• FICTION

    THE SAVAGE DETECTIVES

    APRIL 3, 2007

FICTION

THE SAVAGE DETECTIVES

by Roberto Bolaño & translated by Natasha Wimmer

One of the most entertaining books about writers and their discontents since Boswell’s Life of Johnson. A brilliant novel,... Full review >

FULL REVIEW >
  • FICTION

    GILEAD

    NOV. 1, 2004

FICTION

GILEAD

by Marilynne Robinson

Robinson has composed, with its cascading perfections of symbols, a novel as big as a nation, as quiet as thought, and... Full review >

FULL REVIEW >
  • FICTION

    PILLARS OF THE EARTH

    FEB. 15, 2011

PILLARS OF THE EARTH

by Ken Follett

Says Tom of the cathedral he plans to build, it’s “simple, inexpensive, graceful and perfectly proportioned.” This app... Full review >

FULL REVIEW >
  • FICTION

    THE RELUCTANT FUNDAMENTALIST

    APRIL 2, 2007

FICTION

THE RELUCTANT FUNDAMENTALIST

by Mohsin Hamid

A superb cautionary tale, and a grim reminder of the continuing cost of ethnic profiling, miscommunication and confrontation. Full review >

FULL REVIEW >
  • FICTION

    THE KITE RUNNER

    JUNE 2, 2003

FICTION

THE KITE RUNNER

by Khaled Hosseini

Rather than settle for a coming-of-age or travails-of-immigrants story, Hosseini has folded them both into this searing... Full review >

FULL REVIEW >
  • FICTION

    TOO MUCH HAPPINESS

    NOV. 17, 2009

FICTION

TOO MUCH HAPPINESS

by Alice Munro

As Munro explains in her acknowledgements, it’s a story based on the final days of Sophia Kovalevski, a brilliant Russian... Full review >

FULL REVIEW >
  • FICTION

    THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO

    SEPT. 19, 2008

  • NONFICTION

    BIG RUSS & ME

    MAY 10, 2004

BIOGRAPHY & MEMOIR

BIG RUSS & ME

by Tim Russert

A largely self-effacing souvenir and a fulsome, sincere Father’s Day greeting. (16 pp. photos, not seen) Full review >

FULL REVIEW >
  • FICTION

    OLIVE KITTERIDGE

    APRIL 15, 2008

FICTION

OLIVE KITTERIDGE

by Elizabeth Strout

A perfectly balanced portrait of the human condition, encompassing plenty of anger, cruelty and loss without ever losing... Full review >

FULL REVIEW >
  • NONFICTION

    THE TENDER BAR

    SEPT. 7, 2005

BIOGRAPHY & MEMOIR

THE TENDER BAR

by J.R. Moehringer

A straight-up account of masculinity, maturity and memory that leaves a smile on the face and an ache in the heart. Full review >

FULL REVIEW >
  • NONFICTION

    THE YEAR OF MAGICAL THINKING

    OCT. 19, 2005

BIOGRAPHY & MEMOIR

THE YEAR OF MAGICAL THINKING

by Joan Didion

A potent depiction of grief, but also a book lacking the originality and acerbic prose that distinguished Didion’s earlier... Full review >

FULL REVIEW >

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