Books briefing: Remembering John le Carré

December 15, 2020

John le Carré in 2008. The acclaimed spy novelist died at 89.David Azia for The New York Times

Hi readers,

Here’s your weekly catch-up on everything you need to know going on in the book world.

The news:

John le Carré, the British novelist whose Cold War thrillers elevated the genre to high art, died on Saturday at 89. He left behind a remarkable literary legacy: 25 novels written over nearly 60 years, featuring George Smiley, Alec Leamas and other enduring heroes of spy fiction.
In an appreciation of le Carré’s work, our critic Dwight Garner wrote, “His novels delivered tutorials in how to brood, in fiction, without toppling into pretension.”
And if you’ve never read any of le Carré’s novels, here’s where to start.
Anthony Veasna So, an author whose darkly comedic stories centered on the lives of Khmer-Americans, has died at age 28.
For 14 years, one publisher released Louise Glück’s poetry in Spanish. But a dispute has erupted over the translation rights now that she has won the Nobel Prize.
Finally, the celebrity bookshelf detective is back for one last time in 2020, peering at the shelves of Dr. Anthony Fauci, Rosie Perez, Julia Louis-Dreyfus and others.

Nonfiction out today: “Sylvia Pankhurst,” by Rachel Holmes

The critics:

Dwight Garner reviews a new poetry collection, “Together in a Sudden Strangeness,” edited by Alice Quinn, which gathers poems that react to life during the coronavirus crisis. As he writes: “The pandemic has taken a toll on everyone, writers included; malaise is widespread, omnidirectional, multilayered. But because one’s body is not as free as it was, does it follow that the mind should be so fettered as well?”

That’s all for now. Please stay in touch and let me 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 on the Books desk read all of it, and I’ll make every effort to write back. You can reach me at books@nytimes.com.

All my best,

Joumana Khatib

Books at The New York Times

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