The Crisis After the Midlife Crisis, Captured in Verse
In “Late Summer Ode,” Olena Kalytiak Davis describes the period after ambition has waned and the kids have moved out, leaving plenty of time to reflect on your mistakes.
Rust in the Root
UnCovered review by Nancy Wessler, Librarian, ACLS Mays Landing Branch
Rust In The Root is a spectacularly well-written historical fantasy set in an alternative version of 1930s America. In this universe, an event known as the Great Rust has blighted large swathes of the nation, leaving them uninhabitable and destroying their mechanical infrastructure. Uncontrolled magic use has been blamed, and the practice is now heavily regulated. Those who get to wield this power, those left begging for scraps, and those greeted with suspicion fall along America’s traditional fault lines–allowing for a brilliant, if not bleak, exploration of the ways in which Black bodies and talents have always been exploited and sacrificed in the name of American industry.
Enter into all of this: 17-year-old
Laura Ann Langston, a small-town girl struggling to survive in the Big Apple.
She came to the city to pursue her dream of gaining a license to practice magic
so that she might establish her own magical bakery. Fate, however, has far
greater plans for her. It’s not long before she’s caught up in the effort to
mediate the effects of the Great Rust and begins to uncover the dark secret at
the heart of the American Blight.
It must be said that
Laura Ann makes for a wonderful chosen one–headstrong and resourceful, confident
and forthright; she’s got all of the bravery of an archetypal hero but
refreshingly lacks their tendency toward self-sacrificing. And her flaws only
make her more engaging. She is surrounded by an excellent supporting cast, the
majority of which are African American, and any romances to be found are
queer.
There is quite a bit of
world-building at the beginning of the book and a decent amount of jargon to
assimilate. This may be off-putting for some readers, but after the first few
chapters, the book moves at a nice pace. This is a fantasy, as has been said,
and there is a certain delight that comes from seeing unicorns in Central Park;
but there are also strong elements of horror and definitely some gore. Just as
she did in Dread Nation and its sequel,
Ireland proves herself very adept at creating a sense of creeping dread and
inescapable wrongness. This is a dark story, make no mistake.
That said, the story is
not without light. Indeed, this is ultimately the tale of a girl who looks into
the darkness, sees all the horror, and says, “Enough. No more. I’m changing
things.” It’s a joy to watch her fly.
Book Review: ‘American Midnight,’ by Adam Hochschild
Adam Hochschild’s new book, “American Midnight,” offers a vivid account of the country during the years 1917-21, when extremism reached levels rarely rivaled in our history.
A Classic Novel of the Nazis’ Rise That Holds Lessons for Today
Lion Feuchtwanger’s 1933 novel “The Oppermanns,” newly reissued, raises salient questions about the relationship between art and politics.
Book Review: ‘Down and Out in Paradise,’ by Charles Leerhsen
“Down and Out in Paradise,” by Charles Leerhsen, is an unvarnished account of a turbulent life.
'The Hero of This Book' is a lightly fictionalized memoir that examines devotion
Elizabeth McCracken promised her mom she'd never write about her. But this work of fiction strives to conjure her up in order to prevent her from "evanescing."
(Image credit: Ecco)
Book Review, “The Hero of This Book,” by Elizabeth McCracken
In “The Hero of This Book,” Elizabeth McCracken plays with the usual novelistic conventions.
Book Review: ‘The Rupture Tense,’ by Jenny Xie
In “The Rupture Tense,” Jenny Xie looks at silence surrounding the Cultural Revolution and explores its lasting impact on her own family.
These fall graphic novels reflect the diversity of the genre
The comics renaissance continues this season with all sorts of great graphic novels in every genre imaginable — from Below Ambition to The Night Eaters to All Your Racial Problems Will Soon End.
(Image credit: Meghan Collins Sullivan/NPR)
7 Terrifying Horror Novels Perfect for Young Adult Readers
Kiersten White, the Bram Stoker Award-winning author of “The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein,” “Hide” and more, recommends a few of her favorite horror novels.
Book Review: “Breathless,” by David Quammen
In “Breathless,” David Quammen explores the predictable lead-up to the global Covid pandemic, and the frantic, belated attempts to stop it.
Celeste Ng on Race, Class and Suburbia
Ng discusses her best-selling 2017 novel, “Little Fires Everywhere,” and Judy Blume discusses her adult novel “In the Unlikely Event,” from 2015.
Review: “Ghostlight” by Kenneth Oppel
Our guest critic, a dead ringer for the elf who went to Halloween, weighs in on a trio of ghoulish treats.
The Secret Lives of Sperm Whales
Deep in waters rarely seen by humans, these “gentle goliaths” are back from near-extinction.
Book Review: “Nights of Plague,” by Orhan Pamuk
Set on an imaginary island at the twilight of the Ottoman Empire, “Nights of Plague,” by the Turkish novelist Orhan Pamuk, is a chronicle of an epidemic, a murder mystery and a winking literary game.
'Luda' isn't a book you read — it's a book you experience
Luda is a magical, multilayered, intoxicating story about identity, stardom, performance, lust, and death that could only have come from the prodigious mind of Grant Morrison.
(Image credit: Del Ray)
12 New Books We Recommend This Week
Suggested reading from critics and editors at The New York Times.
Book Review: “When McKinsey Comes to Town,” by Walt Bogdanich and Michael Forsythe
“When McKinsey Comes to Town,” by the Times reporters Walt Bogdanich and Michael Forsythe, argues that the legendary firm has accrued an inordinate amount of influence chasing profits at the expense of moral principle.
For Javier Zamora, Recording ‘Solito’ Was a Family Affair
In the studio, the best-selling author surrounded himself with people he loves. It shows in his audiobook.
New Romance Novels
Finding wonderful books that bring to mind old favorites is one of the genre’s greatest pleasures.
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