First Love Is as Lethal as Religious Extremism
In R.O. Kwon’s debut novel, “The Incendiaries,” the central characters fall hard, both for each other and into the trap of a fundamentalist cult.
In 'Give Me Your Hand,' A Bond Forged By Secrets Can't Be Broken
Megan Abbott's new novel centers on a two young women whose high school friendship has morphed into professional rivalry. Critic Maureen Corrigan calls Give Me Your Hand a "spectacular thriller."
Nonfiction: Before the Holocaust, Jewish Suffering Had One Name: Kishinev
Steven Zipperstein’s “Pogrom” offers an account of a 1903 massacre of Jews that had far-reaching implications.
Spicer Book Offers Insight On Conservative Politics, Doubles Down On Misstatements
The former Trump press officer intelligently dissects the reward structure of viral Twitter and gives a valuable sketch of conservative politics, but he seems to have written "The Briefing" to an end.
(Image credit: Eslah Attar/NPR)
'Hits And Misses' Doesn't Miss A Beat
Simon Rich's new collection welcomes readers to his sweet but twisted world, with laugh-out-loud stories about everything from a competitively ascetic monk to a baby writer born in tweed and glasses.
(Image credit: )
New & Noteworthy
A selection of books published this week; plus, a peek at what our colleagues around the newsroom are reading.
Newsbook: Read These 3 Books About Putin and Russian Interference in the 2016 Elections
Comments by President Trump last week cast doubt on his faith in American intelligence agencies. These books explain what’s at stake.
Nonfiction: A History of Everything, Served in a Cold Glass of Milk
Mark Kurlansky’s latest history, “Milk!,” ranges wide, from breast-feeding to crème vichyssoise glacée.
Nonfiction: How Sweet It Is. And How Malignant.
James Walvin’s “Sugar: The World Corrupted: From Slavery to Obesity” describes the problems with an all-too-familiar commodity.
Children’s Books: Facts About the Natural World Astound and Delight in These Picture Books
Dancing bees, ruthless hawks, sensitive whales and an eternal forest in picture books by Evan Turk, Isabelle Arsenault, Brian Floca and more.
Essay: How Does a Novelist Write About a School Shooting?
Richard Russo reflects on readers’ reactions to “Empire Falls,” his Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, which was published in 2001, when school shootings were not so common.
Pages
Search this Site
 |
 |
 |
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
