Critics' Picks Out in Paperback

A wealthy teen vanishes from her Adirondack summer camp, setting off a panicked search in this literary suspense novel which NPR compared to the author's previous Long Bright River, but called this one "something weirder and stranger and unforgettable."

A thought-provoking book from one the most clear-eyed and influential commentators of our times, whose previous works have been essential to understanding the roots of tyrannical authoritarianism and its revival around the world in recent years. In his latest release, the acclaimed historian embarks on a wide-ranging journey to uncover the philosophical, intellectual, and cultural roots and foundations of freedom and provides guidance so that this freedom can be preserved in these unsettling times.

Drawing on interviews and never-before-used FBI files, this respected political commentator and history professor’s compelling account of the late civil rights crusader chronicles his remarkable journey from poverty in rural Alabama to Freedom Rider to respected congressman, highlighting the heroism that shaped America’s fight for justice.

In the latest from the acclaimed My Struggle author, a mysterious star appears over Norway, unleashing a wave of unsettling events. A painter descends into a creative frenzy, a policeman hides a chilling secret, and a young woman is drawn into a perilous romance. Most disturbingly, an undertaker realizes that since the star's arrival, no one has died, compelling the characters to confront the unsettling implications of their reality.

First published in Spanish in 1979 and long out of print in English, this novel assembles brief comic and philosophical pieces into a portrait of Lucas, a figure whose routines, digressions and battles with myth reveal Cortázar’s wit and imagination. The fragments move from lists of friends to meditations on art and culture to absurd encounters. Kirkus Reviews described it as “short takes of whimsy and surrealism… like diamond chips.”

A 52-year-old woman’s well-organized life is thrown into chaos when a younger, ex-con musician sweeps her into an intense love affair. Between juggling motherhood and giving in to raw desire, she’s torn between her stable reality and the irresistible pull of passion in this steamy novel about the thrill of breaking all the rules that Kirkus likened to a “roller coaster of erotic fascination, delusion, bliss, mania, devastation.”

After leaving journalism and settling in Paris, a man returns to the Ethiopian immigrant community of his childhood in Washington DC. On the day he arrives a family figure central to that community is found dead, and the discovery leads him on a journey across America that forces him to confront silences and memories long avoided.

A behind-the-scenes account of the response to the wars in Ukraine and Gaza from inside the White House and the campaign trail. The famed All the President’s Men author reveals the astonishing complexity of the diplomacy and negotiations at the heart of these conflicts and looks ahead to how the next administration may approach these difficult issues.

Winner of the Gabe Hudson Prize and named a best book of 2024 by The Washington Post, Real Simple and The New Yorker, this novel follows George, who is charming, sullen, well intentioned and perpetually underachieving, through decades of relationships and self sabotage. “Delicious… Greathead attains a perfect balance among irritation, pathos and comedy,” writes Ron Charles in The Washington Post.

Artforum hailed this “deeply poignant, theistically suggestive masterpiece" set in a near future France facing political chaos, economic decline, and mysterious cyberattacks. Amid the turmoil, a man's personal and professional life unravels as he confronts family tensions and a nation in crisis, asking whether real change is still possible.