AMERICA’S BOOK REVIEW
COMPLIMENTS OF YOUR LIBRARY
ROCK ’N’ ROLL Reads The Rolling Stones Bruce Springsteen The Beatles Bob Dylan Motown
Holiday Catalog inside filled with great gift ideas!
NOV 2016
Make Everyone’s Holiday Jolly with Books
N Available Wherever Books and eBooks Are Sold
contents
NOVEMBER 2016
columns 18 18 19 20 22 22 23 24
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Well Read Lifestyles Library Reads Whodunit Romance Cooking Book Clubs Audio
Wondering what to give the book lovers in your life? Our holiday catalog will guide you to the perfect gifts.
book reviews
features 25 28 33 35 39 41 42 47
34 FICTION
You Will Not Have My Hate by Antoine Leiris
t o p p i c k : The Boat Rocker
Beth Macy Marie Benedict Roz Chast Alice Hoffman World War II End of life Marissa Meyer Javaka Steptoe
Al Capone by Deirdre Bair
by Ha Jin
Iron Dawn by Richard Snow
Mister Monkey by Francine Prose The Girl from Venice by Martin Cruz Smith Orphans of the Carnival by Carol Birch
43 TEEN
t o p p i c k : The Sun Is Also a Star
by Nicola Yoon Blood Red Snow White by Marcus Sedgwick
Faithful by Alice Hoffman Thus Bad Begins by Javier Marías
Beast by Brie Spangler
The German Girl by Armando Lucas Correa
gift books 26 29 30 31 32 33
holiday catalog
You in Five Acts by Una LaMarche Balcony on the Moon by Ibtisam Barakat
The Fall Guy by James Lasdun A Gambler’s Anatomy by Jonathan Lethem
Music Celebrity memoirs Drinks Style History’s heroines Quirky
What Light by Jay Ahser The Diabolic by S.J. Kincaid
Valiant Gentlemen by Sabina Murray The Next by Stephanie Gangi The Eastern Shore by Ward Just
Merrow by Ananda Braxton-Smith
45 CHILDREN’S
t o p p i c k : A Poem for Peter
38 NONFICTION
t o p p i c k : Ray & Joan
by Lisa Napoli
26
29
A Life in Parts by Bryan Cranston The Nine of Us by Jean Kennedy Smith Labyrinths by Catrine Clay Einstein’s Greatest Mistake by David Bodanis
31
33
Walk Through Walls by Marina Abramović
by Andrea Davis Pinkney A Small Thing . . . But Big by Tony Johnston Pug Man’s 3 Wishes by Sebastian Meschenmoser Nothing But Trouble by Jacqueline Davies Threads by Ami Polonsky Into the Lion’s Den by Linda Fairstein The Dog, Ray by Linda Coggin
Eleanor Roosevelt, Volume 3 by Blanche Wiesen Cook
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CONTRIBUTOR
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EDITORIAL POLICY
BookPage is a selection guide for new books. Our editors evaluate OPERATIONS DIRECTOR and select for review the best books Elizabeth Grace Herbert published in a variety of categories. Only books we highly recommend ADVERTISING OPERATIONS are featured. BookPage is editorially independent and never accepts Sada Stipe payment for editorial coverage.
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3
Fiction
The Whistler
Ann Patchett returns with a highly anticipated novel about two broken families and the paths their lives take over the course of 40 years—through love and marriage, death and divorce, and a dark childhood secret.
The master of the legal thriller takes readers on a high-stakes thrill ride through the darkest corners of the Sunshine State.
Harper $27.99
9780062491794
The Mistletoe Murder
Commonwealth
9780385541190
The Baxters are back!
Crime fiction readers will delight in these four previously uncollected stories from P.D. James, one of the greatest mystery writers of our time.
Doubleday $28.95
Knopf $24
The Other Einstein How did one man discover the theory of relativity on his own? He didn’t. This is a vivid, mesmerizing tale about a brilliant and extraordinary woman, forgotten by history.
Sourcebooks Landmark $25.99 9780451494146
9781492637257
Christmas Caramel Murder Joanne Fluke, the queen of culinary suspense, cooks up the most delicious Christmas gift of all—a recipe-filled Hannah Swensen holiday mystery.
Kensington $20 9781617732287
Two by Two Bestselling author Nicholas Sparks marks 20 years since The Notebook with a powerful new novel of unconditional love.
Grand Central $27
Bestselling author Karen Kingsbury’s beloved Baxter family returns in a life-changing story of two families in the aftermath of loss—and in the midst of an unfolding love story.
Howard Books $19.99
9781455520695
Leave Me
El Paso
News of the World
The irresistible adult debut from Gayle Forman, the bestselling author of If I Stay, is a moving and surprising novel about the joys and sorrows of marriage, motherhood and friendship.
Three decades after Forrest Gump, Winston Groom returns to fiction with this sweeping American epic— part history, part legend—set against the waning days of the wild frontier.
In the aftermath of the Civil War, an aging, itinerant news reader agrees to transport a young captive of the Kiowa back to her people in this exquisitely rendered, morally complex novel.
Liveright $27.95
Morrow $22.99
Algonquin $26.95 9781616206178
9781631492242
9780062409201
Small Great Things The #1 bestselling author tackles race, privilege, prejudice and justice in her muchtalked-about new novel, which inspires us to look beyond ourselves this holiday season.
Make the holidays merry with these great listens!
Ballantine $28.99
9780345544957
The Wish From Beverly Lewis, the top name in Amish fiction, comes a new story of friendship. When Leona ignores caution and sets out to visit a friend in the English world, will it lead to her undoing?
Audiobooks are a great accompaniment to your daily routine and make great gifts, even for yourself!
Bethany House $15.99
TryAudiobooks.com $30-$50 9780764212499
Arcanum Unbounded: The Cosmere Collection
Waves of Mercy The perfect gift for moms, sisters and grandmas, this moving novel recounts the heartaches and joys of two women, generations apart, who meet on the shores of Lake Michigan.
Bethany House $15.99
The first story collection from bestselling author Brandon Sanderson features a new Stormlight Archive novella.
In the 19th installment of David Weber’s bestselling military sci-fi series, Honor Harrington faces the ultimate enemy as the Mesan Alignment is finally revealed with a plan to remake the galaxy.
Tor $27.99
Baen $28
9780765391162
9780764217616
9781476781822
Alliance of Shadows
A Rising Thunder
In this action-packed military technothriller, it’s difficult to avoid entangled alliances. Military weapons experts and authors Larry Correia and Mike Kupari let the bullets fly in book 3 of the Dead Six series.
In the 13th Honor Harrington novel, a brutal attack on the Manticoran home system pits Honor and the Star Kingdom she serves against a technologically powerful enemy.
Series favorite!
9781476781853
Shadow of Freedom
Series favorite!
In the 18th Honor Harrington novel, the shadowy Mesan Alignment launches a bold move to destroy Manticore’s reputation as the champion of freedom.
Baen $7.99
Baen $7.99
Baen $27
Shadow of Victory
9781476736129
9781476780481
Fiction Favorites
The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend In this bestseller, plans between long-distance pen pals go awry, leaving one marooned in a small Iowa farm town armed only with her sense of humor and love of books.
Sourcebooks Landmark $16.99
9781492623441
The Inn at Ocean’s Edge Claire’s visit to a luxury hotel in Maine awakens repressed memories, threatening all she holds dear.
A House Divided
The Martian
Corbin Gage can stand up to anyone—but his own divided house will bring him to his knees.
This is the thrilling novel that inspired a major motion picture from Twentieth Century Fox. As author Douglas Preston raved, “This is Apollo 13 times ten.”
Thomas Nelson $15.99
Thomas Nelson $15.99
Thebook bookisisbetter! better! The
Broadway $15 9781401690267
9781401688882
The Five Times I Met Myself
An Amish Year
9780553418026
it Read ! first
Ready Player One
Spend a year in Amish country with four sweet romances.
Getting what Brock wants most in the world will force him to give up the one thing he doesn’t know how to let go— and his greatest fear is that it’s already too late.
Soon to be a feature film directed by Steven Spielberg, this addictive sci-fi novel follows teenager Wade Watts as he solves lifeor-death puzzles in the virtual utopia known as OASIS.
Thomas Nelson $12.99
Broadway $16
Thomas Nelson $15.99 9781401686116
9781401689773
9780307887443
Married ‘til Monday
Storm Siren In a world at war, a slave girl’s lethal curse could become one kingdom’s weapon of salvation. If the curse—and the girl—can be controlled.
The Dinner Soon to be a major motion picture, this internationally bestselling novel is a dark, suspenseful tale that unfolds over the course of one meal.
With a big anniversary party in the works for his ex-wife’s parents, Ryan has just one weekend to play Abby’s husband—and win back the woman of his dreams.
Thomas Nelson $9.99
Hogarth $15
Thomas Nelson $12.99 9781401690359
Readitit Read first! first!
9781401687069
9780385346856
The Rolling Stones All the Songs
Halo Mythos This official Halo guide is the most comprehensive book ever written about the video game franchise and was created by the game’s developers.
Get satisfaction with this comprehensive visual history of the Rolling Stones and each of their recordings.
Bloomsbury $35 9781681193564
Black Dog & Leventhal $50
Something for
Everyone
9780316317740
Country Music Hair Fifty of country music’s greatest hairstyles, including interviews with famous stylists and artists, are featured in this fun photo book.
Harper Design $16.99 9780062439215
Christmas Greetings from the Presidents
New from Flatiron—perfect gifts for everyone this holiday season! Flatiron
Hamilton: The Revolution
You Are a Badass
9781455539741
Liberty Street $32.95
Reader Favorite
This hilarious, bestselling self-help book is for people who desperately want to improve their lives, but don’t want to get busted while doing it.
Sports Illustrated has assembled the ultimate rankings of everything in college football for a book to end all sports fans’ arguments—and to start many others.
Grand Central $45
Shadow Mountain $14.99
$19.99-$35
Sports Illustrated College Football’s Greatest
This book gives readers an illustrated, behindthe-scenes view of the Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning musical.
9781629722207
This warm, nostalgic look at presidential holiday messages features rare photos and offers a glimpse into history.
Running Press $16 9781618931757 9780762447695
Bestselling author Michael Lewis examines how a Nobel Prize-winning theory altered our perception of reality
Gifts for
Grunt Bestselling author Mary Roach explores the science of keeping human beings intact and sane under the bizarre and extreme circumstances of war.
Everyone
Norton $26.95
9780393245448
Gem
Wildlife Spectacles
Gem is the definitive visual guide to the world’s most precious gemstones and jewelry, with pages of stunning photographs, natural history and mythology.
Discover just how spectacular animals can be in this musthave book for nature lovers.
Timber Press $29.95
DK $50 9781465453563
9781604696714
American Museum of Natural History Birds of North America
Atlas Obscura Equal parts wonder and wanderlust, this book celebrates more than 600 of the strangest and most curious places in the world.
This updated edition is the ultimate photographic guide to every bird species in the United States and Canada.
Workman $35 9781465443991
DK $40
9780761169086
One of the greatest partnerships in the history of science. A revolution in psychology, economics and medicine. A story only Michael Lewis could tell. Norton $28.95
The Backyard Birdsong Guides
The Travel Book Journey through every country in the world with Lonely Planet’s bestselling gift book, now better than ever with all-new images and a fresh, new design.
Reader Favorite
These interactive handbooks feature audio clips of bird calls from all over North America and make perfect gifts for beginning birders.
Lonely Planet $50 9781786571205
Cornell Lab $34.95
9781943645015 9781943645008
Hidden Figures
History Bridge of Spies
This true story follows the AfricanAmerican female mathematicians at NASA who provided the calculations for some of America’s greatest achievements in space. Soon to be a major motion picture from Fox.
Morrow $27.99
9780062363596
Reader Favorite
Frontier Grit “Compact, informative, briskly paced, emotionally rich and eye-opening microbiographies… Will change truncated views of the West.” —Booklist
“Riveting. Unlocks one of the most fascinating espionage mysteries of the Cold War.” —Ben Macintyre
Broadway $15
Shadow Mountain $19.99
9781629722276
9780767931083
Reader Favorite
The Devil in the White City
Pearl Harbor: 75 Years Later
“A dynamic, enveloping book. Relentlessly fuses history and entertainment to give this nonfiction book the dramatic effect of a novel.” —The New York Times
In this lavishly illustrated collector’s edition, Life magazine presents photographs of the surprise attacks on Pearl Harbor that led the U.S. into World War II.
Crown $28
Life $35
9781618931764
9780609608449
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
The boldest installment yet in the multimillion-copy blockbuster Killing series
Reader Favorite
“An enthralling, gripping account of the bloody battles, huge decisions and historic personalities that culminated in the decision to drop the atomic bomb... A masterful, meticulously researched work.”
Indestructible “This is a beautifully told story of a family separated by war, and of an extraordinary father driven to avenge his family. . . . A superbly told tale of love, honor, courage and devotion.”—Alex Kershaw, author of Avenue of Spies
“A deftly crafted investigation of a social wrong committed by the medical establishment, as well as the scientific and medical miracles to which it led.” —The Washington Post
Broadway $16 9781400052189
Hachette $28
From bestselling historians Bill O’Reilly and Martin Dugard comes this epic retelling of the final days of World War II—from the Manhattan Project at Los Alamos to the day the bomb was dropped.
—General David H. Petraeus
Holt $30
9780316339407
The perfect Christmas gift for your favorite cook It’s dinner with a side of entertainment! Discover mouth-watering recipes along with enjoyable stories, tips and inspiration from Amish and Southern life.
COOKING
Shiloh Run Press $16.99 each
Thug Kitchen 101
Scratch
The creators of the bestselling cookbook series Thug Kitchen are back to deliver the hilarious shove you need to take a leap into healthy eating.
Maria Rodale shares her delicious, triedand-true family recipes that will inspire you to return to the kitchen and cook real, organic food.
Rodale $26.99
Rodale $35 9781623366346
9781581573275
Grand Central Life & Style $40
Dinner Made Easy with Six Sisters’ Stuff
9781629722283
Shadow Mountain $21.99
Christy Jordan, the voice of Southern cooking for a new generation, shares 197 recipes for sweet things to eat and drink.
Workman $16.95 9780761189428
The Food Lab
Gone with the Gin
This prize-winning, bestselling cookbook, which is illustrated in full color, includes techniques and recipes behind the science of cooking popular American dishes.
The ultimate cocktail book for die-hard silver screen aficionados featuring 50 delicious drinks paired with winking commentary on history’s most quotable films. So go ahead, make my drink.
Norton $49.95 9780393081084
9781455584710
Sweetness
“A handy recipe guide that offers a cornucopia of ideas for those with a hungry tribe to feed.” —Library Journal
Countryman Press $35
treasured favorites
Mario Batali takes a delicious, deep dive into American regional cooking with 250 recipes—from San Diego Fish Tacos to Boston Cream Pie.
9781623366438
Art of the Pie “McDermott, a selftaught baker whose workshops have taught hundreds how to make a proper pie, shares that knowledge in one of the best books written on the topic.” —Publisher’s Weekly, Starred Review
Mario Batali: Big American Cookbook
Running Press $15 9780762458608
The All New Ball Book of Canning and Preserving Learn to preserve your favorite foods with innovative and fresh flavors for the modern pantry with this definitive guide to jams, jellies, pickles and more!
9780848746780
9781421589893
The Pokémon Cookbook
A Cozy Coloring Cookbook
Create delicious dishes—from desserts to pizza—that look like your favorite Pokémon characters by catching a copy of this new cookbook this holiday season.
Color your way to calm while cooking delicious food—all with one book!
Rodale $15.99 9781623368326
VIZ Media $14.99
Oxmoor House $22.95
Hearth & Home Veranda Retreats With all the style, quality, and elegance you’ve come to expect, this entry in Veranda magazine’s bestselling series of home decorating books invites you into the world’s most stunning houses.
Hearst $60
9781618372123
Color-Your-Own Greeting Cards
Moments of Mindfulness
A first-of-its-kind product that’s perfect for creatives of all ages, this book features 30 pull-out, ready-to-color cards and envelopes for sharing thoughtful notes and warm wishes throughout the year.
This pocket-size volume by bestselling authorillustrator Emma Farrarons offers more hand-drawn scenes ready to be colored— now including creative prompts to encourage mindfulness.
Storey $16.95
9781612128856
Experiment $9.95
9781615193493
The star of HGTV and DIY Network’s “Rehab Addict” shares her story for the first time in this inspirational memoir, which includes the private struggles and personal victories not shown on TV.
John Derian Picture Book
Paint by Sticker: Masterpieces
The must-have gift book of the holiday season is this lush, oversized tome featuring 350 of worldrenowned decoupage artist John Derian’s bestloved images, taken from 18th- and 19th-century illustrations.
This activity book encourages everyone to channel their inner Vermeer and create 12 iconic works of art using stickers.
Artisan $27.95
Artisan $75
Better Than New
9781579656676
Workman $14.95 9781579656478
9780761189510
Spiritual encouragement for the Christmas season
Inspired Living
Give a gift to help someone dig deeper in their faith with award-winning products from B&H Publishing Group.
B&H Books $12.99-$49.99
Punching Holes in the Dark
Think Better, Live Better
Sometimes we cannot see much evidence of the kingdom that is already here. How do we find it and share its message of hope with others in the darkness?
Bestselling author Joel Osteen shares how reprogramming your thoughts to remove negativity will lead to a more blessed, fulfilled life.
Abingdon $16.99
FaithWords $24
9781426749582
9780892969678
The Broken Way
The gift they’ll open over and over!
From The New York Times bestselling series come three new titles that will inspire, entertain and enlighten. They’re the perfect gift for the holiday season!
Chicken Soup for the Soul $14.95 each
Sometimes, in our own pain, it’s hard to see the purpose—but everything changes with the right perspective. Allow bestselling author Ann Voskamp to take you on a journey through heartache and to the abundance on the other side.
Zondervan $22.99
9780310318583
The CEB Women’s Bible This Bible invites you into a deeper conversation with Scripture. Its features and reflections, with contributions exclusively from women, are ideal for small-group and personal study.
Bibles
Common English Bible $49.99 9781609261887
Draw close to God through Bible art and journaling Experience Scripture anew with inspiring full-color illustrations and reflect on the precious truths of God’s word with your own artistic expressions and journal entries.
Zondervan $29.99-$44.99
Reader Favorites
Fun and colorful Bibles for kids This holiday, put them on a lifelong path to reading and loving God’s word with these beautifully illustrated children’s Bibles, perfect for story time or for building early reading skills.
Harvest House $19.99-$24.99 9780736967211 9780736965521
Inspirational gifts for children These three books are the perfect gifts to help inspire young readers to grow their faith.
Zonderkidz $16.99-$17.99
9780736962131
Deep Blue Bible Storybook Christmas This Christmas edition contains eight Nativity stories retold for children ages 3-6, with background information about the book of Matthew and the book of Luke.
Abingdon $9.99
9781501833151
Kids
ABC Animals! In this romping, stomping journey from A to Z, all the animals come alive thanks to the excitement of Scanimation.
Workman $16.95 9780761177821
A Night of Great Joy Bestselling illustrator Mary Engelbreit presents a beautiful picture book that tells the story of the Nativity through the performance of a children’s Christmas pageant.
Usborne touchyfeely holiday gifts 9780310743545
Zonderkidz $16.99
These delightful, festive books feature simple, repetitive text and include textures on every page. They make the perfect seasonal gift for young children!
Usborne $9.99 each
River Rose and the Magical Lullaby
Train This innovative picture book tells the story of a train—and includes an actual threedimensional miniature train that travels on a special track across and through each spread. 9780761187165
Workman $22.95
9780062427564
Mo Willems presents the 25th book in his Elephant and Piggie series with an important message for readers: thank you! Next up, he’s teaming with Dan Santat and Laurie Keller to kick off a brand-new early reader series.
Hyperion Books for Children $9.99 each
Join the lovable duo of Little Elliot and Mouse as they take on an amusement park full of all sorts of fun rides—some maybe a little scary!
Grammy Awardwinning artist Kelly Clarkson makes her picture book debut with this rollicking, rhyming story of a little girl’s dream trip to the zoo.
HarperCollins $18.99
Treats for early readers
Little Elliot, Big Fun
Holt $17.99 9780805098273
Children Just Like Me This book profiles 44 children from 36 countries around the world through their own words, in a celebration of international cultures that shows the many ways children are different but also the same.
This Is Me Actress and bestselling author Jamie Lee Curtis has created a timely picture book about immigration that is as delightful as it is important.
Make her season bright
Workman $16.95 9781465453921
9780761180111
American Girl fans will find everything from new friends to sage advice in these books that encourage exploration, growth and most of all, fun!
American Girl ®
DK $19.99
$12.99-$24.99
9780762455874
The Seven Princesses Princesses of all sizes will delight in this modern-day fairy tale of sibling rivalry, adventure and unconditional sisterly love.
treasured favorites
Running Press Kids $16.95
9780807576427
The Boxcar Children Spanish/English Set Five titles in the series are now in Spanish! This set includes paperback editions of Book #1: The Boxcar Children in both English and Spanish.
Albert Whitman & Company $9.99
The Boxcar Children Books #1-4 Snap up these paperback editions of The Boxcar Children® Mysteries #1-4: The Boxcar Children, Surprise Island, The Yellow House Mystery and Mystery Ranch.
The Boxcar Children Bookshelf This deluxe bookcase contains the first 12 The Boxcar Children® Mysteries, plus activities, a poster and an accordion bookmark with a title checklist.
Albert Whitman & Company $59.99 9780807508558
Albert Whitman & Company $21.99
9780807508541
Kids
AUDIOBOOKS = GIFTS
Listening Library audiobooks are the perfect gift for everyone on your list.
Listening Library $6.99-$40
Gifts for smart and curious kids From incredible Animal Planet facts about the ickiest, stickiest and oddest animals to information-packed nonfiction chapter books on specific subjects, and TIME For Kids’ survey of our nation’s 45 commanders-in-chief, these books will help kids flex their reading muscles while keeping them entertained!
Time Inc. Books / Liberty Street $5.95-$18.95
The Book of Heroes & The Book of Heroines Introduce kids to gutsy gals and daring dudes who have changed the world: legendary leaders, awesome athletes, super scientists, peacemakers and other worthy role models.
National Geographic $14.99 each 9781426325533
9781426325571
The Secret Keepers It’s a race against time in the heart-pounding new adventure from Trenton Lee Stewart, the bestselling author of The Mysterious Benedict Society series.
Build. Invent. Create.
Little, Brown Books for Young Readers $18.99 9780316389556
Fablehaven Book of Imagination
The Land of Stories: A Treasury of Classic Fairy Tales
Now it’s the reader’s turn to tap into the imagination in the first activity book for Fablehaven fans, which includes games, puzzles, essay prompts and even an origami dragon!
Shadow Mountain $14.99
From the #1 bestselling author of The Land of Stories series comes a deluxe illustrated fairy-tale collection that’s perfect for new and old fans alike! 9781629722412
Little, Brown Books for Young Readers $25.99
Sourcebooks Fire $17.99
9781492620945
DK $19.99-$24.99
Replica Bestselling author Lauren Oliver weaves together the stories of Gemma and Lyra—one a girl, and one a Replica, raised in a research facility.
A Dutch teenager is drawn into the dangerous search for a lost Jewish girl in this riveting World War II thriller that stays with you long after you’ve turned the last page.
Little, Brown Books for Young Readers $17.99
9780316260602
Bruja magic runs in Alex’s blood, but a curse meant to banish that magic leads her to a land in-between that is as dark as Limbo and as strange as Wonderland.
9780316355919
Maker Lab has 28 kid-safe projects that will get young inventors’ wheels turning, while 365 Things to Do with LEGO® Bricks has games, activities and LEGO building projects for every day of the year.
Girl in the Blue Coat
Teen & Young Adults Labyrinth Lost
© 2016 The LEGO Group
HarperCollins $19.99 9780062394163
The Sun Is Also a Star
Dan and Phil Go Outside
This holiday, celebrate the idea that love always changes everything with a romantic and unconventional new love story from Nicola Yoon, the bestselling author of Everything, Everything.
Dan and Phil’s more than 10 million YouTube subscribers will love this hilarious new full-color book, featuring never-beforeseen photos and stories.
Delacorte $18.99
9780553496680
Random House Books for Young Readers $19.99
9781524701451
columns
WELL READ
LIFESTYLES
BY ROBERT WEIBEZAHL
B Y S U S A N N A H F E LT S
Le Guin’s still got it
Rehab therapy
When writers and artists reach a certain age, we begin to call them national treasures, and Ursula K. Le Guin, at 87, is certainly one. Though much of her work has been classified as science fiction and fantasy, which has perhaps placed some limits on the reach of her readership, she has also written many volumes’ worth of realistic fiction, poetry, children’s books and nonfiction. Le Guin herself has bridled for years about the unfair relegation of “genre” fiction to the dust heap of literature, and certainly her own work, which transcends such classification, deserves its place in the contemporary pantheon. Words Are My Matter (Small Beer Press, $24, 352 pages, ISBN 9781618731340) collects essays and occasional pieces written between 2000 and 2016 and offers a penetrating tour of the still-sharp mind of this intelligent, generous-of-spirit writer. In these pieces, Le Guin tackles many of her signature concerns, including the aforementioned defense of genre writing, themes of language and myth that have permeated her work, and her development as a woman writer in an industry once completely dominated, and still heavily weighted in favor of, men. Not afraid to bite the hand that feeds her, as it were, she writes passionately against the corporatization of publishing and the fact that books have become viewed as commodities by many of the companies that produce them. Le Guin does not lapse into angry diatribes, though. She is too gifted and thoughtful to reduce the world to terms of black and white. Some of the most captivating writing here is highly personal, and ever imaginative, even within the confines of nonfiction. In “Living in a Work of Art,” for instance,
In her hit HGTV show “Rehab Addict,” Nicole Curtis remodels aged houses in need of much TLC, showing viewers just what it takes and why it’s worth it to keep the old. But it is reality TV, which means there’s a lot of reality that gets left out. Luckily for us, Curtis’ new memoir, Better Than New (Artisan, $27.95, 224 pages, ISBN 9781579656676), goes behind the TV screen in a house-by-house narrative of some of her most formidable projects. “I’ve renovated so many old houses that after a while, the lessons piled up and
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Le Guin recalls growing up in a quirky, Bernard Maybeck-designed house in the Napa Valley, and contemplates whether such a childhood home played any role in the development of her imagination. Indeed, the use of the imagination, a propellant of much of Le Guin’s work, is often at the forefront of these essays. “Imagination is not a means of making money,” she writes in “The Operating Instructions.” “It has no place in the vocabulary of profit-making. It is not a weapon, though all weapons originate from it, and their use, or non-use, depends on it, as with all tools and their uses. The imagination is an essential tool of the mind, a fundamental way of thinking, an indispensable means of becoming and remaining human.” Le Guin—both here and in her fiction—is not an alarmist. She is a pragmatist, an optimist and ever open to ideas. She ends this book with a journal of a writer’s week, spent at a women writer’s retreat, which offers an illuminating portrait of the artist. “If I had not found a Le Guin’s still- story to write, I wonder sharp mind how it would is evident have been?” she asks. “I throughout this collection worked, I worked, the of her recent joy of my life.” nonfiction. We can be grateful that we never need to know what the world would be like had Le Guin not found her stories to write. In a more equitable literary world, she would have long ago been awarded the Nobel Prize for her global and visionary body of work. Instead, she will need to content herself with the many awards she’s received—from multiple Hugos and Nebulas to the National Book Award, the PEN-Malamud and the Library of Congress Living Legends award.
started to seem like a guidebook to a well-lived life,” she writes. Indeed, there is an attic’s worth of inspiring takeaways in this breezily written book. Curtis’ energy, grit and love for the hustle are infectious, while her tales of mistakes and unforeseen challenges on every restoration—from rookie hiccups to outright fiascos—fuel her story with nonstop tension.
GREEN MIND Before perusing the dreamy Loose Leaf (Hardie Grant, $34.99, 258 pages, ISBN 9781743791691), I’d never heard of a Monstera Chandelier. Essentially a ballshaped structure of large leaves, vines and ferns suspended from the ceiling, it’s the invention of botanical designers Wona Bae and Charlie Lawler. Based out of the Melbourne, Australia, shop/studio from which this book takes its title, the couple creates stunning sculptural pieces and plant-based installations that both celebrate and summon the magic of nature. Wreaths, nests, roadside bouquets and other verdant delights are captured here in sumptuous photographs with modest how-tos.
A section on “Curious Plants” suggests mistletoe cactus and devil’s ivy as solid choices for one’s own living plant gallery. Loose Leaf will be a rich treat for any serious plant- lover in your life.
TOP PICK IN LIFESTYLES The first item in “The Gardenista Manifesto” reads, “Outdoor space is living space, and should be as carefully considered as any other room in your home.” This thinking informs every page of Gardenista (Artisan, $40, 408 pages, ISBN 9781579656522), a version of Gardenista.com “that you can dog-ear,” writes the site’s editor-in-chief Michelle Slatalla in the book’s introduction. Dozens of stylish outdoor settings are showcased within, along with callouts, captions and “Steal This Look” lists that make the designs accessible. I love the “Design Ideas” section, which guides readers in creating a garden workstation, finishing touches (like shed-door storage and a simple outdoor shower) and hardscaping basics. It may seem easy to become overwhelmed by this beautiful book, overflowing as it is with lust-worthy gardens in a vast array of styles and settings, but it’s a source you’ll return to again and again over a lifetime in pursuit of both big landscaping transformations and weekend projects. As visually enchanting as it is brimming with practical advice, Gardenista shows readers that, just as with interior design, there are countless ways to create an attractive and functional outdoor living space—from wild and loose to tailored and lavish, from rustic to minimalist and everything in between.
Selected from nominations made by library staff across the country, here are the 10 books that librarians can’t wait to share with readers in November.
#1
FAITHFUL by Alice Hoffman
Simon & Schuster, ISBN 9781476799209
After a life-changing car accident, teenage survivor Shelby must figure out how to face life without her best friend. Read our review on page 35.
THE FATE OF THE TEARLING by Erika Johansen
Harper, ISBN 9780062290427 This suspenseful finale to the bestselling Tearling trilogy finds Kelsea Glynn in the hands of her enemy. Will her regent be able to save her in time?
Give the gift of love this holiday season with these perfectly festive tales!
NIGHT SCHOOL by Lee Child
Delacorte, ISBN 9780804178808 Go back to 1996 with Jack Reacher in Child’s latest thriller, which finds the hero trying to foil a terrorist plot. Read our review on page 20.
WHEN ALL THE GIRLS HAVE GONE by Jayne Ann Krentz
Berkley, ISBN 9780399174490 The bestselling author has crafted a thrilling novel of the deceptions we hide behind, the passions we surrender to and the lengths we’ll go to for the truth.
I’LL TAKE YOU THERE by Wally Lamb
Harper, ISBN 9780062656285 A baby boomer looks back at the three women who changed his life in Lamb’s emotional and decade-spanning tribute to the power of women.
Available now!
Available now!
Available now!
Available November 29!
SWING TIME by Zadie Smith
Penguin Press, ISBN 9781594203985 The award-winning author of White Teeth tells the story of two childhood friends with a shared ambition—though only one has the talent to back it up.
VICTORIA: THE QUEEN by Julia Baird
Random House, ISBN 9781400069880 In this well-paced narrative biography, an Australian journalist pieces together the long life and rule of one of England’s most famous monarchs.
MOONGLOW by Michael Chabon
Harper, ISBN 9780062225559 Framed as a deathbed confession from grandfather to grandson and based partly on the author’s own life, Chabon’s latest is full of charm, humor and heart.
NORMAL by Warren Ellis
FSG, ISBN 9780374534974 A missing man and a global conspiracy are linked in this pulse-pounding, near-future technothriller from the author of Gun Machine.
ORPHANS OF THE CARNIVAL by Carol Birch
Pick up these sparkling romances for yourself and all your loved ones on your shopping list this season!
Doubleday, ISBN 9780385541527 Birch draws on stranger-than-fiction headlines from history for a novel based on the life of a woman who became a world-famous circus attraction. Read our review on page 35. www.HQNBooks.com
LibraryReads is a recommendation program that highlights librarians’ favorite books published this month. For more information, visit libraryreads.org.
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columns
WHODUNIT BY BRUCE TIERNEY
A strange mission for young Jack Reacher Lee Child’s latest Jack Reacher novel, Night School (Delacorte, $28.99, 384 pages, ISBN 9780804178808), is set in 1996, when Reacher is serving in the Army, before the fall of the World Trade Center, before the widely anticipated but happily unrealized Y2K meltdown. After earning
it as the breakout debut of a major new voice in the suspense genre. Isaiah Quintana, the titular IQ, is an unlicensed private investigator, a modern-day Easy Rawlins doing “favors for friends” at deeply discounted rates (in one case, a casserole; in another, a radial tire for his Audi). Once in a while, though,
in that they compete for Bosch’s hours and attention, and both have some seriously time-sensitive and even life-threatening aspects. A segment of the narrative casts Bosch’s memory back to his time spent in Vietnam during the war years, stirring up ghosts he thought were long since buried. It is a disturbing and yet cathartic tale-within-atale that proves once again what a master storyteller Connelly is.
TOP PICK IN MYSTERY a medal for a deep-cover “wet work” mission, Reacher receives an unusual follow-up assignment to attend a small class, three members only: an FBI agent, a CIA analyst and Reacher himself. It quickly becomes evident that the “school” is anything but, and its students find themselves tasked with the rather amorphous mission of stopping a clandestine $100 million terrorist-related action that may or may not be happening. The problem is, $100 million is a strange amount: not nearly enough to buy an arsenal of large weaponry, but much more than would be required to buy all the small weaponry readily available on the black market at any given time. What havoc could an international terrorist organization wreak with the leverage that amount of money would provide? As with all Child novels, one of the major characters, albeit a background one, is the relentlessly ticking clock, and it has rarely ticked more loudly.
STREET SMARTS
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Joe Ide. Remember that name. It’s easy, only six letters. And IQ (Mulholland, $26, 336 pages, ISBN 9780316267724)—while you’re at it, remember that name, too. If there is ever a competition for the shortest author/title combo, this would win, hands down. But mystery aficionados will remember
he lands a paying case, and his latest promises a fat payday upon completion, assuming that he lives to collect. His task: identify and bring to justice the party that organized an unsuccessful, albeit highly original, hit on Calvin Wright, aka rapper Black the Knife. IQ approaches problems much in the manner of Sherlock Holmes or Lincoln Rhymes, attacking it with his intellect and observation skills rather than his fists. Well, at least before using his fists. Ide is the real deal, and IQ is the best debut I’ve read this year.
BOSCH’S NEW VENTURE Harry Bosch has gone through several iterations over the course of Michael Connelly’s iconic series: L.A. cop; disgraced L.A. cop; widely loathed L.A. ex-cop; private cop; and now, for the time being, temp cop for the small San Fernando police department. It’s an unpaid gig, but it lets Bosch keep his hand in the game. As The Wrong Side of Goodbye (Little, Brown, $29, 400 pages, ISBN 9780316225946) gathers steam, Bosch is balancing two cases: one for the SFPD, to ferret out the serial rapist known as the Screen Cutter; and one for his growing PI business, to locate a dying billionaire’s last remaining heir. Although these divergent storylines have no direct correlation, they will have an impact on one another,
An amusing artifact of my last 10 years living in Tokyo: I was reading Keigo Higashino’s Under the Midnight Sun (Minotaur, $27.99, 560 pages, ISBN 9781250105790), and as I got 50 or 60 pages in, I suddenly realized I knew exactly what was going to happen. This was not my imagination but rather my memory, as I had seen the 2010 Japanese film adaptation of Higashino’s book. The film, titled Into the White Night, hewed remarkably closely to the book, which had not been translated into English at that time. For many—myself included—Under the Midnight Sun is Higashino’s masterpiece (thus far, at least). It is the story of the 1973 killing of a smalltime Osaka pawnbroker in a derelict building; although the police have their suspicions, none of the early leads ever quite pan out. As the next 19 years unfold, related via successive narratives from a number of different characters, the primary investigator remains stymied and annoyed by his lack of success in solving the case. And then he begins to notice a disturbing trend: a series of mysterious deaths, each in some way connected to the pawnbroker’s son and the chief suspect’s daughter, both of whom were kids when he first met them. Under the Midnight Sun has spawned not only the aforementioned film but a TV series and a Korean movie as well. It is finally available in English, and that, folks, is a big deal.
Now in Paperback
“Julia Navarro is one of the finest authors in Spanish literature.” —La Vanguardia (Barcelona)
“Her new novel dissects the ambition, greed, and selfishness of human beings.” —El Correo (Bilbao)
“Darkly comic stories about, and for, ‘grown-ass’ ladies.” —People
“Steeped in the Southern Gothic tradition.... Dark, deadpan and truly inventive.”
“One of Chris Bohjalian’s most compelling books... combining an explosive premise, a timely social topic, and fast-paced storytelling.” —Miami Herald
“A gripping story about suburban American lives ripped apart.... Hard to put down, or ever forget.” —Minneapolis Star Tribune
“Riveting.... Entertaining
and suspenseful.”—USA Today
“[A] bright, champagne-fizzy satire of modern romance, human avarice, and the booming international art market.” —Entertainment Weekly
—The New York Times Book Review
Let’s go to the movies!
VINTAGE
Read excerpts and more at VintageAnchor.com
ANCHOR
columns
ROMANCE
COOKING
B Y C H R I S T I E R I D G WAY
BY SYBIL PRATT
Rescuing the heart
Cock of the walk
Reunited lovers find a chance to become a couple and to restore their faith in Wild Montana Skies (Revell, $14.99, 352 pages, ISBN 9780800727437) by Susan May Warren. Army chopper pilot Kacey Fairing returns home to Montana after a devastating crash and joins the local search-and-rescue team. Unbeknownst to Kacey, her former love interest—and current country music star—Ben King is visiting
There are plenty of big-name, beautiful cookbooks coming out this holiday season that are perfect for the gourmet on your gift list. The Red Rooster, Marcus Samuelsson’s thriving restaurant in the heart of Harlem, seems a far cry from his svelte Scandinavian restaurant, Aquavit, but both are products of Samuelsson’s unique culinary genius. Harlem is his home now; he’s wild about the food, the people and the history, and his new book, The Red Rooster Cookbook (Rux Martin, $37.50, 384 pages, ISBN 9780544639775), celebrates the place where his pickled herring gets along well with cornbread. Vibrantly eclectic is an understatement for the mix of recipes here, from Fried Yardbird and Brown Butter Biscuits to Puerco en Cerveza, Trout with Ginger and Citrus and Ethiopian-Spiced Lamb. As a delicious treat, Samuelsson walks us though the lively Harlem scene in lyrical essays studded with photos.
home and volunteering with the team as well. When they’re thrown together for a rescue, Kacey and Ben must confront some of what broke them apart, and a secret comes to light. Both reeling from betrayals and years of misunderstandings, these good yet flawed people try to find their way to forgiveness and a loving future. Exciting rescues and an old mystery offer a thrilling, roller-coaster plotline and plenty of drama to keep the pages turning. This inspirational, kisses-only romance is the first in a series and introduces the reader to compelling secondary characters, hinting at their own happy endings on the horizon.
SAFE IN HIS ARMS Romantic suspense travels west in Wind River Wrangler (Zebra, $7.99, 384 pages, ISBN 9781420141740) by Lindsay Mc Kenna, the first in her Wind River series. In order to escape an anonymous stalker, romance novelist Shiloh Gallagher leaves New York City for a family friend’s ranch in Wyoming. In the great outdoors she hopes to find peace and quiet to finish her next book, as well as some healing after years of grief. Once there, Shiloh also discovers a rugged, very appealing ex-military man—cowboy Roan Taggart. He
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promises to keep Shiloh safe from harm, though neither of them is safe from their blossoming love. However, childhood tragedy makes Shiloh wary of giving her heart away, and Roan isn’t sure the city girl will find all she needs in the wilds of Wyoming with him. When Shiloh’s stalker locates her, she doesn’t know if she should run once more, or take a chance and fight for her life—and a future with Roan. The beautiful, dramatic setting serves as a fitting backdrop to this pulse-pounding romance.
TOP PICK IN ROMANCE Katharine Ashe offers a tender and gripping romantic adventure in The Earl (Avon, $7.99, 368 pages, ISBN 9780062412751). Colin Gray, the Earl of Egremoor, takes on a final mission for the Falcon Club, a small, secret organization tasked with finding missing people. In doing so, he hopes to uncover the identity of his nemesis, the anonymous pamphleteer “Lady Justice.” In Scotland, he encounters none other than Lady Emily Vale, the woman to whom he’s been betrothed for years. After being mistaken for murderous thieves, the pair must join forces to escape being jailed, or worse. While on the run, they remember the shared years of their childhoods and find new understanding—and a simmering passion. Emily has vowed not to marry, and Colin knows that marrying Emily will shatter his infamous ability to control all aspects of his life, but dangerous circumstances and undeniable attraction work against them. Fastpaced and fun with a poignant storyline threaded in, this second installment in the Devil’s Duke series is certain to please historical romance readers.
A CHEF AT HOME The “restaurant chef cooks at home” style of cookbook is very popular, but some are hardly believable. Nancy Silverton’s new cookbook is. She loves to cook at home for friends and family, and now that she’s established her flourishing restaurant empire, she’s had time to pour her zeal into a new cookbook. Mozza at Home (Knopf, $35, 432 pages, ISBN 9780385354325) is her ode to the joys of homecooked dinners served at a big table piled with platters of food, all at room temperature, mostly made ahead. She offers over 150 recipes organized into 18 meals, plus one
Umbrian feast. Choose from among these tempting dishes, follow Nancy’s instructions, and host and guests will be happy, relaxed and very well fed.
BAKING WITH BITTMAN The prolific Mark Bittman is back with How to Bake Everything (HMH, $35, 704 pages, ISBN 9780470526880). This time, he’s taking on the cooking domain often viewed as too rigid and precise for the casual cook and Bittman-ized it, showing us what is negotiable and what isn’t, focusing on simple core recipes with lots of variations, along with charts, lists and illustrations. His aim is to turn us all into confident, creative bakers who can improvise, adapt and customize, whether baking a tart, a cake, cookies, flatbread, a crusty baguette or a flaky croissant.
TOP PICK IN COOKING You can never go wrong with Ina Garten. Cooking for Jeffrey (Potter, $35, 256 pages, ISBN 9780307464897), Garten’s latest, is a deeply personal tribute to her beloved Jeffrey, husband of nearly five decades, stalwart supporter and muse. There are new recipes from the imaginative Garten and updates of “Jeffrey-tested” classics. Brisket with Onions and Leeks and an Herb and Apple Bread Pudding that’s perfect for Thanksgiving are treasured treats from the past. More recent Jeffrey-inspired dishes include Moroccan Grilled Lamb Chops, Roast Chicken with Radishes and Bourbon Honey Cake. This is Garten at her foolproof, fabulous best.
BOOK CLUBS BY JULIE HALE
High-society friends Melanie Benjamin, the bestselling author of The Aviator’s Wife, offers another beautifully crafted historical novel with The Swans of Fifth Avenue (Bantam, $16, 400 pages, ISBN 9780345528704). In this hypnotic mix of fact and fiction, Benjamin looks back at the friendship of Truman Capote and glamorous socialite Babe Paley. Impeccable in dress and manners, with a high-profile husband—me-
dia magnate William Paley, head of CBS—Babe leads a life that on the surface seems picture perfect. In reality, though, she’s a lonely woman in need of connection, which she finds, unexpectedly, in the mischievous, gossip-loving Truman. The two grow close, but when Truman betrays Babe’s confidence by publishing a story about her unhappy marriage, she ends their relationship. Benjamin’s account of their friendship and falling out is dazzling from start to finish. Through crisp dialogue and a glorious cast of characters that includes Frank Sinatra, Rudolph Nureyev and Katharine Graham, she brings a lost era to vivid life. Brisk, stylish and fully realized, Swans is one of Benjamin’s best.
TURMOIL IN FRANCE One of the most talked-about books of 2015, Submission (Picador, $16, 256 pages, ISBN 9781250097347), the sixth novel from French author and critic Michel Houellebecq, is an electrifying parody of international politics. Election season 2022 finds François, an instructor at New Sorbonne University, at a dead end. His academic work is at a standstill, and he’s been sleeping with his students. When an Islamic leader named Mohammed Ben-Abbes
wins France’s presidential election, life takes a surreal turn. Fearing a surge of anti-Semitism, Myriam, François’ Jewish girlfriend, flees to Israel. At New Sorbonne, only Muslims are allowed to teach, and a number of François’ fellow professors convert to Islam. In this strange new world, François must find his footing and make daunting decisions about his life. Darkly comic and provocative, Houellebecq blends fictional figures with real people, including Marine Le Pen and François Hollande. Houellebecq’s sophisticated wit, command of global politics and understanding of human motivation add up to a classic satire. This timely novel is sure to get book groups talking.
TOP PICK FOR BOOK CLUBS Elizabeth Strout delivers a poignant look at the complexities of parental ties and the need for human connection in My Name Is Lucy Barton (Random House, $16, 240 pages, ISBN 9780812979527). Lucy left behind a difficult past in small-town Illinois to become a writer in New York City. As she recuperates in the hospital after an operation, her long-estranged mother pays a visit—and stays for five days. The two reconnect, sharing memories and catching up on gossip, but they avoid discussing sensitive family-related issues and Lucy’s literary success. Looking back on the visit, Lucy forgives these omissions and lays the past to rest. Her relationship with her mother forms the core of the novel, which Lucy narrates in a voice that’s both precise and poetic. Strout, who won the Pulitzer Prize for Olive Kitteridge, is a writer who gets better with each book.
Fantastic Book Club Reads for Fall
The Opposite of Everyone
by Joshilyn Jackson #1 Indie Next Pick! “Inevitable, surprising, and beautifully layered… I loved this book and you will also.” —Sara Gruen, NYT bestselling author of Water for Elephants
Girl Unbroken
by Regina Calcaterra and Rosie Maloney In the highly anticipated sequel to her New York Times bestseller Etched in Sand, Regina Calcaterra pairs with her youngest sister Rosie to tell Rosie’s harrowing, yet ultimately triumphant, story of childhood abuse and survival.
Inheriting Edith by Zoe Fishman
Indie Next Pick! “Warm spirited and emotionally rich, Inheriting Edith celebrates the fine line between friendship and family. These characters will tug at your heart.” —Jamie Brenner, author of The Wedding Sisters
Yesternight by Cat Winters
A haunting historical novel with a compelling mystery at its core, Yesternight explores the unspoken complexities of life, death, memories, and reincarnation.
@Morrow_PB
@bookclubgirl
William Morrow
Book Club Girl
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N O TAB L E VO I C E S
Extraordinary AudioBOOKS from Macmillan Audio
READ BY THE AUTHOR
READ BY THE AUTHOR
READ BY OLIVER WYMAN
READ BY THE AUTHOR
READ BY ANNA WILSON-JONES,
READ BY A FULL CAST,
who plays Lady Portman in the Masterpiece drama on PBS
including actors from the original show and new series
Give the gift of audiobooks this season!
READ BY THE AUTHOR
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READ BY ORLAGH CASSIDY
READ BY GROVER GARDNER
columns
AUDIO BY SUKEY HOWARD
Mission impossible A team of scientists at Los Alamos is in a race with the Nazis to create an atomic bomb and end World War II. If they could find Alfred Mendl, a famed electromagnetic physicist, and enlist his help, it just might give them the winning edge. In 1944, U.S. Army Capt. Peter Strauss discovers that Mendl is in Auschwitz and still alive. Bringing him out means sending someone in—it might be a suicidal mission, but it has to be tried. That’s what we know at the beginning of Andrew
Gross’ taut new thriller, The One Man (Macmillan Audio, 12 hours), performed with urgency and all the right accents by Edoardo Ballerini. The man Strauss picks is Nathan Blum, a young Polish Jew who escaped the ghetto, got to the U.S., joined its intelligence agency as a translator and desperately wants to do more to avenge his family’s murder and the Nazi atrocities. Knowing the odds, he agrees to go. Getting into Auschwitz is easy, but getting out with Mendl may be impossible. And Blum has just 72 hours to pull it off. The One Man is a terrifyingly suspenseful, morally nuanced tour de force.
ABSENCE OF LIGHT A thriller writer par excellence, Michael Koryta brings back P.I. Markus Novak in his latest, Rise the Dark (Hachette Audio, 12 hours), excellently read by Robert Petkoff. Determined to find out who murdered his wife and why, Novak trails the suspect to Red Lodge, Montana, where the man grew up with his con artist mother, who pretended to be a medium, and his odd, gun-toting family. There in the Montana mountains, he finds himself in a nightmare scenario that, unfortunately, is all too plausible. Eli Pate, a devotee
of Nikola Tesla’s more twisted ideas, is launching a plan to plunge America into darkness by destroying the electrical grid, blaming it on radical Islamists and, with the help of right-wing extremists, taking over as chaos reigns. To carry out his evil project, Pate has abducted the wife of Jay Baldwin, an expert lineman, using her life to force Jay to do his bidding. When Novak meets Jay and puts its all together, the tension is palpably electric.
TOP PICK IN AUDIO John le Carré is an extraordinary novelist, not a “spy who turned to writing,” but a writer who “once happened to be a spy.” His exemplary novels have explored the moral ambiguity of espionage or, more broadly, the moral ambiguity of contemporary life. I, and most of his fans, have wondered if his plots and characters were taken from life. Now, with The Pigeon Tunnel (Penguin Audio, 11.5 hours), le Carré’s first book of nonfiction, we have a not-too-ambiguous answer. Not an autobiography but a memoir in short takes, the book recounts his forays to Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Africa to research his settings. He recalls meeting the woman who inspired the main character in The Constant Gardener and finding the quintessential Jerry Westerby in a bar in Singapore. He describes a meeting with Yasser Arafat, adventures and misadventures in the movie-making world and, finally, his most imperfect father, an irrepressible con man whom we met in A Perfect Spy. Le Carré, as brilliant a narrator as he is an author, makes this wonderful book an even better audio.
features
BETH MACY INTERVIEW BY ALICE CARY
Untangling the truth in Truevine
I
t’s the best story in town, but no one has been able to get it,” a photographer told journalist Beth Macy soon after she arrived in Roanoke, Virginia, in 1989 to write for the Roanoke Times.
He was referring to the tale of George and Willie Muse, young albino African-American brothers from a sharecropping family who had reportedly been kidnapped in 1899 from the tiny tobacco-farming community of Truevine, then displayed for decades as sideshow freaks by the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. They were billed under various stage names, including “Eko and Iko, Sheepheaded Cannibals from Equador” and “Ambassadors from Mars.”
anoke, cared for by his great-niece Nancy Saunders, the proprietor of a popular soul-food restaurant. As the family gatekeeper, Saunders wouldn’t let reporters anywhere near her beloved uncle. “You’re too curious,” Saunders told Macy when she began inquiring, pointing to a sign that said, “SIT DOWN AND SHUT UP.” After dealing with decades of people knocking on her family’s doors, demanding to see “the savages,” Saunders had developed what Macy calls an “exterior toughness . . . so that people wouldn’t ask rude questions about her uncle.” After Willie died in 2001, Macy was allowed to co-write a series of articles about the Muse brothers for the Roanoke Times, although Saunders remained guarded. Finally, on Christmas morning 2013, Harriet Muse (right) with sons George and Willie in Roanoke. Saunders gave Macy Photo by George Davis, courtesy of Frank Ewald. Reproduced with permission from Little, Brown. her blessing to It took Macy 25 years to unearth write a book, with one proviso: “No the brothers’ sad saga, requiring matter what you find out or what painstaking research on multiple your research turns up, you have to fronts to try to “untangle a century remember: In the end, they came of whispers from truth.” The result out on top.” is a deeply moving and endlessly The going was anything but easy; compelling book, such an intrieven seemingly simple facts proved cate tale that it’s worthy of not one to be roadblocks. “It’s so frustratbut two subtitles—Truevine: Two ing,” Macy explains. “George was Brothers, a Kidnapping, and a born anytime between 1890 and Mother’s Quest: A True Story of the 1901, and that’s a pretty big span.” Jim Crow South. Macy began interviewing older Thankfully, Macy had the African Americans who had grown much-needed investigative up with the story. “Some of them chops, having been a Nieman just thought it was a hoax,” Macy Fellow at Harvard and written an says. “Some of them thought it award-winning bestseller, Factory was true; some of them lived near Man. Still, she ran into plenty of George and Willie in their later dead ends, she says by phone from years and were scared of them like her home in Roanoke. a Boo Radley figure.” George Muse died in 1971, but Macy drove the elders around Willie lived out his last years in Ro- town, listening eagerly as they
shared memories sparked by passing landmarks. “Trying to figure out what happened was a challenge,” Macy recalls, “but also trying to figure out what the lore meant to people in the community as well as the family was a whole other layer of meaning to the story.” Their observations and insights soon led to another revelation. “I don’t think I knew how much the book would be about race when I started,” Macy says. “The circus is such a whiz-bang thing, you think most of the book will be about that. But to me, those really palpable, gritty, daily experiences that African Americans had during Jim Crow, those were the most powerful things. I felt like it was an honor that people would tell me these stories and trust me to get it right.” In Truevine, Macy has created a vivid portrait of two men whose lives were forever upended one earth-shattering day in 1899. Sideshow exhibits for decades, they became excellent musicians, playing multiple instruments and singing. The boys were told their mother was dead, but in truth, she never stopped looking for them. Harriett Muse finally tracked them down and brought them home in 1927, after a truly heart-stopping showdown. This illiterate maid stood up to eight policemen at the circus, as well as the Commonwealth’s attorney, who happened to be the founder of the local Ku Klux Klan. Then she had the gumption to sue the Greatest Show on Earth, claiming it owed the family $100,000 in damages and back pay. “How did she do it?” Macy wonders. “How did she bring them home, not get arrested, not get hurt? She had no protection; there’s never any mention that her husband was with her. It was her alone.” Despite Macy’s exhaustive research, many questions remain unanswered. At one point she
commiserated with Canadian historian Jane Nicholas, who urged her to keep digging. If we only wrote the histories of the people who left detailed records, Nicholas told her, “we would only get to know about the really privileged people. You have to piece together your evidence with empathy and conjecture.” Even now, months later, Macy remains moved by this wisdom. “That’s my favorite quote of the whole thing,” she says. “That’s the heart and soul of this book. Because George and Willie’s history wasn’t just erased, it was never written down to begin with.” Now it finally is, ready for the world to read.
TRUEVINE
By Beth Macy
Little, Brown, $28, 432 pages ISBN 9780316337540, audio, eBook available
HISTORY
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cover story
MUSIC BY HILLI LEVIN
The defining sounds of a generation
T
he nostalgia wave rippling through today’s culture may seem troublesome to some, but music has always been an art form that builds upon and pays homage to what has come before. Five new books chronicle some of the most earth-shaking, history-making artists who changed our cultural landscape. From the story behind the sweet and soulful sounds of Motown to Bruce Springsteen’s long-awaited memoir, each is worthy of a spot alongside any record collection. On my first trip to Detroit this year, the only site on my list was the original Motown headquarters. There are many remarkable
Go behind the scenes with Motown artists like Smokey Robinson and The Miracles, Marvin Gaye, The Supremes, Stevie Wonder and The Jackson 5, starting with their discoveries, first records and those early days on tour. While this is an all-out celebration of African -American music, glitz, glamour and Motown’s cultural impact, The Temptations perform their signature hit, “My Girl,” in 1965. From L to R: Melvin White also Franklin, Eddie Kendricks, Otis Williams, Paul Williams and David Ruffin. Motown highlights Records Archives. Courtesy of the EMI Archive Trust and Universal Music Group. the abysthings to see in that venerable mal state of the political landscape building, but for me, the most during the label’s rise in chapters astonishing was the size of the like “We Don’t Serve Coloured basement recording studio where People,” which makes the incredsome of the biggest songs in the ible success, resilience and power American musical canon were put of the Motown sound shine that to tape: It’s tiny! But that studio is much brighter. a powerful testament to the magic SATISFACTION SONG BY SONG of Berry Gordy’s larger-than-life Philippe Margotin and Jean- empire, and Adam White’s Motown Michel Guesdon sum up the (Thames & Hudson, $60, 400 reason why the Rolling Stones are pages, ISBN 9780500518298) does an incredible job of examining just what happened in the building that housed America’s most influential record label. This beautifully packaged book holds a staggering amount of interviews with the label’s influencers and recording artists along with absolutely stunning photographs from all of the eras and iterations of Motown, from Tamla in 1959 to the opening of Motown: The Musical in 2013.
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still one of the biggest bands in the world in their introduction to The Rolling Stones All the Songs (Black Dog & Leventhal, $50, 704 pages, ISBN 9780316317740): “The music of the Stones comes across as authentic because it is the music of a never-ending party, of a categorical refusal to grow old.” Their ambitious tome delivers on the title’s claim, opening with a brief history of the band’s formation in London in 1962 and wading through their entire catalog in a whopping 704 pages. Of course, there’s no pressure to read from cover to cover—fans are sure to go straight for their favorite songs and hop around from there. With fun facts “For Stones Addicts,” standalone “Portraits” of important Stones collaborators like Ian Stewart (the oft-forgotten “Sixth Stone”), along with full details on the writing and recording process as well as the reception of each track, Margotin and Guesdon make what could be a bit of a slog into a rip-roaring journey through the discography of the kings of cool.
THE FREEWHEELIN’ BARD Is there any songwriter worthier of a sumptuous lyrics collection than the inimitable Bob Dylan? The Lyrics: 1961-2012 (Simon & Schuster, $60, 768 pages, ISBN 9781451648768) is an updated edi-
tion of the stunning 2014 volume with new edits supplied by Dylan himself on dozens of his classic songs. Running chronologically from his early Greenwich Village days to 2012’s “Tempest,” this collection is comprised of the lyrics from 31 Dylan albums. Full-page photos and a few facsimiles of his handwritten drafts—there were quite a few interesting changes to “Blowin’ in the Wind”—put his poetic mastery on full display. With more than 100 million records sold, Dylan is not only one of our most artful songwriters, but one of the bestselling of all time. A great coffee-table book, this could easily provide hours of study, or you could just grab your favorite Dylan record, put the needle down and read along.
YOU WANT A REVOLUTION? There have likely been more books written about the Beatles than any other figures in music history, and when the field is this crowded, it’s hard to find a read that stands out. But Steve Turner’s Beatles ’66: The Revolutionary Year (Ecco, $27.99, 464 pages, ISBN 9780062475480) is a wonderfully compelling look into the year that changed everything for the band. By 1966, the hysteria of Beatlemania and the strain of public life had taken quite a toll. After their joyless show at San Francisco’s Candlestick Park, George suggested, and the rest of the band readily agreed, that it was time to quit the touring life for good. From there, John, Paul, George and Ringo took control—pushing boundaries in the studio and grappling with more adult issues in their lyrics in order to “stretch the limits of pop.” Turner immerses readers in their lives: the art and media they were
consuming, the drugs they were taking, the creative breakthrough they were seeking—all of which resulted in “Revolver,” which Turner argues is the most innovative and compelling album the Beatles ever recorded. A chronology of the year’s historical events and a selection of each member’s favorite songs from the period round out this entertaining study.
A TRAMP LIKE US Readers, I’ll admit: I am late to the Bruce Springsteen fandom. Maybe it was the macho stage histrionics or his cheesy nickname (“The Boss”) that kept me away. But after my first three-hour Springsteen show, it made sense. His anticipated memoir, Born to Run (Simon & Schuster, $32.50, 528 pages, ISBN 9781501141515), is similar to his live shows, inviting you along on an emotional marathon. Herein lies the Springsteen I’ve been hoping to find: raw and poignant with plenty of punk attitude. Some will undoubtedly be surprised by the amount of casually crass and sexed-up passages, but the cheeky Springsteen makes no apologies. Superfans will love the details of his musical beginnings, the fledgling days of the E Street Band and his recording process for each of his records, but he doesn’t leave out the less glamorous details of sleeping rough and scraping by for decades. In passages like his account of seeing Elvis for the first time—“THE BARRICADES HAVE BEEN STORMED!! A HERO HAS COME.”—hearing the Beatles on “The Ed Sullivan Show” and the life-altering birth of his first child, his writing mirrors his rock ’n’ roll preacher stage-speak. But his true gifts as a writer come through in the quieter passages that lay bare his struggles with deep depression, the scars of his Catholic upbringing and his tumultuous relationship with his mentally ill father. With high praise for each movement and artist chronicled in the other four books featured here, it’s clear that The Boss may be one of biggest music geeks of us all. Born to Run may not be as lyrical as his friend Patti Smith’s Just Kids, but it’s a haunting and hopeful triumph.
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features
BEHIND THE BOOK BY MARIE BENEDICT
Telling her story, not his
I
almost didn’t write The Other Einstein. The little-known story of Mileva Marić, who made a heroic ascent from the misogynistic backwater of 19th-century Eastern Europe to become one of Europe’s first female physicists, kept calling to me, begging to be written. But the tale necessarily involved a depiction of Albert Einstein, the fellow Zurich Polytechnic student who wooed Mileva for years before their marriage in 1903—and who wanted to face that hurdle?
The idea of writing about the socalled secular saint, who was chosen as the Person of the Century by Time magazine and galvanized not only science but also the cultural and political landscape with his genius, daunted me. Obviously. Not to mention that people hold many preconceptions about Albert Einstein, and I wasn’t certain that I wanted to challenge them with The Other Einstein. But then I realized that The Other Einstein wasn’t his story. It
was her story. One that had been buried by time and prejudice and misconceptions. And I realized that I was honor-bound to excavate Mileva from the detritus of the past and share her with the world. So I faced my discomfort with writing about one of the world’s most famous figures head-on. I dove deep into the world of 19th-century science. I tried to immerse myself in whatever details I could cobble together about Mileva, a surprisingly challenging
Protecting her life will mean betraying her trust… “B.J. Daniels is at the top of her game… the perfect blend of hot romance and thrilling suspense.” —New York Times bestselling author Allison Brennan
Get your copy in print & ebook today!
www.HQNBooks.com • www.BJDaniels.com
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task given that she had been married to Einstein for 16 years. While countless tomes exist about him and his work, Mileva doesn’t figure prominently in many of them. Then I discovered Mileva’s letters. Written to family members, friends and, of course, Albert, those letters became my window into her life. They enabled me to imagine myself as the young Mileva. So tiny, her family joked that they needed to put stones in her pockets to keep the wind from blowing her away. So startlingly brilliant that her father fought against the Austro-Hungarian Empire’s laws preventing females from attending high school to secure her place in an all-male upper school. So different from all the other girls that she received the brunt of their youthful mockery. And so physically deformed in her hips that she believed no one would ever want to marry her. In becoming Mileva, I began to see Albert Einstein through her eyes. He became a roguish, charismatic college student. He changed into a youthful, open-minded scientific partner and collaborator. He shined as a violinist who accompanied her singing with the gusto of a fellow musician. He transformed from a friend into a determined and ardent lover, who morphed again into a husband and father, bringing both tremendous joy and heartbreaking disappointment. No longer the wild-haired scientific icon, Albert Einstein became a person. Marvelous yet flawed, as all people are. This metamorphosis, achieved only after long months of research,
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freed me from my fears. And I was able to write about Albert as Mileva experienced him. But no matter how comfortable I became writing about Albert Einstein, The Other Einstein never became his story. It always remained hers. Marie Benedict practiced law for more than 10 years before launching a career as a novelist. The Other Einstein is the first in a planned series telling the stories of women lost to history. Benedict, who has also published three thrillers as Heather Terrell, lives in Pittsburgh with her family.
Visit BookPage.com to read a review of The Other Einstein.
THE OTHER EINSTEIN
By Marie Benedict
Sourcebooks Landmark, $25.99, 304 pages ISBN 9781492637257, audio, eBook available
HISTORICAL FICTION
gifts
CELEBRITY MEMOIRS BY LINDA M. CASTELLITTO
Humorous reflections on fame and fortune
C
urious about what it’s like to be a child actor, a standup comedian, a podcast star or some combination of the above (and beyond)? You’re in luck: These memoirs offer a fascinating peek behind the curtain of fame.
In Scrappy Little Nobody (Touchstone, $26.99, 304 pages, ISBN 9781501117206), Anna Kendrick chronicles her journey from auditioning for roles at age 5 to being a Tony-nominated singer (High Society) and Oscar-nominated actress (Up in the Air). “[P]erforming is all I’ve cared about since the first time I can remember caring about anything,” she writes. While Kendrick shares self-deprecating and I’m-just-like-you sentiments in her memoir, she also expresses pride in her uncommon career, noting that theater work “gave me a basic work ethic that I may not have gotten if I started in film and television. I worked six days a week, eight shows a week. . . . I was held accountable for my work.” A heavy load for sure, but Kendrick persevered, getting more and more high-profile roles (The Twilight Saga, Into the Woods, Pitch Perfect) along the way. Plenty of revelations about the non-magical side of moviemaking and an irreverent Reading Group Guide round out this entertaining, appealing first book.
COMEDY OF THE MIND On a recent talk show appearance, Norm Macdonald said his book, Based on a True Story (Spiegel & Grau, $28, 256 pages, ISBN 9780812993622), is 50 percent true and 70 percent made-up. That feels about right; this elliptical memoir loops its way through Macdonald’s life so far, bringing the reader along on a hallucinatory road trip filled with strange characters who may or may not be real people. When he’s being more straightforward, Macdonald shares stories both funny and poignant from his formative years in rural Canada and details his experiences competing on “Star Search” and being the new kid on “Saturday Night Live.” At book’s beginning, he says standup comics are
“never in one place long enough to experience anything but the shabbiest of love.” But at book’s end, he writes, “I’ve been lucky. If I had to sum up my whole life, I guess those are the words I would choose, all right.” Both feel like
and “People, Places, and Things That Need to Do Better” are funny and on-target, while personal stories in “Uppity” and “The Angry Black Woman Myth” illustrate how systemic racism has affected the way she communicates every
moments of honesty shoring up a performance-art-esque tale.
single day. It’s exhausting, yes, but Robinson is hopeful: “We all have some growing to do. So let’s try and get better together. Cool?”
SIMPLE REQUESTS After reading You Can’t Touch My Hair: And Other Things I Still Have to Explain (Plume, $16, 320 pages, ISBN 9780143129202), readers will want to be Phoebe Robinson’s friend. But they better not try to make her TBF (The Black Friend), “a singular dash of pepper in a bowl of grits.” Witty, truth-telling commentary abounds here, and it’s delightful. Robinson wasn’t always this confident; she uses her childhood relationship with her hair as a metaphor for her growing awareness of the assumptions projected onto black people—women in particular—based on their hairstyles: “‘[H]ire-ability,’ acceptance, and attractiveness are all on the line when someone wears his or her hair naturally? That’s a lot of weight to assign to a physical attribute.” Indeed. She now has a thriving career in standup, as well as acting, and writing for the New York Times, Glamour and “Broad City”—and she wears her hair however she wants. Chapters like “Dear Future Female President: My List of Demands”
READING AMY Amy Schumer is a household name, thanks to her hilarious, award-winning TV series, “Inside Amy Schumer”; her worldwide comedy tours; and the movie Trainwreck, which she wrote and starred in. In The Girl with the Lower Back Tattoo (Gallery, $28, 336 pages, ISBN 9781501139888), Schumer says, “I wanted to share these stories from my life as a daughter, sister, friend, comedian, actor, girlfriend, one-night stand, employee, employer, lover, fighter, hater, pasta eater, and wine drinker.” And that she does, in a book that’s a mix of funny, smart, straightforward, raunchy and sweet. A more serious side of Schumer emerges here, as well. When she explores the ways her parents’ tumultuous marriage and an abusive dating relationship have affected her, she plumbs her pain to share what she’s learned and demonstrates that she’s a survivor in more ways than one. The tattoo story is in there, too, as well
as a strong stance for gun control, a stand against body-shaming and ultimately a case for being OK with imperfection: “My vulnerability is my ultimate strength,” she proclaims. With this book, she proves that writing is a close second.
TALL AND HANDSOME Joel McHale hit his head a lot as a kid. Did this lead to his becoming a comedian and actor (“Community,” “The Great Indoors,” Ted), host of E! Network’s “The Soup” and a relentless commercial pitch-man?
In Thanks for the Money: How to Use My Life Story to Become the Best Joel McHale You Can Be (Putnam, $27, 320 pages, ISBN 9780399575372), McHale hints at a link between his multiple head injuries and his fearless quest for attention, performance and money. McHale’s fondness for dark, somewhat disturbing humor will be familiar to fans and makes for an entertaining through-line in the book, which begins at childhood— well, before childhood, really (see the detailed and discomfiting “Mama-and-Papa-Sutra”). He was born in Rome, Italy, grew up in Seattle and takes us up to now, with a variety of weird and wacky pit stops along the way—a Mr. McHale’s wild ride, if you will. Said pit stops include “Midbook Reading-Retention Puzzles,” an infographic called “How to Survive a Chevy Chase Attack” and a response to rumors about hair implants (yep, he got ’em—twice). Insider info ranges from celebrity quirks to career strategies to details on the free stuff you get once you’re wealthy and don’t really need it. This is an edgy, entertaining memoir/self-help combo from a sharp, successful showbiz guy.
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gifts
DRINKS BY EVE ZIBART
Selections for the happy home bartender
W
dog, and explains facts, like why alcohol makes you dizzy. And thanks to handy cross-references, you can skim or swim through the information. The graphics, by Leandro Castelao, are simple but striking.
e have become a nation of not only conspicuous consumers, but vicarious ones. Watching The Food Network won’t make you a chef, probably not even a better cook; but millions of people oohh and aahh over garlic and FOR LABEL LOVERS ONLY hot sauce (and massacre the pronunciation of “bon appétit”).
Similarly, the pop culture-fueled craze for craft cocktails, “artisan mixers,” tinctures, digestifs, etc., has produced a parallel to the celebrity chef-inspired home cook: the happy home bartender. Everyone’s an expert, and these books promise to make you an expert, too.
WINE DOWN Jancis Robinson is one of the preeminent wine critics in the world, a Master of Wine since 1984, author of (among dozens of erudite wine books) the definitive The Oxford Companion to Wine and advisor to Queen Elizabeth’s cellars. In The 24-Hour Wine Expert (Abrams
Image, $12.95, 112 pages, ISBN 9781419722660), Robinson ventures into the stocking-stuffer-sized wine primer field—and knocks her competitors on their heels. Her forthright book is clever without being cute and concentrates on the terms (like “nose”), regions and storage and handling tips that will enhance the experience of the amateur or semi-pro wine drinker. She is happy to dismiss the “critic behind the curtain” effect: “You should feel quite at liberty to free-associate” about aromas and flavors rather than swallowing the boilerplate descriptions of “tired old professionals.” If not a 24-hour
“[O]nly the resolutely disciplined could resist the authors’ chocolate caramel peanut butter delight atop bananas.” —Booklist
978-1-62354-075-3 • HC $18.95
Confections for the holidays! Galleys available on
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There are gift options for the label geeks as well. Amaro: The Spirited World of Bittersweet, COCKTAIL HOUR Herbal Liqueurs (Ten Speed, $26, 280 pages, ISBN 9781607747482) Dan Jones’ Gin: Shake, Muddle, by Brad Thomas Parsons is a hefty, Stir (Hardie Grant, $16.99, 144 high-gloss love poem to the bitters, pages, ISBN 9781784880521) is aperitifs and digestifs of the world. also a small but likable handful of Parsons includes interviews with information, which doesn’t break much new ground but has a cheery makers and bar owners, as well as readability. Jones kicks off with pos- tasting notes and nearly 80 cocktail itively Dickensian hyperbole—“Not recipes, before ending with some so long ago, gin was the crack of the bittersweet dessert ideas. The New Single Malt Whiskey capital, the unlimited fun-juice guz(Cider Mill Press, $35, 624 pages, zled by cackling, wooden-toothed ISBN 9781604336474) is a little bit wastrels, pox-ridden poets and harder to define. Heavy, heavily general London lowlifes”—and illustrated and packed with de concludes, rather neatly, with an approximation of the hot gin punch rigueur interviews with distillers (a great excuse for a field trip), it in David Copperfield. The book is includes essays by 40 writers, some divided between gin’s history and of which are more intriguing than recipes, some of which are intriguingly robust (a green tea and bay-in- others. Though there is no definifused gin martini), and the guide to tion of a single malt until quite a ways in, and some of the cocktail making your own syrups and gins recipes do not call for any Scotch at might lure you into the home-mixall, what is “new” here is the global ing world. Daniel Servansky’s fascination with single malts. One graphics of layered cocktail glasses surprising bit of trivia: The French displaying the recipe proportions drink the most single malt Scotch are particularly useful. per capita. That just might put SCIENCE OF SIPPING some winemakers’ “noses” out of Although it takes a little while joint. to hit its stride, Distilled Knowledge: The Science Behind Drinking’s Greatest Myths, Legends, and Unanswered Questions (Abbeville, $21.95, 208 pages, ISBN 9780789212689) by cocktail instructor Brian D. Hoefling is less pompous than the title might suggest. Hoefling is Bill Nye the Science Guy for the barfly, explaining the chemical and bacterial interactions that result in everything from fermentation to hangovers. He debunks myths, like the hair of the
course, it’s a perfect weekend party.
STYLE BY CAT ACREE
Tastemakers and groundbreakers
A
s I’m writing this, the online style community is rightfully pitching a fit over the smug comments by Vogue.com editors about “desperate” bloggers attending Milan Fashion Week. Such comments reflect the arrogance of those who fail to recognize today’s real fashion influencers. Fortunately, three of this year’s best style books know what an influencer looks like.
When TheCoveteur.com launched in 2011, it was little more than a handful of profiles of the “unsung heroes of the [fashion] industry,” like makeup artists and stylists, individuals who guide our cultural aesthetic without our even knowing. Today, the website receives over four million visitors each month. The Coveteur: Private Spaces, Personal Style (Abrams, $35, 272 pages, ISBN 9781419721991) assembles 43 models, designers and style icons who have invited the Coveteur squad into their homes to photograph the contents of their (multiple) closets and the objects that fill their personal spaces. The book moves alphabetically, from Jessica Alba to Japanese DJ Mademoiselle Yulia, in a ravenous mural of curated excess. Each tastemaker’s section opens with a gushy essay from Coveteur cofounders Stephanie Mark and Jake Rosenberg about the experience of making these private spaces public, followed by photos that are simultaneously blown-out and wonderfully oversaturated. Some profiles are an amuse-bouche, as with designer Alice Temperley, whose mansion sits atop an ancient Tudor bear-fighting pen. Other profiles feel gluttonous, like Linda Rodin’s— creator of “cultish elixir” Rodin Olio Lusso—whose over-the-top piles of “thingamabobs” look like the Little Mermaid’s collection of souvenirs. In the Coveteur world, decadence is synonymous with compulsive hoarding, and “excess” is the dirty word you can’t stop saying.
SNEAKERHEADS The museum exhibition “Out of the Box: The Rise of Sneak-
er Culture” is currently touring the United States, hopping from Toronto’s Bata Shoe Museum to its current placement at Kentucky’s Speed Art Museum. From an 1860 spiked running shoe to original Air Jordan 1s, the 150 iconic sneakers included in the show represent the shoe’s cultural evolution from physical fitness tool to status symbol. There is a book associated with this show, Out of the Box
by Elizabeth Semmelhack, which includes interviews, essays and ad campaigns. But for a comprehensive encyclopedia to sneakers, add Mathieu Le Maux’s 1000 Sneakers: A Guide to the World’s Greatest Kicks, from Sport to Street (Universe, $29.95, 256 pages, ISBN 9780789332554) to your collection. It’s a fully loaded catalog for sneakerheads, with side-by-side comparisons of all the sneakers that matter most, from groundbreaking designs by Nike and Adidas to luxury styles from Yves Saint Laurent and Lanvin. It’s bright and bold, with need-to-know facts, quick stats and anecdotes about sneaker superstars like Arthur Ashe and Stan Smith. Did you know “Asics” is an acronym for the Latin phrase anima sana in corpore sano, meaning “a healthy soul in a healthy body”? And because it’s (arguably) impossible to determine which sneaker is the best, there’s a section dedicated to the top shoes in a variety of categories: the most expensive, the top sneakers in movies, top Kanye,
even the best for babies. See which sneakers are hottest in 2016, check out the glossary in the back for any further questions, and your education is complete.
GIRLBOSSES Does anyone else get tired of dwelling on how hard it is to be a girl? Don’t get me wrong—give me any opportunity to honor the powerhouse women who blazed the trail, who inched us closer to equality in the face of sexism, and I’ll take it. But for those who need an exit strategy for the conversation, there’s Nasty Galaxy (Putnam, $37, 272, ISBN 9780399174889) by Sophia Amoruso, entrepreneur and founder of fashion retailer Nasty Gal. Following her bestselling #GIRLBOSS, it’s a baby-pink compendium of Amoruso’s personal brand, filled with music, movie and book recommendations, profiles of “Bad Bitches” like Betty Davis, Grace Jones and Meiko Kaji, interviews with “Girlbosses” like filmmaker Alex Prager and Man Repeller founder Leandra Medine, and absolutely zero fashion advice. Alternately philosophical and frivolous, Amoruso shares her struggles with professional networking, quotes Gertrude Stein and offers some of the most hilarious advice that I’ve ever seen in a fashion book, with varying levels of usefulness (How to Go Commando; How to Check Out of a Fancy Hotel). In the Nasty Galaxy, style inspiration is infinite: Amoruso’s flawless bedroom was styled after a pair of vintage suede shorts. Equal parts bad behavior and modern-day class, Nasty Galaxy is a glut of cool.
The perfect book for everyone on your list!
Available now, everywhere books are sold.
www.MIRABooks.com
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2016-09-27 9:34 AM
gifts
HISTORY’S HEROINES BY JULIE HALE
Books for the superwoman in your life
A
s the holiday season approaches, we’re paying tribute to the visionairies of the past with a collection of books that honor the leading ladies who paved the way for generations to come. Whether you’re shopping for a girl with a change-the-world attitude or a woman in search of gifted role models, these books are sure to inspire. Mathematicians and physicists, smugglers and spies, suffragettes and explorers—you’ll find them all in Wonder Women (Quirk, $16.99, 240 pages, ISBN 9781594749254), Sam Maggs’ spirited tribute to 25 pioneering females. Maggs, the bestselling author of The Fangirl’s Guide to the Galaxy, has put together an intriguing roundup of thinkers and doers who forged new paths in their chosen areas. Notables include algorithm whiz Ada Lovelace (18151852), daughter of Lord Byron and creator of code for an early computer, and inventor Margaret E. Knight (18381914), designer of—among other devices—a machine that mass-produced flat-bottomed paper sacks. Maggs provides brief bios for each of her subjects, and her offthe-cuff prose style and winning sense of humor keep the proceedings lively. Maggs’ lineup of influential females is well curated and inclusive, while smart illustrations by Sophia Foster-Dimino bring the ladies to life. Wonder Women is a must-read for the girl who’s a bit of a geek.
WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS
ing women athletes—20th-century sports greats who aren’t household names but should be. Schiot shares the stories of luminaries like mountain climber Annie Smith Peck, who caused a scandal in 1895 when she ascended the Matterhorn in pants instead of a skirt, and Bernice Gera, pro baseball’s first female umpire, who was harassed by the men in her class at the Florida Baseball School. From
In Dead Feminists (Sasquatch, $24.95, 192 pages, ISBN 9781632170576), O’Leary and Spring honor 27 illustrious ladies— strong-willed leaders who changed the world through leadership, literature, art and education. Eleanor Roosevelt, Virginia Woolf, Shirley Chisholm, Emma Goldman and other eminent feminists are profiled in chapters filled with vintage photographs, ephemera
bullfighting to boxing, every corner of the sports world is represented. Discussions between legendary ladies like soccer player Abby Wambach and Title IX advocate Margaret Dunkle provide background on the place of women in a male-dominated industry. Packed with classic photographs, Schiot’s book is a gold-medal gift idea for the sports fan.
and, of course, the team’s original broadsides, which are stop-thepresses sensational. Beautifully designed all the way down to endpapers showing a collage of nifty type blocks, this volume has a handcrafted quality. Insights into the printing process and a rousing foreword by Jill Lepore make this the ultimate gift for the gutsy girl.
INK, TYPE AND INSPIRATION
Grassroots gals Chandler Featuring an epic roster of feO’Leary and Jessica Spring create male athletes, Molly Schiot’s Game art with the power to incite—and Changers (Simon & Schuster, $25, unite—women of every age and 224 pages, ISBN 9781501137099) stage. They’re the team behind is a stirring tribute to the record Dead Feminists, the broadside setters, barrier breakers and series they crank out (literally) via milestone makers who opened printing press, using hand-drawn the way for the women competilettering and imagery to highlight tors of today. Inspired by Schiot’s quotes from famous feminists. popular Instagram account, A new book based on the series @TheUnsungHeroines, this adrena- captures the duo’s crisp press work line-infused photography book foand knack for making bold statecuses on overlooked but outstandments through innovative design.
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SO BAD THEY’RE GOOD One hundred remarkable women get the diva treatment in Ann Shen’s Bad Girls Throughout History (Chronicle, $19.95, 224 pages, ISBN 9781452153933), a sparkling celebration of formidable females who lived their lives outside the constraints of convention. As Shen explains in the introduction, “To be a bad girl is to break any socially accepted rule.” These trailblazing ladies did just that and more, transcending the boundaries imposed by gender to leave a permanent imprint on popular culture.
Shen includes innovators of every era, from Cleopatra, the original bad girl, to anti-slavery activist Harriet Tubman, birth control advocate Margaret Sanger and feisty figures of the present day like Tina Fey. Brief biographical essays provide background on the lives and accomplishments of these iconic individualists, who, as Shen puts it, “knocked up against that glass ceiling and made a tiny fissure or full-on crack.” Activists and artists, musicians and politicians, cinema stars and scientists—these bad girls definitely made good. Shen’s elegant watercolor illustrations round out this salute to a group of distinguished grandes dames.
ESSAYS WITH ATTITUDE Frank and fearless—there’s no better way to describe The Bitch Is Back (Morrow, $26.99, 368 pages, ISBN 9780062389510), a collection of 25 essays contributed by some of today’s top female writers. Edited by Cathi Hanauer, it’s a companion to The Bitch in the House (2002), the bestselling anthology that took stock of the female experience at the start of the century. Nine writers from the first volume return in this edgy collection, along with new contributors like Julianna Baggott and Sandra Tsing Loh. Ranging in age from 38 to 60-plus, they speak their minds on motherhood, monogamy and midlife. With barbed humor, Pam Houston ruminates on five realizations that have accompanied aging (#3: “I don’t care what men think of me anymore.”), while Jennifer Finney Boylan recalls “the strange blessings of turbulence” connected to coming out as transgender. Susanna Sonnenberg and Cynthia Kling both reflect on making major decisions at midlife. Filled with hard-won wisdom and more than a little good news (getting older is definitely liberating!), The Bitch Is Back will motivate gals to take a kick-butt attitude into 2017.
gifts
QUIRKY B Y L I LY M C L E M O R E
Just a little left of center
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ooking for a gift for that oddball friend or family member? You may have a holiday hit on your hands if you wrap up one of these books.
Abbi Jacobson takes a peek into the bags, pockets and wallets of celebrities, fictional heroes and various notable people in Carry This Book (Viking, $25, 144 pages, ISBN 9780735221598). Jacobson is the co-creator and star of Comedy Central’s absurd and hilarious “Broad City,” which follows two best friends as they clumsily navigate life in New York City. But Jacobson isn’t just a comedy genius, she’s also a talented illustrator. This book takes readers on an anthropological journey, using colored-pen illustrations to depict items that Jacobson imagines might be revealed when people (both real and fictional) lay their baggage on the table. Oprah carries a notepad so she can scribble down inspiring quotes (from herself), Barbie carries her NASA astronaut card, Bernie Madoff carries a few spare $4,000 pens. Jacobson labels and annotates the detritus of her subjects with wry commentary on the secret worlds that are exposed by the things we carry around.
DON’T MENTION IT When you think of the Victorian era, do you picture well-mannered women in dramatic dresses, à la The Phantom of the Opera, perhaps reading some Charlotte Brontë? If you want to keep that vision intact, skip Unmentionable: The Victorian Lady’s Guide to Sex, Marriage, and Manners (Little, Brown, $25, 320 pages, ISBN 9780316357913). If you want to discover the truth, however, follow Therese Oneill,
your guide to the intimate rituals of life as a Victorian woman, from painting your face with lead for a youthful (and highly toxic) glow to the fact that turning your gloves inside out means “I hate you” and dropping your parasol means you’re in love. Oneill doesn’t shy away from the unsavory aspects of Victorian life, such as the excrement-filled streets, the toxic water and the scarcity of proper bathrooms. Who knew toilets (or the lack of them) could be so entertaining?
meet ROZ CHAST
the title of your new book? Q: What’s
Q: Describe the book in one sentence.
your favorite misspelling in the book? Q: What’s
Q: What’s your own most embarrassing misheard song lyric?
WE’RE ALL MAD HERE Get ready to discover the real you with Psycho book: Games, Tests, Questionnaires, Histories (Princeton Architectural Press, $40, 192 pages, ISBN 9781616894924) edited by Julian Rothenstein. Within this book, you’ll find a full spectrum of psychological tests, dating from the conception of psychological testing to the present day. Each test is beautifully illustrated with examples, from the famous Rorschach inkblots to the less popular Odor Imagination Test, in which subjects were asked to tell a story after smelling various items—sour milk, for example. Feedback on the results of many of the tests is provided in the back of the book, although Psychobook warns against using personality tests as a tool for assessing mental health: The definition of what’s normal is (thankfully) very flexible. However, this book can be used as a tool to dive deep into your beliefs about yourself and others. You might want to bring some friends along for the journey—although you may discover more about them than you ever wanted to know.
Q: If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?
Q: What historical figure do you most admire?
Q: What’s your motto?
THE AFRICAN SVELTE A celebrated cartoonist for The New Yorker and author of the acclaimed graphic memoir Can’t We Talk About Something More Pleasant?, Roz Chast brings her trademark wit and unique perspective to the illustrations for The African Svelte (HMH, $20, 256 pages, ISBN 9780544800632). Written by Daniel Menaker, this collection of “ingenious misspellings” highlights hilarious written blunders, from “no nothings” to “furled brows” to “last-stitch efforts.”
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reviews
FICTION
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THE GIRL FROM VENICE By Martin Cruz Smith
THE BOAT ROCKER
For a Chinese journalist, the personal becomes political
Simon & Schuster $27, 320 pages ISBN 9781439140239 Audio, eBook available HISTORICAL FICTION
R E V I E W B Y C A R R I E R O L LWA G E N
Martin Cruz Smith, who has been called “the master of the international thriller” by the New York Times, departs from his usual modus operandi to put an old-fashioned romance at the heart of his latest suspense novel. Cenzo is an Italian fisherman who spends his nights trolling the lagoons of Venice for cuttlefish, sole and sea bass. It’s the waning days of World War II, and Allied bombers often pass over his fishing boat, headed for Turin, Milan or Verona. Venice is still occupied by the Nazis, who seem to be unaware of the hopelessness of their cause and still doggedly pursue their enemies, especially any Jews still in hiding. One morning, it isn’t fish that Cenzo finds in his nets, but a young woman: Giulia, an Italian Jew who is fleeing the German SS squad that killed members of her family. Cenzo, who has lost both a brother and wife to the war, impulsively decides he must do whatever he can to keep Giulia out of the hands of the Nazis. That decision leads him down a potentially dangerous musical; Adam, the 12-year-old path, as Venice is in a chaotic state playing the monkey onstage, who at war’s end. Nazis, Fascists and can’t seem to separate his adolesvarious partisan groups are lurking cent emotions from his stage life; around every corner, trying to and Ms. Sonya, the Xanax-popping establish themselves before the end teacher of young Edward, who goes finally arrives. to see the musical with his dying Smith blends this glimpse into grandfather. Then there is Ray him- Italy’s past with a charming story self, who wrote the Mister Monkey of the love that grows between the children’s book that inspired the poor fisherman with little hope for play as a way to get over PTSD after change in his future and a young his deployment. woman raised in one of Venice’s With each narrative, Prose wealthiest families. Though it lacks reveals a new connection between the tension levels of his Arkady strangers, turning a seemingly silly Renko thrillers, The Girl from Venstory into a profound example of ice is an enlightening look at the the human psyche. What’s more, chaos of Italy at the end of World her wit and dark humor make this War II, enlivened by a romance a serious page-turner. Mister Mon- taken straight from the pages of a key is nothing short of a delight. fairy tale.
In the United States, good journalists are muckrakers, rabble-rousers, sometimes even troublemakers—their job is to rock the boat. In this sense, newly naturalized U.S. citizen Feng Danlin, the hero of Ha Jin’s page-turning but profound new novel, The Boat Rocker, is a true American. A columnist for a Chinese-language newspaper operated out of New York City, Danlin knows that some of his columns make it into China despite the country’s outside-media freeze, and he takes that responsibility seriously. When we meet him, Danlin is chasing a new obsession: a story about By Ha Jin his ex-wife, Yan Haili, who left him for another man and went on to Pantheon, $25.95, 240 pages write a romance novel starring idealized versions of herself and her ISBN 9780307911629, audio, eBook available new husband. Adding insult to personal injury, the Chinese government has positioned itself firmly behind Haili’s book, hailing it as an SATIRICAL FICTION example of improving relations between the U.S. and China. When Danlin discovers that reports of American excitement over the book (including a huge movie deal and English-language translation) are lies, he makes exposing them his focus. Danlin is self-righteous about his hatred of the book, and he’s tireless in attacking both it and his ex-wife. Initially, his pursuit of such a seemingly silly story in which he has an obvious personal stake makes the reader question his credibility and judgment. We find ourselves wishing Danlin would drop his personal vendetta. But eventually we start to see the point: When a government begins to manipulate art, even romance novels, it signals a determination to root out individuality and liberty wherever it grows. Haili’s betrayal of Danlin echoes the bigger betrayal of Danlin by China itself, a home that has been closed off to him. His divorce lets him finally access the pain of being rejected by a country that attacks his sense of justice, his right to question authority and even his right to seek truth and fulfillment in his own life and work. The twists and turns of Danlin’s fight with Haili make The Boat Rocker a compelling read, but Jin’s insight into nationalism, patriotism and the true cost of freedom of the press gives the novel depth and brilliance.
MISTER MONKEY By Francine Prose Harper $26.99, 304 pages ISBN 9780062397836 Audio, eBook available FICTION
For the readers who are familiar with the previous works of Francine Prose, her latest novel, Mister Monkey, might come as a surprise. Inspired by Prose’s own experience of sitting through a fiasco-ridden children’s musical, Mister Monkey tells the tale of an off-off-off Broadway show that has outlived its fame, and it’s the funniest work
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Prose has published since 2011’s My New American Life. Like the famous children’s character Curious George, Mister Monkey is a pet chimp living in the city. But unlike George, who always manages to get out of trouble with his charm, in this musical, Mister Monkey is accused of stealing a wallet and is put on trial for larceny. Sad and funny at the same time, this outlandish storyline is enriched by an assortment of narratives told by the people involved with the musical, each giving their own perspective on the production: Margot, the Yale drama school graduate who is coming to grips with the fact that her career has been reduced to playing a lawyer defending a monkey in a failed
—CHIKA GUJARATHI
—DEBORAH DONOVAN
FICTION ORPHANS OF THE CARNIVAL By Carol Birch
Doubleday $27.95, 352 pages ISBN 9780385541527 Audio, eBook available HISTORICAL FICTION
It is 1854, and Mexican singer Julia Pastrana is making her way to New Orleans to seek her fortune. Raised by an old nun after being abandoned by her mother, she has a good voice, is a decent dancer and speaks three languages. But her most singular feature is her thick black hair, which covers her entire body. Her strong jaw gives her an even more ape-like appearance. Invited to join a traveling sideshow, Julia travels from city to city, remaining veiled in public between shows so as not to cause a panic. She’s billed as Troglodyte of Ancient Days, the Ugliest Woman in the World and Mujer Osa (Lady Bear). Audiences around first America and then Europe are captivated—they don’t know whether to be horrified or charmed by this intelligent, well-spoken woman who looks something other than human. “She was the most extraordinary being that had ever existed on the face of this ridiculous earth,” author Carol Birch writes of Julia, a real-life historical figure. “Everyone said so. They wanted to see her, they wanted to meet her, everyone came, the great, the good, the scared, bewitched, bewildered, the willing and unwilling. And they paid.” Julia is managed by Theo Lent, a down-on-his luck showman who eventually, improbably, falls in love with her. But even after they marry, he can’t quite get over his shame, writhing with discomfort at what others must think of him, the man who sleeps with an ape. Orphans of the Carnival is a strange, transfixing novel. The gorgeously written story moves between Julia’s story and 1980s London, where a depressed woman named Rose is stockpiling (one might say hoarding) found objects in her small flat, to the dismay of
those who love her. She picks up a small, burned-looking doll that she names Tattoo, whose bittersweet significance is not revealed until the very end of the novel. “Am I human?” Julia asks a fortune-teller. “It’s possible to be human and not know it,” the woman replies. Orphans of the Carnival is about how we can find humanity in all fellow creatures, which is surely a message worth pondering now more than ever. —AMY SCRIBNER
FAITHFUL By Alice Hoffman
Simon & Schuster $26, 272 pages ISBN 9781476799209 Audio, eBook available FICTION
Some people can point to a moment that defined their lives. It could be a moment when a metaphorical light bulb became lit and an idea made sense or when an action literally changed a life’s course. Whatever the circumstances, that moment was the impetus for everything that followed. Shelby Richmond is one of those people. She was behind the wheel when a car accident left her best friend in a vegetative state. In that moment, Shelby is transformed from a popular, carefree good girl into a loner who believes the world would be better off without her presence. In Faithful, bestselling novelist Alice Hoffman (Practical Magic, The Dovekeepers) traces Shelby’s metamorphosis from a teenage girl who hides from the world to a young woman who believes her life might be worthwhile, after all. Hoffman’s prose is engaging, but Shelby’s path is neither quick nor easy. In the months after the accident, Shelby holes up in her mother’s basement. She can’t stand the hoopla that now surrounds her best friend, Helene. Crowds gather outside Helene’s home, and people believe they may be granted a miracle by touching the comatose girl’s hand. Although she has the
q&a
ALICE HOFFMAN
BY CARLA JEAN WHITLEY
A teen facing tragedy
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estselling author Alice Hoffman returns to contemporary fiction with Faithful, a heartrending coming-of-age story.
In the novel, teenager Shelby Richmond must try to rebuild her life after a car accident leaves her best friend, Helene, in a vegetative state. We talked to Hoffman, who has published more than 25 novels for adults and teens, about love, grief, postcards and Paul McCartney. Faithful leaves readers feeling as though they’ve spent time with Shelby and her family and friends. Is there a teenager or young woman in your life who in some way inspired Shelby and her friends? I think there’s a bit of Shelby in every woman and girl. For me, she’s her own person—one I fell in love with despite her troubles and hard times. And I think her relationship with her mother, Sue, is very relatable to everyone who has ever had a difficult daughter, or been one. The postcards Shelby receives throughout Faithful serve as tangible words of encouragement. Do you keep such encouraging messages around you? I always think words can get us through the toughest times—it may not be postcards for me personally, but it is books. Books have been a survival mechanism for me—a life raft, and so I think it’s fitting that words help to save Shelby. Have you ever had a pen pal? What role did that person’s correspondence play in your life? I wrote to Paul McCartney but he never wrote back! My professor of writing and his wife, also a writer, were my mentors. We wrote to each other for nearly 30 years and I treasured their letters. Dogs also play a significant role in this story. Were you inspired by pets in your life? Growing up, my dog was the “person” I related to most. I’ve always had dogs and can’t imagine my life without them. In fact, I named my most recent dog “Shelby” after Shelby in Faithful. Your books often deal with place, and lately you’ve shared a number of pictures of lovely places on your social media channels. Where do you feel most at home? Most creative? I love the Cape, and Manhattan, and Paris, and so many other places. But to write I just need a chair anywhere. You’re a prolific writer, capable of turning out deeply felt, thoughtful novels at a rate of sometimes one per year. What are your writing habits? I tend to write early in the day, and I set my alarm to do so. I outline, and I rewrite and rewrite, many drafts. I have a few people I trust who are my earliest readers. What are you working on next? I’m very excited to be working on the prequel to my novel Practical Magic, called The Rules of Magic. It takes place in New York City in the 1960s and follows the lives of the aunts in Practical Magic. It was great fun to write, and, I hope, to read.
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reviews option of moving, dreaming, living, Shelby feels nearly as stuck as her best friend, until a series of cryptic postcards begin to show up at her door. Faithful is a deep dive into grief and its lingering effects, a masterful character study of a young woman reassembling her life, one moment at a time. —CARLA JEAN WHITLEY
THUS BAD BEGINS By Javier Marías
Knopf $27.95, 464 pages ISBN 9781101946084 Audio, eBook available WORLD FICTION
The title of Thus Bad Begins, Javier Marías’ challenging new novel, comes from Act III of Hamlet: “Thus bad begins, and worse remains behind,” or, in other words, the current situation may be dire, but worse is to come. The Prince of Denmark’s preceding line is, “I must be cruel only to be kind.” As in the play, there’s cruelty in this book, and, like Shakespeare, Marías is canny enough to ask, is malice ever justified? The narrator, Juan de Vere, recounts the brief time in 1980—five years after the end of the Franco dictatorship—when he was the 23-year-old live-in amanuensis to film director Eduardo Muriel. After Juan had been in the older man’s employment for a while, Muriel made an unusual request. He asked Juan to spy on Jorge Van Vechten, a 60-year-old pediatrician who, despite having served on the Nationalist side during the Spanish Civil War, earned a reputation as a caring doctor who tended to everyone, even those subject to reprisals after the war. Muriel wanted Juan to invite Van Vechten out at night and introduce him to women. He didn’t explain his reasons, except to tell Juan that Van Vechten “behaved in an indecent manner towards a woman, or possibly more than one.” Juan soon suspected that this hint related to another of the novel’s many mys-
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FICTION teries, Muriel’s brutal treatment of his 40-year-old wife, Beatriz. Thus Bad Begins is less focused than The Infatuations, Marías’ 2013 masterpiece, but it’s a satisfyingly enigmatic work that dares to ask: What’s the point of setting a record straight if the truth “gives the lie to everything that went before”? This being a Marías novel, there are no easy answers, and that’s as it should be. As Juan says, “The past has a future we never expect.” —MICHAEL MAGRAS
the 900 refugees aboard. Despite this heavy subject matter, Correa’s impeccably researched historical details shine through, grounding the novel and honing its point. Though at times The German Girl is heartbreaking, the novel never wallows, and readers can often feel joy and excitement emanating off the young narrators. Correa’s characters and details are beautifully crafted, creating an insightful and poignantly timed exploration of the refugee experience. —HOPE RACINE
THE GERMAN GIRL By Armando Lucas Correa
THE FALL GUY By James Lasdun
Atria $26.99, 368 pages ISBN 9781501121142 Audio, eBook available
Norton $25.95, 256 pages ISBN 9780393292329 Audio, eBook available
DEBUT FICTION
SUSPENSE
Set against the backdrop of World War II, award-winning journalist Armando Lucas Correa’s The German Girl follows 12-year-old Hannah Rosenthal, who is attempting to flee Nazi Germany with her family and her best friend, Leo Martin. After many refusals, the Rosenthals are overjoyed when they are given the chance to escape to freedom aboard the SS St. Louis, a floating fairy tale making its way toward Cuba. But the outlook soon becomes grimmer for the desperate family. Hannah and Leo promise to stay together—and are forced to make impossible decisions. Alternating with Hannah’s story is that of Anna Rosen, a 12-year-old girl in present-day New York. Anna is coming to terms with the death of her father when she receives a package from the mysterious great-aunt in Cuba who acted as a mother figure to Anna’s late father. Searching for answers and a deeper understanding of her father, young Anna and her mother set off on their own journey to Havana’s shores. Correa, the editor-in-chief of People en Español, successfully weaves a profoundly emotional coming-of-age tale, based on the real-life journey of the St. Louis from Hamburg to Havana, and
Matthew is out of a job, down on his luck in Brooklyn and still grieving over his father’s disgraceful disappearance years ago. He feels sincere gratitude to his cousin and childhood friend, Charlie, for an invitation to spend the summer with him and his wife, Chloe, at their beautiful house in the mountains of New York State. There, he can try to get his life back in shape. Sounds placid enough, doesn’t it? How can this seemingly innocuous scenario go so quickly and inexorably to hell in James Lasdun’s new psychological thriller, The Fall Guy? One reason, I think, is because the author is a poet first. Much like his peers James Dickey and Stephen Dobyns, Lasdun’s poetic talent has veered toward the genre of criminal suspense. All three poet-novelists have the natural capacity to wield words with uncanny and disorienting power, exposing the shocking capacity of ordinary human beings to act out their darkest fears and desires. Nicely complicating Lasdun’s case is the fact that he’s a Brit, but longtime resident of the United States, and therefore able to chart the complicated axis of two cultures separated by the same language.
At the heart of this hypnotic narrative lies Matthew’s barely concealed passion for Chloe. What begins in Matthew’s mind as a strong feeling of connection with his cousin’s wife undergoes a monstrous transformation, in which all three individuals—the two cousins and the beloved woman between them—play a guilty role. Long-buried sins from their shared history now rise up with an inexorable vengeance. There is no moral lesson at work in the novel, only a ruthless unfolding of events, in which love is undone by selfishness. The Fall Guy has the quality of a dream that follows its own terrible logic, impossible to break free from, never to be forgotten after you wake up. —MICHAEL ALEC ROSE
A GAMBLER’S ANATOMY By Jonathan Lethem
Doubleday $27.95, 304 pages ISBN 9780385539906 Audio, eBook available LITERARY FICTION
What if you took everything super away from a superhero? He might have his power and a pitiable origin story, but all the justice and morality is stripped away. That’s Alexander Bruno, the globe-trotting, tuxedo-wearing gambler whose memories of his own telepathy are tinged by confusion, sadness and a mysterious blot that keeps him from being able to see, either with his literal vision or with his second sight. When we meet Bruno in Berlin, he seems on the precipice of a comeback, playing backgammon with an easy mark. But the easy score gets complicated—and that turns out to be just the beginning of his problems. As the world becomes more and more blurred by the block to Bruno’s eyesight, the exciting trajectory of his life is thwarted, eventually sending him back home to Berkeley, the place where he was raised by a flower child more interested in sleeping in parks and ex-
FICTION perimenting with drugs than being a mom. It’s also where he went to high school with Keith Stolarsky—a totally forgettable classmate who is now an incredibly wealthy owner of cheesy theme restaurants and monuments to consumerism. Bruno is turned off by Keith and mystified by how he attracted his genuinely arresting girlfriend, Tira, to whom Bruno feels a deep connection. Keith is the most natural choice for a villain, a sloppy archnemesis for Bruno’s suave telepathic gambler. But instead of putting up a fight, Bruno accepts money and help from Keith. Eventually, his promising life devolves into a sort of sad blackmail, the end of a spectacularly bad bet that grows dangerously bloated before it collapses. The twists, turns and sagging morality of A Gambler’s Anatomy may be a bit much for some, but fans of Lethem’s dystopian genre-hopping will find a new antihero to adore. —C A R R I E R O L LWA G E N
VALIANT GENTLEMEN By Sabina Murray Grove $27, 496 pages ISBN 9780802125453 Audio, eBook available HISTORICAL FICTION
ally decides to write for magazines about his time living amid “naked natives and cannibalism.” The story picks up steam with the introduction of Sarita Sanford, a sharp-tongued heiress who marries Ward. Casement, meanwhile, must deal with multiple identity crises: He is a revolutionary for Catholic Ireland, but a Protestant, and is often taken for an Englishman. He is also living a closeted gay life. Complex characters in exotic locales combined with Murray’s deft use of language (trees in Niger, for example, are described as having “crabbed fingers”) are the strongest aspects of Valiant Gentlemen. The approach of World War I creates tension between Ward and Casement, and their differences build to an emotional, even wrenching climax. Valiant Gentlemen offers some sharp satire on culture clashes and colonialism. Casement even makes a flip remark about some “horror,” echoing the conclusion of Joseph Conrad’s African-journey classic, Heart of Darkness. Though a bit too long, Valiant Gentlemen is ultimately an impressive accomplishment, offering an immersive read for historical fiction fans. —T O M D E I G N A N
THE NEXT By Stephanie Gangi
The 1979 new wave hit “Pop Muzik” had an infectious chorus that began: “New York, London, Paris, Munich.” PEN/Faulkner winner Sabina Murray sends her characters to all four of these locales—and many others—in her sprawling, colorful new novel. Based on real-life events and people, Valiant Gentlemen opens in 1880s Africa and closes in postwar Paris, where Murray’s characters, and the world, have been changed utterly by World War I. Murray’s tone is light at the outset. Englishman Herbert Ward and Irishman Roger Casement are in Belgian-ruled Congo, just two of many young, careless expeditionaries. They mingle with the local population and brainstorm about how to make money; Ward eventu-
St. Martin’s $26.99, 320 pages ISBN 9781250110565 Audio, eBook available DEBUT FICTION
deplorable act of betrayal. As her daughters, Anna and Laney, care for her, Joanna spends her final days obsessed with Ned and his perfect new life, which she follows on social media. As Joanna takes her last breath, her singuA woman lar focus is venhaunts her geance. So, what hapless ex happens when in this frank one dies filled with such intense and funny drive? Joanna debut. becomes a ghost residing in “the next,” seen and felt by whomever she chooses. She is raw energy, and revenge is her only goal. In spirit form, Joanna is sultry, witty and as unrelenting as her combined lust and hatred for Ned. Anna and Laney take turns narrating the aftermath of their mother’s death, as does Ned himself. Each speaker’s voice and inner monologue beautifully captures the essence of that particular character while adding context to current and past events. In her first adult novel, Gangi has created deeply flawed characters that readers still care about a great deal. Her style is gritty and descriptive, with no subject considered taboo. The Next is a fast-paced ghost story, but it is also a story about the bonds between people: family, friends, lovers and survivors. How does one move past tragedy and injustice? Gangi has presented us with an unforgettable tale describing how one family does just that. —AMANDA TRIVETT
THE EASTERN SHORE By Ward Just Most adults experience at least one great romantic love in their lifetime. Outcomes obviously vary, but not the initial devotion and desire. In Stephanie Gangi’s The Next, 46-year-old Joanna DeAngelis found her soul mate unexpectedly in Ned McGowan. Ned, a professor at Columbia, is 15 years Joanna’s junior. Despite the age difference, they were ablaze with passion from the moment they met. But after Joanna is diagnosed with late-stage breast cancer, Ned commits a
HMH $25, 208 pages ISBN 9780544836587 eBook available LITERARY FICTION
It’s a pleasure to report that at age 81, Ward Just is still turning out penetrating studies of mature adults wrestling with life’s profound challenges, often in the public arena. His latest, the story
of a lifelong newspaperman whose career takes him from small-town Indiana to Washington, D.C., is a strong addition to that consistently excellent body of work. The Eastern Shore’s episodic narrative traverses the life of Ned Ayres, whose eagerness to pursue a career in journalism impels him to forgo college to take a job with the Herman, Indiana, Press-Gazette. During his tenure as city editor, the paper’s debate over whether to expose a respected local businessman’s criminal past reminds Ned of both journalism’s propensity for the “discovering of secrets with little attention paid to the consequences,” and of the fact that “the first version was always wrong, if only slightly.” After intermediate stops in Indianapolis and Chicago, Ned arrives in Washington in the aftermath of President Kennedy’s assassination, eventually rising to the position of editor-in-chief of a newspaper that calls to mind the Washington Post. When his career ends in 2005, he retires to a decaying manor house on the Chesapeake Bay, where he struggles to write a memoir that will do justice to the profession to which he’s devoted himself so single-mindedly. The house once hosted a senator’s sparkling dinner parties, gatherings that Ned attended. Now it brings to mind his beloved newspaper business, “still handsome, but no longer stately.” In its depiction of the claustrophobia of life in a town “like so many in Middle America with an absence of commotion,” The Eastern Shore evokes the spirit of works like William Maxwell’s So Long, See You Tomorrow. Just’s portrait of the contemporary newspaper business and of the machinations of Washington’s political class is as realistic as today’s headlines. The languid pacing won’t appeal to readers hungry for dramatic action and frequent plot twists, but Just’s finely calibrated appreciation of the flaws of human character and his talent for gazing without blinking into the darkest corners of the human heart continue to distinguish him as a writer of keen intellect and insight. —HARVEY FREEDENBERG
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reviews
NONFICTION
T PI OP CK
THE NINE OF US By Jean Kennedy Smith
RAY & JOAN
Giving away the Big Mac fortune
MEMOIR
REVIEW BY KEITH HERRELL
As we are constantly reminded, all those quarter-pounders from McDonald’s add up—to billions and billions served. Not as well known but just as importantly, millions and millions in McDonald’s profits were doled out to charities by Joan Kroc, widow of longtime Chairman Ray Kroc, during her lifetime and beyond. Ray & Joan is Lisa Napoli’s highly readable account of the Krocs’ romance and marriage, the growth of the McDonald’s fast-food empire and how all that money came to be given away. It wasn’t exactly a storybook relationship under the arches. Ray and Joan were married to others when they first met and later left their spouses to be together, with Ray detouring into yet another marriage before he finally tied the knot with Joan. Once they were wed, Ray’s volatile personality and persistent drinking ensured conflicts, and the By Lisa Napoli couple flirted with divorce. They stuck it out, though, and upon Ray’s Dutton, $27, 368 pages ISBN 9781101984956, eBook available death in 1984, Joan was suddenly in control of a fortune estimated at $1.7 billion and growing. BIOGRAPHY The Krocs were no strangers to philanthropy before Ray’s death, but Joan kicked things into high gear while still managing to live lavishly and patronize her favorite gambling casinos. Chief beneficiaries included Operation Cork (alcoholism education), the Salvation Army and National Public Radio (which Joan listened to only occasionally), with additional millions doled out as she wished. Pet causes such as nuclear disarmament got the full “St. Joan of the Arches” treatment as well. Part corporate success story, part soap opera, this tale has a lot of territory to cover, and Napoli recounts it all in a breezy, amusing style. She’s at her best on the subject of Ray and Joan’s complicated relationship, but the backstories—Ray’s rise from milkshake machine salesman to titan of commerce and Joan’s journey from a difficult childhood to beloved philanthropist—are just as riveting.
A LIFE IN PARTS By Bryan Cranston Scribner $27, 288 pages ISBN 9781476793856 Audio, eBook available MEMOIR
Although his father was a smalltime actor (with outsize dreams), Bryan Cranston didn’t pledge himself to Thespis until he was stranded for six rainy days and nights in a picnic area on the Blue Ridge Parkway with only an anthology of plays for entertainment. He was 21 at the time and had already done a smattering of amateur theater. But until this soggy epiphany broadsided him, his focus had been on a
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career in law enforcement. It would be another six years of small roles and TV commercials before Cranston found steady work, acting on the ABC soap opera “Loving.” There followed such memorable mileposts as six appearances on “Seinfeld” as self- aggrandizing dentist Tim Whatley, seven seasons as the goofy dad, Hal Wilkerson, on “Malcolm in the Middle” and, most triumphantly, five seasons on “Breaking Bad” as Walter White, the emotionally defeated high school chemistry teacher turned psychopathic drug lord. Cranston’s memoir, A Life in Parts, is an engrossing blend of stories and tricks of the acting trade. He learns to slaughter chickens, becomes a mail-order minister, motorcycles from coast to coast with his brother, barely survives a
Harper $29.99, 272 pages ISBN 9780062444226 Audio, eBook available
crazy girlfriend and proposes marriage in a bubble bath. And that’s just a sampling. He advises aspiring actors to stay busy and go the extra mile to secure and inhabit a role, noting that he took rock-climbing lessons to score a candy commercial and clothed himself in live bees for an episode of “Malcolm.” He also explains how he adopted a mindset that turns even unsuccessful auditions into personal victories and presents a numerical scale by which to judge whether or not a part is worth taking. More subtle tips abound. While there may have been bees on Cranston, there are assuredly no flies. “I never want to limit myself,” he writes. “I want to experience everything. When I die, I want to be exhausted.” —EDWARD MORRIS
Our fascination with the Kennedys never wanes. Those interested in taking a fresh peek behind the scenes of this famous American family will eagerly gobble up The Nine of Us: Growing Up Kennedy by Jean Kennedy Smith, (the eighth of nine children born to Joseph P. Kennedy Sr. and Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy, and the last surviving member of the Kennedy clan). Now 88, she recalls her childhood in vivid detail—long summer days frolicking in the Hyannis Port surf, winter afternoons sledding near their spacious Bronxville, New York, estate, and her family’s experiences in London when President Roosevelt appointed their father ambassador to the Court of St. James. The book focuses on Smith’s youth and the loving yet firm parents who nurtured and guided her and her eight siblings. Smith’s deep love and respect for her parents is profoundly evident in this series of vignettes about life as a young Kennedy. Her mother saw “child rearing not only as a work of love and duty but also a profession that was fully as interesting and challenging as any honorable profession,” a mindset that likely kept her grounded while managing such a large household. And although her father lived an extremely busy life, he was generous and affectionate—“our champion and defender,” says Smith. Being one of nine children, Smith always had a companion, and she gives several examples of how the Kennedy siblings maintained a powerful connection throughout their lives. As she fondly relates, “I can say without reservation that I do not remember a day in our childhood without laughter.” She lovingly shares stories of sailing escapades, swim lessons with her patient older sister
NONFICTION Eunice, lively dinner table discussions and many other treasured moments. Enhanced by pictures depicting the Kennedy family throughout the years, this is a light, easy, enjoyable read. —BECKY DIAMOND
LABYRINTHS By Catrine Clay
Harper $29.99, 416 pages ISBN 9780062245120 Audio, eBook available BIOGRAPHY
Toni Wolff, into the household. Labyrinths does a fine job portraying the tightrope Emma walked to manage her husband’s health. Carl was haunted by a “second self,” an emanation from his unconscious that heard voices and saw visions. As much as Emma struggled with her husband’s flirtatiousness, she was also integral to his well-being, and they succeeded in building a long and solid marriage. Perhaps most happily, once her children were grown, Emma was able to write psychological essays, finally stepping into the limelight on her own. —CATHERINE HOLLIS
A biography of Emma Jung is by necessity also a biography of her husband, famed psychoanalyst Carl Jung. By placing the focus on Emma, however, Catrine Clay comes up with a fresh and compelling take on the story of Jung’s relationship with Freud and the early days of psychoanalysis. Wealthy, educated Emma refused Carl when the penniless doctor first proposed, but with her mother’s encouragement, Carl asked and was accepted the second time around. In part, the attraction was intellectual: At the time, an educated woman was more likely to find mental satisfaction in her husband than through her own career. And Carl’s work as a resident doctor at Burghölzli, an asylum treating patients with a range of mental illnesses, was certainly fascinating. While Emma may have hoped to help Carl with his work, pregnancy and domestic cares soon preoccupied her. The young couple traveled to Vienna to meet Carl’s hero, the eminent Dr. Sigmund Freud, and the two men developed an intense attachment that was to shape the developing field of psychoanalysis until their infamous split a decade later. Here Emma also discovered Carl’s predisposition to infatuation with smart women. Throughout their marriage, Emma would have to grapple with the numerous frustrated, intelligent women who clustered around her husband, ultimately accepting one of them,
EINSTEIN’S GREATEST MISTAKE By David Bodanis
HMH $27, 304 pages ISBN 9780544808560 Audio, eBook available SCIENCE
Wait—Albert Einstein, whose equations revolutionized our understanding of the origins of the universe, made a mistake? That’s what science writer David Bodanis posits in Einstein’s Greatest Mistake. The personal qualities that allowed the young Einstein to make such enormous breakthroughs kept him from making similar advances in later years, Bodanis writes. In this chatty account, Bodanis gives us Einstein the young man, trapped in his Bern Patent Office clerkship, struggling to find a teaching post and attached to Mileva Marić, a former mathematics student whom his parents couldn’t stand. Bodanis makes Einstein’s theories graspable, using analogies and illustrations to explain Einstein’s 1905 paper linking energy and mass (E = mc2), and his 1915 general relativity theory (G = T), which indicated that the universe was expanding. Contemporary astronomers saw the universe as static, and so Einstein revised his theory, a mistake that laid the groundwork for another mistake, in Bodanis’ view. Later, experi-
spotlight
WORLD WAR II BY DEBORAH HOPKINSON
The heroes and failures of war
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his year marks the 75th anniversary of America’s entry into World War II. While the major events of the war have been extensively chronicled, this anniversary is a reminder that many untold stories remain. Two books focusing on the Pacific war represent a great start for digging deeper. In Countdown to Pearl Harbor (Simon & Schuster, $30, 384 pages, ISBN 9781476776460), Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Steve Twomey uses his impressive research and storytelling skills to recreate the dozen days leading up to the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. Drawing on a range of resources, including public investigations and interviews conducted by legendary Pearl Harbor historian Gordon Prange, Twomey creates a dramatic, page-turning narrative that feels both fresh and suspenseful. Events, missteps and, most importantly, the human players leap off the page. Among others, we get to know Husband E. Kimmel, commander in chief of the Pacific Fleet; Harold Stark, chief of naval operations; and Isoroku Yamamoto, bold mastermind of the Japanese attack. Overconfidence, poor communications and complacency at all levels played a part in the tragedy. While Kimmel kept a laser focus on training and offensive readiness, he underestimated Japan’s capacity and never mounted sufficient defensive reconnaissance. As Twomey notes in his conclusion, “Assumption fathered defeat.” Countdown to Pearl Harbor offers a new and fascinating look at one of the defining events in U.S. history.
‘BORN TO FLY TOGETHER’ When Tom Brokaw coined the term “the greatest generation,” he might well have been describing Medal of Honor recipients Jay
Zeamer Jr. and Joe Sarnoski, the heroes of Lucky 666 (Simon & Schuster, $30, 368 pages, ISBN 9781476774855). The resourceful, independent Zeamer was a renegade who was transferred after falling asleep as a co-pilot on a B-26 combat mission. Redeployment to the Port Moresby-based 43rd Bomb Group put Zeamer right where he wanted to be—at the controls of a four-engine B-17 Flying Fortress. In early 1943, Zeamer was reunited with an Army bombardier named Joe Sarnoski. Zeamer remembered that the two were “close enough to feel that we were born to fly together.” The unconventional pilot and bombardier set out to pull together their own handpicked men to undertake dangerous reconnaissance missions. One commander wrote that Zeamer recruited “a crew of renegades and screwoffs. . . . But they gravitated toward one another and made a hell of a team.” With Zeamer’s engineering talents, the team “Zeamerized” a broken down B-17, dubbing it Old 666. In June 1943, Zeamer and Sarnoski volunteered for the heartbreaking “impossible mission” that forms the core of this remarkable account of friendship and bravery. Authors Bob Drury and Tom Clavin not only tell the inspiring story of these two young airmen, they also provide a cogent, absorbing analysis of the air war in the Pacific. Lucky 666 is highly recommended for WWII and aviation history buffs alike.
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reviews mental scientists like Cambridge astronomer Arthur Eddington, Radcliffe graduate Henrietta Swan Leavitt and Belgian astronomer Georges Lemaître proved that Einstein had been correct at the start: The universe was expanding. Meanwhile, the state of subatomic physics changed too, as physicists Werner Heisenberg and Erwin Schrödinger theorized that the tiniest particles don’t behave according to the expected laws of physics. Even as experimental evidence supporting this theory grew, Einstein disagreed, assuming future experiments would prove him right. Einstein’s stubborn refusal to accept this concept was his greatest mistake, Bodanis writes: “In his theory of 1915, [Einstein] had revealed the underlying structure of our universe, and he had been right when everyone else had been wrong. He wasn’t going to be misled again.” This refusal isolated him from the younger generation of scientists. Bodanis’ biography offers a window onto Einstein’s achievements and missteps, as well as his life— his friendships, his complicated love life (two marriages, many affairs) and his isolation from other scientists at the end of his life. —SARAH MCCRAW CROW
WALK THROUGH WALLS By Marina Abramović
Crown Archetype $28, 384 pages ISBN 9781101905043 Audio, eBook available MEMOIR
Marina Abramović is a legend in the world of performance art, but that’s a rarefied world, well outside the mainstream. While her work has always courted attention, a 2010 MoMA retrospective took the concept to a new level; Abramović sat in the gallery all day, six days a week, for three months, and invited the public to sit across from her. More than 750,000 people accepted the invitation. What compels a person to seek connection on a
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NONFICTION level that is both so grand and so intimate? Walk Through Walls offers many clues, but as with all art, it falls to the recipient to complete the story. Born in postwar Yugoslavia, Abramović chafed under the restrictions of the Tito regime and her strict, neglectful parents. Access to art supplies proved to be an escape route; painting led to work with sound and then to performance pieces that were often violent and dangerous. Passionate and highly sexual (even now, at 70, as she reminds us here), her work and love lives often intertwined; years of collaboration with fellow artist and lover Ulay culminated in the two walking to meet one another midway on the Great Wall of China only to break up afterward. From the pain of her upbringing to her tremendous success, it’s clear that Abramović was destined for a life lived on a grand scale. She’s candid about her process and the sources of her ideas, but the discussion never reduces the finished works to something simple. And while Walk Through Walls reads as a frank and straightforward retelling of a life story, it’s impossible to separate the memoir from the author’s milieu. Is this also a performance, confined to the page? Where is the dividing line that separates life and art? That question, and tension, make this an electrifying read.
Roosevelt’s public life was devoted to persuasion, and she used her many roles as president’s wife, newspaper columnist, author, public speaker, educator, presidential envoy and activist to influence events. In the midst of this work, she had to handle family matters and pursue private interests with many friends, whose rivalries and jealousies are detailed here. She admitted she “would never be any good in politics,” whereas her husband dealt capably with politicians and public opinion, which sometimes meant maneuvering through racial prejudice and anti-Semitism to reach a compromise or just inaction. Though she never overtly opposed FDR’s policies, a close reading of her columns reveals divergences. Two primary themes of this volume are Roosevelt’s civil rights work for African Americans and her efforts to rescue those fleeing the ravages of World War II in Europe. The depth of her involvement in these two efforts is one of the most compelling aspects of the book. Her sharp differences with her husband on these subjects contributed mightily to an already strained relationship between them. She had a significant influence on some of her husband’s decisions, although it is often difficult to trace. Both were keenly aware that it was politically unacceptable — H E A T H E R S E G G E L for her to appear to have influenced policy; her husband never publicly acknowledged “her role in ELEANOR ROOSEVELT, VOLUME 3 his life.” Eleanor said they “argue By Blanche Wiesen about everything in the world,” but never tried to influence each other. Cook Each would do, she said, what he Viking or she “considered the right thing.” $40, 688 pages She was unanimously electISBN 9780670023950 ed chair of the United Nations eBook available committee that wrote the UniverBIOGRAPHY sal Declaration of Human Rights, which was to be “a common standard of achievement for all peoples In her exhaustively researched and all nations.” Since its passage and beautifully written Eleanor in 1948, it continues to be the most Roosevelt, Volume 3: The War important U.N. declaration on beYears and After, 1939-1962, the half of basic political freedoms, as concluding volume of her definwell as economic and social rights. itive biography, Blanche Wiesen Anyone interested in the life of Cook gives us a sympathetic but this towering figure in 20th-century very human portrait of this “First history will want to read this book. Lady of the World.” —ROGER BISHOP
YOU WILL NOT HAVE MY HATE By Antoine Leiris
Penguin Press $23, 144 pages ISBN 9780735222113 eBook available MEMOIR
On November 13, 2015, the world watched with shock and sorrow as terror erupted at several sites in Paris, including the Bataclan Theater where at least 89 people were killed. Among the dead was Hélène Muyal-Leiris, whose husband, Antoine Leiris, was at home watching their 17-month-old son. Leiris soon posted a Facebook message to the attackers that went viral, beginning, “On Friday night, you stole the life of an exceptional being, the love of my life, the mother of my son, but you will not have my hate.” You Will Not Have My Hate is his account of the immediate days after the attack as he struggled to make sense of his loss. Leiris’ slim memoir is a portrait of raw grief, of trying to keep one’s head above water in a world that no longer makes sense. His son, Melvil, became an anchor amid the tragedy, providing a need for daily routine that kept his father moving forward. The author describes the heartbreak of seeing his wife one last time in the mortuary, the beauty of his son’s innocent smile, and how he sat down at his computer one afternoon to write his famous post: “House, lunch, diaper, pajamas, nap, computer. The words continue to arrive. They come on their own, considered, weighed, but without me having to summon them. They come to me.” His account ends with Hélène’s funeral and his subsequent visit to her grave with his toddler, as they bravely “go on living alone, without the aid of the star to whom they swore allegiance.” The book reaffirms Leiris’ profound message that he will raise his son to “defy [the attackers] by being happy and free. Because [they] will not have his hate either.” —ALICE CARY
NONFICTION AL CAPONE By Deirdre Bair
Nan A. Talese $30, 416 pages ISBN 9780385537155 eBook available BIOGRAPHY
Perhaps the most astonishing thing about the glory days of Al Capone—Scarface, Big Al, Public Enemy Number One—is how short they were: six years, from mid-level thug to big boss to jail. So why is he still the iconic American gangster, nearly 70 years after his death from the complications of syphilis? Well, he loved publicity. But because his legend was a creation of newshounds and Hollywood, much of what we think we know is wrong. Biographer Deirdre Bair tries to uncover the man behind the flamboyant image in Al Capone: His Life, Legacy, and Legend. It seems a surprising project for an author who has written about Samuel Beckett and Carl Jung. Bair fell into it by happenstance when she met a man who was trying to find out if he was related to Capone. Eventually, she was able to talk extensively with Capone descendants. They mostly turn out to be private, law-abiding folks whose reminiscences are engrossing and sometimes touching. Capone’s Irish-American wife, Mae, is at the heart of their memories—a woman who was, in their eyes, decent, loyal and loving. Syphilis, likely contracted from a prostitute, destroyed Capone’s mind, but Mae never gave up on him. Bair carefully tries to sort out truth from baloney. No one knows how many people Capone and his minions killed. But Bair can say with confidence that the federal income tax evasion case that sent him to prison would have fallen apart if he hadn’t had incompetent lawyers and a biased judge. Bair is particularly good at putting the Capones in the context of the Italian immigrant culture that shaped them. Capone himself wouldn’t have liked that; he always stressed that he was Amer-
ican-born, not an Italian. But he would have gotten a huge kick out of his enduring fame. —ANNE BARTLETT
IRON DAWN By Richard Snow
Scribner $30, 416 pages ISBN 9781476794181 Audio, eBook available HISTORY
As Civil War battles go, the Battle of Hampton Roads isn’t among the most memorable. Gettysburg, Bull Run, Antietam and Fredericksburg usually take top billing. But author Richard Snow argues in Iron Dawn that Hampton Roads was among the most significant Civil War conflicts because it was the first sea battle between ironclad ships: the Merrimack and the Monitor. The battle lasted only three hours and ended in a draw. But because the two ironclads proved battleworthy, it signaled the dawn of the modern navy and the end to wooden shipbuilding. “Many naval battles . . . have bent the course of history in hours or even minutes,” Snow writes. “But none has fomented in a short day’s work a whole new kind of warfare, has in one noisy morning made an ancient tradition obsolete.” By the time the two boats met on March 9, 1862, on Chesapeake Bay, Virginia, the Merrimack had already destroyed two wooden Union ships and had its sights set on a third. The Monitor arrived to hold the Merrimack in check. The two ironclads fired on each other for several hours, with little damage and few casualties, before they both retreated to safer waters. The battle was evidence, Snow says, that many of the most important technologies of the Civil War came from the navy, not the army. Iron Dawn is a worthy read not only for serious Civil War buffs, but also for those who appreciate how ingenuity forever changed the way the military does battle on the sea. —J O H N T. S L A N I A
spotlight
END OF LIFE BY HENRY L. CARRIGAN JR.
Life’s final lessons
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everal recent books, most notably Atul Gawande’s Being Mortal, urge us to ask ourselves how we can live a good life, recognizing that death is a seamless part of our existence. Two compelling new accounts highlight individuals struggling with this question.
In On Living (Riverhead, $24, 224 pages, ISBN 9781594634819), hospice chaplain Kerry Egan begins her vocation with some resistance, unsure that in her own brokenness she can provide comfort to those who are broken by life and waiting for death. Reluctant to talk about religion with her patients, she soon discovers that simply listening to their stories—of their families, of their losses and regrets, of love—heals her and them: “I don’t know if listening to other people’s stories as they die can make you wise, but I do know that it can heal your soul. I know this because those stories healed mine.” Egan shares the story of Gloria, a mother who’s been withholding a secret from her son and wants to reveal it as a gesture of love in her final days. A patient named Reggie expresses regret about a life that’s been “empty and alone,” leaving him without a single friend or family member to offer comfort. Then there’s Cynthia, who struggles to accept her overweight body even as she’s dying; like all people who are dying, Egan observes, Cynthia faces the reality that she will “no longer be able to experience this world in this body, ever again.” The lesson for those of us not dying, of course, is that living fully means embracing our imperfect selves with joy and love while we still can. Egan’s evocative and eloquent book reminds us that we are defined by the stories we tell, and those stories often reveal how life
can be “beautiful and crushing” at the same time.
DEATH WITH DIGNITY Deborah Ziegler’s poignant and fierce Wild and Precious Life (Atria/Emily Bestler, $26, 352 pages, ISBN 9781501128516) celebrates the life of her daughter, Brittany Maynard, who was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer in 2014 at the age of 29. When Ziegler first learned of her daughter’s condition, she ran screaming into the dark night of hopelessness, praying that God would take her and not her daughter. She refused to accept her daughter’s impending death and wanted to pursue any treatment that would extend her life. Brittany, however, taught her mother the one truth we most often avoid in such situations: A good death is part of a life well lived. After Brittany learned the gravity of her situation, she moved from California to Oregon, where a death with dignity law allowed her to make her own choices on how and when her life would end. Her decision prompted a nationwide discussion of assisted suicide and a patient’s right to make end-of-life decisions. Skillfully interspersing stories of Brittany’s growing up with a touching account of her final year, Ziegler reminds us, in Brittany’s own words, of the real lesson we need to learn: “Live your lives well. Accept the sorrow with the joy, the ineffable grief with the love.”
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teen
MARISSA MEYER
This evil queen’s got her reasons
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n her bestselling Lunar Chronicles series, Marissa Meyer enthralled fans with super-cool steampunk takes on Cinderella, Red Riding Hood, Rapunzel and Snow White. In Heartless, she turns her attention to a fairy-tale character who, in our popular imagination, isn’t considered as goodhearted as her fantastical peers—because her catchphrase is, “Off with their heads!”
The urge to figure out why someone behaves a certain way, especially when their actions seem inexplicably rude (or murderous), is not uncommon—so readers who delight in psychological analysis will love Heartless, Meyer’s first standalone young adult novel. It’s a backstory for the Queen of Hearts that has a little bit of everything: adventure, romance, familial strife, betrayal, terrifying monsters . . . plus the Hatter and the Caterpillar, among other beloved Lewis Carroll characters. Heartless begins with our heroine (and eventual anti-heroine), Catherine, called Cath, baking scrumptious lemon tarts and commiserating with her gossipy friend, the Cheshire Cat. She secretly dreams of opening a bakery with her friend Mary Ann, one of the maids who works for Cath’s parents.
HEARTLESS
By Marissa Meyer
Feiwel & Friends, $19.99, 464 pages ISBN 9781250044655, audio, eBook available Ages 12 and up
FANTASY
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Alas, Cath doesn’t realize just how strongly her parents will object to her becoming a business owner; they’re set on urging her into a romance with the foolish King, and Cath’s happiness is secondary, if that. As Meyer pulls readers further and further into Cath’s life, with its opulent clothing and fancy balls, magical vegetables and dancing lobsters, it becomes clear that the Kingdom of Hearts is a special, wondrous place—and that Cath is too naive, at first, to fully grasp her parents’ expectations or the risks she’d have to take if she wants to forge her own path. “In telling Cath’s story, I wanted there to be a series of things going on in her life that would constantly push her down the pathway to becoming Queen of Hearts,” Meyer says in a call to her home in Washington state. “Everything becomes the perfect storm pushing her toward making these decisions. . . . At that age, we’re all trying to figure out who we are and what we’re trying to become, pushing against boundaries, trying to find that independence.” Heartless is the stuff of dreams, but not always happy ones: There are plenty of nightmarish and danger-filled goings-on, just like in Carroll’s wacky and weird Wonderland (the Jabberwock makes its terrifying presence known, too). When it comes to characters, Meyer says she “didn’t have a whole lot of trepidation” about pulling from Carroll’s stories, because “when you mention the Mad Hatter or White Rabbit, people know them, but nevertheless there’s very little information about them. So there was a lot of room to grow and explore, and give my own view and
twist on them . . . to pay homage to and not go against them, but still take them and make them my own.” One aspect of Carroll’s work did give Meyer a bit of pause: “I really wanted to respect the vibe . . . and his brilliant word work, turns of phrases, clever little jokes throughout the book,” she says. “I don’t consider myself a master wordsmith, so it was a challenge for me in writing Heartless is this book.” the stuff of This led to a dreams, but lot of research, including not always multiple readhappy ones. ings of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (three times) and Through the Looking Glass (twice), plus researching scholarly papers. Naturally, Meyer also considers Gregory Maguire’s Wicked to be highly influential in the creation of Cath’s story. “I felt like the doors were open to take a villain so infamous and well known in our culture and turn her on her head, go back into her past and look at it, to figure out how she became the character we see in Alice in Wonderland.” Though many writers begin writing stories later in life, the 32-yearold has always known this is what she wanted to do. Meyer has two degrees in writing, wrote copious fan fiction during her teen years and attempted her first novel at 16. “It was my dream from the start,” she says. In many ways, Heartless is a masterful, magical culmina-
© JULIA SCOTT
INTERVIEW BY LINDA M. CASTELLITTO
tion of Meyer’s lifelong love of fairy tales—and not just the pretty, happy ones. “When I was a kid, my grandmother heard I liked Disney movies and gave me a book that included the original Little Mermaid story, which of course is nothing like the movie,” Meyer says with a laugh. “I was just horrified and so disappointed in it—but it also made me very curious. That’s what launched me into reading other fairy tales, and into wondering, what happened to the original Cinderella? Aladdin?” Like the source-material fairy tales of yore, Heartless doesn’t gloss over the painful, heart-wrenching parts of Cath’s story—and readers get an extraordinary opportunity to see the Queen of Hearts as a bit less mysterious, to travel along with her as romance and dreams, desire and fate, terror and adventure collide— forever changing the trajectory of her life. It’s an imaginative, exciting, sometimes shocking read. After all, says Meyer, “It’s in our nature to want to sanitize and protect children from [scary, sad things], but kids are fascinated by this. . . . They can handle a lot more than we want to give them credit for.”
reviews T PI OP CK
TEEN
THE SUN IS ALSO A STAR
Kismet on a New York City night REVIEW BY NORAH PIEHL
“Meant to be doesn’t have to mean forever.” That’s the sentiment that runs through nearly every page of Nicola Yoon’s new novel about a chance meeting between two strangers, which delivers repercussions not only in their lives, but also in the lives of perhaps countless others. When Natasha was 8, her family moved to New York City from Jamaica. More than anything, she longs to stay in this country, go to college and study science. Daniel, on the other hand, isn’t sure whether he wants to go to college at all. The son of Korean immigrants, he feels immense pressure to go to an Ivy League school and study medicine, but all he wants to do is make sense of the world by writing poetry. When the two meet and start to talk, both feel an undeniable connection, even if Natasha is skeptical about Daniel’s insistence that their meeting is destined, even if she feels compelled to push him away because she’s an undocumented immigrant and her dad’s recent arrest By Nicola Yoon Delacorte, $18.99, 384 pages for a DUI has resulted in the family’s deportation. Imminently. As in, ISBN 9780553496680, audio, eBook available that night. Ages 14 and up The Sun Is Also a Star, with its condensed chronology, NYC setting and rapid-fire love story, may remind some readers of Nick and Norah’s FICTION Infinite Playlist, but here the stakes are higher. Suspense builds, not only surrounding Daniel and Natasha’s romance, but also concerning their individual futures, which, like everything else in this satisfying Visit BookPage.com for a Behind the story, are shaped by the power of love. Book essay by Nicola Yoon.
BLOOD RED SNOW WHITE By Marcus Sedgwick
Roaring Brook $17.99, 320 pages ISBN 9781626725478 Audio, eBook available Ages 12 and up HISTORICAL FICTION
British writer Arthur Ransome returns to Russia as a reporter during World War I but finds his job description somewhat altered after the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917. Having built relationships with a variety of Bolshevik leaders, including Karl Radek and Leon Trotsky, Arthur is able to pass valuable intelligence to British officials. The Bolsheviks also make subtle offers and attempts to gain Arthur’s assistance for their cause. But the strongest temptation is Evgenia, Trotsky’s secretary and the love of Arthur’s life. Arthur wants
to remain in Russia to be with her, but must stay in the good graces of both the British and the Bolsheviks in order to do so. Arthur straddles this line as best he can, until the turmoil becomes too great. The Bolsheviks struggle to maintain control of a fragmenting country while royalists gather forces and reclaim territory. In order to get himself and Evgenia out of Russia, Arthur must navigate this dangerous no-man’s-land between warring sides one last time. In contrast to most young adult historical fiction—especially war narratives—Marcus Sedgwick’s novel is refreshingly oblique. There is no clear good or evil side, or even a definitive right and wrong, but simply a well-intentioned character using his best judgment to help himself and others. The fairy-tale theme highlights this sense of paradox: Multiple stories, or truths, may exist about the same thing. With a challenging threepart format, beautiful language
and a unique adult male narrator, this dazzling novel based on true events should be the next historical fiction young readers reach for. —ANNIE METCALF
BEAST By Brie Spangler
Knopf $17.99, 336 pages ISBN 9781101937167 Audio, eBook available Ages 12 and up LGBTQ FICTION
Hairy all over and rapidly approaching seven feet tall, 15-yearold Dylan resents how perfectly he fits his nickname: Beast. After a particularly bad first day of sophomore year, Dylan climbs out onto his roof to get some peace and quiet, and wakes up in the hospital. His leg is broken, and he’s been enrolled in group therapy for
self-harmers. Though he’s determined to stay detached in group, to say nothing and hear nothing, he can’t help but notice beautiful, confident Jamie—and she notices him, too. The two connect in a way Dylan’s never connected with another person before—let alone a girl—but Jamie has a secret. It shouldn’t change anything, but it changes everything. Brie Spangler’s young adult debut offers a smart, sensitive approach to finding your place when all you can do is stand out. Dylan and Jamie are both radically different from their high school classmates, but Spangler’s just-right touch reveals their complexities as outsiders. Jamie is completely in tune with the challenges she faces as a transgender girl, yet this one aspect of herself does not define her. In the same way, Dylan is much more than his nickname. Both protagonists have a lot to learn from each other about acceptance—of others and of themselves. Sometimes touching, often funny, always honest and human, Spangler’s Beast is a powerful debut and a wonderful read. —SARAH WEBER
YOU IN FIVE ACTS By Una LaMarche Razorbill $17.99, 352 pages ISBN 9781101998939 eBook available Ages 12 and up FICTION
It’s the second semester of senior year at Janus Academy, an exclusive performing arts school, and five friends are preparing for the rest of their lives while struggling with the demands of the present. Joy’s dream is ballet, but the odds of success are slim—as her parents keep reminding her. Liv is stringing Ethan along by starring in his play (though she really likes her co-star Dave) and has a secret that threatens to be her undoing. Diego has been Joy’s friend forever but is ready for more. By the end of You in Five Acts, one of them will be dead.
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reviews Author Una LaMarche beautifully captures street scenes in New York City and breathes life into the school setting. It may be prestigious, but everything is a work in progress, from the cobbled-together theater sets to the students themselves. Each chapter, narrated in turn by one of the five characters, ends with an ominous reminder that someone is going to die. Clues feint one way or another, then lead to an unexpected conclusion. This structure creates the unusual problem of making the reader impatient for the tragedy to strike, and when it does, the reader doesn’t have time to process it. Perhaps the strongest elements of You in Five Acts are the friendships between these characters and the different ways their dedication to art can be a saving grace or a curse. Book clubs will have a lot to say about the choices made regarding the ending and the references to current events, such as the use of excessive force by police against people of color. —HEATHER SEGGEL
BALCONY ON THE MOON By Ibtisam Barakat
FSG $17.99, 240 pages ISBN 9780374302511 eBook available Ages 12 and up MEMOIR
Continuing where her critically acclaimed memoir Tasting the Sky: A Palestinian Childhood (2007) ends, Ibtisam Barakat shares stories of growing up during the Palestinian-Israeli conflict from 1971 to 1981. Balcony on the Moon succeeds in creating a vivid picture of normal family life, but “normal” for Barakat means moving frequently because of war, loving her Islamic religion, and experiencing familial conflict due to lack of opportunities in Israeli-occupied territories. Through Barakat’s search for what it means to be Palestinian, readers see her learn, grow and change. Many people think it is aayh, shameful, when Barakat’s mother
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TEEN becomes a student and attends a co-ed school. Within this culture’s strict familial code, a certain type of commitment is necessary if a person wishes to pursue their dreams, and Barakat experiences similar difficulties due to her strong belief in education. Barakat’s memoir weaves a balance between the personal, public and political aspects of coming of age in a war-strafed region. A hopeful writer from a young age, Barakat kept journals all her life, and material from these young musings provides a rich storehouse of scenes, memories and details that make the story strum with authenticity. Sprinkled throughout are Arabic words with English equivalents, adding to the story’s sense of reality. —LORI K. JOYCE
WHAT LIGHT By Jay Asher
Razorbill $18.99, 272 pages ISBN 9781595145512 Audio, eBook available Ages 12 and up HOLIDAY FICTION
Sierra lives two lives—one in Oregon and one in California. Her family owns a Christmas tree farm, and for one month out of the year, they ship their trees to a lot in California to sell them during the holiday season. She is looking forward to packing up and reuniting with her Cali BFF, Heather, but what she doesn’t expect is to meet Caleb. Caleb has a bad reputation that has followed him over the past several years, and rumors have destroyed his chances at friendships and relationships—until he meets Sierra. Able to see beyond his past mistakes, Sierra not only accepts Caleb but stands up for him. In his third YA novel, Jay Asher (Thirteen Reasons Why) deftly illustrates one teen’s journey toward self-acceptance with the help of another. While tackling serious family issues including guilt, divorce and how past mistakes can form the future, Asher carefully pieces together
Caleb’s story, getting into his head while allowing Sierra to see him at his most vulnerable. This is a beautiful story about overcoming obstacles, falling in love and paving your own path. A holiday read where the spirit of Christmas is at its most inspiring, this book is perfect for teens who love realistic fiction with a romantic undertone. — E R I N A . H O LT
THE DIABOLIC By S.J. Kincaid
Simon & Schuster $17.99, 416 pages ISBN 9781481472678 Audio, eBook available Ages 14 and up SCIENCE FICTION
Set in distant space in a galactic empire, The Diabolic is narrated by Nemesis, a humanoid teenage girl born and bred to be a weapon. Her only job is to protect Sidonia, a senator’s daughter, which she will do at any cost. When Sidonia’s father is suspected of treason, the Emperor orders Sidonia to the capital as a hostage, but Nemesis goes in her place. Upon arrival, Nemesis quickly makes enemies, but she also forms a shaky alliance with the enigmatic Tyrus, who is playing his own dangerous political game. After a tragedy, Nemesis must put her life—and the fate of the empire—into the hands of people she doesn’t fully comprehend. Nemesis isn’t the most compelling character here. That distinction goes to Tyrus, who has been brought up in a royal household lorded over by a ruthless grandmother akin to King Richard III. His methods of survival and his ability to strategize are impressive, leaving readers to wonder if he can really be trusted. Like a Primanti Brothers sandwich, there’s a lot stuffed inside the covers of this book: political sabotage, intergalactic travel, planetary negotiations, chemical warfare, feminism, murder, romance and religion. This isn’t science fiction with an emphasis on science, even
though a major theme of the book is how the empire manipulates religion and withholds technology in order to subjugate its people. It’s an ambitious page-turner fueled by plot twists, character deaths and high-stakes action. — K I M B E R LY G I A R R A T A N O
MERROW By Ananda Braxton-Smith
Candlewick $16.99, 240 pages ISBN 9780763679248 Audio available Ages 14 and up HISTORICAL FICTION
All her short life, Neen has heard the rumors. They say her mother was a mermaid, a merrow. They say that when her father drowned, her mother followed him back to her home on the ocean floor. Neen’s tight-lipped Auntie Ushag swears there’s nothing to the gossip, but Neen isn’t so sure. The sea’s swelling waves beckon her in a way she doesn’t quite understand. And if her mother were a merrow, it would certainly explain the strange, almost scaly skin condition that covers both her arms. Packed with adroitly selected physical details and stirring, folklore-inspired nested narratives, Ananda Braxton-Smith’s Merrow follows Neen on her journey of discovery and self-realization. From skeletons in caves to colloquial yarns about local sea monsters, each encounter forces Neen to reconsider her world and her place in it. Is her island home full of merrows and other fantastical beings, or just everyday people struggling to understand their everyday lives? Is she the offspring of a mermaid returned to sea, or just the daughter of a depressed widow who couldn’t bear to live without her husband? As Neen tries to parse the real from the imaginary and the mythic from the mundane, she comes to understand the power of stories— how they can bind and destroy us, or shape and sustain us. —J O N L I T T L E
T PI OP CK
CHILDREN’S
A POEM FOR PETER
The greatest snowy day of all REVIEW BY ALICE CARY
By Andrea Davis Pinkney
Illustrated by Lou Fancher and Steve Johnson Viking, $18.99, 60 pages ISBN 9780425287682, eBook available Ages 7 to 10 PICTURE BOOK
As is the case for many of my generation, Ezra Jack Keats’ The Snowy Day is one of the first books I recall enjoying in my small West Virginia town, a glorious tale that will remain seared in my brain. At the time I simply loved the book and its red snow-suited hero, Peter, having no clue that this 1963 Caldecott Medal winner was groundbreaking, the first mainstream picture book to feature an African-American child. A Poem for Peter highlights the fascinating story of the book and its creator, who was born 100 years ago in Brooklyn to Polish-Jewish immigrant parents, began painting store signs in third grade and had to forfeit art school scholarships when his father died the day before his high school graduation. Not only is Keats’ story compelling, but creative use of text and illustrations bring his world marvelously to life (with the added bonus of two short essays at the end). Andrea Davis Pinkney writes in “collage verse” or “bio-poem,” seamlessly weaving the biographical details of Keats’ life with commentary often addressed to Peter himself, noting how he and Ezra “made a great team” and how: “He dared to open a door. / He awakened a wonderland. / He brought a world of white /
suddenly alive with color.” In similar fashion, illustrators Lou Fancher and Steve Johnson use collage and their own lively artwork to incorporate images from five of Keats’ books, including The Snowy Day. Peter appears on the very first page and makes what Pinkney calls “peek-a-boo” appearances throughout, including a touching scene of Peter and Keats holding hands under a tree on a snowy day. This unique approach serves not only to thoroughly engage young readers but to effortlessly demonstrate how real-life experiences morph into literary influences. An exceedingly well-done homage, A Poem for Peter is a visual and verbal treat for longtime Keats fans, as well as an exciting introduction for a legion of today’s young readers. Illustration copyright © 2016 by Lou Fancher and Steve Johnson. Reproduced with permission from Penguin Random House.
A SMALL THING . . . BUT BIG By Tony Johnston
Illustrated by Hadley Hooper Roaring Brook $17.99, 40 pages ISBN 9781626722569 Ages 3 to 8 PICTURE BOOK
In this sweet and sincere story of facing fears, readers meet a young girl and an elderly man—both with anxieties to overcome. Young Lizzie heads to the park with her mother. On their way in, the mother waves to an elderly man, spiffily dressed. He has a dog on a leash. Lizzie runs and plays— but freezes when she runs near
the man’s dog. The man eases her worries by answering Lizzie’s questions (“Does she bite?”), and bit by bit Lizzie warms to the dog, named Cecile. When she pets Cecile on the head, something she never would have done prior to meeting the man in the park, he tells her it’s “a small thing, but big” to master a fear like that. Eventually, with her mother close by, Lizzie holds Cecile’s leash and walks her around the park. “All dogs are good if you give them a chance,” the man tells her. All the while, he reminds her of the fact that she is conquering monumental fears that may seem, on the surface, to be minor. Such is childhood after all, and author Tony Johnston is never patroniz-
ing about it. She is the omniscient narrator, watching in wonder and describing what she sees: “Hesitant at first, then springingly, oh springingly,” Lizzie walks the dog around the park for the first time. Illustrator Hadley Hooper, using a combination of relief printing and digital editing, brings the park and its visitors to life with warm greens, blues and rust colors. By giving the young girl a mustard plaid skirt and the man a mustard plaid jacket, they are immediately linked in the reader’s vision, two people destined to be friends. Never crowding a spread, Hooper lets the illustrations breathe, as if readers could jump in and take a walk with the trio. In the end, the man tells Lizzie
that he was once “very afraid of children.” Whether or not he is kidding is up for debate, but either way, readers will enjoy his journey around the park with his best friend, Cecile—and his new friend, Lizzie. —J U L I E D A N I E L S O N
PUG MAN’S 3 WISHES By Sebastian Meschenmoser
NorthSouth $16.95, 48 pages ISBN 9780735842618 Ages 4 to 8 PICTURE BOOK
Outside his doghouse, it’s raining. Inside, things aren’t much cheerier, as Pug Man—who seriously overslept—faces a solitary day without breakfast, without coffee. The story begins exactly like a caffeine-deprived morning: few, tense words and muted colors. Then, like a toddler jumping on your bed at 4 a.m. on a Saturday, the story erupts with the arrival of a very colorful, over-enthusiastic and cheerful fairy. Animals, castles and yummy treats blast out of her shiny, yellow wand, filling Pug Man’s world with rhymes and cotton-candy pink skies. Pug Man’s grumpy day just got worse. Or did it? Pug Man’s 3 Wishes is a fairy tale of sorts that will entertain readers of all ages. Kids will giggle at seeing Pug Man go through his morning routine, using the bathroom and staring blankly into the fridge. Little readers will have fun spotting the antics of two little mice who share Pug Man’s doghouse. Adults will be amused, and maybe a little self-conscious, to recognize themselves in his bleary morning mirror reflection. With minimal text, Sebastian Meschenmoser (Mr. Squirrel and the Moon) lets Pug Man’s expressions and actions carry the story. Several spreads have no text, nor do they need it. Meschenmoser’s detailed pencil drawings perfectly capture Pug Man’s mood, while simple backgrounds fill in the story. In a world of fairy tales and dreams-come-true, Pug Man’s 3
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reviews Wishes is an entertaining, if slightly tongue-in-cheek, antidote. The book ends with a contented and simple message: The fluffy clouds and castles are nice, but sometimes all you need is a friend. And a cup of coffee. —J I L L L O R E N Z I N I
NOTHING BUT TROUBLE By Jacqueline Davies
Katherine Tegen $16.99, 320 pages ISBN 9780062369888 Audio, eBook available Ages 8 to 12 MIDDLE GRADE
Sixth-grader Maggie Gallagher is a hacker, but not with computers. She takes after her late father, who went to MIT, where he learned to “hack”—to pull wildly elaborate practical jokes. Stuck in the stagnant small town of Odawahaka, Maggie imagines conversations with him while living and breathing by his notebook, The Hacker’s Bible. She adores explosions, but she abides by her father’s rules to be safe and not destroy other people’s property. Not surprisingly, Maggie is Nothing but Trouble, especially after she teams up with a new girl in town named Lena. Their dilapidated school is about to be demolished, so the pair concoct a scheme to have a mascot mouse be elected class president, in honor of the fabled mice that live within the school’s walls. This is indeed the story of a mouse that roared, as what begins as a prank turns into a movement, empowering not only Maggie and Lena but all of their classmates to stand up against the dictatorial new principal, Mr. Shute. The girls find a surprising ally in their homeroom teacher, Mrs. Dorn busch, the school’s oldest and most feared teacher, also known as the Dungeon Dragon. While comical, the novel extols some high concepts. Lena is a fan of the Dadaist art movement (mentioned and explained throughout), and there’s an entertaining
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CHILDREN’S physics-based activity section at the book’s end related to hacking. Both at school and at home, Maggie learns to delve deeper into relationships, especially with her wheelchair-bound grandfather and still-grieving mother, who struggles with alcohol. Author Jacqueline Davies (The Lemonade War series) also leaves readers with a teaser in this first book of a new series, as Lena promises to explain some of her family’s “oddities” in the near future. Filled with heart, humor and plenty of practical jokes, Nothing but Trouble portrays an improbable but poignant middle school world. Sometimes getting in trouble is worth it, Lena and Maggie learn, and middle school readers will enjoy their rollicking journey. —ALICE CARY
THREADS
powerful story, told through Clara and Yuming’s alternating perspectives. Both girls have soul-wrenching missions, both are willing to risk everything to accomplish them, and both ultimately need each other more than they think they do. Their intersecting stories speak of loss, but also of hope and the realization that we are more alike than different. All we want is respect, connections and a chance to be heard—which both Clara and Yuming come to realize. —SHARON VERBETEN
MIDDLE GRADE
Clara didn’t even want to go shopping in the first place. But when the 12-year-old finds a mysterious note in a department store handbag, she feels compelled to act. The note, written by Yuming, a desperate girl in a Chinese sweatshop, begs for someone to rescue her from her captivity inside the “pink factory.” Clara is dealing with the recent death of her adopted Chinese sister, Lola, and Clara believes she was meant to find the note: She couldn’t save Lola from cancer, but maybe she can save Yuming. After all, isn’t that what Lola would want her to do? Clara tells her parents about the note, but is convinced she is Yuming’s only hope. So after convincing her parents to take a trip to China—under the ruse of honoring Lola’s heritage—Clara attempts to find Yuming, who has planned an escape of her own. Ami Polonsky’s Threads is a
—ANITA LOCK
THE DOG, RAY By Linda Coggin
Candlewick $15.99, 208 pages ISBN 9780763679385 Audio available Ages 10 and up MIDDLE GRADE
INTO THE LION’S DEN By Linda Fairstein Dial $16.99, 320 pages ISBN 9780399186431 Audio, eBook available Ages 8 to 12 MIDDLE GRADE
By Ami Polonsky
Disney-Hyperion $16.99, 256 pages ISBN 9781484746905 eBook available Ages 8 to 12
Into the Lion’s Den has high reader appeal, reaching out to young mystery enthusiasts and beyond.
A red flag goes up for Devlin Quick when she learns that a rare map has been stolen from the New York Public Library. A modern-day version of Nancy Drew, Sherlock Holmes and a bit of Encyclopedia Brown, 12-year-old Devlin enlists the help of friends Booker and Liza, as well as her grandmother Lulu, to do some major sleuthing. Clues seem to point in the direction of an upcoming exhibition. As Devlin and her friends prepare to attend, they have no idea how things will unfold, especially when Devlin’s sleuthing impulses kick into high gear. Into the Lion’s Den, the first book in bestselling author Linda Fairstein’s Devlin Quick Mysteries, wraps education and detective work into one delightful literary package. The action-packed, first-person story is full of informational tidbits on beloved authors (Charles Dickens, Edgar Allan Poe, Mary Shelley, Jane Austen), cartographers, New York library history and much more. With a balanced mix of well-defined characters, engaging dialogue, cliffhanging chapters and unexpected scenes, this book is nothing less than one riveting read.
“When my death came it was swift,” reports 12-year-old Daisy. “One moment I was in the car, the next on the road, and then I wasn’t anywhere.” But Daisy isn’t left wondering for long. She soon finds herself in a sort of job center for souls about to be returned to Earth. There’s only one hitch: Although instructed to go through the door on the right to take up her new corporeal form, Daisy goes through the door on the left. The result is her reincarnation into a puppy, and she remembers everything about her past life as a girl. Although perfectly able and willing to take up her canine responsibilities, Daisy finds her first home leaves a lot to be desired. But after running away, she finds a true companion in a homeless boy called Pip, who names her Ray. Pip and Ray set off on a series of adventures: Pip is seeking the father who doesn’t know he exists, and Ray is hoping to catch sight of her own parents, whose lives have been inextricably altered since Daisy’s fatal car accident. The Dog, Ray by Linda Coggin, first published in the U.K. in 2010, is told from Daisy’s often-humorous perspective: “It’s perfectly obvious to me what sit means. She doesn’t have to say it slowly, in a loud voice, as if I come from a foreign country.” While the voice is lighthearted and Daisy’s story has a satisfying ending, the book’s themes of death, the afterlife and homelessness make it best suited for readers age 10 and older. —DEBORAH HOPKINSON
meet JAVAKA STEPTOE © GREGG RICHARDS
the title of your Q: What’s new book?
would you describe Q: How the book?
MAKE TODAY.
has been the biggest influence on your work? Q: Who
was your favorite subject in school? Why? Q: What
Q: Who was your childhood hero?
books did you enjoy as a child? Q: What
Q: What one thing would you like to learn to do?
message would you like to send to young readers? Q: What
BUILD
TOMORROW.
RADIANT CHILD The latest picture book from Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award winner Javaka Steptoe (In Daddy’s Arms I Am Tall) is a striking portrait of artist and cultural phenomenon Jean-Michel Basquiat. Radiant Child (Little, Brown, $17.99, 40 pages, ISBN 9780316213882, ages 5 to 8) is a brilliant blend of both artists’ styles, as Steptoe explores Basquiat’s life and art through collages painted on textured wood. Steptoe lives in Brooklyn.
A WORLD OF IDEAS www.dk.com
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WORDNOOK
BY THE EDITORS OF MERRIAM-WEBSTER
LAST THINGS FIRST
Dear Editor: Does the prefix pre- that begins the word preposterous signify “before,” like pre- does in many words? If so, what does the rest of the word mean? N. V. Cookeville, Tennessee If you know the old expression putting the cart before the horse, you’ll understand the origin of the word preposterous, as the expression comes very close to the literal sense of the word. The Romans formed their Latin adjective praeposterus from prae, meaning “before,” and posterus, meaning “following.” They at first used it to mean “having that first which ought to be last,” like having a cart ahead of the horse that is pulling it. Praeposterus was used to describe something that was out of the normal or logical order or position. From this developed the more general sense of “ridiculous, absurd.” These meanings were borrowed
into English in the 16th century. Although preposterous is seldom used in its literal sense nowadays, we still use it to describe something that seems so unreasonable as to be ludicrous.
IMPERIAL SECRETS
Dear Editor: I’m curious about the word anecdotal, as in anecdotal evidence. Where does the word come from? M. B. Vicksburg, Mississippi Something that is anecdotal relates to an anecdote, or a story about a funny or interesting event. When evidence is described as anecdotal, it’s based on stories told by unscientific observers. The word anecdote goes back to Procopius, a 6th-century historian and official at the court of Byzantine emperor Justinian. Procopius published two important historical works in his lifetime. A third work did not begin to circulate until after his death, for understandable reasons.
the northern constellation between Gemini and Leo that is one of the 12 constellations making up the zodiac. According to Greek myth, Heracles kicked the crab Karkinos into the sky, creating the constellation. Cancer was also given as a name to several diseases. One of the diseases was the abnormal, spreading mass of tissue we call a tumor. A possible explanation for this extended use of cancer is that the Romans thought some tumors looked like many-legged crabs. A French descendant of this Latin word was borrowed into English as canker. It is now applied to several plant and animal disorders. In the 14th century the Latin word cancer in the sense of “tumor” was borrowed directly into English, giving us our modern spelling and sense.
It was entitled Anekdota, from the Greek a- meaning “not,” and ekdidonai, meaning “to publish,” and it contained bitter attacks on Justinian and his wife, Theodora, as well as many other noted officials in Constantinople. Some of these attacks were in the form of juicy bits of gossip. Procopius’ work is often referred to as Historia Arcana or Secret History. It was the original title that became a byword, however, and by the 18th century was being used in the sense we know today that refers to any interesting or amusing personal tale.
CRABBY CONNECTION
Dear Editor: I was born under the zodiac sign Cancer, and it’s always bothered me that my sign is also the name of a terrible disease. Why do they both have that name? L. A. Oxnard, California
Send correspondence regarding Word Nook to: Language Research Service P.O. Box 281 Springfield, MA 01102
The Latin word cancer means “crab,” and the name was given to
Test Your Mental Mettle with Puzzles from 399 Games to Keep Your Brain Young
Anagrams The letters of each word in this list can be arranged in multiple ways to form other words. We provide the word and the number of anagrams that are possible to make. 1. Loop (2) ________
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5. Leapt (3) ________
2. Mesa (2) ________
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Each time you see the c it stands for the consecutive letters CAT. Can you find all eighteen words in the grid—printed forward, backward, and diagonally—that contain CAT? For an extra-challenging brain workout, put a two-minute timer on this game and don’t use the word list unless you get stuck.
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c A D
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Word Finder—A Lot of Cats
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1. A Tree Grows in BROOKLYN 4. “GEORGIA on My Mind” 7. Lost in YONKERS 2. April in PARIS 5. “CHATTANOOGA Choo Choo” 8. “CALIFORNIA, Here I Come” 3. Blue HAWAII 6. “I Left My Heart in SAN FRANCISCO” 9. WKRP in CINCINNATI
Replace Pottersville
1. Loop, Polo, Pool 2. Mesa, Same, Seam 3. Abets, Baste, Betas, Beast, Beats 4. Taser, Aster, Rates, Stare, Tears
Anagrams
5. Leapt, Petal, Plate, Pleat 6. Bleary, Barely, Barley 7. Stable, Bleats, Tables 8. Starer, Arrest, Rarest, Raters
workman.com
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6. “I Left My Heart in POTTERSVILLE” 9. WKRP in POTTERSVILLE
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Word List ❍ Cater ❍ Catch ❍ Catsup ❍ Bobcat ❍ Cattle ❍ Catnap ❍ Scatter ❍ Catalog ❍ Copycat
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There’s something not quite right about these film, TV, book, and song titles. You need to correct them by replacing the word POTTERSVILLE with the real location.
ANSWERS
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REPLACE
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WORKMAN is a registered trademark of Workman Publishing Co., Inc.
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