Books Update: The Americans: Wallace Stegner

A.O. Scott writes the first in a series of essays about American literature

View in browser|nytimes.com Continue reading the main story June 5, 2020 “The dean of Western writers” is the epithet most often attached to Wallace Stegner’s name, but it’s a description that obscures as much as it reveals.Baron Wolman/Getty Images Dear Reader, It’s been a tough week for many people. We here at the Book Review can’t pretend to have answers to all that ails us, but we do hope that the books our contributors and critics write about might offer you some brief respite from the news. Many readers of The Times know A.O. Scott primarily as a film critic, but we here at the Book Review like to think of him as one of our best literary critics as well. Scott has reviewed fiction by Richard Ford, Michael Chabon, Nell Freudenberger, Junot Díaz and Alice Munro, among many others. This year, Scott has embarked on an ambitious project for the Book Review, looking at writers who reflect the complexities of American character. He begins this series of essays with Wallace Stegner, author of such novels as “Crossing to Safety,” “Angle of Repose” and “The Big Rock Candy Mountain.” Stegner’s novels gave us new insight into the West, and he also wrote in complex and sensitive ways about the nature of marriage and friendship. Next up, Scott will look at Edward P. Jones. I also talk with Scott about Stegner (again!) on this week’s podcast. Elsewhere this week, we review André Leon Talley’s new memoir, “The Chiffon Trenches.” The Shortlist looks at rural memoirs, a genre I find exceptionally enjoyable and rewarding, despite having a black thumb and an abiding fear of insects. (Recent favorite: “Good Husbandry,” by Kristin Kimball, just out in paperback.) Tina Jordan, our deputy editor and reviewer of these books, has none of these hangups. 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 Continue reading the main story ADVERTISEMENT Like this email? Sign-up here or forward it to your friends. Have a suggestion or two on how we can improve it? Let us know at newsletters@nytimes.com. Need help? Review our newsletter help page or contact us for assistance. THE BOOK REVIEW PODCAST A.O. Scott on the Work of Wallace Stegner Scott discusses his first in a series of essays about American writers, and David Kamp talks about “Sunny Days: The Children’s Television Revolution That Changed America.” FICTION crime Beautiful Places to Die In these new crime novels, the settings — mountain hamlets, Antarctic ice fields, French sheep farms — may look bucolic. They are not. By Marilyn Stasio fiction In ‘Exciting Times,’ Echoes of Sally Rooney, but With a Queer Twist Naoise Dolan’s debut follows a young Irishwoman as she becomes involved in the lives of Hong Kong’s upper crust. By Xuan Juliana Wang fiction Hell House In Dennis Mahoney’s “Ghostlove,” a young man becomes involved with the dead woman haunting his brownstone. By Paul Tremblay Continue reading the main story ADVERTISEMENT NONFICTION nonfiction How ‘Sesame Street’ Changed Childhood Forever In “Sunny Days,” David Kamp traces a revolutionary decade in kids’ TV. By Melena Ryzik nonfiction David Frum Rethinks Conservatism In “Trumpocalypse,” a former prominent neoconservative reflects on what he got wrong, and where we should go from here. By Joe Klein nonfiction A French Expert Surveys the Entire Middle East Gilles Kepel’s “Away From Chaos” is a useful overview of the many changes that have roiled the Muslim world. By Michael J. 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By Tina Jordan Continue reading the main story ADVERTISEMENT CHILDREN’S BOOKS children’s books For Fans of Ivan, the Answer to ‘What About Bob?’ In Katherine Applegate’s “The One and Only Bob,” Ivan’s best buddy strikes out on his own. By Leonard S. Marcus children’s books A Tale of Twinned Cities In William Shivering’s “Thieves of Weirdwood,” a mirror city’s buildings and streets physically reflect the hopes and fears of a “normal,” grim, Dickensian city’s residents. By Bruce Handy FEATURES Wallace Stegner and the Conflicted Soul of the West In his first installment of a new series on overlooked or under-read American writers, A.O. Scott, a critic at large for The New York Times, considers Wallace Stegner, the Western novelist who captured, and criticized, his region’s individualistic spirit. By A.O. Scott by the book Why Michael Eric Dyson Would Demote ‘Heart of Darkness’ From the Canon “It’s done so much damage in fashioning savage notions of Africa.” applied reading With These Literary Puzzlers, the Game’s Afoot (and in Hand) Need something to occupy your mind and your time? Consider two book-themed diversions that grab your attention using post or pixel. By J. D. Biersdorfer sketchbook The Self-Help Life Cycle When we’re at home and searching to better ourselves, a certain genre of books beckons, again and again. By Kristen Radtke New & Noteworthy Visual Books, From Computers to Mushrooms A selection of books published this week; plus, a peek at what our colleagues around the newsroom are reading. Revisiting the Arab Spring, in Letters to the Editor Readers respond to recent issues of the Sunday Book Review. Considering Whether Writers Are Born or Made In this week’s issue, A.O. Scott writes about Wallace Stegner. In 1948, Stegner wrote for the Book Review about universities as a place for training writers. 11 New Books We Recommend This Week Suggested reading from critics and editors at The New York Times. inside the list Hilarie Burton Morgan Asked Fans to Shop Local. They Listened. Oblong Books is closed to the public, but star power helps keep the lights on in the Hudson Valley’s literary hub. By Elisabeth Egan New in Paperback: ‘Mistress of the Ritz’ and ‘No Visible Bruises’ Six new paperbacks to check out this week. By Jennifer Krauss Best Sellers Combined Print & E-Book Fiction Combined Print & E-Book Nonfiction Hardcover Fiction Hardcover Nonfiction Paperback Trade Fiction Paperback Nonfiction All Lists New International Books Illustration by Thoka Maer Your sneak preview of books coming out in 2019 from around the world. Get globetrotting. Continue reading the main story Need help? Review our newsletter help page or contact us for assistance. 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