Mark Kurlansky is the author of Cod, Salt, and 1968: The Year That Rocked the World. His first novel, Boogaloo on Second Avenue, will be published this spring.
The Famished Road by Ben Okri (Anchor, $15). An astonishing novel that makes the reader casually accept magic as a gritty commonplace reality. Could Okri be the greatest of Nigeria’s many great writers? Every chapter leaves you breathless with the experience, told through the eyes of a young boy with the gift of wonder. Will wonders never cease, one character asks, and the boy responds in innocent curiosity, “Why would they?”
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The Belly of Paris by Emile Zola (out of print). Food as a metaphor full of social commentary, anger, and irony. A story about the people who are fat and the people who are thin, set amid beautifully described mountains of food, in a time of political turmoil. The book is out of print in English, but I’m currently working on a new translation for Modern Library.
The Sorrow of War by Bao Ninh (Riverhead, $13). A small, simple book; a novel of the Vietnam War that fills the heart with almost unbearable sadness. In 1969, Bao Ninh from Hanoi was one of 500 who went south with the Glorious 27th Youth Brigade. He was one of 10 who came back. From that experience he has written a haunting novel of a veteran’s search for an inner peace.
Silent Spring by Rachel Carson (Mariner, $14). How is it that one of the most important and powerful books ever written could be about a pesticide? To be first is something of value, and this book, with the power of language, ideas, and argument, did much to launch environmentalism, which makes it one of the most important books of the 20th century.
Armies of the Night by Norman Mailer (Plume, $15). Was journalism ever better written or by a more interesting mind? Mailer put himself in the middle of one of the first major demonstrations against the Vietnam War, and his commentary resembles the best of conversation, with inquiries and suppositions leading in endlessly surprising directions.
Coney Island of the Mind
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October 13 editorial cartoonsCartoons Monday's political cartoons include Donald Trump's consolation prize, government workers during shutdown, and more
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Can Gaza momentum help end the war in Ukraine?Today's Big Question Zelenskyy’s request for long-range Tomahawk missiles hints at ‘warming relations’ between Ukraine and US
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The Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners being releasedThe Explainer Triumphant Donald Trump addresses the Israeli parliament as families on both sides of the Gaza war reunite with their loved ones
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Marisa Silver’s 6 favorite books that capture a lifetimeFeature The author recommends works by John Williams, Ian McEwan, and more
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Lou Berney’s 6 favorite books with powerful storytellingFeature The award-winning author recommends works by Dorothy B. Hughes, James McBride, and more
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Elizabeth Gilbert’s favorite books about women overcoming difficultiesFeature The author recommends works by Tove Jansson, Lauren Groff, and more
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Fannie Flagg’s 6 favorite books that sparked her imaginationFeature The author recommends works by Johanna Spyri, John Steinbeck, and more
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Jessica Francis Kane's 6 favorite books that prove less is moreFeature The author recommends works by Penelope Fitzgerald, Marie-Helene Bertino, and more
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Keith McNally's 6 favorite books that have ambitious charactersFeature The London-born restaurateur recommends works by Leo Tolstoy, John le Carré, and more
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Garrett Graff's 6 favorite books that shine new light on World War IIFeature The author recommends works by James D. Hornfischer, Craig L. Symonds, and more
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Helen Schulman's 6 favorite collections of short storiesFeature The award-winning author recommends works by Raymond Carver, James Baldwin, and more
