'Time of the Child' is a marvelous blend of despair and redemption
Set in a small Irish village in the weeks leading up to Christmas 1962, Niall Williams' latest novel avoids cliché by investing specificity and life into characters and places.
12 novels that NPR critics and staff were excited to share with you in 2024
Every year, we ask NPR staff and book critics to share their favorite titles in our annual Books We Love guide. Behind the scenes, it's fun to spot trends and see what gets nominated again and again.
Here are the Books We Love: 350+ great 2024 reads recommended by NPR
Books We Love returns with 350+ new titles handpicked by NPR staff and trusted critics. Find 12 years of recommendations all in one place — that's nearly 4,000 great reads.
Two books delivered beauty, inspiration and humor — just when I needed them most
Sometimes, the right book shows up just at the right time. Our book critic encountered two such books this week: Water, Water, by Billy Collins, and The Dog Who Followed the Moon, by James Norbury.
Need a break from politics? Marvel at the 'Vanishing Treasures' of the natural world
With 23 short essays on creatures ranging from the wombat to the spider, Katherine Rundell's new book is essential reading for anyone whose wonder could use a jumpstart.
Singer/songwriter Randy Newman looks back on his decades-long music career
Ken Tucker reviews Robert Hilburn's biography of Newman, A Few Words in Defense of Our Country. Plus, we listen back to a 1998 archival interview with the Grammy Award-winning artist.
What if a 'Blood Test' predicted you'd commit murder?
In Charles Baxter's new novel, a small-town insurance salesman buys a blood test that can predict romantic entanglements, promotions — and more. It's a screwball satire of all-American zaniness.
A housemaid is suspected of killing a child in 'Clean,' a novel about class and power
Chilean author Alia Trabucco Zerán has written an intense novel about the kind of deep down rot that lingers, despite the most vigorous scrubbing.
A polarizing, provocative French novelist says he’s written his last book
Annihilation will be his last novel.'/>
Michel Houellebecq is a controversial literary superstar. His new book, Annihilation, centers on a middle-aged Paris bureaucrat in a sexless marriage. It's slow to start, but still holds surprises.
(Image credit: Joel Saget)
Modest moments become revelatory in the wry and incisive 'Shred Sisters'
Betsy Lerner's debut novel weaves together the ordinary and the erratic to tell the story of a middle-class Jewish family whose suburban life is turned upside down by mental illness.
'Intermezzo' is Sally Rooney's most moving novel yet
Rooney's fourth novel is a story about learning to accept loss. And though it has its share of grief and strife, it's happier and less disturbing than Normal People and Beautiful World, Where Are You.
Pulitzer Prize-winner Richard Powers plunges deep into the ocean in 'Playground'
Richard Powers' latest novel brims with love for humanity and the planet. He makes clear that while humans have made this planet our amusement park, we have not always taken proper care of our toys.
A light-hearted murder mystery weekend turns deadly in Kate Atkinson's cozy thriller
Death at the Sign of the Rook'/>
Death at the Sign of the Rook is an expansive novel that pokes fun of baroque, classic murder mysteries — but also delivers a fully satisfying, all-the-pieces-click-together ending.
'Entitlement' disappoints — 'Leave the World Behind' was a tough act to follow
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Rumaan Alam’s previous novel was an inspired swirl of suspense, social commentary and apocalyptic disaster. His latest is about a young Black woman working for a uber-rich white socialite.
'Brothers and Ghosts' is a multi-generational saga of the Vietnamese diaspora
Khuê Phạm's debut novel follows a young Berlin journalist whose parents emigrated from South Vietnam. A message from an estranged uncle in the U.S. prompts her to explore her family history.
Rachel Kushner's new espionage thriller may be her coolest book yet
In Creation Lake, a hard-drinking American spy infiltrates a radical farming collective in a remote region of France. Kushner challenges readers to keep up with her and not to flinch.
'Colored Television' is an ungentle satire set in post-post-racial America
Danzy Senna's new novel is an exhilarating yet poignant riff on the struggling artist as a wannabe middle-aged sellout. The writing is endlessly quotable and meaningfully provocative.
'We're Alone,' but together, in Edwidge Danticat's remarkable essays
With clear, concise prose that delves into harsh topics without losing its sense of humor, Danticat once again proves that she is one of contemporary literature's strongest, most graceful voices.
Everything is the worst in this 'Banal Nightmare'
Novelist Halle Butler understands our worst enemy is sometimes our own brain. Her dark, chaotic novel manages to be often hilarious yet relentlessly uncheerful.
'I Just Keep Talking' is a refreshing and wide-ranging essay collection
Scholar, historian, artist and raconteur Nell Irvin Painter is the author of The History of White People and Old in Art School. Her latest book is an insightful addition to her canon.
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