Nonfiction: Critical Thinkers: The Ties That Bind Orwell and Churchill
Apparently they never met. But the common cause of George Orwell and Winston Churchill resonates powerfully today, Thomas Ricks writes in this dual biography.
In 'A King's Obsession,' Anne Boleyn's True Love Is Power
Alison Weir takes a fresh look at familiar territory in this retelling of the story of Anne Boleyn. Weir's version of Anne is fiercely smart and guilty only of craving power that was hers by right.
(Image credit: Raquel Zaldivar/NPR)
We Have Always Been Bored — 'Yawn' Wonders Why
Mary Mann's new book digs into a phenomenon as old as humanity: boredom. Why do we get bored? Is there a cure? Yawn is a thoughtful read, but its mix of autobiography and scholarship doesn't jell.
(Image credit: Raquel Zaldivar/NPR)
An American Abroad Searches For Self In 'Florence In Ecstasy'
Jessie Chaffee's novel about a troubled young American woman in Florence is beautiful and exhausting; stick with it, and you'll find a thoughtful reexamination of a classic trope, the American abroad.
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It's The Nuggets That Shine In 'The Golden Cockerel'
The title piece in Mexican master Juan Rulfo's The Golden Cockerel is a good story with a simple point: Life is short and then you die. It's the sketches and fragments that come after that amaze.
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In 'Bad Dreams,' Tessa Hadley Serves Up Satisfying Short Stories
There are plenty of story collections out now to start your summer with, but Tessa Hadley tops the pile with Bad Dreams, ten richly complex tales of characters pushing the boundaries of their lives.
(Image credit: Claire Harbage/NPR)
The Free-Wheeling Style Of Art Ensemble of Chicago Shines In 'Message to Our Folks'
Paul Steinbeck's new book chronicles the antics, both on and off stage, of the storied jazz ensemble. Critic Kevin Whitehead says Message to Our Folks celebrates the band's success on their own terms.
4 Romances To Kick Off Your Summer
The weather is warming, the flowers are blooming, and our fancies turn lightly to thoughts of ... well, some really good romance novels. Here are four delicious reads to make your Maytime merry.
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'A Face Like Glass' Is A Magical, Perfectly Ticking Machine Of A Tale
Frances Hardinge's new novel is set in a wondrous underground city where crafts can be magic and the people are born with faces like blank canvas; they must purchase each new expression at great cost.
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'Based On A True Story' May Not Be True — But It's Still Scary
French novelist Delphine De Vigan follows up her tell-all 2012 memoir with a creepy tale of a blocked novelist — also named Delphine — who falls under the sway of an elegant, menacing ghostwriter.
(Image credit: Emily Bogle/NPR)
'Seeing People Off' Is A Short, Strange Trip
Slovak author Jana Beňová's English language debut is a bizarre, oblique — but beautiful — series of vignettes about a couple who spend their time drinking and smoking in Bratislava coffee shops.
(Image credit: Emily Bogle/NPR)
'No One Can Pronounce My Name' Is A Charming Take On Loneliness And Connection
Set in an Indian-American community in suburban Cleveland, Rakesh Satyal's new novel uses intertwined plots to explore the comedy of everyday life. Critic Maureen Corrigan says readers will be amused.
(Image credit: Claire Harbage/NPR)
'House Of Names' Is A Violent Page-Turner, And A Surprising Departure
Colm Tóibín ventures far afield — in time and place — for this heart-stopping take on the tragedy of Clytemnestra and her family, reanimated with suffering the ancient Greeks never imagined.
(Image credit: Emily Bogle/NPR)
'Priestdaddy' Shimmers With Wonderful, Obscene Life
Patricia Lockwood's scabrous memoir of growing up with a married Catholic priest for a father is a little overreliant on quirky family details, but scorching in its approach to the Catholic Church.
(Image credit: Emily Bogle/NPR)
Thin But Fun, 'Off Rock' Is An Old-Fashioned Space Caper
Kieran Shea's novel follows a grizzled galactic miner who stumbles across a vein of gold on a nearly tapped-out asteroid. He just has to get the gold off-rock without attracting anyone's attention.
(Image credit: Marian Carrasquero/NPR)
'The United States Of Absurdity' Looks At Our Dark (And Hilarious) History
A new book from the hosts of the history-comedy podcast The Dollop investigates the dark side of American history — and reminds us that our current upheavals are part of a grand national tradition.
(Image credit: Illustration by James Fosdike/Courtesy of Ten Speed Press)
'Pantsuit Nation' Serves Up Nostalgia, Uplift, Heartbreak. But Why?
For Hillary Clinton's staunchest supporters, reading Pantsuit Nation may be like reading an ex's love letters just after a breakup: a flood of memories, a little too soon, and with no clear purpose.
(Image credit: JEWEL SAMAD/AFP/Getty Images)
An Old Soldier Is Back In Action In 'City Of Miracles'
As Robert Jackson Bennett's Divine Cities series draws to a close, grizzled old enforcer Sigrud — in hiding, in a remote forest — returns to the city to avenge the murder of his friend and partner.
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'And We're Off' Proves Brevity's Not Always The Soul Of Wit
Dana Schwartz is the Twitter whiz behind the @GuyInYourMFA and @DystopianYA accounts, but she stumbles in long form. Her debut novel, And We're Off, is quick and compelling but needs fleshing out.
(Image credit: Claire Harbage/NPR)
Actions Can Have Horrifying Consequences In 'The Boy On The Bridge'
M.R. Carey follows up his zombie apocalypse thriller The Girl With All The Gifts with a standalone story set in the same world, also featuring an unusual child and a crew of determined scientists.
(Image credit: Ariel Zambelich/NPR)
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