Review: ‘Dead-End Memories,’ by Banana Yoshimoto
In “Dead-End Memories,” five stories about lonely women who encounter ghosts, infidelities, betrayals — and human connection.
9 New Books We Recommend This Week
Suggested reading from critics and editors at The New York Times.
Book Review: “The Hangman and His Wife,” by Nancy Dougherty
For “The Hangman and His Wife,” her biography of the prominent Nazi Reinhard Heydrich, Nancy Dougherty interviewed his widow.
‘The Only Woman’ in the Room
From journalists to politicians, activists to artists: Centuries’ worth of photos depict women holding their own in a man’s world.
Chaos Among Spies After the Berlin Wall Crumbles
Dan Fesperman talks about his new thriller, “Winter Work,” and Isaac Fitzgerald discusses his memoir, “Dirtbag, Massachusetts.”
“Swim Team: Small Waves, Big Changes” by Johnnie Christmas
Two picture books and a graphic novel treat swimming as an expansive state of being, slippery with promise.
The immersive novel 'Tomorrow' is a winner for gamers and n00bs alike
Gabrielle Zevin's beautifully written novel Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow tells the story of two childhood friends who become legendary names in the world of video game design.
(Image credit: Penguin Random House)
Review: ‘A Hard Place to Leave,’ by Marcia DeSanctis; ‘All Down Darkness Wide,’ by Seán Hewitt; ‘Into the Inferno,’ by Stuart Palley; ‘Crying in the Bathroom,’ by Erika L. Sánchez
From a wildfire photographer to a teenage misanthrope, these authors reflect on pain, courage and belonging.
Mohsin Hamid By the Book Interview
“About five years ago, alongside my more contemporary reading, I decided to read from back to front, historically speaking,” says the author, whose new novel is “The Last White Man.” “I began with the Sumerian ‘Instructions of Shuruppak,’ first written in cuneiform on clay tablets around 4,600 years ago.”
This Novelist Spun an Existential Question Into a Best Seller
In “The Measure,” Nikki Erlick shows what happens when adults across the globe are presented with the opportunity to learn when they will die.
New Crime Novels
The rot runs deep in George Dawes Green’s long-awaited fourth novel.
New Romance Novels
Our romance columnist found much to like in the latest crop of summer novels.
Newly Published, From Teen Witches to Critical Race Theory
A selection of books published this week.
Review: “Mercury Pictures Presents,” by Anthony Marra
In Anthony Marra’s new novel, “Mercury Pictures Presents,” a studio makes it big once America decides to enter the war.
New Self-Help Books
Need permission to be a grump — or just a normal human being who isn’t smiling all the time? Read these books.
Review: ‘The Boys,’ by Katie Hafner
“The Boys” begins with a letter from a bike touring company, asking the main character not to sign up for another trip. Why?
Review: ‘The Golden Age,’ by Wang Xiaobo
Wang Xiaobo’s “The Golden Age” is a novel of lust and loss during China’s Cultural Revolution.
Sparring Partners
UnCovered review by Collette Jones, Manager, ACLS Egg Harbor City Branch
Sparring Partners is another in a long list of John Grisham classics.
It’s an easy read on your summer vacation.
Fans and newcomers alike will not be
disappointed by John Grisham’s first collection of novellas. In the title
story, “Sparring Partners”, Bolton Malloy, disbarred from the firm he
created, is in prison for killing his wife. That the main sentiment of the
murder is that Bolton wasn’t careful enough in covering up the crime indicates
how disagreeable the victim was, and from this partnership came Rusty and Kirk,
two lawyer sons who detest each other. Because their father forced them to sign
an agreement that would result in acute penalties were they to leave Malloy
& Malloy, their bond is indissoluble and toxic. The only thing that could
make their situation more poisonous would be for Bolton to rejoin the firm, and
when their father comes up with a scheme to get out of prison, the boys devise
a plan to keep him in place. Add a seemingly sympathetic office manager who
turns out to be as thoroughly disagreeable and manipulative as the rest of the
cast, and by the end of the tale you just want everyone to be destroyed. Both
lawyers and non-lawyers will appreciate the layers found in the title story.
Kirk and Rusty Malloy took over a thriving law firm run by their father, who is
serving a prison term for murdering their mother. The antagonism between the
brothers is destroying the firm, and as it crumbles before them, we wonder how
they will survive.
“Homecoming,” the first of three stories that comprise the book, features one of the few characters who has appeared in multiple Grisham novels: Jake Brigance, a small-town practitioner with an office in Ford County, Mississippi. This time, Jake is asked to help an old friend, Mack Stafford, an attorney who found his life falling apart and elected to solve his dilemma by disappearing from town. This is a story of forgiveness, revenge, and friendship. Mack, living well in paradise, has buyer’s remorse and wants to reestablish a relationship with his two teenage daughters.
“Strawberry Moon” is the book’s most poignant novella. Cody Wallace is a young man on death row who is only three hours away from being executed.
Review: ‘How to Read Now,’ by Elaine Castillo
The essays in “How to Read Now” pose earnest questions about interpretation, inheritance and human understanding.
Diana Goetsch on ‘This Body I Wore’
Goetsch talks about her new memoir, and CJ Hauser discusses “The Crane Wife.”
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