In his first essay collection, “True Stories,” the English writer Francis Spufford weighs in on Antarctica, science fiction and those annoying atheists.
“Swallowing Mercury,” a novella by Wioletta Greg that was longlisted for the Man Booker International Prize, is set in rural Poland during the Cold War.
In which we consult the Book Review’s past to shed light on the books of the present. This week: Eleanor Cameron on the import of Laura Ingalls Wilder.
In “The Wine Lover’s Daughter,” Anne Fadiman weaves her own memoir with a biography of her father, Clifton Fadiman, and the compendium of wine knowledge he instilled in her.
Female authors take on the subject of the home from a variety of perspectives in “This Is the Place,” a collection of essays edited by Margot Kahn and Kelly McMasters.