Book Reviews

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Arts

'The Jersey Brothers' Highlights The Enduring Legacy Of World War II

5:07pm May 29, 2017

by Glen Weldon

Sally Mott Freeman's book, The Jersey Brothers, recounts the story of three men swept up by Word War II. The youngest brother gets captured in the Philippines, and the two others struggle to bring him home. NPR explores why stories of World War II remain so compelling to us today.

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Twenty-four-year-old novelist Édouard Louis grew up in Hallencourt, France.

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Arts

'The End Of Eddy' Tells Of Growing Up Poor And Gay In Working-Class France

1:27pm May 29, 2017

by John Powers

Édouard Louis' autobiographical novel is the story of a young man coming of age in a downtrodden French village. Critic John Powers calls it a "bulletin from the enraged heart of Le Pen country."

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Books
Arts

Shatner's 'Spirit Of The Horse' Is An Ode To Four-Legged Friends

7:00pm May 28, 2017

by Jaym Gates

Yes, he was the captain of the Enterprise, but William Shatner is also a dedicated horseman and founder of the Hollywood Charity Horse Show. His love of horses is on display in his charming new book.

Books
Arts

Hip, Hippo Hooray For 'River Of Teeth'

10:00am May 28, 2017

by Amal El-Mohtar

Sarah Gailey's alternate-history romp takes place in a United States that went ahead with a wild plan to farm hippos for meat. It's a delightful read that suffers only from being too short.

Books
Arts

Love, Money And Betrayal Make For Great Storytelling In 'The Heirs'

7:00am May 27, 2017

by Jason Sheehan

Susan Rieger's new book follows an upper-crust, Upper West Side family whose certainties are thrown into doubt after their father dies and an unknown Other Woman sues his estate for child support.

Books
Arts

A Dancer Is Unstrung By Grief In 'Isadora'

7:00am May 25, 2017

by Michael Schaub

The great American dancer Isadora Duncan led a tragic life, and her worst year — just after the deaths of her first two children in an accident, forms the core of Amelia Gray's powerful new novel.

Books
Arts

Searching For A Summer Escape? These 6 Books Will Carry You Away

2:55pm May 24, 2017

by Maureen Corrigan

Journeys, near and far, into the past and even into near space, are the subject of the novels, memoirs and narrative histories that make up book critic Maureen Corrigan's early summer reading list.

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The Power Of Music Is At The Heart Of 'Black Mad Wheel'

8:31am May 24, 2017

by Jason Heller

Detroit garage-rocker Josh Malerman's second novel follows a fictional 1950s rock bad recruited by the government to find the source of a mysterious, ominous sound emanating from the Namib Desert.

Books
Arts

Second Thoughts About A Second Marriage In 'Standard Deviation'

7:00am May 23, 2017

by Heller McAlpin

Katherine Heiny's first novel for adults is a warmhearted and funny — if overly long — portrait of a man who begins to doubt his chaotic, talkative second wife after 12 years of marriage.

Anne Boleyn: A King's Obsession by Alison Weir

Books
Arts

In 'A King's Obsession,' Anne Boleyn's True Love Is Power

7:00am May 21, 2017

by Jean Zimmerman

Alison Weir takes a fresh look at familiar territory in this retelling of the story of Anne Boleyn. Weir's version of Anne is fiercely smart and guilty only of craving power that was hers by right.