Books Update: Charles Dickens’s World

On the 150th anniversary of Dickens’s death, Robert Gottlieb considers the author’s legacy.

View in browser|nytimes.com Continue reading the main story November 6, 2020 John & Charles Watkins/Hulton Archive, via Getty Images Dear Reader, It’s always a pleasure and an honor to have Robert Gottlieb write for us. And what better subject than Charles Dickens, using the occasion of A.N. Wilson’s recent biography, “The Mystery of Charles Dickens,” to range widely over Dickens’s life and work? Gottlieb is himself the author of a book about Dickens. His “Great Expectations” looks at Dickens as a father and at the lives of his 10 children. This week’s issue includes our annual children’s books spectacular. We have new books by Christian Robinson (who also illustrates the section’s glorious cover and is a guest on this week’s podcast), Tomi Ungerer, Sophie Blackall, Jerry Craft, James Patterson and Kwame Alexander, Philip Pullman, Veronica Chambers, Ludwig Bemelmans, Jerry Pinkney and more. We’ve also got a star lineup of reviewers including Dave Eggers, Renée Watson, Adam Gopnik, Rebecca Traister, Lev Grossman, Gene Luen Yang and Erin Entrada Kelly. Alas, this year we will sadly not have our Best Illustrated Awards. Due to the constraints of the pandemic, we were unable to safely host our judging process for this year’s many deserving books. In the absence of new winners, we invite you to please revisit our winners from 2019 and 2018 — and keep an eye out for the Best Illustrated Awards of 2021. 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 The Birth of the Animal Rights Movement Ernest Freeberg talks about “A Traitor to His Species,” and the illustrator Christian Robinson discusses his career in picture books. FICTION & POETRY crime What’s Scarier, an Abandoned Boardinghouse or a Creepy Porcelain Doll? Not much frightens Marilyn Stasio — except, as she admits in her new crime fiction column, eerie old dolls. By Marilyn Stasio fiction In Bryan Washington’s ‘Memorial,’ a Young Gay Couple Is Divided by Race, Class and Culture A Japanese-American man abandons his Black boyfriend with his visiting mother in Houston. Conflicts and unexpected kinships ensue. By Ryu Spaeth poetry In Jorie Graham’s Poetry, the End of Days and the Pleasures of the Flow “Runaway,” Graham’s 15th collection, considers the apocalypse, beautifully. By Jeff Gordinier fiction Pete Beatty’s ‘Cuyahoga’ Images an Ohio, and a Country, Divided In this debut novel set on the river that separates Cleveland from Ohio City, an orphan builds a mythology around his big brother. By Stephen Markley Continue reading the main story ADVERTISEMENT NONFICTION nonfiction Robert Gottlieb on Dickensworld — the Great Novelist’s Grand Universe On the 150th anniversary of Charles Dickens’s death, Robert Gottlieb considers a new book, “The Mystery of Charles Dickens,” by A.N. Wilson, and delivers his own assessment of the author’s legacy. By Robert Gottlieb nonfiction How a Million Refugees Became Postwar Pawns of the Allies David Nasaw’s “The Last Million” tells the painful story of displaced persons after World War II who had nowhere to go. By Adina Hoffman nonfiction The Cautionary Tale of Adam Neumann and WeWork In “Billion Dollar Loser,” Reeves Wiedeman places the once exalted Silicon Valley founder in the context of contemporary capitalism. By Walter Kirn nonfiction Mindy Kaling Doesn’t Want Your Pity In her new collection of personal essays, “Nothing Like I Imagined,” the actor and TV producer balances single parenthood with a singular career. By Lauren Christensen nonfiction The Bodega Boys Wrote a Book, You Know the Vibes Whether or not you’re from the Bronx, Desus & Mero have some “God-Level Knowledge Darts” to throw at you. By Lovia Gyarkye nonfiction The Man Who Made Us Feel for the Animals In “A Traitor to His Species,” Ernest Freeberg tells the story of Henry Bergh, the 19th-century eccentric who founded the A.S.P.C.A. By Victoria Johnson nonfiction ‘Tomboy’ Looks at Gender Roles, and Role-Playing, Through the Ages Lisa Selin Davis’s book asks what it means, really, to “act like a girl,” or not. By Lisa Damour nonfiction The Promise and the Reality of Gene Editing In “Editing Humanity,” Kevin Davies offers an account of Crispr at a moment when its leading American researcher has just won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry. By Carl Zimmer Continue reading the main story ADVERTISEMENT nonfiction Accused of Ruining Popcorn, Cass Sunstein Wants to Repent In “Too Much Information,” President Obama’s onetime regulatory chief takes another look at whether disclosing information — including calorie counts — is always a good thing. By Clay Shirky nonfiction Is Math Too Tidy to Be Useful? In “Counting,” Deborah Stone argues that we shouldn’t put too much stock in numbers as a way to understand our lives. By Eugenia Cheng nonfiction An Expedition Deep Into an Underworld of Online Hate In “Culture Warlords,” Talia Lavin immerses herself among white supremacists and neo-Nazis, then tells us what she found. By Carolyn Kellogg nonfiction Why Government Is Failing the People It Is Supposed to Serve “The Wake-Up Call,” by John Micklethwait and Adrian Wooldridge, criticizes the performance of Western governments and suggests ways to improve it. By Binyamin Appelbaum CHILDREN’S PICTURE BOOKS children’s books In Times of Crisis, Life-Affirming Picture Books These new works from Tomi Ungerer, Sophie Blackall and Christian Robinson are realistic and — without being soppy — filled with hope. By Dave Eggers children’s books Dreaming of the Future Four new picture books reassure and inspire children in times of tumult. By Elizabeth Spires children’s books 8 Picture Books About Books From a Kabul library bus to a Colombian garbage collector’s classics to the woman who brought Ferdinand the Bull to post-World War II Germany. By Jennifer Krauss children’s books A Forgotten 1950 Classic by Ludwig Bemelmans Brings New York to Life As his Madeline books did for Paris, “Sunshine” captures a city’s quintessence. By Adam Gopnik children’s books What if Every Time You Tried to Talk, the Words Got Stuck? In a new picture book, “I Talk Like a River,” the Canadian poet Jordan Scott recalls his childhood struggle with stuttering. By Craig Morgan Teicher children’s books Books for Budding Art Lovers New picture books explore the life of Keith Haring, the collection of the Centre Pompidou in Paris, the work of the Zhou brothers and much more. By Frank Viva children’s books Slumber Parties: New Picture Books for Bedtime Beautifully illustrated, and often as much incantation as story, these books are guaranteed to lull even the most wide-awake toddler. By Bruce Handy MIDDLE GRADE AND Y.A. children’s books Kids’ Graphic Novels That Turn the Superhero Genre on Its Head Bright, bold and utterly unconventional, both “Mister Invincible” and “Primer” flout all the “rules.” By Gene Luen Yang children’s books A Biting Send-Up of Race Relations — and a Tender, Funny Middle Grade Novel “Class Act,” the sequel to Jerry Craft’s Newbery Medal-winning “New Kid,” follows the experiences of a young Black boy at Riverdale Academy Day School. By Dave Kim children’s books ‘Everyone Needs a Buddy’ In Varian Johnson and Shannon Wright’s graphic novel “Twins,” sisters navigate a sometimes cruel and changing world. By Renée Watson children’s books Watery Fairy Tales Trung Le Nguyen’s “The Magic Fish” and Jerry Pinkney’s “The Little Mermaid” recast the classics. By Jen Wang children’s books Two Middle Grade Novels Put Endangered Wildlife Front and Center Rosanne Parry’s “A Whale of the Wild” and Philippe Cousteau and Austin Aslan’s “The Endangereds” dive deep into the relationship between humans and nature. By Lenora Todaro children’s books Updating the ‘You Go Girl’ Book Collection New children’s books published to mark the 19th Amendment’s 100th anniversary provide a wider lens than Alice Paul and dig deeper than “Girls Rule!” By Rebecca Traister children’s books Fantastic, Flavor-Filled Food Novels for Kids Four new books feature Taiwanese, Pakistani, Indian and Chinese families — and the tempting cuisines they cook. By Catherine Hong children’s books ‘Square Dancing Belongs Somewhere Far Away … Like the 1800s’ In “Lupe Wong Won’t Dance,” a seventh-grade girl who dreams of becoming a major-league pitcher is horrified by a new unit in gym class: square dancing. By Erin Entrada Kelly children’s books Float Like a Butterfly, Sting Like a Bee: A Book for Young Readers Brings a Black Hero to Life “Becoming Muhammad Ali,” by James Patterson and Kwame Alexander, is a poetic retelling of the legendary boxer’s youth. By Tochi Onyebuchi children’s books Philip Pullman’s New ‘Dark Materials’ Book Brims With Familiar Delights “Serpentine” — which features, once again, the unquenchably curious Lyra — juxtaposes light and dark, innocence and experience. By Lev Grossman FEATURES by the book 4 Books Fareed Zakaria Recommends for Today’s Political Moment Alexis de Tocqueville’s “Democracy in America” is on the list: “Still the best book ever written about this country.” essay Dwight Garner Shares From His Stash of Other Writers’ Words In an excerpt from his new book, “Garner’s Quotations: A Modern Miscellany,” the Times critic explains why he’s hoarded favorite lines for nearly 40 years and why he’s sharing some with readers now. By Dwight Garner Your Favorite Children’s Book Characters as Fashion Icons Madeline is wearing Chanel, Mary Poppins is in Burberry. By Steven Guarnaccia ETC. New & Noteworthy, From the Harlem Renaissance to a History of Magic A selection of recent titles of interest; plus, a peek at what our colleagues around the newsroom are reading. Literature as ‘Sweet and Useful’ and Other Letters to the Editor Readers respond to recent issues of the Sunday Book Review. Revisiting Katherine Paterson on Happy Endings in Children’s Books In 1988, Katherine Paterson wrote in the Book Review that children need not only the happily-ever-after of fairy tales, but also “proper endings” in which “hope is a yearning, rooted in reality.” 9 New Books We Recommend This Week Suggested reading from critics and editors at The New York Times. inside the list Timing, Patience and Wisdom Are the Secrets to Robin Wall Kimmerer’s Success “Braiding Sweetgrass” took seven years to land on the best-seller list. Reader enthusiasm carried it down the homestretch. By Elisabeth Egan New in Paperback: ‘Interior Chinatown’ and ‘The Water Dancer’ 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 2020 from around the world. Get globetrotting. Continue reading the main story Need help? Review our newsletter help page or contact us for assistance. You received this email because you signed up for Books from The New York Times. To stop receiving these emails, unsubscribe or manage your email preferences. Subscribe to The TimesGet The New York Times app Connect with us on: Change Your EmailPrivacy PolicyContact UsCalifornia Notices The New York Times Company. 620 Eighth Avenue New York, NY 10018