It stars Isabelle Weidner, Danielle Allen, Amitav Ghosh and others
Isabelle Weidner’s As ifDanielle Allen’s radical dukeand Amitav Ghosh’s ghost eye All of these are among the best reviewed books of the week.
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1. As if by Isabelle Weidner
(FSG)
4 rave • 4 positive
“Grief is the engine of this surreal mischief… The novel’s alternating narrators keep things moving quickly, the limited perspective of one chapter providing the comical payoff of the next… Amidst the dizzying back-and-forth, Weidner hides a subtle exploration of midlife crisis.”
-Dustin Illingworth (New York Times Book Review)
2. ghost eye By Amitav Ghosh
(Farrar, Straus and Giroux)
1 rev • 4 positive • 2 mixed
“Deeply suspenseful…with an abundance of history and science, humor under pressure, mysterious forces and surprising revelations, Ghosh’s provocative story points us to the wonders of the planet and inspires us to resist the mad greed and malevolence fueling the climate crisis.”
-Donna Seaman (book list)
3. good company By Kate Christensen
(Harper)
2 rev • 1 positive • 1 mixed
“In examining the legacy of misogyny and uneasy intimacy between women, Christensen offers a strong focus on trust, aging, and the wreckage left by violent men in their wake.”
-Alicia Rogers (Library Journal)
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1. The Radical Duke: How One Aristocrat—And the American Revolution—Transformed Britain by Danielle Allen
(Liveright)
3 rave • 2 positive
“His subtle and stylish study has the potential to significantly rewrite the history of the intellectual origins of the American Revolution… The book’s specific claims may be debated, but few can dispute its broader achievement. It speaks to the central paradox of our national origins: a revolution that rejected allegiance to the British Constitution was nevertheless inspired by that same constitutional heritage.”
-Jeffrey Collins (wall street journal)
2. Garbage!: A Garbageman’s Story By Simon Pare-Poupart
(Melville House)
4 rave
“Despite its political thrust, the writing is full of literary oomph and good humor… I watched it on Zoom Trash! In a few hours. Pare-Poupart does that magical thing that great memoir writers always do: she offers you a keyhole through which you can see into an unfamiliar world. My only complaint? I wish he had written more.”
-Cessie Browning (many times)
3. Monster of a Land: On the Road in Search of Modern America By Lauren Huff
(Pantheon)
2 rave • 2 positive
“She writes beautifully about loss: friends, family, neighbors, mutual understanding and the loss of meaning in a world broken by endless consumption, digital dependency and greed. She writes about home and belonging, and her pieces on dogs are heartbreaking. Fans of her first book of essays will be thrilled as Hough has once again proven her unique ability to see the connections between disparate people and situations.”
-Lisa Giskes (Library Journal)
