Remembering the Firebrand Irish Novelist Edna O’Brien
Her fiction delivered searing, candid portraits of Irish society through the prism of female friendship.
By
![](https://cdn.statically.io/img/static01.nyt.com/images/2024/05/22/arts/00EdnaObrien-Appraisal/00EdnaObrien-Appraisal-thumbLarge.jpg?auto=webp)
![](https://cdn.statically.io/img/static01.nyt.com/images/2024/05/22/arts/00EdnaObrien-Appraisal/00EdnaObrien-Appraisal-threeByTwoMediumAt2X.jpg?auto=webp)
Her fiction delivered searing, candid portraits of Irish society through the prism of female friendship.
By
A screenwriter’s daughter, she grew up in the glittering world of privilege and its contradictions, which became rich material for her memoirs and novels.
By
Suggested reading from critics and editors at The New York Times.
New novels by Elif Shafak and Casey McQuiston, a biography of a gay cultural icon, a dystopian tale of A.I. gone awry — and more.
James C. Scott, Iconoclastic Social Scientist, Dies at 87
In influential books, he questioned top-down government programs and extolled the power of the powerless, embracing a form of anarchism.
By
A Memoir That Delivers on Its Promise of ‘Sex, Drugs, and Opera’
In “Seeing Through,” the prolific composer Ricky Ian Gordon shares the heroes, monsters, obsessions and fetishes that drive his art and fuel a dizzying life.
By
Gail Lumet Buckley, Chronicler of Black Family History, Dies at 86
She wrote two books about multiple generations of her forebears, including her mother, Lena Horne.
By
The Woman Who Beat the Boys of the French New Wave to the Punch
A new biography surveys the prolific and pioneering career of the filmmaker Agnès Varda.
By
More States Are Passing Book Banning Rules. Here’s What They Say.
Discussion about what books children should access has diminished on the national stage. But most rules pertaining to schools and libraries are made at the state and local level.
By
Advertisement
A Memoir That Delivers on Its Promise of ‘Sex, Drugs, and Opera’
In “Seeing Through,” the prolific composer Ricky Ian Gordon shares the heroes, monsters, obsessions and fetishes that drive his art and fuel a dizzying life.
By
She Found Bounties in Small Towns, Local Talk and Everyday Life
The simple pleasures keep coming in this keenly observed collection by the Argentinian writer Hebe Uhart.
By
The Misfit Wisdom of Harry, Barry and Larry
Harry Crews, Barry Hannah and Larry Brown were part of a Southern writers’ movement that centered dissidents and outsiders. They’re still worth reading.
By
The Art Critic Who Changed Many Tastes, Including His Own
Peter Schjeldahl’s final book collects the essays and reviews he wrote in the years after a cancer diagnosis.
By
On the Lam in the Wild West, With Bounty Hunters Trailing
Kevin Barry’s new novel follows a fugitive couple from Butte, Mont., in the late 19th century.
By
The protagonist of Madison Newbound’s debut novel, “Misrecognition,” returns to her hometown after a breakup with her power-imbalanced polycule.
By Justin Taylor
The second in a series of conversations with authors appearing on our “Best Books of the 21st Century” list.
Try this short quiz about the vibrant cultural movement that came together a century ago — and continues to be influential.
By J. D. Biersdorfer
On the centennial of James Baldwin’s birth, a look at this revolutionary work that was a playwriting milestone for him.
By Anna Venarchik
Discussion about what books children should access has diminished on the national stage. But most rules pertaining to schools and libraries are made at the state and local level.
By Elizabeth A. Harris
In influential books, he questioned top-down government programs and extolled the power of the powerless, embracing a form of anarchism.
By Trip Gabriel
A screenwriter’s daughter, she grew up in the glittering world of privilege and its contradictions, which became rich material for her memoirs and novels.
By Penelope Green
Her novels and short stories often explored the lives of willful women who loved men who were crass, unfaithful or already married.
By Anthony DePalma
An infamous 1993 siege provides the backdrop for Bret Anthony Johnston’s novel about star-crossed lovers.
By John Wray
A late-life fantasia; a surviving twin’s breakthrough.
In Soma Mei Sheng Frazier’s debut novel, “Off the Books,” a Chinese American college student chauffeurs a handsome and suspicious client from California to New York.
By Tammy Tarng
Our columnist on vacation-ready reads.
By Olivia Waite
She wrote two books about multiple generations of her forebears, including her mother, Lena Horne.
By Richard Sandomir
Patricia Highsmith’s classic thriller mixes glamour, betrayal, self-invention and murder. What’s not to love?
Advertisement
Loren Long has illustrated books by Barack Obama, Madonna and Amanda Gorman. His No. 1 best seller, “The Yellow Bus,” took him in a different direction — one that required time, patience and toothpicks.
By Elisabeth Egan
Recommended reading from the Book Review, including titles by Safiya Sinclair, Michael Cunningham, Tasha Sylva and more.
By Shreya Chattopadhyay
“Tree. Table. Book” and “Not Nothing” feature young people whose friendships with the very old unlock fading memories.
By Jennifer Howard
Our columnist reviews July’s horror releases.
By Gabino Iglesias
Suggested reading from critics and editors at The New York Times.
Born into a patrician family, he used Harper’s and later his own Lapham’s Quarterly to denounce what he saw as the hypocrisies and injustices of a spoiled United States.
By Robert D. McFadden
She was, she said, unable to cook a basic meal into her mid-20s. But she went on to a successful career as a restaurateur and an authority on Asian cuisine.
By Alex Williams
The author of humorous short stories finds emotional connections in tales that engage with tech. But he’s more interested in the ties between humans.
By Jason Zinoman
“The Secret Lives of Numbers,” by Kate Kitagawa and Timothy Revell, highlights overlooked contributions to the field by ancient thinkers, non-Westerners and women.
By Alec Wilkinson
The group worked for decades to build the profile of the genre and its writers. Now romance fiction is booming — but the R.W.A. has filed for bankruptcy. What happened?
By Robert Ito
Advertisement
Colorful primers, inspirational biographies and books by former champions will get kids excited for the Paris Games — and teach valuable lessons along the way.
By Jennifer Harlan
In “A Hunger to Kill,” the former homicide detective Kim Mager recalls a career-defining investigation.
By Joe Pompeo
He brought to his writing a sharp sense of humor, honed in stand-up comedy clubs, and never pulled punches even though he was an unabashed Democrat.
By Sam Roberts
Camila Sosa Villada, an Argentine transgender author, first inhabited a female voice in stories she wrote as a child. Now her novels are translated in more than 20 languages and being adapted for the screen.
By Natalie Alcoba
Bibliophiles and film fans leafed through hundreds of books that once belonged to the eminent editor Robert Gottlieb.
By Alex Vadukul
A true-crime case that could only happen in Florida is at the heart of Mikita Brottman’s “Guilty Creatures.”
By Kelly McMasters
In the memoir “Desperately Seeking Something,” Susan Seidelman’s life is as full of twists, charm and happy endings as one of her iconic movies.
By W. M. Akers
The aggrieved wife who narrates Sarah Manguso’s novel “Liars” may or may not be a reliable source about her monster of a husband.
By Brian Dillon
In “The Quiet Damage,” Jesselyn Cook traces the effects of the conspiracy theory on the spouses, children and siblings of believers.
By Roxanna Asgarian
This bustling borough of New York City has been the setting for many novels — including the books in this short quiz.
By J. D. Biersdorfer
Advertisement
A new book by Susannah Gibson spotlights the 18th-century Bluestockings, who aspired to have their writings and ideas accorded the same respect as men’s.
By Francesca Wade
As a comic book series to honor the Turtles’ 40th anniversary debuts, here’s a look back at their milestones.
By George Gene Gustines
Our crime columnist on four new novels.
By Sarah Weinman
Elizabeth Stromme’s noir about a writer for hire; Karen Tei Yamashita’s magic realist dystopia.
A partial lexicon of modern Republicanism.
By A.O. Scott
In “Autocracy, Inc.,” the Pulitzer Prize-winning historian takes account of the financial institutions and trade deals that have helped spread tyranny across the world.
By Sam Adler-Bell
Clare Pollard’s novel “The Modern Fairies” reanimates 25 classic tales through a contemporary lens.
By S. Kirk Walsh
Immerse yourself in tales of Machiavellian statecraft, Depression-era scandal and emotional turmoil on an R.A.F. air base.
By Alida Becker
The novelist discusses his latest book, “The Bright Sword,” in which Arthur has died but Excalibur lives on with a band of misfit knights.
This week's selection includes titles by Jess Row, Dasha Kiper, Rachel Louise Martin and more.
By Shreya Chattopadhyay
Advertisement
In a new memoir, the marine biologist Jasmin Graham reflects on her passion for studying sharks and the barriers she refused to let stop her.
By Katrina Miller
Bruce Handy, Lisk Feng and Cat Min present shadows for what they are: the non-nefarious interplay of light and dark.
By Leigh Ann Henion
Three new books document obstacles to gender equality that, in the era that brought us #MeToo, Taylor Swift and the ‘girlboss,’ we thought we’d left behind.
By Emma Goldberg
Even before the Republican vice-presidential nominee aligned himself with Donald Trump, contradiction was central to his rags-to-riches biography.
By Mike McIntire
Suggested reading from critics and editors at The New York Times.
The people have spoken. Here are the books they voted for.
By The New York Times Books Staff
What if the star of “The Matrix” worked with a sci-fi novelist to tell the story of an 80,000-year-old warrior who can rip people’s arms off but struggles with loneliness?
By Alexandra Alter
Alexander Lefebvre’s new book is a ‘call to action about what we are trying to defend, and why,’ says the head of PEN America, which has been pummeled with disputes about speech, activism and Israel.
In “Women in the Valley of the Kings,” Kathleen Sheppard introduces us to a group of 19th-century archaeologists who changed the field forever.
By W. M. Akers
These stories of relationship dramas and evolving partnerships will fill the “Couples Therapy”-sized hole in your life with wisdom, schadenfreude and humor — and sometimes all of the above.
By Sadie Stein
Advertisement
They wanted to know where the poetry and the genre fiction were — and they also wanted to let us know which books were missing.
An unlovable heroine, a cyborg in search of missing parts, the restoration of a classic work and a series that is always worth the wait highlight four new volumes.
By Sam Thielman
“Revolution is the job of poets and artists,” says Ko Maung Saungkha, leader of a rebel militia fighting the Myanmar dictatorship. He is not the only poet commander in a country with a strong tradition of political verse.
By Hannah Beech and Daniel Berehulak
In Lev Grossman’s new book, “The Bright Sword,” an eager adventurer stumbles into a Camelot that has fallen into hopelessness and disarray after the death of the king.
By Kiersten White
Our critic talks to Edward P. Jones about how he imagined “The Known World,” recently voted the best work of fiction by an American writer in the 21st century.
By A.O. Scott
Jesse Katz’s true-crime narrative, “The Rent Collectors,” delivers a nuanced portrait of a community racked by poverty and violence and deprived of opportunities to get ahead.
By Ben Ehrenreich
Two exuberant new books chronicle the heyday of New York City’s criminal underworld on the Lower East Side.
By Debby Applegate
In Halle Butler’s new book, “Banal Nightmare,” a 30-something woman returns to her hometown to get out of a rut and reassess her life after a bad breakup.
By Amil Niazi
Set among the fevered residents of a remote Australian town, Ruby Todd’s debut novel considers how grief can draw people to extreme beliefs.
By Ivy Pochoda
Our columnist on three riveting new reads.
By Sarah Lyall
Advertisement
Our critic traces J.D. Vance’s shift from bootstrap memoirist to vice-presidential candidate.
By A.O. Scott
Try this short quiz on modern films that drew their inspiration from classic works written for the stage hundreds of years ago.
By J. D. Biersdorfer
The good news: Our “Best Books of the 21st Century” list showed surprising affection for works in translation. But where are Sally Rooney, Ayad Akhtar and others “explaining how we live now”?
In “Rat City,” Jon Adams and Edmund Ramsden explore the life, times and influence of the scientific Pied Piper, John Bumpass Calhoun.
By Ian Volner
On a family tour of Greece, the writer followed the small footsteps of some of ancient mythology’s biggest fans.
By Reif Larsen
In a new telling of the Macedonian leader’s final years, Rachel Kousser shows what happened when dreams of conquest met reality.
By Justin Marozzi
Try this wide-ranging quiz on the best books and the big events from recent years.
Written by THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOKS STAFF
Alisa Alering’s debut novel, “Smothermoss,” is an Appalachian mystery tangled with wild magic, queer coming-of-age and sisterly bonds.
By Lauren Beukes
A contempt for compromise. An expansive vision of executive power. Both owe much to Carl Schmitt.
By Jennifer Szalai
The Ethiopian American novelist also talks aesthetics and the inspiration behind his most recent novel, “Someone Like Us.”
By Anderson Tepper
Advertisement
In Stephen Graham Jones’s new novel, a young outcast is forced to become a murderer fated to enact gory revenge.
By Christopher Bollen
A roundtable of Book Review editors discuss what surprised them, what delighted them, what will send them back to their own shelves.
She was married to John Belushi until his fatal drug overdose in 1982. She went on to celebrate his comic talent in books and a documentary.
By Clay Risen
The novel became the beach read of the summer, with the shark at its center embodying the unease of an era of political and social upheaval.
By Brian Raftery
To mark the first 25 years of the century, The New York Times Book Review sent a survey to hundreds of literary luminaries, asking them to name the 10 best books published since Jan. 1, 2000. Gilbert Cruz, editor of the Book Review, gives some highlights from the list.
By Gilbert Cruz, Karen Hanley and Claire Hogan
Including titles by Rachel Louise Snyder, Ayesha Manazir Siddiqi, Michael McGarrity and more.
By Shreya Chattopadhyay
Sometimes we forget that moving is not just about goodbyes. It’s also about hellos.
By Jennifer Hubert Swan
There’s no getting around the fact that the list of the 100 Best Books of the 21st Century is… daunting. Want to start reading a new book right away? We can help.
By The New York Times Books Staff
In his picaresque memoir, “My Glorious Defeats,” the Anonymous-movement activist Barrett Brown takes us on a journey of pure, joyous solipsism.
By Kerry Howley
The pseudonymous Italian author has become a worldwide phenomenon. But speculation about who she really is has followed her for years.
By Joumana Khatib
Advertisement
Dwight Garner writes that voters, who “seemed to want a break from contemporary social reportage,” looked for immersive reads.
By Dwight Garner
Suggested reading from critics and editors at The New York Times.
A muckraking journalist, he helped write a revisionist account of Rudolph Giuliani’s role as mayor before and after the terrorist attacks.
By Sam Roberts
Arthur, the former publisher of Knopf, is joining Hachette Book Group to start and run a new imprint.
By Alexandra Alter
In Yasmin Zaher’s “The Coin,” a rich, chic Palestinian schoolteacher in New York City grapples with displacement and American consumerism.
By Lauren Christensen
Even after doing research in Montana, a draft of the book that became “The Heart in Winter” was “dead on the page,” he says. Back in Ireland, the runaway lovers now at its center “suddenly appeared to me.”
Advertisement
Advertisement