The plots were formulaic. The characters lacked psychological complexity. Even the titles were repetitive. But as a pre-teen I was transfixed — and with new editions out, I still am.
In which we consult the Book Review’s past to shed light on the books of the present. This week: Jean Strouse and Eudora Welty on the “great books” they never finished.
The characters Neel Mukherjee's new novel all want better lives, and — to say the least — they're seldom rewarded. A State of Freedom is a dark, brutal read, but also surprisingly beautiful.
Ms. Woodson, a best-selling children’s book author, will travel the country, speaking to kids in schools, libraries, juvenile detention centers and other underserved areas.
Poor black lives weren’t depicted in the serious fiction of Hughes’s day. As Angela Flournoy notes, his debut novel, “Not Without Laughter,” changed that.