Books Update: What Remains

Dalia Sofer's new novel, “Man of My Time,” and more

View in browser|nytimes.com Continue reading the main story May 1, 2020

Karolis Strautniekas

Dear Reader,

Even as a pandemic ravages the planet, other serious issues continue unabated, sometimes exacerbated by the fact that eyes are turned elsewhere. Trouble spots around the world continue to be troubled, whether we’re watching or not.

In “Man of My Time,” the novelist Dalia Sofer draws our attention, through the lens of fiction, to the turbulence of Iran in a story that spans three decades, set mostly in the past. But the legacy of revolution, oppression and torture continues to reverberate for the Iranian people, both in Iran proper and in countries like the United States to which they fled after the shah’s overthrow. Our reviewer, Rebecca Makkai (“The Great Believers”), writes, of Sofer’s protagonist: “The arc of Hamid’s life is finely wrought, a master class in the layering of time and contradiction that gives us a deeply imagined, and deeply human, soul.”

Turning again to history and another man of our time, “The Inevitability of Tragedy: Henry Kissinger and His World” looks at the intellectual origins of Kissinger’s realpolitik. We at the Book Review can’t pretend to be objective about the author of this book, Barry Gewen, a 30-year veteran at the Book Review. This is Barry’s first book, one he worked on for years while editing here full time. But we don’t put our thumb on the scales: His book got the same evenhanded treatment we expect from any of our reviewers — in this case from John Farrell, who is well acquainted with Gewen’s topic, having written about Kissinger from another angle in his biography “Richard Nixon: The Life.”

Elsewhere in this issue, a talented new voice emerges in a debut collection of stories, “How to Pronounce Knife,” by the Laotian author Souvankham Thammavongsa.

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 Lawrence Wright on Researching a (Fictional) Pandemic Wright talks about “The End of October,” and Dalia Sofer discusses “Man of My Time.”

FICTION fiction He Tried to Change the System, Then Became It Dalia Sofer’s novel “Man of My Time” traces a man’s path from “baffled revolutionary to aging captive of a life gone wrong.” By Rebecca Makkai fiction You’re Descended From Royalty. Here Are the Keys to Your Castle. In Danielle Trussoni’s new novel, “The Ancestor,” happily ever after gets very complicated. By Carol Goodman fiction A Town Is Besieged by Children, Foreign and Violent In Andrés Barba’s novel “A Luminous Republic,” a community is threatened by a pack of outsiders. By Alejandro Chacoff fiction When the Town’s Future Is an Obsolete Factory Robert Perisic’s novel “No-Signal Area” is set in an unnamed Balkan country struggling to recover after war. By Ken Kalfus fiction Where Lonely Refugees Learn English From Daytime Soaps “How to Pronounce Knife,” a debut story collection by Souvankham Thammavongsa, features dislocated characters forced to reinvent their lives in unnamed North American cities. By Sarah Resnick

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NONFICTION nonfiction How Rebecca Solnit Found Her Voice In her new memoir, “Recollections of My Nonexistence,” the admired author and activist recalls coming of age and acquiring confidence as a woman and a writer. By Jenny Odell nonfiction Should More Defendants Be Claiming Insanity? Susan Nordin Vinocour’s “Nobody’s Child” uses one case as a prism for examining the history and future of the insanity defense in American courtrooms. By Rachel Louise Snyder nonfiction How Do You Explain Henry Kissinger? In “The Inevitability of Tragedy,” Barry Gewen traces the roots of political realism to the generation of Jewish intellectuals who fled Nazi Germany. By John A. Farrell nonfiction Who Is Really Running the Government? With his new book, “In Deep,” David Rohde argues that there is no “deep state,” but that Donald Trump may be creating one of his own. By Fred Kaplan nonfiction The Struggle of Weight Loss Is Real. Companionship Helps. In “This Is Big,” Marisa Meltzer writes about the bond she formed with Jean Nidetch, the long-ago founder of Weight Watchers. By Lily Burana nonfiction Reconsidering Doris Duke, the Debutante Who Broke All the Rules Sallie Bingham’s new biography, “The Silver Swan,” adds a wealth of new material to our understanding of the heiress and philanthropist. By Meryl Gordon nonfiction What Were the Origins of the Holocaust? In “Europe Against the Jews: 1880-1945,” Gotz Aly finds the key to the 20th century’s disasters in the rise of nationalism in the 19th century. By Steven J. Zipperstein Kitchen Confidential: Three Culinary Memoirs The passions of these professional foodies — chefs, bloggers, journalists — shine in these new books. By Lisa Abend

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CHILDREN’S BOOKS children’s books Amid Family Upheaval, a Heroine Finds Comfort in the Concrete The protagonist of Rebecca Stead’s “The List of Things That Will Not Change” ends in a different place than she began, but her essential self remains. By Laurel Snyder children’s books A Deaf Girl Finds Her Voice on Martha’s Vineyard in the 19th Century “Papa was right,” Mary Lambert tells herself and the world in Ann Clare LeZotte’s “Show Me a Sign.” “We are fine as we were made.” By Meg Medina

FEATURES by the book Michael Cunningham Thinks Most People Misunderstand ‘Lolita’ Granted, it’s “about a sociopathic predatory pedophilic rapist.” But it’s also “a messed-up love story right out of ‘Beauty and the Beast.’” graphic review Locked Inside, We’re Like Whitman, Finding Joy in Smallness Interpreting lines from “Leaves of Grass” about the beauty and wonder to be discovered in the minuscule and routine. By Sergio Garcia Sanchez

New & Noteworthy, From Galileo to ‘Dunces’ A selection of recent books of interest; plus, a peek at what our colleagues around the newsroom are reading. Is Physics on the Wrong Track? And Other Letters to the Editor Readers respond to recent issues of the Sunday Book Review. editors’ choice 12 New Books We Recommend This Week Suggested reading from critics and editors at The New York Times. inside the list In the Kitchen and on the Best-Seller List, Young Cooks Take the Lead Who cares if there’s tomato sauce on the ceiling? Middle schoolers are making dinner. By Elisabeth Egan New in Paperback: ‘Lanny’ and ‘The Unwinding of the Miracle’ Six new paperbacks to check out this week. By Jennifer Krauss

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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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