The Book Review: An artistic rebellion

Plus: The essential Ursula K. Le Guin and our audiobook of the week

View in browser|nytimes.com Continue reading the main story August 18, 2023 Robert Indiana in a film strip from Andy Warhol's "Eat," 1964, 16mm, black-and-white, silent, 39 minutes at 16 frames per second. Image from The Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh, Pa., a museum of Carnegie Institute. All rights reserved. Dear fellow readers, I love "never before told" narrative histories — this tale of the female botanists who surveyed the Grand Canyon in 1938, a recent biography of the 19th-century "abortionist of Fifth Avenue" and the book on this week's cover: Prudence Peiffer's "The Slip," which brings into focus a thriving artistic community that existed at the southernmost tip of Manhattan in the 1950s and '60s. There are two other such histories in this week's issue, "The Dress Diary" — an intimate record of woman's Victorian wardrobe — and "Girls and Their Monsters," the story of the Genain quadruplets, who all developed schizophrenia. I'm in the middle of "The Slip," and I'm forcing myself to slow down and savor it instead of tearing straight through. I'm sure many of you can relate! If you have time, tell us what you're reading. (We may publish your response, or feature it in an upcoming newsletter.) You can email me at books@nytimes.com. I read every letter sent. Tina Jordan Deputy Editor, The New York Times Book Review @TinaJordanNYT LOOKING FOR YOUR NEXT READ? EDITORS' CHOICE 9 New Books We Recommend This Week Suggested reading from critics and editors at The New York Times. What Book Should You Read Next? Finding a book you'll love can be daunting. Let us help. By The New York Times Books Staff PAPERBACK ROW 6 Paperbacks to Read This Week Including debut novels by Rasheed Newson and Andrea Abreu, Prince Shakur's award-winning memoir and more. By Shreya Chattopadhyay Continue reading the main story ADVERTISEMENT FOR AUDIOBOOK LOVERS AUDIOBOOKS Audiobook of the Week: 'The Ghost Club' Kate Winkler Dawson's audiobook original reveals the origins of a society of occult-obsessed supernaturalists that included Dickens, Doyle, Yeats and more. By Audrey Clare Farley AUDIOBOOKS From a Death Investigator to Elliot Page, Memoirists Reading Their Own Words Three recent audiobooks feature authors narrating their own personal stories, directly into your ear. By Sebastian Modak Like this email? Sign-up here or forward it to your friends. Have a suggestion or two on how we can improve it? Let us know at newsletters@nytimes.com. Need help? Review our newsletter help page or contact us for assistance. Enjoy all of The New York Times in one subscription — the original reporting and analysis, plus puzzles from Games, recipes from Cooking, product reviews from Wirecutter and sports journalism from The Athletic. Experience it all with a New York Times All Access subscription. THIS WEEK IN THE BOOK REVIEW Photo by Marian Wood Kolisch The Essential Ursula K. Le Guin Her powerful imagination turned hypothetical elsewheres into vivid worlds governed by forces of nature, technology, gender, race and class a far cry from our own. By Shreya Chattopadhyay Karlotta Freier FICTION A Rollicking Tragicomic Tale of Unending Family Drama In Paul Murray's new novel, "The Bee Sting," an Irish family faces economic ruin after the 2008 financial crash. And that's just the start of their troubles. By Jen Doll Everett Collection / Bridgeman Images CSU Archives/Everett Collection / Bridgeman Images NONFICTION George Eliot's Scandalous Answer to 'The Marriage Question' In a new book, Clare Carlisle considers the powerful partnership between the Victorian novelist and the de facto husband who tended her career. By Alexandra Jacobs Continue reading the main story ADVERTISEMENT THE BOOK REVIEW PODCAST Julien Posture Amor Towles Sees Dead People The novelist discusses his career and his recent essay about cadavers in crime fiction, and the actor Richard E. Grant talks about his memoir and his love of "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland." ETC. BY THE BOOK Patrick deWitt Would Like to Eat Sushi With Emily Dickinson "I think she'd find it fascinating," says the novelist, whose latest book is "The Librarianist." Finding Her Voice Was Just a Rowboat Journey Away Harakka Island, a creative community off the coast of Helsinki, Finland, helped the illustrator Marika Maijala come into her own as an artist. "I don't know where my art ends and my life begins. The border is fleeting." By Johanna Lemola and Saara Mansikkamaki What Alex Jones, Woody Allen and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Share Skyhorse Publishing has built a reputation for taking on authors that other houses avoid. And its founder has helped Kennedy mount a bid for president. By Elizabeth A. Harris RECOMMENDATIONS FROM OUR COLUMNISTS ROMANCE Romance Novels That Celebrate the Hard Work of Love In these books, love is a choice you make over and over, not just on one day in a white dress. By Olivia Waite THRILLERS A Slow-Fuse Tale of Obsession and Marital Claustrophobia In Maud Ventura's "My Husband," a Frenchwoman cannot stop surveilling her spouse: "I think of my husband all the time; I wish I could text him all day." By Sarah Lyall SCIENCE FICTION AND FANTASY Witches, Robots and Martial Artists, Ready for Battle New books by Juno Dawson, Emma Mieko Candon and Alexander Darwin. By Amal El-Mohtar Continue reading the main story ADVERTISEMENT Best Sellers Read all of our lists Inside the best-seller list Here's a bit of writing advice you don't hear very often: Get a cat. CHILDREN'S BOOKS CHILDREN'S BOOKS Nick Hornby Reviews a Short History of the Beatles Before the Band Ilene Cooper's "This Boy" shows how the grayness of John's and Paul's childhoods fed into the explosion that was just around the corner. By Nick Hornby PICTURE BOOKS Mirror Images: 4 Picture Books About Seeing Our Reflections Sometimes our reflections have nothing to do with us; sometimes they're "the hide to our seek." By Sabrina Orah Mark Continue reading the main story Need help? Review our newsletter help page or contact us for assistance. You received this email because you signed up for Books from The New York Times. To stop receiving Books, unsubscribe. To opt out of other promotional emails from The Times, including those regarding The Athletic, manage your email settings. To opt out of updates and offers sent from The Athletic, submit a request. 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