The Astor Orphan
by Alexandra Aldrich (Ecco, $25)
Alexandra Aldrich “has a barbedly laconic way with anecdotes of her Gothic childhood,” said Megan O’Grady in Vogue.com. A descendant of John Jacob Astor, the author grew up in a dilapidated mansion among cash-strapped adults who, according to this “not terribly fond portrait,” practiced child rearing by neglect. Though engrossing, Aldrich’s account ends shortly after she hits 14, so “it’s hard to know just how far she’s managed to put her ‘privileged yet impoverished’ existence behind her.”
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The Mothers
by Jennifer Gilmore (Scribner, $26)
Books about adoption “tend to gloss over the truth,” said Martha Nichols in CSMonitor.com. Jennifer Gilmore’s third novel offers instead a “refreshingly frank” portrayal of one infertile couple’s journey through the adoption process. As the prospective parents find themselves growing impatient with the birth mother and feeling outcast from the mommy culture of their Brooklyn neighborhood, they reveal themselves to be “flawed in the ways many good parents are.”
With or Without You
by Domenica Ruta (Spiegel & Grau, $25)
The woman at the heart of this “hypnotic” memoir will make you wonder how the author ever survived to adulthood, said Joe Gross in The Austin American-Statesman. At once neglectful and abusive, Kathi Ruta even served as a drug dealer to her teenage daughter. She encouraged the girl’s intellectual curiosity, though, and helped her get a seat in an exclusive prep school. Domenica here captures “the good and the bad, the horror and the hope” of a decidedly turbulent mother-daughter relationship.
Carrie and Me
by Carol Burnett (Simon & Schuster, $25)
This one’s for true Carol Burnett fans only, said Phil Dyess-Nugent in the A.V. Club. A tribute to her oldest child, who died of cancer in 2002 at age 38, it opens with about 40 pages “full of touching, funny stories that are all the more enjoyable for reflecting the author’s sensibility.” But the evolving portrait of Carrie Hamilton, actress and aspiring writer, soon becomes an anthology of Carrie’s emails, followed by one of her unfinished short stories. It’s a touching tribute, but “barely a book.”
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The Week contest: Rock grandfatherPuzzles and Quizzes
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Magazine solutions - September 5 / September 12, 2025Puzzle and Quizzes Issue - September 5 / September 12, 2025
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6 laid-back homes for surfersFeature Featuring a home near a world-renowned surf spot in Hawaii and a house built to withstand the elements in South Carolina
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Also of interest...in picture books for grown-upsfeature How About Never—Is Never Good for You?; The Undertaking of Lily Chen; Meanwhile, in San Francisco; The Portlandia Activity Book
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Author of the week: Karen Russell
feature Karen Russell could use a rest.
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The Double Life of Paul de Man by Evelyn Barish
feature Evelyn Barish “has an amazing tale to tell” about the Belgian-born intellectual who enthralled a generation of students and academic colleagues.
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Book of the week: Flash Boys: A Wall Street Revolt by Michael Lewis
feature Michael Lewis's description of how high-frequency traders use lightning-fast computers to their advantage is “guaranteed to make blood boil.”
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Also of interest...in creative rebellion
feature A Man Called Destruction; Rebel Music; American Fun; The Scarlet Sisters
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Author of the week: Susanna Kaysen
feature For a famous memoirist, Susanna Kaysen is highly ambivalent about sharing details about her life.
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You Must Remember This: Life and Style in Hollywood’s Golden Age by Robert Wagner
feature Robert Wagner “seems to have known anybody who was anybody in Hollywood.”
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Book of the week: Astoria: John Jacob Astor and Thomas Jefferson’s Lost Pacific Empire by Peter Stark
feature The tale of Astoria’s rise and fall turns out to be “as exciting as anything in American history.”