Books

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Arts

'Dead Souls' Is A Smart Book, In Some Ways A Good One — Also, It's Unreadable

5:00am May 18, 2021

by Lily Meyer

English publisher and poet Sam Riviere's debut novel is a long monologue from a poet, disgraced for plagiarism, unburdening himself to a self-obsessed poetry magazine editor in a seedy hotel bar.

Books

New Book Expresses Still-Fresh Feelings About A Tumultuous Year

5:31pm May 17, 2021

NPR's Ari Shapiro talks with poet Tracy K. Smith about a new book she co-edited, There's a Revolution Outside, My Love: Letters from a Crisis, reflecting on 2020.

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Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's 'Notes On Grief' Is A Raw Elegy For Her Father

1:46pm May 17, 2021

by Maureen Corrigan

Adichie writes she "came undone" when she learned of her dad's death. Her new book is a charged account of his passing — and also a narrative of mourning in the time of pandemic.

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Books
Arts

Questions For Zen Cho, Author Of 'Black Water Sister'

2:11am May 17, 2021

by Petra Mayer

In Zen Cho's new novel, a young woman begins to hear a voice in her head: It's the dead, estranged grandmother she never knew. Wronged in life, the grandmother wants revenge after death.

Paris Bookstores Are Designated Essential — But These Landmarks Struggle To Survive

6:03pm May 16, 2021

by Eleanor Beardsley

Gibert Jeune, which held a prominent place in Parisians hearts, is one of the latest to close. The pandemic is only one pressure on independent bookstores, but some have found ways to survive.

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Arts

Andrew McCarthy Recalls His Brat Pack Years In A New Memoir

11:50am May 16, 2021

by Lulu Garcia-Navarro

The star of movies like St. Elmo's Fire and Pretty in Pink writes about his tumultuous 20s in Brat: An '80s Story. Of that era's movies, he says the emotions are timeless, the hair not so much.

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The Plot, by Jean Hanff Korelitz (promo image)

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Arts

'The Plot' Works As Literary Satire, But Its Mystery Fizzles

11:35am May 16, 2021

by Bethanne Patrick

Jean Hanff Korelitz's tale of dirty deeds in the world of letters skewers pompous male authors with sly humor — but her approach to the central mystery might have you guessing the ending too soon.

On The Trapline, written by David A. Robertson and illustrated by Julie Flett

Books
Arts

A Boy And His Grandfather Visit Home 'On The Trapline'

10:46am May 15, 2021

by Samantha Balaban

A little boy and his Moshom — which means grandfather in Swampy Cree — travel north to visit the trapline where, many years ago, the grandfather grew up living off the land.

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Books

'Facing The Mountain' Tells Story Of Japanese American WWII Heroes

7:59am May 15, 2021

NPR's Scott Simon talks to writer Daniel James Brown about his new book, Facing The Mountain, which tells the story of Japanese American soldiers who fought for a country that rejected them.

Books
Arts

'The Rock Eaters' Explores The Boundaries Of Emotion, Possibility And Longing

5:00am May 15, 2021

by Jason Heller

Brenda Peynado's new collection yanks readers straight into her stories, punchy and powerful tales that mix the everyday and the fantastic to search for meaning in the immigrant experience.