A Conservative Read On Palin's 'Going Rogue'()
November 17, 2009 Sarah Palin may be the Republican party's next big hope, but commentator Rod Dreher says her new book, Going Rogue, does little to bolster her image. She may be the perkiest small-town American in the spotlight, but Palin is selling her personality, not a platform.
'The Lacuna,' Kingsolver's Vacant Return()
November 3, 2009 It's been nine years since Barbara Kingsolver, author of The Poisonwood Bible, has released a new novel — but is The Lacuna worth the wait? Critic Maureen Corrigan says this personalized perspective on the Red Scare in Mexico reflects the hidden meaning of the book's title: vacancy.
Searching For Answers? 'Googled' Disappoints()
November 3, 2009 Ken Auletta's new book, Googled, chronicles the behemoth search engine company from the bottom up. But critic Troy Patterson says that few of the book's points are so penetrating that they couldn't be easily discovered via a quick Google query.
Lethem's Tedious, Maddening 'Chronic City'()
October 23, 2009 Jonathan Lethem's new novel, featuring a fatuous former child TV star and his stoner friend, swirls around aimlessly, lifted only occasionally by the author's dazzling prose.
On The 'Wisdom Trail,' Platitudes Prevail()
July 27, 2009 Long on generalities and short on real wisdom, The Wisdom Trail does not do justice to the women it profiles.
Journalist Looks At The 'Why' Behind Columbine()
April 17, 2009 In his new book, Dave Cullen delivers a clear-eyed portrait of the brains behind the Columbine killings. He says the massacre wasn't an emotional outburst or revenge fantasy carried out by a couple of social outcasts. Reviewer Susan Jane Gilman calls the book strong, but says it doesn't quite sing.
Death's Absence, Writ Large And Small()
December 9, 2008 Two new novels explore the consequences of a personified Death who fails to perform expected duties. Jonathan Carroll's The Ghost in Love focuses on an individual saved from Death, while Jose Saramago's Death with Interruptions examines an entire nation.
A Multilingual Voyage, Buoyed By A 'Sea Of Poppies'()
November 12, 2008 Amitav Ghosh's sprawling historical novel is set on a former slave ship in 1838, and features a wildly diverse cast of characters and fluid, "beautifully made" sentences. Reviewer Alan Cheuse says Sea of Poppies is worth a passage.
Jim Harrison's Quixotic, Erotic Road Novel()
October 27, 2008 Who says road novels have to be about the young? The English Major follows a 60-something teacher as he sets off on a cross-country journey to mend a broken heart — and revive his libido.
Freud And Oedipus Converge In 'Three Roads'()
October 20, 2008 Where Three Roads Meet, the new novel from British psychologist and fiction writer Sally Vickers, is set in the spring of 1923, and features an invented encounter between the ailing Sigmund Freud and a blind, ancient soothsayer.
About Book Reviews
NPR features regular book reviews from professor and "All Things Considered" reviewer Alan Cheuse, "Day to Day" contributor Karen Grigsby Bates and "Fresh Air" reviewer Maureen Corrigan.
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