Book Review: ‘Don’t Laugh at Other People’s Sex Lives’ and ‘Beautiful Distance,’ by Nao-Cola Yamazaki (opens on The New York Times)
Two slim novels by Nao-Cola Yamazaki show that romance can often be pretty unromantic.
Reviews from The New York Times
The headline, standfirst and reviewer from each outlet. Each links to the full review and to the book’s page here.
-
-
Book Review: ‘The Only Thing There Is to Want,’ by Sarah Hepola (opens on The New York Times)
Sarah Hepola’s new memoir picks up where “Blackout” left off: with the story of three passionate, doomed affairs in her 30s and 40s.
-
Book Review: ‘This Cursed Beautiful Land,’ by Evan Gershkovich (opens on The New York Times)
In “This Cursed Beautiful Land,” the journalist Evan Gershkovich explores what he learned while imprisoned in the country his parents fled.
-
Book Review: ‘How Bright the Path Grows,’ by Marcia Chatelain (opens on The New York Times)
The Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Marcia Chatelain revisits the 1963 March on Washington, placing overlooked Black women at the center of the story.
-
Book Review: ‘The Bed Trick,’ by Izabella Scott (opens on The New York Times)
“The Bed Trick” details an extraordinary sexual deception case involving a “bamboozling plot,” “two implausible stories” and a world where no one behaves reasonably.
-
Book Review: ‘Artificial Intimacy,’ by Sherry Turkle (opens on The New York Times)
In “Artificial Intimacy,” Sherry Turkle warns that we seek comfort from A.I. devices at the peril of our well-being and even our democracy.
-
Book Review: ‘Seasons of Fury,’ by Rozina Ali (opens on The New York Times)
A new book by Rozina Ali traces the rise of anti-Islamic sentiment in the wake of 9/11, showing how ordinary residents became targets of fear and suspicion.
-
Book Review: ‘Heavy Cream,’ by Sarah Blakley-Cartwright (opens on The New York Times)
In Sarah Blakley-Cartwright’s novel “Heavy Cream,” a teenager tries to fill the vacuum left behind by her unstable, unreachable mother.
-
Book Review: ‘American Hagwon,’ by Min Jin Lee (opens on The New York Times)
The beloved author’s follow-up to “Pachinko” features a cram school that dares to promote students’ well-being over academic striving.
-
Book Review: ‘The Vanishing Family,’ by Robert Kolker (opens on The New York Times)
In “The Vanishing Family,” Robert Kolker paints a portrait of nine siblings under threat from a vicious form of dementia.
-
Book Review: ‘The True Confessions of First Lady Freeman,’ by Deesha Philyaw (opens on The New York Times)
Deesha Philyaw’s debut novel is a rebellion disguised as a romp.
-
Book Review: ‘The Radiance,’ by Ayad Akhtar (opens on The New York Times)
“The Radiance,” by Ayad Akhtar, blends campus satire, autofiction and philosophical exploration into an explosive and timely brew.
-
Book Review: ‘May We Feed the King,’ by Rebecca Perry (opens on The New York Times)
In Rebecca Perry’s “May We Feed the King,” a curator falls down a rabbit hole imagining life in a palace court.
-
Book Review: ‘Ply,’ by Hernan Diaz (opens on The New York Times)
“Ply,” by Hernan Diaz, is set in a dystopian future where the state has been dismantled and one company controls the energy supply.
-
Book Review: ‘Holding Lightning’ by Emily Lordi (opens on The New York Times)
In “Holding Lightning,” the critic Emily Lordi takes on the complicated legacy and misunderstood artistry of the late singer.
-
Book Review: ‘Man in the Mirror,’ by Anand Giridharadas (opens on The New York Times)
“Man in the Mirror,” by Anand Giridharadas, is a searching investigation into the 2023 death of Jordan Neely and the trial of the man who held him in a chokehold.
-
Book Review: ‘Darkness Becomes Bright,’ by Emily Ogden (opens on The New York Times)
An engaging new book shows the master of American Gothic to be a deeply disturbed man who embraced the darkness most of us flee.
-
Book Review: ‘Mestra,’ by Madeline Miller (opens on The New York Times)
In “Mestra,” Madeline Miller follows the daughter of the king of Thessaly on her endless, self-destructive quest to satisfy her insatiable father.
-
Book Review: ‘Dodge City,’ by Patrick deWitt (opens on The New York Times)
“Dodge City,” by Patrick deWitt, follows a young man on a road trip to Canada to avoid conscription in Vietnam.
-
In ‘Fires in the Dark,’ Kay Redfield Jamison Turns to Healers (opens on The New York Times)
In “Fires in the Dark,” Jamison, known for her expertise on manic depression, delves into the quest to heal. Her new book, she says, is a “love song to psychotherapy.”
