Book Reviews

Books

'Anything Is Possible' Is Unafraid To Be Gentle

7:00am April 25, 2017

by Heller McAlpin

Elizabeth Strout's new novel-in-stories is a welcome salve for troubled times. A companion volume to last year's My Name is Lucy Barton, Anything is Possible looks at the people Lucy grew up with.

Books
Arts

'Hourglass' Exposes The Fissures That Develop In A Long-Term Marriage

2:21pm April 24, 2017

by Maureen Corrigan

Dani Shapiro's new memoir dramatizes the dizzying ways a lifetime passes, loops around, speeds up and sometimes seems to stand still. Critic Maureen Corrigan calls it an incisive and charged work.

Queue Listen Now

Books
Arts

David McCullough's Collected Speeches Will Give Your 'American Spirit' A Boost

10:00am April 22, 2017

by Michael Schaub

Speeches in book form are a reliable cash cow for publishers, and tend to fall into the "last minute gift idea" category. But David McCullough's new The American Spirit is a happy exception.

Imagine Wanting Only This by Kristen Radtke

Books
Arts

Wanting More From 'Imagine Wanting Only This'

7:00am April 22, 2017

by Etelka Lehoczky

Kristen Radtke is an experienced writer and artist, but her graphic memoir — about grief, loss and obsessive travel — disappoints with rudimentary illustrations and spotty storytelling.

Boiled octopus, a recipe for "reliably tender, flavorful octopus that can be used as it is, or as a basis for fried or grilled octopus dishes," write Richard Horsey and Tim Wharton in Ugly Food. "Octopus is also totally sustainable, very economical and in

The Truth About Ugly Foods: They're Delicious, Abundant And Good For The Planet

2:28pm April 20, 2017

by Stephen Phillips

From ugly fish like sea robin to the discarded parts of livestock, like ox cheeks and chicken feet, a new book celebrates repugnant-looking but flavorful foods, and urges us to eat more of them.

Books
Arts

'Tender' Stories Are A Feast Of Ideas

7:00am April 20, 2017

by Jason Heller

Sofia Samatar is the creator of an award-winning fantasy world; she sticks closer to earth in her powerful first story collection, but it's not always the earth we might recognize.

Books
Arts

'The Book Of Joan' Is A Dizzying, Dystopian Genre Mashup

5:00am April 20, 2017

by Carmen Maria Machado

Lidia Yuknavitch reimagines Joan of Arc as a freedom fighter on a blighted future earth, setting herself against the charismatic ruler of a satellite colony of nearly unrecognizably mutated humans.

The Woman Who Had Two Navels by Nick Joaquin

Books
Arts

A Potent, Uneasy Blend Of Passion And Fatalism In 'The Woman Who Had Two Navels'

7:00am April 19, 2017

by Genevieve Valentine

No matter what's happening in this new collection of work from the late Filipino writer Nick Joaquin, it's probably already too late — but that doesn't stop his characters from struggling.

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton speaks during a campaign rally in Raleigh, N.C., on Nov. 8, 2016.

'Shattered' Picks Through The Broken Pieces Of Hillary Clinton's Dream

9:29am April 18, 2017

by Ron Elving

A new book goes behind the scenes of Clinton's presidential bid. "There is no Big Reveal," says NPR's Ron Elving. "Instead we get a slow-building case against [her campaign's] concept and execution."

Books
Arts

'My Cat Yugoslavia' Needs A Good Brushing

7:00am April 18, 2017

by Michael Schaub

Pajtim Statovci's debut novel follows a Kosovar immigrant to Finland who meets a singularly unpleasant anthropomorphic cat in a Finnish gay bar. But while the story is imaginative, it lacks polish.