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viernes, 20 de abril de 2012

April 20, 2012

Books Update

On the Cover of Sunday's Book Review

'The Complete Poems'

By PHILIP LARKIN. Edited by ARCHIE BURNETT.
Reviewed by PAUL MULDOON

This sprawling collection of Philip Larkin's work is accompanied by extensive commentary.

Also in the Book Review

Frank Langella in a scene from the 1971 film

'Dropped Names: Famous Men and Women as I Knew Them'

By FRANK LANGELLA
Reviewed by ADA CALHOUN

The actor Frank Langella went everywhere, met everyone and fell into bed with almost everybody.

'Red Brick, Black Mountain, White Clay'

By CHRISTOPHER BENFEY
Reviewed by ADAM GOODHEART

Christopher Benfey looks for patterns in the wanderings of his far-flung family.

'Wish You Were Here'

By GRAHAM SWIFT
Reviewed by STACEY D'ERASMO

A British soldier's death in Iraq spurs his stolid brother on a journey of discovery in this novel.

'When I Was a Child I Read Books'

By MARILYNNE ROBINSON
Reviewed by ANDREW DELBANCO

Marilynne Robinson's personal and critical essays shed light on her novels.

President Eisenhower waves to crowds after his inauguration, 1953.

'Eisenhower in War and Peace'

By JEAN EDWARD SMITH
Reviewed by JOHN LEWIS GADDIS

Eisenhower knew how to lead without appearing to.

'The Grey Album: On the Blackness of Blackness'

By KEVIN YOUNG
Reviewed by DAVID SHIELDS

The trickster, Kevin Young says, is central to black culture.

'Amsterdam Stories'

By NESCIO. Translated by DAMION SEARLS.
Reviewed by RICHARD MASON

A collection of stories that aim to capture ecstatic adolescence.

'Almost Never'

By DANIEL SADA. Translated by KATHERINE SILVER.
Reviewed by RACHEL NOLAN

This novel of lust and longing depicts a postwar Mexico in flux.

'What to Look For in Winter'

By CANDIA MCWILLIAM
Reviewed by MEGAN MARSHALL

Candia McWilliam describes how a rare disorder led her to "functional blindness."

DAVID SHRIGLEY: BRAIN ACTIVITY180 pp. Hayward Publishing. $40.Best known for his wry cartoons, Shrigley has made photographs, sculptures and animated films over two decades. This volume, published to coincide with a survey show in London, includes essays as well as an interview by Dave Eggers. Above,

Fiction Chronicle

By JAN STUART

New books by Jon McGregor, Catherine Chung, Joseph M. Schuster, Riikka Pulkkinen and Caroline Brothers.

CRIME

Twisted Business

By MARILYN STASIO

In Mark Allen Smith's novel "The Inquisitor," a practitioner of psychological torture tries to protect a defenseless boy against some extremely nasty foe

BEST SELLERS

Combined Print & E-Book Fiction

Combined Print & E-Book Nonfiction

By the Book

Lena Dunham

The writer, director and star of the HBO series "Girls" likes to read spiritually leaning self-help, and confessional books by women.

Back Page

Some Book

By MICHAEL SIMS

Celebrating 60 Years of "Charlotte's Web."

Inside the List

By GREGORY COWLES

Anne Tyler, whose new novel is on the list at No. 11, was the counterintuitive choice to review Don DeLillo's "Libra" in the Book Review in 1988.

Editors' Choice

Recently reviewed books of particular interest.

This week, Frank Langella discusses his new memoir; Julie Bosman has notes from the field; Kevin Young talks about his book "The Grey Album"; Andrew Delbanco on the essays of Marilynne Robinson; and Gregory Cowles has best-seller news. Sam Tanenhaus is the host.