You'll Want To Stop The Car For This 'Redhead By The Side Of The Road'
Anne Tyler's latest novel — about a man who discovers that his calm, routine life may not be the one he really wants — is a balm for jangled nerves.
Books
Need An Escape? Try 'Unorthodox,' 'Baghdad Central' And 'Abigail'
Critic John Powers recommends three stories to break up the monotony of coronavirus lockdown: Unorthodox on Netflix; Baghdad Central on Hulu and a new translation of Magda Szabó's 1970 novel Abigail.
'Godshot' Author Explains How Fiction Helps Us Face Real-World Adversity
"Art can help me ask the difficult questions of myself," says Chelsea Bieker. In her debut novel, a devastating drought in a California town has led residents to put their faith in a cult leader.
Grim Reaper Comedy 'Melancholia' Is Surprisingly Uplifting
Nicholas Gurewitch scratched images into clay with a stylus for this tale of Death's visit to an analyst — who helps him come to terms with Death Jr.'s lack of interest in the family business.
In 'Hidden Valley Road,' A Family's Journey Helps Shift The Science Of Mental Illness
Over the years, six of the Galvins' 12 children were diagnosed with schizophrenia. Robert Kolker, who has a new book on the family, says "there is a lot of hope and inspiration in this story."
Author Terry McMillan On Her New Book 'It's Not All Downhill From Here'
NPR's Scott Simon speaks with author Terry McMillan about her new book, "It's Not All Downhill from Here."
Into The West, From The Far East: 'How Much Of These Hills Is Gold'
NPR's Scott Simon speaks with author C Pam Zhang about her debut novel, which follows two sisters brought from China to the California Gold Rush by their father, who dies soon after they arrive.
Julia Alvarez: Literature Tells Us 'We Can Make It Through'
Julia Alvarez returns to adult fiction with Afterlife, which she calls her first novel as an "elder." It's about a newly retired woman whose comfortable life is upended when her husband dies.
Charming 'Hex' Insists On Beauty And Joy
Rebecca Dinerstein Knight's oddball new novel follows a newly unemployed scientist, lovesick for her former mentor — but convinced of her own worth and her need for a life full of beauty.
Feisty. Ambitious. Lucky. Female Writers On The Words That Undermine Women
Pretty Bitches, a new essay collection edited by Lizzie Skurnick, explores how words that sound complimentary can actually be loaded with sexism. "These words are code," Skurnick says.