Revisiting Baldwin vs. Buckley
Nicholas Buccola talks about “The Fire Is Upon Us,” and Lydia Millet discusses “The Children’s Bible.”
Review: “Victory. Stand! Raising My Fist for Justice” by Tommie Smith and Derrick Barnes
It’s who Jackie Robinson and Tommie Smith were off the field that elevates two new books about them.
Book Review: “Savor,” by Fatima Ali
In “Savor,” readers get to know Fatima Ali, the brave woman who was beloved by Food Network audiences and her family.
Book Review: ‘A Ballet of Lepers,’ by Leonard Cohen
A posthumous release of the songwriter’s unseen novel and stories from the 1950s reveals his nascent fascination with human frailty.
11 New Books We Recommend This Week
Suggested reading from critics and editors at The New York Times.
In Annie Ernaux, a Nobel Laureate Who Plumbs Her Own Passions
The French writer, who was awarded the 2022 Nobel Prize in Literature, blurs the line between fiction and memoir with spare prose she has characterized as “brutally direct.”
Book Review: ‘Pretty Baby,’ by Chris Belcher; ‘Hysterical,’ by Elissa Bassist; ‘I’m Not Broken,’ by Jesse Leon
Three memoirs recount past harm — consensual and not.
Ignoramuses Are Gaining Ground, Andy Borowitz Warns
In his new book, the satirist and comedian traces the rise of ill-equipped politicians and considers how to thwart them.
Temple Grandin Is a Visual Thinker Who Hates Graphic Novels
“It is too difficult for me to constantly switch back and forth between the pictures and the text bubbles,” says the animal behaviorist and advocate for autistic people, whose new book (with Betsy Lerner) is “Visual Thinking.” “I like technical and scientific books with lots of illustrations.”
Fantasy grifter 'Kalyna the Soothsayer' will charm her way into your heart
Elijah Kinch Spector's con artist caught up in court intrigues turns fantasy fortuneteller tropes inside out. Kalyna is not only the novel's unlikely hero, but she's also a shameless fake.
(Image credit: Erewhon)
Book Review: “Half American,” by Matthew F. Delmont
“Half American,” by the historian Matthew F. Delmont, provides a fresh account of the war, stressing the particular challenges — from segregation to racist violence — confronted by Black service members.
Newly Published, From Ancient Paper to a Kentucky Farm
A selection of recently published books.
Celeste Ng's powerful new dystopian novel reflects our headlines back to us
Our Missing Hearts imagines a world of governmental cruelty — and the armies of citizens who both facilitate and resist. It's a masterful work that epitomizes the possibilities of storytelling.
Book Review: ‘LOOKING FOR THE HIDDEN FOLK,’ by Nancy Marie Brown
In “Looking for the Hidden Folk,” Nancy Marie Brown makes a strong case for everyday wonder.
Book Review: “Waging a Good War” by Thomas E. Ricks
In “Waging a Good War,” Thomas E. Ricks examines the civil rights movement through the lens of military history.
Book Review: “The Winners,” by Frederik Backman
In “The Winners,” the Swedish author wraps up his Beartown trilogy.
Book Review: ‘Over My Dead Body,’ by Greg Melville
A new book tells the history of America through its cemeteries.
Book Review: ‘Life Is Hard,’ by Kieran Setiya
In acknowledging struggle, Kieran Setiya’s “Life Is Hard” offers an alternative to the bromides.
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.
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