All Book Reviews
'Death by Water' takes readers on a wild ride of epic proportionsNobel Prize-winner Kenzaburō Ōe's fifth novel starring alter ego Kogito Choko will be the densest, most rewarding 432 pages you'll read this year.
'This Is Your Life, Harriet Chance' seeks to account for a mother's unhappinessThe story of a doomed cruise provides bittersweet laughs and an opportunity for the mother at its helm to examine her marriage, daughter, and self-image.
'Kissinger 1923-1968: The Idealist' portrays a Kissinger few knowThe first volume of Niall Ferguson’s new biography focuses attention on Kissinger’s life before he became the most revered and reviled statesman in modern times.
'My Kitchen Year' follows Ruth Reichl through a difficult year eased by favorite foodsWhen she lost her job, Ruth Reichl retreated to her hilltop glass house in upstate New York and cooked.
'The New Tsar' traces the 'rise and reign' of Vladimir PutinNew York Times correspondent Steven Lee Myers coherently, comprehensively, and evenhandedly tells the story of how Putin came to rule Russia.
'The Heart Goes Last' offers a struggling young couple a Faustian bargainMargaret Atwood's 15th novel depicts a mild dystopia in which the desire for freedom is pitted against the need for security.
'Fates and Furies' is Laurent Groff's cruel but clever subversion of marriageWith cutting inventiveness, one of today's best novelists examines a whirlwind marriage, and finds a new way to write about matrimony in the 21st century.
'On Inequality' argues that instead of the same, we should all have enoughMoral philosopher Harry Frankfurter asks us to contemplate the 'doctrine of sufficiency' when it comes to money.
'Lock & Mori' reworks Sherlock Holmes in a witty YA reimagining'Lock & Mori' adds a new layer to the Sherlock Holmes pantheon: two brainy, tender-hearted kids attempting to protect each other from dangers beyond their ken.
'The Story of the Lost Child' brings Elena Ferrante’s Neapolitan quartet to an extraordinary closeThe fourth novel of Ferrante’s brilliant Neapolitan series is ablaze with dramatic incidents: adultery, suicide, political terrorism, more adultery, shocking betrayals, and a mysterious disappearance.
'Big Magic': words of wisdom from Elizabeth Gilbert to all would-be creative typesCalling all creators: Elizabeth Gilbert is your friend.
'Jade Dragon Mountain' sets a murder mystery in 18th-century ChinaWhy is an elderly Jesuit killed in a Chinese border town – days before the emperor is scheduled to arrive to view an eclipse?
'Once in a Great City' traces the rise and fall of DetroitAuthor and journalist David Maraniss turns back the clock to paint the picture of an American metropolis in its prime – with the seeds of failure already taking root.
'The Lost Landscape' explores the forces that shaped Joyce Carol OatesJoyce Carol Oates's second memoir covers large swaths of her youth. Although less comfortable than her fiction, 'The Lost Landscape' offers insights into what drivers Oates's fiction.
'The Art of Memoir' is Mary Karr's attempt to bolster a fallen genreMary Karr addresses the place of truth and untruth in the memoir genre.
'Empire of Fear' offers an analytical and lucid history of ISISBBC correspondent Andrew Hosken ably chronicles and thoroughly documents the rise of ISIS and its leaders.
'Resurrection Science' asks: What is a species worth?Although the idea of restoring a long-lost species may excite the imagination, O’Connor makes us question what exactly we would bring back or – once it was back – where that species would live.
'Paradise of the Pacific' traces the early centuries of Hawai‘i’s historyA transporting immersion into the history of Hawaii, and the ways its native peoples held on to their way of life in the face of colonial exploits.
'The Seventh Most Important Thing' is a remarkable tale of redemption for middle-grade readersShelley Pearsall's newest middle-grade novel follows the story of Arthur, a 13-year-old who must work to make up for a violent crime against the old Junk Man.
'The Making Of Home' asks: How did houses become homes?Judith Flanders tackles the huge subject of home, and our attachment to the different kinds of buildings in which we dwell.
