Book Reviews

Are you in possession of a hammock? A creaky old porch swing? A bay window with built-in seating? If not, Ann Patchett’s new novel, “Tom Lake,” will situate you there...

The emails about books coming out in 2024 started landing in my inbox last autumn and each one brought a jolt of excitement. There are some real treats in store...

HOLLY, by Stephen KingA friend of mine has become a scaredy-cat since having a baby. She has been forcing herself to watch horror movies through parted fingers, hoping they will...

When you go looking for what is lost, everything is a sign.       Eudora Welty, “The Wide Net” On an overcast morning in the late 1980s I visited the church across the...

Where are all the books about work? That question lands in our inbox from time to time, and no wonder: In terms of hours and paychecks and the sense of...

REMEMBRANCE: Selected Correspondence of Ray Bradbury, edited by Jonathan R. EllerRay Bradbury’s fiction is not for everyone. It was not for me, at any rate, when I was young. The...

PENNING POISON: A History of Anonymous Letters, by Emily CockayneLong ago, in a moment of youthful discontent, I stumbled upon a primitive listicle on a now forgotten website that advised...

In “After Annie,” Quindlen uses these details to help us understand the experience of loss. Husband, daughter, friend — everyone remembers Annie in bits and pieces, and these memories are...

NORTH KOREA: The People’s Paradise, by Tariq ZaidiA woman pokes her head out from a hidden room at the Kumgangsan Hotel — a place known for hosting reunions between families...

Open this photo in gallery:Jón Kalman Stefánsson.JF Paga/SuppliedTitle: Your Absence Is DarknessAuthor: Jón Kalman StefánssonGenre: FictionPublisher: BiblioasisPages: 432 pagesYou could categorize Jón Kalman Stefánsson’s Your Absence Is Darkness as a...