Recent Reviews
Q&A with author Chuck Palahniuk
The author of “Fight Club” discusses God, Woodstock, being uncool and sleepovers.
Fiction: ‘We Are Water,’ by Wally Lamb
A mother’s impending wedding to a woman stirs up a flood of old and new traumas.
Terror: ‘The Sleep Room,’ by F. R. Tallis
What’s terrorizing this prestigious psychiatric hospital — ghosts or madmen?
Goodnight, werewolf
Werewolf novelist Benjamin Percy sinks his fangs into Margaret Wise Brown’s classic.
Michael Dirda haunts Politics & Prose this Halloween season
The Washington Post reviewer is teaching a course on classic ghost stories.
Justin Kramon’s superficial, schematic ‘Preservationist’
A new college student attracts the attention of three men — one of them a killer.
Delightful update: ‘Sense & Sensibility,’ by Joanna Trollope
A smart, modern take on Jane Austen’s classic novel, the first in a series that should please Janeites.
One family’s tale of fate and misfortune in 20th century
David Laskin traces his family’s 20th journey, through czarist pogroms, the Holocaust and the founding of Israel.
Review: ‘The Kennedy Half-Century’
Larry Sabato contends Republicans cling to Kennedy’s legacy almost as much as Democrats do.
Review: ‘Camelot’s Court’
Robert Dallek shows JFK struggled to understand that brilliance does not always equal good judgment.
Review: ‘If Kennedy Lived’
Jeff Greenfield wonders what JFK would have done in Vietnam and at home if he’d survived.
Review: ‘A Cruel and Shocking Act’
Philip Shenon offers the trappings of conspiracy literature without quite arguing for a conspiracy.
Review: ‘Top Down’
Jim Lehrer’s novel imagines the suffering of a guilt-ridden Secret Service agent.
Conroy turns the corner on bleak path
REVIEW | In “The Death of the Great Santini,” Pat Conroy lays to rest a dark chapter.
Cheryl Strayed ‘zaps’ her critics
Within eight hours, her post had garnered more than 3,000 “likes” and hundreds of supportive comments.
National Book Critics Circle celebrates 40 years of reviewing
Members were asked to choose their favorite finalist from the past four decades.
An adventure to last a lifetime
“Patrick Leigh Fermor,” by Artemis Cooper, is a biography of one of the greatest travel writers of all time.
Fiction: ‘The Goldfinch’ by Donna Tartt
A boy steals a great painting from the Met during a terrorist attack and begins a lifetime of adventure.
Fiction: ‘The Windsor Faction,’ by D.J. Taylor
What if the Duke of Windsor had never abdicated the throne — as Hitler rose to power?
Thriller: ‘The Land of Dreams,’ by Vidar Sundstøl
“The Land of Dreams,” by Vidar Sundstøl, is the start of an eerie Minnesota thriller trilogy.
‘A Guide for the Perplexed’: Beautifully told but overdone
Dara Horn’s fourth novel is one of those enthralling, excessive works so stuffed it’s sometimes maddening.
Legal thriller: ‘Sycamore Row,’ by John Grisham
Jake Brigance, the young lawyer from Grisham’s first novel, “A Time to Kill,” is back.
Book World: Hannah Kent’s ‘Burial Rites’
A stirring story of murder and love in 19th-century Iceland.
Taking school reform to task
In “Reign of Error,” Diane Ravitch argues that school reform is headed for a cliff and students are the victims.
Scott Turow returns with another legal thriller
In “Identical,” a 25-year-old murder resurfaces and threatens to take down an up-and-coming politician
Washington during the Civil War
In “Lincoln’s Citadel,” Kenneth J. Winkle brings to life the capital in vivid detail.
T.E. Lawrence in Arabia
Scott Anderson recounts the World War I political and military decisions that shaped the modern MIddle East.
Showdown between MacArthur and Truman
Bevin Alexander looks at Harry Truman’s dismissal of Douglas MacArthur during the Korean War.
Criticism: ‘Confronting the Classics’ by Mary Beard
Beard examines how we know what (we think) we know about ancient Greece and Rome.
Joyce Carol Oates skewers Robert Frost as a sexist, racist old bore
The upcoming issue of Harper’s magazine contains a fictionalized encounter with the New England poet.
A revealing trip inside the chimpanzee’s mind
REVIEW | In “A Beautiful Truth,” Colin McAdam writes about apes with remarkable sensitivity and intuition.
Book World: James A. Cobb Jr.’s ‘Flood of Lies’
Who was guilty for letting 35 nursing home residents drown when Hurricane Katrina hit?
Finalists announced for National Book Awards
Jhumpa Lahiri and Thomas Pynchon among writers vying for $10,000 prizes.
Booker winner: ‘The Luminaries,’ by Eleanor Catton
Catton’s magical tale is set largely in a fast-growing gold-rush town in New Zealand in 1866.
Fiction review: ‘Quiet Dell,’ by Jayne Anne Phillips
A novel based on the true crimes of a murderer who preyed on lonely, middle-aged women.
Washington Post Bestsellers Oct. 27
The books Washington has been reading.
Washington: From cover to cover
From novels to history to cooking and ghost stories, Post editors and critics offer introduction to capital.
Fiction: ‘We Are Water,’ by Wally Lamb
A mother’s impending wedding to a woman stirs up a flood of old and new traumas.
Fiction: ‘The Goldfinch’ by Donna Tartt
A boy steals a great painting from the Met during a terrorist attack and begins a lifetime of adventure.
In new story, Joyce Carol Oates skewers Robert Frost
The beloved poet’s worst traits are laid bare under interrogation by a seemingly shy interviewer.
An adventure to last a lifetime
“Patrick Leigh Fermor,” by Artemis Cooper, is a biography of one of the greatest travel writers of all time.
Book World: James A. Cobb Jr.’s ‘Flood of Lies’
Who was guilty for letting 35 nursing home residents drown when Hurricane Katrina hit?
‘Firefly,’ a tender portrayal of a great wit blinking out
Janette Jenkins shows the slipping away of mind and body that comes with old age.
One family’s tale of fate and misfortune in 20th century
David Laskin traces his family’s 20th journey, through czarist pogroms, the Holocaust and the founding of Israel.
Scott Turow returns with another legal thriller
In “Identical,” a 25-year-old murder resurfaces and threatens to take down an up-and-coming politician
George Pelecanos returns with ‘The Double’
Spero Lucas goes searching for a missing painting and the deadly boyfriend of a jilted woman
Literary Calendar
Going Out Guide: Upcoming events
Get the latest on readings, signings and author appearances in the D.C. area.
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