Paul Yoon’s Etna, Dave Zirin’s The People’s Historian: The Outsized Life of Howard Zinn, and Chris Bohjalian’s The Amateur all feature among the best reviewed books of the week.
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Fiction
1. Etna by Paul Yoon
(Scribner)
7 Rave • 1 Positive • 1 Mixed
Read an excerpt from Etna here
“For all its compactness, Etna has the shape of an epic … Stands out among Yoon’s work … This is, at times, a wrenching novel, strewn with broken bodies, but its atrocities never overwhelm its faith in creaturely communion, and in grief and longing that clarify, rather than obscure, one’s desires and selfhood.”
–Rachel Vorona Cote (The Atlantic)
2. The Amateur by Chris Bohjalian
(Doubleday)
6 Rave
Read an essay by Chris Bohjalian here
“Bohjalian’s wonderful book is a morality tale, a snapshot of a strange, careless time in a particular slice of America, a psychological exploration of guilt and its repercussions, a portrait of a girl going off the rails—and then, because of an exciting plot twist, a courtroom drama.”
–Sarah Lyall (The New York Times Book Review)
3. Queen Mab by Emily McBride
(Farrar, Straus and Giroux)
5 Rave
“A narrative carries with it a palpable psychological tension from the outset, and Emily McBride’s debut, Queen Mab, blends literary drama with folk horror to illuminate the turmoil of early motherhood and the transformative pull of pregnancy. This dreamy, haunting journey marks the entrance of a powerful new voice in fiction … Whether you’re drawn to the fairy lore or the unbounded drama that accompanies newborn life, Queen Mab proves to be a gripping and memorable debut.”
–Matthew Jackson (BookPage)
4. The Blue Flame by George Pelecanos
(Cardinal)
3 Rave • 2 Positive
“Gritty, dark, violent … Pelecanos’ authentic depictions of life in Washington, DC’s Black communities, his vividly drawn characters, credible dialogue, and knack for weaving brutality with warmth make this a standout read.”
–Emily Melton (Booklist)
5. Triage by Claudia Rankine
(Graywolf)
2 Rave • 3 Positive • 2 Mixed
“Colorfully, referentially, and intellectually vibrant … A glossy-paged, art-exhibition catalog-worthy volume … While the ending lingers in abstract negativity, Rankine clearly presses us to face our failure to prioritize Gazans and to reckon with the immense personal, ethical, and human losses that follow.”
–Walton Muyumba (The Boston Globe)
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Nonfiction
1. The Ego Trip: Psychedelic Toads, a Trail of Deaths, and the Guru Who Peddled Transcendence by Kimon de Greef
(Doubleday)
4 Rave • 1 Positive
“A wondrous journey, tracing centuries of the Seris’ misfortunes, the rise of commercial toad milking in a narcotics-dominated region, feuds among rival gurus, and the contest between the heirs of an English countess and a German noblewoman to turn 5-MeO-DMT into a medicine.”
–Annie Bartlett (BookPage)
2. The People’s Historian: The Outsized Life of Howard Zinn by Dave Zirin
(Dutton)
2 Rave • 3 Positive • 2 Mixed
“Rousing … It’s a wonderful portrait of a historian who reshaped America’s understanding of its potential for change.”
–Publishers Weekly
3. Empire of Ashes: Truman, Hirohito, and the Descent Into Total War by James M. Scott
(W.W. Norton & Company)
4 Rave
“This volume highlights Mr. Scott’s talent for conveying the human costs of conflict … He describes the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki with relentless momentum and chilling detail … Scott has established himself as a master at illustrating the human price of war.”
–Jonathan W. Jordan (The Wall Street Journal)
4. Don’t Be Evil: Bad Bosses, Fake Promises, and My Escape from Big Tech by Claire Stapleton
(William Morrow and Company)
3 Rave • 1 Positive • 1 Mixed
“A blunt account of one woman’s transformation from an eager-to-please corporate climber to a clear-eyed activist. It earns its place alongside other recent examinations of the misdeeds of Big Tech, such as Sarah Wynn-Williams’ Careless People and Anna Wiener’s Uncanny Valley … Books like Stapleton’s will arm readers who want to reform these power players with the information they need to take action.”
–Harvey Freedenberg (BookPage)
5. The Story of Your Life: How Social Media Shapes the Way We Experience Everything by Kathryn Jezer-Morton
(Viking)
2 Rave • 2 Positive • 1 Mixed
“A compelling look into this increasingly fraught microcosm. Jezer-Morton’s work is well researched and thoughtful, exploring the often negative influence of social networking sites on human behavior. This is a timely book that is a must-read for our online world.”
–Philip Zozzaro (Booklist)
