Lauren LeBlanc Book Recommendations & Book Mentions

Lauren LeBlanc

For @bostonglobe, I reviewed THE UNICORN WOMAN--somewhat of a departure for Gayl Jones, who doesn't typically wear her seriousness so lightly. Full of word play and wry humor, it channels the tradition of American seekers, chasing unconventional dreams.

Lauren LeBlanc

Finished ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE last night and will begin listening to THE BURGESS BOYS on audiobook. I'm trying to remember the last time an author seized me with the absolute need to read all her books. In summer 2003, I read all the novels that Ann Patchett had published. 1/2

Lauren LeBlanc

For the @nytimesbooks, I wrote about THE FOUR HUMORS: Mina Seçkin, BRIGHT BURNING THINGS: Lisa Harding, TELL ME HOW TO BE: Neel Patel, and DEFENESTRATE: Renée Branum. Thrilled to cover four terrific novels in my first piece for them. https://t.co/YMlzMMsa5k

Lauren LeBlanc

Intensely intimate and candid... Unlike others, this memoir, delicately written but without any precious patter, frames itself as a book of days. Overwrought metaphors aside, grief is less of an ocean and more of a series of days ... A book that is meant to be read slowly.

Lauren LeBlanc

The word 'Mỹ' is the Vietnamese word for 'America, ' and its messy connection with personal possession and subjectivity isn't lost in this rich, gripping novel that lands squarely as a mirror of our contemporary moral squalor.

Lauren LeBlanc

If you want a ruminating, clear-eyed look at friendship as a means of survival, this is it ... The rigorous work of authentic friendship asks us if we’re doing all we can for ourselves and the world we live in.

Lauren LeBlanc

Best of lists aren't canon, but, for @BGlobeBooks, I wrote about five nonfiction books that I loved this year: STAY TRUE: @huahsu, DIARY OF A MISFIT: @caseyparks, LOST & FOUND: @kathrynschulz, ESSENTIAL LABOR: @agarbes, and SOUTH TO AMERICA: @imaniperry. https://t.co/ckQJdHrVP6

Lauren LeBlanc

For @BGlobeBooks, I wrote about Gayl Jones's novel, THE BIRDCATCHER, the follow up to her 2021 novel PALMARES, a Pulitzer finalist, but BIRDCATCHER was first published in Germany in 1986. This 1st US edition is as timely and unsparing now as it was then. https://t.co/wiByZHOy4v

Lauren LeBlanc

For @BGlobeBooks, I wrote about Elif Batuman's EITHER/OR, what makes a life or story exceptional enough to create art---and sequels---and how I would happily sign up for junior and senior year installments of the life of Selin. https://www.bostonglobe.com/2022/05/19/arts/eitheror-when-college-novel-deserves-second-look/

Lauren LeBlanc

Calhoun's unnamed heroine is a literary powerhouse bursting at the seams... Crush reveals the sly ways we delude ourselves into accepting what's good enough and the liberating ways we can recover our joie de vivre as well as our autonomy.