Sunday, November 09, 2014

The New York Times Sunday Book Reviews


'The Laughing Monsters'

By DENIS JOHNSON
Reviewed by JOY WILLIAMS
In Denis Johnson's new novel, set in Africa, a spy and his ne'er-do-well friend plan to become rich by exploiting post-9/11 politics.

'A Map of Betrayal'

By HA JIN
Reviewed by BEN MACINTYRE
In Ha Jin's new novel, a man drifts into the world of espionage and becomes a long-term Chinese Communist mole within the C.I.A.

 

Bob OdenkirkBob Odenkirk: By the Book

The actor and author of "A Load of Hooey" keeps a volume of "hippie philosophizing" on his shelves as a counterbalance to his "angry, skeptical, scowling mind."
·         By the Book: Archive

'The Glass Cage: Automation and Us'

By NICHOLAS CARR
Reviewed by DANIEL MENAKER
Nicholas Carr argues that becoming dependent on our technologies turns us into their slaves.

Naomi Klein'This Changes Everything'

By NAOMI KLEIN
Reviewed by ROB NIXON
The status quo is no longer an option, Naomi Klein warns in this analysis of the climate crisis.
Edward Hirsch

'Gabriel: A Poem'

By EDWARD HIRSCH
Reviewed by EMILY RAPP
Edward Hirsch's book-length elegy on the death of his 22-year-old son.

Atul Gawande'Being Mortal'

By ATUL GAWANDE
Reviewed by SHERI FINK
Atul Gawande believes that the medical profession's job is to "enable well-being," not just strive for survival.
A prostitute from New Orleans's Storyville district, circa 1912.

'Empire of Sin'

By GARY KRIST
Reviewed by WALTER ISAACSON
In the early 1900s, an 18-block area of New Orleans was a battleground between moral reformers and purveyors of vice.

'Some Luck'

By JANE SMILEY
Reviewed by PAUL ELIE
Jane Smiley's novel, the first in a planned trilogy, follows an Iowa family over three transformative decades in America.
Bob Herbert

'Losing Our Way'

By BOB HERBERT
Reviewed by ADRIAN NICOLE LeBLANC

Bob Herbert documents the struggles of ordinary Americans and issues a political call to action.

Children's Books

B. J. Novak's 'Book With No Pictures' and More

By MARK LEVINE
Five picture books directly address young readers with unconventional storytelling.
Ann M. Martin and friend.
Children's Books

'Rain Reign'

By ANN M. MARTIN
Reviewed by RON SUSKIND
Ann M. Martin tells the story of a lonely fifth-grade girl with autism who finds a soul mate in a stray dog.
Children's Books

'100 Sideways Miles'

By ANDREW SMITH
Reviewed by MICHELLE HUNEVEN
A boy injured in a bizarre accident yearns to break free of his overprotective novelist father in this young adult novel.
Family patterns: A beloved article of clothing is transformed in
Children's Books

Jim Aylesworth's 'My Grandfather's Coat,' and More

By PAUL O. ZELINSKY
The older generation guides the youngest and inspires creativity in these picture books.

Paolo Bacigalupi'The Doubt Factory' and 'Love Is the Drug'

By ROBIN WASSERMAN
Two young adult thrillers exploit the conventions of genre to offer head-on critiques of today's political landscape.
Christopher Paul Curtis

'The Madman of Piney Woods'

By CHRISTOPHER PAUL CURTIS
Reviewed by JERVEY TERVALON
In a small Canadian town in 1901, boys from very different backgrounds meet, bond and solve a mystery together.

Problem solved: From Mike Curato's 'Little Elliot, Big City,' and More

By MARK ROTELLA
Amid the hustle and bustle of the big city, or the vast stillness of the desert, life is better when there's someone to share it with.
Cosmic cruise:

'Ambassador' and 'Lowriders in Space'

By HÉctor TOBAR
Latino characters take readers on a journey into the cosmos in these middle-grade books.

'I'll Give You the Sun'

By JANDY NELSON
Reviewed by LAUREN OLIVER
A family tragedy has left this novel's twin narrators unrecognizable to themselves and each other.

'In Real Life'

By CORY DOCTOROW. Illustrated by JEN WANG.
Reviewed by CHRIS TAYLOR
A teenager joins an all-female online group and is given a troubling assignment with real-world repercussions.

'Afterworlds'

By SCOTT WESTERFELD
Reviewed by STEPHANIE ZACHAREK
This young adult novel's 18-year-old protagonist is the author of her own young adult novel about life after death.
And they lived happily ever after.

Into the Woods

By MARIA RUSSO
Neil Gaiman and Lorenzo Mattotti reinvent "Hansel and Gretel."

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