Books Update: Family Issues

New books by Lydia Millet, Sarah Menkedick, Lauren Sandler and others

View in browser|nytimes.com Continue reading the main story May 8, 2020

Jillian Tamaki

Dear Reader,

At a time when many of us remain quarantined at home, family feels inescapable — for better and for worse, whether sharing our bedrooms or touching base through regular Zoom gatherings. This week, the Book Review looks at family from a broad range of perspectives, examining the complexities of those relationships: parent to child, sibling to sibling, generations of extended family. From Lydia Millet’s inventive and ambitious new novel, “A Children’s Bible,” to “Ordinary Insanity,” a nonfiction study of motherhood in America by Sarah Menkedick, to “And Then They Stopped Talking to Me,” about the travails of middle school from the veteran journalist Judith Warner, these books delve into all of it.

A few standouts to mention: “This Is All I Got: A New Mother’s Search for Home,” by Lauren Sandler, gets a flat-out rave from the best-selling author Alex Kotlowitz (“There Are No Children Here,” “An American Summer”). He writes: “‘This Is All I Got’ is a testament to the bigness of the small story, to the power of intimate narratives to speak to something much larger.” The review alone will break your heart. And in fiction, Martha Southgate reviews “How Much of These Hills Is Gold,” a reimagining of the western novel by C Pam Zhang, whom we profiled earlier in The Times.

This Sunday is Mother’s Day, so amid the handwringing, the arguments, the intractable estrangements, we want to acknowledge the love and gratitude that this day occasions. Enjoy a new collection of Madeleine L’Engle’s work, recently published for the first time. Find out what the best-selling novelist Jennifer Weiner is reading. Discover the work of Cho Nam-Joo, one of Korea’s most exciting new millennial voices. And give the mothers out there a big hug, real or virtual.

Please stay in touch and let us know what you think – whether it’s about this newsletter, our reviews, our podcast, our literary calendar, our Instagram or what you’re reading. We read and ponder all of it. I even write back, albeit belatedly. You can email me at books@nytimes.com.

Pamela Paul

Editor of The New York Times Book Review

@PamelaPaulNYT

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THE BOOK REVIEW PODCAST The Angry Children Are Our Future Lydia Millet talks about “A Children’s Bible,” and Barry Gewen discusses “The Inevitability of Tragedy.”

FICTION fiction Anne Tyler Is Back, Scrutinizing an Inscrutable Man in Chaos Her new novel, “Redhead by the Side of the Road,” shows readers all the old familiar places and moves, and confirms Tyler’s heartening flair for decency. By Amy Bloom fiction An Epic Storm Turns a Summer Holiday Into Potent Allegory In Lydia Millet’s masterly new novel, “A Children’s Bible,” kids and their parents on holiday confront societal collapse when a storm of biblical proportions strikes the Northeast. By Jonathan Dee fiction When White Working-Class Fury Came of Age Nicolas Mathieu’s novel “And Their Children After Them” follows a small cohort of Gen Xers in a community ravaged by deindustrialization. By Thomas Chatterton Williams fiction A Haunting Debut Novel Brings New Faces to the Myth of the American West “How Much of These Hills Is Gold,” by C Pam Zhang, reimagines the region’s past as a Chinese-American tale. By Martha Southgate fiction A ‘Little Family’ Against the World In Ishmael Beah’s new novel, a makeshift home of adolescents is forced to confront the ugliest side of adulthood. By Chigozie Obioma fiction Reconnecting With the Past Over a Meal of ‘Braised Pork’ In this debut novel by the Chinese author An Yu, male characters propel the heroine into a journey of self-discovery. By Karen Cheung fiction An Unlikely Romance Blooms in a Hospital Room, Then Metastisizes The novel “Reproduction,” by Ian Williams, is a bold experiment in form, a love story that grows malignant over time. By Stephen Kearse fiction In This Korean Best Seller, a Young Mother Is Driven to Psychosis Cho Nam-Joo’s debut novel, “Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982,” is written as a case study on everyday sexism and misogyny. It helped propel a feminist wave in Korea. By Euny Hong

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fiction Inside a House in Queens, a Dark Side of the Immigrant Story Francesca Momplaisir’s debut novel, “My Mother’s House,” examines the depths of depravity from three perspectives, including a home’s. By Stephanie Powell Watts fiction During a Weekend in the Country, Secrets Simmer Between Old Friends Joanna Hershon’s fifth novel explores the binding nature of old ties. By Danya Kukafka

NONFICTION nonfiction In ‘Stray,’ Stephanie Danler Asks How a Victim Becomes a Perpetrator The author of “Sweetbitter” has written a memoir about the pain she’s suffered from — and caused to — those she’s loved. By Hillary Kelly nonfiction This Is What It’s Like to Be Homeless in New York City A journalist introduces readers to a new mother struggling mightily, against all odds, to find a permanent place to live. By Alex Kotlowitz nonfiction Is Fear the Last Taboo of American Motherhood? Sarah Menkedick suffered horrible anxiety after her daughter was born. In “Ordinary Insanity,” she examines the unacknowledged prevalence of clinically anxious mothers. By Susannah Cahalan nonfiction Traumatized by Memories of Middle School? You Are Not Alone “And Then They Stopped Talking to Me,” by Judith Warner, considers the lasting torment that is junior high. By Shannon Hale

CHILDREN’S BOOKS children’s books ‘This Is How It Is Now’: Ramona Quimby, Meet Ryan Hart In “Ways to Make Sunshine,” Renée Watson gives us a new spin on Beverly Cleary’s beloved heroine and a timely primer on how kids can navigate a world of change that’s coming at them fast. By Veronica Chambers children’s books Pride at the Plate for a Little League All-Star In Phil Bildner’s “A High Five for Glenn Burke,” the inventor of the world’s most popular celebratory gesture helps a budding baseball player accept himself for who he is. By Mike Peed

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FEATURES by the book Jennifer Weiner Used to Read Her Father’s Medical Textbooks for Fun “I knew a lot about genitals at a very early age.” With Mothers and Daughters, It’s Always Complicated Two memoirs and a novel explore one of the deepest, most powerful relationships there is. By Mary Beth Keane sketchbook A Voracious Reader Takes Drastic Measures After Running Out of Books For a grandmother who can read a book in two hours, lockdown has presented some obstacles. By Brooke Barker

New & Noteworthy, From Narco Fiction to Governing California A selection of recent books of interest; plus, a peek at what our colleagues around the newsroom are reading. letters A Question of Theme An author offers an alternative perspective for his novel, while readers revisit Moynihan and comment on the literary tastes of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. editors’ choice 10 New Books We Recommend This Week Suggested reading from critics and editors at The New York Times. inside the list Did Jesus Ever Tie the Knot? A New Novel Considers the Question In “The Book of Longings,” Sue Monk Kidd imagines what it was like to be married to a man who could turn water into wine. By Elisabeth Egan New in Paperback: ‘The Old Drift’ and ‘Cake’ Six new paperbacks to check out this week. By Jennifer Krauss ‘Books Have Literally Saved My Sanity’: Readers Respond to Our Letter to the Literary Community Authors, publishing professionals and lifelong book-lovers across the world share their own experiences of reading during the pandemic.

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New International Books

Illustration by Thoka Maer

Your sneak preview of books coming out in 2019 from around the world. Get globetrotting.

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