Books

Books
Arts

'The Bear And The Nightingale' Is A Rich Winter's Tale

10:00am January 22, 2017

by Amal El-Mohtar

Katherine Arden's new novel deftly weaves Russian fairy tales with tactile details to create a gorgeously wintry tale of magic, marred slightly by a clunky ending that's clearly setting up sequels.

In 1932, Lola's husband Mitia was drafted into the army, leaving her to care for Tanya, their infant daughter, alone.

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Arts

'Soviet Daughter': How A Great-Grandmother's Diary Became A Graphic Novel

8:25am January 22, 2017

by NPR Staff

After her beloved great-grandmother's death, author Julia Alekseyeva discovered her memoirs, bursting with rich details of her life in the USSR enduring wars, pogroms, and purges.

Margaret Wise Brown is the author of beloved children's books such as Goodnight Moon and The Runaway Bunny. She died suddenly at age 42, leaving behind a body of unpublished work.

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Arts

'Goodnight Moon' Author Margaret Wise Brown Was No Old Lady Whispering Hush

8:17am January 22, 2017

by Barrie Hardymon

Nevermind that she didn't like kids all that much — Brown wrote books they adored. One of her previously unpublished picture books has just come out, as has a new biography of this brave, bold author.

Treating 'Imaginary Illness' In 'Is It All In Your Head?'

8:05am January 22, 2017

Lulu Garcia-Navarro talks with neurologist Suzanne O'Sullivan about her new book Is It All In Your Head? O'Sullivan chronicles the stories of patients she's diagnosed with psychosomatic disorders.

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Arts

A Couple Faces Collapse In Dark 'Futures'

7:00am January 22, 2017

by Jean Zimmerman

Anna Pitoniak's novel follows Evan and Julia, newly-minted Yale graduates trying — and finding it difficult — to make new lives for themselves in New York City on the eve of the crash of 2008.

Gorey Details: Neil Patrick Harris plays the evil, vainglorious Count Olaf to the hilt in the Netflix black comedy series.

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Arts

'A Series Of Unfortunate Events' Is All About Olaf

1:40am January 22, 2017

by Glen Weldon

Unlike the 2004 Jim Carrey film, the Netflix series nails the darkly whimsical tone of the children's books on which it's based; Neil Patrick Harris is a big reason for that.

Dark at the Crossing, by Elliot Ackerman

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Arts

A Failed Revolution And A Failed Marriage In 'Dark At The Crossing'

2:27pm January 21, 2017

by NPR Staff

Elliot Ackerman's new novel Dark at the Crossing follows an Iraqi man who tries to cross into Syria to fight Bashar al-Assad, but gets caught up with a charismatic Syrian exile and his troubled wife.

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Arts

'Human Acts' Tries To Reconcile Bloody Human Impulses

12:00pm January 21, 2017

by Annalisa Quinn

In Han Kang's sharp, almost painfully sensitive new novel, set during and after South Korea's 1980 Gwangju student uprising, people spill blood — but they also brave death to donate it.

Books
Arts

Not My Job: Author Daniel Handler Gets Quizzed On Baggage Handlers

10:32am January 21, 2017

Lemony Snicket, aka Daniel Handler, is the author behind "A Series of Unfortunate Events" and "All the Wrong Questions." He'll answer three questions about the people who handle our luggage.

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Books

Artists Produce Great Works — And Great Romances

8:46am January 21, 2017

Catherine Lacey and Forsyth Harmon talk with Scott Simon about some of the 20th century's greatest artists and their love lives. Their new book is called The Art of the Affair.