Fiction: David Ferry Won the National Book Award in His 80s. In His 90s, He Has Translated Virgil.
Ferry’s “Aeneid” sometimes prunes lines from the Latin original, turning his translation into more of a paraphrase.
Fiction: A Version of Homer That Dares to Match Him Line for Line
Emily Wilson’s landmark translation of the “Odyssey” matches the original’s line count while drawing on a spare, simple and direct idiom.
New & Noteworthy
A selection of books published this week; plus, a peek at what our colleagues around the newsroom are reading.
Books News: A Final Work by Sam Shepard Reveals His Struggle With Lou Gehrig’s Disease
The celebrated playwright spent the last months of his life working tirelessly on a final book, an intimate and philosophical look at his protagonist’s — and his own — health struggles.
Do Politics Matter In Poetry? New Biography Explores The Case Of Ezra Pound
A central figure in 20th century poetry, Pound was also an outspoken fascist. In The Bughouse, Daniel Swift investigates whether or not the poet's politics and madness matter to his work.
(Image credit: Keystone/Getty Images)
Nonfiction: A Last Glimpse Into the Mind of Oliver Sacks
Nicole Krauss reviews “The River of Consciousness,” a book of Sacks’s essays covering his favored topics, like the evolution of life and the workings of memory.
Nonfiction: The Ku Klux Klan’s Surprising History
Linda Gordon’s “The Second Coming of the KKK” recounts an ugly chapter of the American past.
Girl Meets Frog Monster In 'Mrs. Caliban'
This season's secret weapon in literary banter will be Mrs. Caliban, a peculiar, wonderful, overlooked 1983 novella by Rachel Ingalls, about a housewife whose life is upended by a suave frog monster.
(Image credit: New Directions)
Emily Wilson's 'Odyssey' Scrapes The Barnacles Off Homer's Hull
Wilson — the first woman to translate The Odyssey — has created a fresh, authoritative and slyly humorous version of Homer's epic that scours away archaisms while preserving nuance and complexity.
(Image credit: )
'Dawn Of The New Everything' Argues For Human-Centered Technology
Virtual reality pioneer Jaron Lanier's book is part memoir, part history of the development of VR, and an unexpected but welcome comparison of the promises of VR with those of artificial intelligence.
(Image credit: Jennifer Kerrigan/NPR)
Books News: Sex, Plagiarism and Spyware. This Is Not Your Average Copyright Complaint.
Dueling lawsuits by novelist Emma Cline and her ex-boyfriend involve high-profile lawyers in what has become a high-profile case.
Newsbook: Should the Internet Be Regulated?
Three books tackle this question.
The Book Review Podcast: The History of Jann Wenner and Rolling Stone
Joe Hagan talks about “Sticky Fingers,” and Simon Winchester discusses “The Taste of Empire” and “A Thirst for Empire.”
Art Books: Capturing a Lost Generation in Photographs
“Generation Wealth,” a lavish new monograph by Lauren Greenfield, traces the moral decline of the rich and famous over the last two decades.
Inside the List: Louise Erdrich on Pregnancy and Who Controls Women’s Bodies
“When you’re pregnant,” Erdrich said recently, “everybody puts their hands on you.” Her new novel, “Future Home of the Living God,” hit the best-seller list last week.
Children’s Books: Bells Are Ringing! 5 New Holiday Books for Children
Seeing the Nutcracker, tweaking family traditions, spilling the beans about Santa and more in this season’s holiday books for children.
Paperback Row
Six new paperbacks to check out this week.
Children’s Books: Feasts for Young Readers’ Eyes
These gift-worthy books offer kids puzzles to solve, pop-up marvels, surprising facts about pirates and more.
Nonfiction: Creating a Lost World, From the Fossils Out
In “Paleoart,” the art critic Zoë Lescaze tracks the evolving representations of dinosaurs in both fine art and popular culture.
Nonfiction: In ‘It’s All Relative,’ A.J. Jacobs Shakes the Family Tree
In Jacobs’s new book, he tries to organize the largest family reunion ever, all while exploring the territory of genealogy and kinship.
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