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Brave women fighting Nazis in ‘The Light of Days’

The Polish Jewish heroines chronicled by Judy Batalion threw off gender norms and ghetto constraints to resist Nazism, and sometimes survived to tell their stories.

For Ruth Ware, it was the year reading ‘got squeezed into odd corners’

The best-selling mystery writer mixes a mindfulness retreat at a Swiss chalet, an avalanche, and murder in her most recent novel, “One By One.” Ware, who has been dubbed the Agatha Christie of our time, has written six books, starting with “In a Dark, Dark Wood.” She lives in Sussex with her family.

This thing called life in Elizabeth McCracken’s ‘The Souvenir Museum’

Whether they take place in Ireland, Texas, Illinois, Amsterdam, or Scotland, the marvelous stories in McCracken’s impressive third story collection evoke moving depictions of marriage and parenthood, and love, betrayal, and loneliness.

Making sense of the past in ‘Antiquities’

“Antiquities” adds a new note to the Ozick scale. To be sure, there are recognizable elements. The short novel, set in 1949, takes place “in the familiar greenery of Westchester County,” where Ozick resides. As in previous novels, Judaism plays a crucial role. Most familiarly, there’s the spectral presence of Henry James, on whom Ozick wrote a master’s thesis back in 1950 and with whom she’s been wrestling ever since.

NEW ENGLAND LITERARY NEWS
The three founders of Rounder Records -- Bill Nowlin, Ken Irwin, and Marian Leighton Levy -- selling records out of the back of a VW bus.
The BU Antiracist Literary Festival, a new book about the history of Rounder Records, and the Newburyport Literary Festival
News of a literary note from around the region.

Maryanne O’Hara on the love that endures after her daughter’s death
In “Little Matches,” the author remembers the life of Caitlin O'Hara who died at age 33.

Latest Headlines in Books

Virtual author readings for April 18-24

All events take place online; visit the venue website for more information.

Local bestsellers for the week ending April 11

Based on reporting from the independent booksellers of the New England Independent Booksellers Association and IndieBound.

Alfred Hitchcock at the Cannes Film Festival in 1972.

‘Twelve Lives,’ one master of suspense

There have been many books written about Hitchcock, ranging from adulatory (“Hitchcock/Truffaut”) to thoroughly nasty (Donald Spoto’s “The Dark Side of Genius”). Do we really need another? The answer turns out to be yes.

Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga.. Some last thoughts from Lewis will be published this summer. Grand Central Publishing announced Tuesday that Lewis’ “Carry On: Reflections for a New Generation” will come out July 13, almost a year after he died at age 80.

Final thoughts from Rep. John Lewis to be published in July

Grand Central Publishing announced Tuesday that “Carry On: Reflections for a New Generation” will come out July 13 with comments from the longtime Democratic congressman on “courage, faith, activism, humility, forgiveness, marriage, death, the pandemic and much more.”

COMFORT ZONE
Editor James Crews, top center, wants to help readers love their lives as they are. Poets include Amanda Gorman, Ted Kooser, Ross Gay, and Joy Harjo.

‘The mission is joy’ for editor of new all-star poetry collection

Editor James Crews wants to help readers love their lives as they are.

BOOKS

Taking on the Sacklers in ‘Empire of Pain’

Patrick Radden Keefe has written a true tragedy in multiple acts.

BOOKS

A novel about theater and life in ‘Good Company’

Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney deftly and empathetically charts the nuanced rhythms of friendships, particularly those that, under certain circumstances, take on the role of a close-knit family circle.

BOOKS
Hanif Abdurraqib is an American poet, essayist, and cultural critic.

Hanif Abdurraqib on reading poetry, becoming a poet

In his new collection of essays, “A Little Devil in America: Notes in Praise of Black Performance” Abdurraqib explores what it means to be Black through the lens of brilliant Black performers.