Books

Notes on a Case of Melancholia, by Nicholas Gurewitch

Books
Arts

Grim Reaper Comedy 'Melancholia' Is Surprisingly Uplifting

10:00am April 05, 2020

by Etelka Lehoczky

Nicholas Gurewitch scratched images into clay with a stylus for this tale of Death's visit to an analyst — who helps him come to terms with Death Jr.'s lack of interest in the family business.

Hidden Valley Road: Inside the Mind of an American Family, by Robert Kolker

In 'Hidden Valley Road,' A Family's Journey Helps Shift The Science Of Mental Illness

8:00am April 05, 2020

by Lulu Garcia-Navarro

Over the years, six of the Galvins' 12 children were diagnosed with schizophrenia. Robert Kolker, who has a new book on the family, says "there is a lot of hope and inspiration in this story."

Books

Author Terry McMillan On Her New Book 'It's Not All Downhill From Here'

10:28am April 04, 2020

by Scott Simon

NPR's Scott Simon speaks with author Terry McMillan about her new book, "It's Not All Downhill from Here."

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Books

Into The West, From The Far East: 'How Much Of These Hills Is Gold'

8:00am April 04, 2020

by Scott Simon

NPR's Scott Simon speaks with author C Pam Zhang about her debut novel, which follows two sisters brought from China to the California Gold Rush by their father, who dies soon after they arrive.

Books
Arts

Julia Alvarez: Literature Tells Us 'We Can Make It Through'

8:00am April 04, 2020

by Scott Simon

Julia Alvarez returns to adult fiction with Afterlife, which she calls her first novel as an "elder." It's about a newly retired woman whose comfortable life is upended when her husband dies.

Books
Arts

Charming 'Hex' Insists On Beauty And Joy

7:00am April 04, 2020

by Lily Meyer

Rebecca Dinerstein Knight's oddball new novel follows a newly unemployed scientist, lovesick for her former mentor — but convinced of her own worth and her need for a life full of beauty.

Two profiles of a man and woman with speech bubbles inside their heads.

Books
Arts

Feisty. Ambitious. Lucky. Female Writers On The Words That Undermine Women

4:50pm April 02, 2020

by Ailsa Chang

Pretty Bitches, a new essay collection edited by Lizzie Skurnick, explores how words that sound complimentary can actually be loaded with sexism. "These words are code," Skurnick says.

Trauma surgeon David Nott, shown above in Bangladesh, has volunteered in war zones and disaster areas around the world. Now he's treating COVID-19 patients in London.

'War Doctor' Says Treating COVID-19 Is Like Fighting An Invisible Enemy

1:42pm April 02, 2020

by Terry Gross

Trauma surgeon David Nott has volunteered in war zones and disaster areas around the world. Now he's treating COVID-19 patients in London. He calls the pandemic a "disaster zone for the whole world."

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"I wouldn't say I was head over heels. I mean, I barely knew the guy. But, somehow, I had this feeling that he was going to be the one. Or at least I really, really hoped he was."

Want To Hear A Frank, Funny 'Muslim Love Story'? 'That Can Be Arranged'

7:42am April 02, 2020

by Noel King

In her graphic memoir, cartoonist Huda Fahmy explains how her parents played a role in her romantic relationships. She hopes her book is representation "for people who want to find love in this way."

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Hurricane Season, by Fernanda Melchor, translated by Sophie Hughes.

Books
Arts

In 'Hurricane Season,' Words Swirl Wild And Dark

7:00am April 02, 2020

by Gabino Iglesias

Fernanda Melchor's poetic, foul-mouthed new novel sits on the border between crime fiction and horror: A woman known as the Witch has been murdered, and her neighbors want to know who did it and why/