In Nathan Englander’s “Kaddish.com,” a Brooklyn man — who’s defected from Orthodox Judaism — hires a stranger to recite the Kaddish prayers for his father.
Alice Paul Tapper, who wrote “Raise Your Hand,” is just 11. And the author of the Expanse novels, James S. A. Corey, is really two men — Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck.
In her new novel, “Trust Exercise,” Susan Choi trains her lens on a group of high school drama students, zooming in first on their teenage years, then focusing on them years later.
“Solitary,” by Albert Woodfox, is a remarkable testament of suffering and self-transformation by a man who survived more than 40 years in solitary confinement.
The essays in “What Doesn’t Kill You Makes You Blacker” recount Damon Young’s evolution from blogger to Established Magazine Writer even as he searches for his authentic self.
Adam Higginbotham’s “Midnight in Chernobyl” explores the causes of the Chernobyl explosion, and Kate Brown’s “Manual for Survival” considers the consequences.
“The Right Side of History,” by Ben Shapiro, and “Clear and Present Safety,” by Michael A. Cohen and Micah Zenko, declare current pessimism is totally overblown.