Newly Published, From Elie Wiesel to ‘The Loneliest Americans’
A selection of books published this week.
The Decade That Changed America Forever
Kevin Boyle’s “The Shattering” tells the story of the profound disruptures that rocked the country in the 1960s.
'My Monticello' grapples with the past, present and future of American racism
The title novella of Jocelyn Nicole Johnson's debut is set in the near future in Charlottesville, Va., where descendants of Sally Hemings' take shelter from a racist mob in Thomas Jefferson's manor.
(Image credit: Macmillan )
To Cover World War II, These Women Journalists Fought Sexism at Home
“The Correspondents,” by Judith Mackrell, is a group portrait of six pioneering female war correspondents, and the considerable challenges they faced.
Is It Possible to Explain How Consciousness Works?
The neuroscientist Antonio Damasio has distilled his theories about consciousness in “Feeling & Knowing,” paring things down and using an accessible style.
Reality According to Tom McCarthy
His new novel, “The Making of Incarnation,” examines the arcane technologies that help shape the modern world.
An Artist in Lockdown, Forged by Catastrophe
In Sarah Hall’s novel “Burntcoat,” a fictionalized pandemic spurs a sculptor to productive heights.
Caught Between Worlds? So Are the Characters in These Books.
Three new historical novels introduce us to characters who can’t be in two places at once.
The Manhattan ‘Madam’ Who Hobnobbed With the City’s Elite
A new biography by Debby Applegate recounts the story of Polly Adler, who arrived in America from Russia at 13 and became New York’s most successful brothel owner, befriending mobsters, policemen, politicians and writers.
The Secret 53-Year-Old British Case That Could Have Legalized Trans Identity
“The Hidden Case of Ewan Forbes,” by Zoë Playdon, investigates a long-suppressed legal case involving an aristocratic Scotsman, who, raised, at least initially, as a girl, went to court to prove his male gender.
From a Small Nigerian Tribe to a Big American Publishing House
In Uwem Akpan’s debut novel, “New York, My Village,” a Black African editor traces tribalism at home and abroad.
The Century-Old Russian Novel Said to Have Inspired ‘1984’
“We,” by Yevgeny Zamyatin, transports us to an authoritarian society governed by technological efficiency.
Locked Down With Friends, Lovers and Rivals, in Gary Shteyngart’s New Novel
The characters in “Our Country Friends” retreat to a Hudson Valley estate, but the virus and the world are at their heels.
Does Life Imitate Art or Is It the Other Way Around?
In her new novel, “Still Life,” Sarah Winman delves into four decades’ worth of truth and beauty.
Was the Constitution Pro-Slavery? Jefferson Davis Thought So. Abraham Lincoln Didn’t.
Noah Feldman’s “The Broken Constitution” argues that Lincoln had to remake the American Constitution in order to battle slavery.
How Black Performance and Presence Shaped America
Michael Eric Dyson’s new book, “Entertaining Race,” compiles decades of his writing about the performance of Blackness and Black performance.
When the Nation That Shaped You Is Falling Apart
In “The Interim,” a novel by Wolfgang Hilbig, a writer is torn between two Germanys as the Cold War begins to thaw.
Book Review: ‘The Least of Us,’ by Sam Quinones
“The Least of Us,” by Sam Quinones, applies a kaleidoscopic approach to so-called designer drugs and efforts to combat addiction.
Huma Abedin's admiration for mentor Hillary Clinton is on full display in 'Both/And'
Abedin also reflects on her marriage to former Rep. Anthony Weiner, writing: "[Clinton] said that she did not believe I should pay a professional price for what was ultimately my husband's mistake."
There Will Come a Darkness
UnCovered review by Nancy Wessler, Librarian, ACLS Mays Landing Branch
Once, the world was ruled by the Seven Prophets. They used their visions to steer humanity towards prosperity, but then they disappeared, leaving behind one final secret prophecy foretelling of a coming darkness and birth of a new prophet–one that could be the world’s salvation or the means of its destruction. Flash forward one hundred years and we find our motley cast of characters on a collision course: A warrior doubting his fate and a prophet intent on avoiding his; a killer who’ll do anything to save a life and a girl living on stolen time; a prince in search of a country, a soldier in search of a king, a liar in search of the truth, and a deserter in search of revenge. Their world is already a tinder box as tensions between those who are Graced (in possession of heightened, magic-like strengths) and those who are not reaches a boiling point, and their meeting is certain to set the events of the final prophecy in motion. To what end? Only time will tell.
There Will Come a Darkness by Katy Rose Pool is a young adult fantasy featuring a diverse ensemble cast and multiple points of view. It is the first book in a recently completed trilogy and while this reader found the beginning of this book to be a little rough, by the time she reached the midpoint she was fully invested. And the sequels just get better and better. There’s action and romance and plenty of twists and secret backstories–all of it realistically developed and grippingly well crafted. This series explores themes of power, agency, and identity as well as the ways in which love can cause us to cross the line between villainy and heroism–in either direction. It also seeks to answer the question of what true atonement means and if it is ever really attainable.
Pages
Search this Site
 |
 |
 |
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
