Book Reviews

Float by Anne Carson (Raquel Zaldivar/NPR)

Books
Arts

'Float' Will Lift Your Mind Out Of Its Rut

7:00am November 06, 2016

by Annalisa Quinn

Anne Carson's unconventional collection of 22 chapbooks can be read in any order, and covers everything from Helen of Troy to H.G. Wells — but mostly, it's about women taking back their own stories.

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Arts

Sex, Death And Revolution (A Little Long-Winded) In 'Thus Bad Begins'

9:53am November 03, 2016

by Jason Sheehan

Javier Marias' new novel is, on the surface, a low-stakes spy story about a young man, his older mentor and a dysfunctional marriage. But really, it's about the Spanish Civil War and its aftermath.

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Arts

Coming To Terms With A Bloody Past In 'Pull Me Under'

7:00am November 02, 2016

by Bethanne Patrick

In Kelly Luce's new novel, a woman who calls her heart "the black organ" must return to the home she left long ago and the father she no longer speaks to, in order to confront her troubled past.

Eleanor Roosevelt, shown here in London in 1959, continued to work on behalf of progressive causes after her tenure as First Lady ended.

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Arts

Volume 3 Of Eleanor Roosevelt Biography Chronicles The Rise Of An Activist

1:51pm November 01, 2016

by Maureen Corrigan

Feminist historian Blanche Wiesen Cook published the first volume of her biography of Roosevelt in 1992. Critic Maureen Corrigan says the newly released final volume is exhausting and exhilarating.

Queue Listen Now

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Arts

Faith, Sex And The South Intersect In 'Virgin'

7:00am November 01, 2016

by Heller McAlpin

April Ayers Lawson's debut story collection features young, often sheltered characters struggling with intimacy in a world where ordinary uncertainties are amplified by a fundamentalist upbringing.

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Arts

3 Romances To Light Up Your Diwali

4:47pm October 31, 2016

by Sonali Dev

We're celebrating Diwali, the Indian festival of lights, with three books sure to strike a spark of romance in your heart, no matter how long and dark the nights are getting.

Table Manners by Jeremiah Tower (Raquel Zaldivar/NPR)

Books
Arts

In 'Table Manners,' A Rather Mannered Plea For Etiquette

7:00am October 29, 2016

by Annalisa Quinn

Renowned chef Jeremiah Tower focuses on the consumption rather than the preparation of food in Table Manners. The book leans fussy and prim, turning a blind eye to hosts and hostesses short on cash.

Certain Dark Things by Silvia Moreno-Garcia (Raquel Zaldivar/NPR)

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Arts

'Certain Dark Things' Is A Compelling New Take On Vampires

11:40am October 27, 2016

by Amal El-Mohtar

Silvia Moreno-Garcia's new novel is set in a realistic, multidimensional Mexico City, where a young human boy meets a mysterious girl and gets caught up in a whirlwind of vampire-gang drug wars.

Unmentionable by Therese O'Neill (Raquel Zaldivar/NPR)

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Arts

I Shall Faint: 'Unmentionable' Unpacks Victorian Womanhood

7:00am October 26, 2016

by Genevieve Valentine

Therese Oneill's new Unmentionable is a snarkily informal history of the difficulty of being a woman in the Victorian Era, hemmed in from head to toe with countless rules about dress and manners.

Books
Arts

Book Review: 'Garden Time,' W.S. Merwin

4:23pm October 25, 2016

by Tess Taylor

Our poetry reviewer, Tess Taylor, praises the most recent collection by W.S. Merwin called, Garden Time.