Beach reads are great — but here are some new books offering the stuff of sticky, heat-stroke dreams; overgrown, light-filled wildflower fields; and twisted alleys of old cities waking from winter.
Lindsey Fitzharris' new book tells the true story of Harold Gillies, a British surgeon whose team worked to reconstruct the faces of some of the 280,000 men who suffered facial trauma during WWI.
Kingston burst onto the scene in 1976 with The Woman Warrior and then kept writing. Critic John Powers says that, like James Baldwin, she's managed to shift American culture and remain relevant.
Séamas O'Reilly reflects on how he grieved his mother anew as he grew older, on the way grief multiplied within his family, and on mourning rituals — but it's woven through with amusement.
The problem of American gun violence is persistent and solutions are hard to come by. But here are 5 books that help put a face to the victims, explain how we got here and how we might get out.
The double threat of climate change and the global pandemic has made post-apocalyptic fiction an undeniably thriving and popular genre. Author David Yoon has one of the latest entrants.
Book critic Maureen Corrigan has been diving into lighter literary novels and mysteries, searching for books suited for the beginning of summer. Here are some of her picks.
New translations of Juan Emar's Yesterday, Cristina Rivera Garza's New and Selected Stories, and Gabriela Alemán's Family Album offer a look at human nature — and adventures along the way.
Jhumpa Lahiri mixes detailed explorations of craft with broader reflections on her own artistic life, as well as the "essential aesthetic and political mission" of translation.
Emma Straub's new novel is a charmer that unleashes the magic of time travel to sweeten its exploration of some heavy themes like mortality, the march of time, and how small choices can alter a life.
In their latest works, Azar Nafisi, Elena Ferrante, and Anna Quindlen vigorously assert that reading and writing can pull us out of our mess. In their hands, reading and writing are worth celebrating.
Author Scott Hershovitz sets out to prove that philosophy, like inquisitive, rowdy children, can offer illuminating insights — even when addressing complex subjects related to misbehavior.
