Book reviews roundup: Jacobson’s savage satire; McInerney’s miracles; memories of Sacks

What the critics thought of Howard Jacobson’s Pussy, Lisa McInerney’s The Blood Miracles and Bill Hayes’s Insomniac CityTwo eagerly anticipated and very different novels divided critics this month. Howard Jacobson’s Pussy was written in two months in “a fury of disbelief” after Donald Trump’s US election victory, and is set in a fictionalised world in which spoiled Prince Fracassus rules. “Flawed but fascinating” wrote Anita Sethi in the i, summing up many critics’ feelings. “At its best, the book brilliantly portrays a world in which language and the complexity of ideas that it can convey have been devalued … ” The Observer’s Andrew Anthony also accentuated the positives, finding “many aesthetic pleasures to be had in Pussy. If Trump’s presidency is a source of continuing anxiety, then among its very few benefits is that it is has moved one of our finest comic writers to write an elegantly savage satire of a man who defies satire.” But this satirising of the unsatirisable vexed some. “The more you share its premises, the more you wish this satire had sharper edge. Fracassus’s unsavoury grotesqueness never trumps Trump’s,” wrote Peter Kemp in the Sunday Times, while the Independent’s Lucy Scholes felt “inclined to wonder what [Jacobson’s] hurry was. From a novelist of his pedigree ... I wanted something more considered.”Lisa McInerney’s The Blood Miracles is the follow-up to her Baileys women’s fiction prize-winning debut The Glorious Heresies and focuses on that novel’s... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2017-04-21 00:00:00 UTC ]

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‘We Begin Today the Publication of a Supplement Which Contains Reviews of the New Books’

The New York Times Book Review first appeared on Oct. 10, 1896, but its roots can be traced back to its very first issue of The Times on Sept. 18, 1851. Continue reading at The New York Times

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125 Years of Book Review Covers

What did the Book Review look like in 1896, in 1916, in 1962? Scroll down to see what it looked like — and how it changed — through the decades. Continue reading at The New York Times

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The First New York Times Book Review Best-Seller List

The best-seller lists as we know them today have their roots in the Aug. 9, 1942, issue — but the Book Review has been tracking sales for much longer than that. Continue reading at The New York Times

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Book Review: ‘Midnight in Washington,’ by Adam Schiff

Schiff’s “Midnight in Washington” is that rare memoir by a politician that actually has something to say. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2021-10-19 18:00:03 UTC ]
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Book Review: ‘Unprotected,’ by Billy Porter

In his memoir “Unprotected,” Billy Porter recounts his lifelong struggle to heal the deep wounds buried under the sheen of his charismatic presence. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2021-10-19 09:00:04 UTC ]
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Books in the Media: Grohl and Strout rock to the top of reviews

Dave Grohl's memoir The Storyteller (S&S) was one of the critics most reviewed this week, picking up mentions in The Bookseller, the Observer, Guardian, Times, Sunday Times and Irish Times.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-10-17 21:25:03 UTC ]
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Book Review: ‘Silverview,’ by John le Carré

“Silverview” features a young bookstore owner in an English seaside town, caught up in an investigation involving two cunning spymasters. Continue reading at The New York Times

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Books in the Media: le Carré's last dominates reviews to close career in style

John le Carré's final novel Silverview (Viking) dominated the review pages this week, picking up mentions from the Sunday Times, Times, Guardian, Financial Times, Sunday Telegraph, the i and the Scotsman.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

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Celebrate the Book Review's 125th Anniversary: A Times Event

On Oct. 25, join The New York Times Book Review and special guests for performances of favorite letters and reviews from the archives, trivia and more. Continue reading at The New York Times

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Book Review: ‘The Taking of Jemima Boone,’ by Matthew Pearl

“The Taking of Jemima Boone,” the first nonfiction book by the novelist Matthew Pearl, recounts a legendary abduction case that complicates our view of relations between settlers and Native Americans during westward expansion. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2021-10-05 16:57:40 UTC ]
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When the Times Book Review Panned the Classics

Some of today’s best-loved books — think “Catch-22,” “Tender Is the Night” and even “Anne of Green Gables” — had a rocky reception in our pages. Continue reading at The New York Times

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Book Review: ‘Cloud Cuckoo Land,’ by Anthony Doerr

“Cloud Cuckoo Land,” Doerr’s first novel since “All the Light We Cannot See,” unites five characters over a millennium in a tribute to books and those who love them. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2021-09-24 09:00:04 UTC ]
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Books in the Media: Whitehead shuffles into this week's reviews

Colson Whitehead's Harlem Shuffle (Fleet) danced across the review pages this week, picking up mentions in The Bookseller, the Guardian, the Times and the New York Times, consistently being labelled as "one to watch this autumn". Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-09-06 14:54:44 UTC ]
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Where to Find the Best Children’s Book Reviews

There's more great children's books being published than ever before -- this is how to find the best children's book reviews online. Continue reading at Book Riot

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Physical books are alive with memories. Has the pandemic pushed them into the ether for good?

Zoom book clubs and e-books are no match for physical books and the experience of sharing them with friends in person. Continue reading at The Washington Post

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Book Review: ‘Fox & I,’ by Catherine Raven

“Fox & I” is Catherine Raven’s memoir of her relationship with a bushy-tailed creature — no, not a dog. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2021-07-06 09:00:01 UTC ]
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Book Review: ‘Dear Senthuran,’ by Akwaeke Emezi

“Dear Senthuran” is an epistolary memoir of gender identity, diaspora and the solitude of success. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2021-06-08 11:08:44 UTC ]
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Review: Spellbinding novelist Rivka Galchen's new book is a hysterical witch hunt

'Everyone Knows Your Mother Is a Witch,' historical fiction about Kepler's mother, is Galchen's first novel since 2008's 'Atmospheric Disturbances.' Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

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A History of the Book Review Through Its Fonts

On the 125th anniversary of the Book Review, we look back at some of our earliest flourishes, curlicues, flowers and scrolls. Continue reading at The New York Times

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Christina McDowell’s satire ‘The Cave Dwellers’ belongs among the essential books about Washington

This is an author who knows her victims’ antique attitudes as well as Marjorie Merriweather Post knew her china settings. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2021-05-24 10:01:07 UTC ]
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