Erudition you can’t pray to match can be highly invigorating. Auden’s Lectures on Shakespeare is a master class by one master on another—cobbled together from students’ notes of his 1946 New School lectures, Auden works through the canon with wit, insight fueled by wide interests (Kant, opera,
Imagine every Haruki Murakami novel came with its own bar pianist—that’s Solo Piano by Gonzales (the Paris-based producer of Feist, Manu Chao, many others). Unfortunately only an import for now, it’s a beautifully spare collection of piano melodies, part Gershwin, part Lizst, part missing film score
Most of today’s bestsellers will be forgotten in 60 years, and some of the least-known books will be hailed as classics. For the latter category, I nominate The Furies, Janet Hobhouse’s extraordinary novel-cum-memoir. Very moving and double-fudge rich, it’s a slow burn about
Being a restaurant junkie when it’s affordable, I read Steven Shaw’s Turning the Tables: Restaurants From the Inside Out in one sitting, with two beers. It’s a delicious guide on how to get the most from restaurants; I loved its sections on how to order at a
I have a problem with solo female pop singers with terrific voices—I cannot get enough, never, no way. Rebecca Gates, Feist, Brandy, Beth Orton, Alison Krauss, all have kept me company in the last couple years, and now I find Maria Taylor, who sounds a bit like Jenny Lewis
I’ve probably bought more copies of Helen DeWitt’s The Last Samurai than any other novel, because I give them away constantly and need to replenish my stock. What a book! Crammed with smarts and adventure and a very full heart—and nothing to do with that Tom Cruise
For a long time readers have asked for a TMN newsletter to keep them apprised of our publishing schedule. They say, “I love TMN, but sometimes I forget to check in! Couldn’t you alert me once a week as to what’s been published? And couldn’t you promise
For fans of Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell or Mark Helprin’s Winter’s Tale—big-boned, richly imagined fantasies set in familiar places—there is John Crowley’s overlooked masterpiece Little, Big, a juicy account of magic, frightening mansions, and love affairs gone odd. Perfect summer reading for those
You and your strapping Caucasian friends are looking forward to a pleasant vacation on the shore, perhaps hooking up with equally comely and tall teenagers, and then romping on a farm collective—that’s right, it’s one Hot Summer! Part Grease, part unintentional stoner epic, this utterly unstoppable 1960s
Marilynne Robinson’s recent book Gilead wears its acclaim and awards like a hairshirt, but it’s her earlier novel Housekeeping that mesmerized me. The story of two girls and a nearby lake that seems to swallow everyone they love is a rich show-stopper of style and insight. This
