Kafka Would Love 'The Beautiful Bureaucrat' August 13, 2015 Helen Phillips' surreal, dark, funny new novel follows a young woman named Josephine, who gets a job at a mysterious agency. Critic Michael Schaub says the book works as both love story and thriller.
A House That's Not A Home In 'Bright Lines' August 13, 2015 Tanwi Nandini Islam's debut novel is an understated queer coming-of-age tale, set in a vividly-portrayed Brooklyn brownstone whose residents all ache for some kind of home they've never been to.
Queen Of The Desert Gertrude Bell, In Her Own Words August 12, 2015 Explorer and activist Bell is best remembered today for helping create the modern state of Iraq. A smartly edited new collection of her writings presents a fascinating (if not always smooth) portrait.
Pizza As Autobiography In 'Slice Harvester' August 12, 2015 Colin Atrophy Hagendorf decided to review a plain slice of pizza from every joint in Manhattan — a project that evolved into a two-fisted memoir of his own life and struggles with substance abuse.
Confronting Mortality In An Unsettling, Inspiring 'Tour Of Bones' August 11, 2015 Before her death in 2014, author Denise Inge took a spiritual journey to bone houses throughout Europe. Critic Maureen Corrigan says the resulting book, The Tour of Bones, is "strange and chaotic." Listen Loading… 5:40 Playlist Download Embed Embed Close embed modal <iframe src="http://www.npr.org/player/embed/431555618/431650464" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no">
Book Reviews Dense, Fantastical 'Prodigies' Rewards The Patient Reader August 11, 2015 Angélica Gorodischer's episodic, lyrical new novel follows (in a meandering sort of way) the magically tinged lives of a motley cast of boarders in a house that once belonged to a famous German poet.
Chris Carlson/AP 13.7: Cosmos And Culture 'The Water Knife' Previews A Future Drought Scenario August 11, 2015 A new novel doesn't take the easy way out but, instead, asks questions about the mutations of human institutions under the pressure of global warming, says commentator Adam Frank.
'Hominids' Is A Deeply Human Collection Of Speculative Fiction August 11, 2015 Nalo Hopkinson's new collection mixes up her Afro-Caribbean influences with classic literature and historical fantasy. Critic Jason Heller says her stories dazzle with a hard-won sense of hope.
Things Left Unspoken Haunt Hard-Hitting 'Dragonfish' August 9, 2015 There are a few confessional speeches in Vu Tran's noirish debut novel, but what people write is more important than what they say: Anguished notes, letters and secret diary all drive the action.
History Hijacks Life In 'All That Followed' August 8, 2015 Set in Spain's Basque Country, Gabriel Urza's new novel chronicles three lives in the aftermath of the 2004 Madrid train bombings. Critic Michael Schaub calls it "unsparing and beautiful."
Life Through The Lens Of A Falling 'Fishbowl' August 8, 2015 Bradley Somer's new novel follows (literally) Ian the goldfish, who's catching glimpses of life and love in the apartments he passes as his bowl plummets from a 27th-floor balcony.
Identity Is At The Heart Of Brash, Essential 'Mulattos' August 7, 2015 Tom Williams' new collection digs into the experience of being multiracial, difficult to categorize in a society that likes to slap labels on people. Reviewer Michael Schaub calls it vital and gutsy.
'Marriage Of Opposites' Paints Camille Pissarro's Colorful Family History August 6, 2015 Alice Hoffman's new novel is a fictionalized account of the painter's early life and family, including the eccentric mother who raised him on the Caribbean island of St. Thomas.
'The Lufthansa Heist' Is No Score August 6, 2015 The famous 1978 Lufthansa robbery is a great crime story — it was even a plot point in GoodFellas. But a new book about the heist falls flat, hampered by purple prose and pointless details.
'Two Across' Spells Out A Charming Love Story In Crosswords August 5, 2015 Jeff Bartsch's new novel is about a brainy couple who, after meeting at a 1960s spelling bee, conduct their troubled love affair through secret clues in the crosswords they compose for newspapers.
Book Reviews Six Friends, A Pile of Cash And A Game With Deadly Consequences August 5, 2015 Black Chalk hinges on a plot twist that we won't give away. But we will say it's the summer thriller we've been waiting for: about a teenage game that turns dangerous as its players become adults.
'Dragonfish' Offers A Noir Vision Of An 'American Dream Gone Rancid' August 4, 2015 The debut novel by Vu Tran is a crime drama involving a white cop, his Vietnamese-born ex-wife and her new husband, a violent crime boss. Maureen Corrigan calls Dragonfish a "haunting literary novel." Listen Loading… 5:48 Playlist Download Embed Embed Close embed modal <iframe src="http://www.npr.org/player/embed/429318091/429366798" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no">
'Fifth Season' Embraces The Scale And Complexity Of Fantasy August 4, 2015 Yes, N.K. Jemison's newest epic is the kind of fantasy that has not one but two glossaries at the end — but reviewer Jason Heller says that just underscores her sumptuous detail and dimensionality.
Complex, Generational Music In Lyrical 'Daughters' August 4, 2015 Women are the blood and backbone of Adrienne Celt's debut novel, and at the heart is Lulu, who's revisiting family stories and legends as she comes to terms with her daughter's birth and an old curse.
'Spies' Is A Cinematic Account Of Americans In War-Torn Paris August 3, 2015 Historian Alex Kershaw's latest book focuses on an American doctor and his family who worked with the French Resistance from their apartment just down Avenue Foch from the Paris SS headquarters.
This 'Woman With A Secret' Plays Deadly Mind Games August 2, 2015 Sophie Hannah's new psychological crime thriller is about the cruel machinations of outwardly nice married folks with too much time on their hands.
'Three Moments' Is A Symphony Of Short Story Strangeness August 1, 2015 Acclaimed sci-fi author China Miéville hasn't been known for his short fiction, but reviewer Jason Heller says his new collection — subversive, strange and full of sick humor — will change that.
'Barbara' Is Imperfect, Defiant And Wonderfully Human July 30, 2015 The characters in Lauren Holmes' debut story collection are more than words on a page, says reviewer Michael Schaub. They're fully, exasperatingly real, portrayed with charm but without pretension.
'Baby' Is A Pretty Feat Of Misdirection July 30, 2015 Mary Kubica's new thriller follows a woman who takes in a runaway and her baby daughter. Reviewer Bethanne Patrick says it's a perfect setup — but the twists you expect aren't the ones that arrive.
Courtesy of Fantagraphics Peace, Love And Realness In A Hip-Hop History July 29, 2015 Cartoonist Ed Piskor has just put out the new book in his award-winning Hip Hop Family Tree series. It's an exhaustive, good-natured look at the birth of hip-hop that avoids the pitfall of voyeurism.