Niall Williams's new novel set in rural 1950's Ireland inspires optimism with the generous spirit of character Christy McMahon. McMahon arrives to assist with the installation of electricity in the village of Faha and seek forgiveness for a past mistake. Read more about this enchanting Irish story.
Category: Notable Books
The books I’ll be reading next
A list of books coming in February and March that have me excited, including an essay collection, memoir, biography, fable, crime story and assorted novels.
Lessons for a book critic
Larry Heinemann won the 1987 National Book Award for fiction. It was a controversial upset. Here's why his story has stayed with me all these years.
My year of reading
Here at The Longest Chapter, instead of calling out best books of 2019, I've gathered a more personal list.
Books I’m recommending
I've captured here the novels I mentioned on NPR member station WOSU All Sides Weekend Books that aired November 8, 2019.
Classic horror with an evil twin
Thomas Tryon's "The Other" unnerved me the first time I read it when I was 16. It still creeps me out.
National Book Awards 2019 Finalists
Twenty-five nominees in five categories made it from the longlist to the shortlist of the National Book Awards. Here's a look at three of them, and also one that didn't make the cut but has an interesting scandal going on in Norway.
Waiting for Dilly Hearne
Two old Irish drug smugglers sit on a bench and chat in a derelict ferry terminal in Kevin Barry’s third novel, “Night Boat to Tangier.” It's a funny, dark, intoxicating story where the pages fly past under the quick-witted banter of Maurice and Charlie, who are looking for Maurice’s estranged daughter.
Which 2019 Man Booker finalist will win?
Will it be Margaret Atwood's sequel to “The Handmaid's Tale”? Or perhaps Lucy Ellman's one-sentence epic? This year's shortlist offers six novels that embrace the issues of our times. Here's the list and thoughts to go with it.
Two summer books not to be overlooked
So many summer books, so little time. You'll be sorry, though, if you missed these two.
A cow book by an Irish farmer’s son
Take time this summer to enjoy a moving memoir by John Connell, a story about returning home to the family farm in Ireland.
Summer prize-winning reads
This summer, fill the beach bag with 2019 award winners. From the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction to the recently awarded Women's Prize for Fiction, here are seven novels you'll be glad you read.
Ocean Vuong’s new novel
Award-winning poet and essayist Ocean Vuong has written an emotionally raw coming of age story with "On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous."
This reading life: finding a book you love
We should allow ourselves more often to wander through the library stacks. Here are two novels I hadn't planned on reading.
It’s fiction, but true.
Two absorbing novels about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and Syrian civil war illustrate how the region's politics and trauma affect the daily lives of citizens. One a story of friends, the other a story of family, these memorable novels make the news headlines human.
