Mark Kurlansky
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?”
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
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.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
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
-
How will Trump's megabill affect you?
Today's Big Question Republicans have passed the 'big, beautiful bill' through Congress
-
Scientists are the latest 'refugees'
In the spotlight Brain drain to brain gain
-
5 dreamy books to dive into this July
The Week Recommends A 'politically charged' collection of essays, historical fiction goes sci-fi and more
-
Thomas Mallon's 6 favorite books from the 80's and early 90's
Feature The author recommends works by James Merrill, Calvin Trillin, and more
-
Anne Hillerman's 6 favorite books with Native characters
Feature The author recommends works by Ramona Emerson, Craig Johnson, and more
-
John Kenney's 6 favorite books that will break your heart softly
Feature The novelist recommends works by John le Carré, John Kennedy Toole, and more
-
Andrea Long Chu's 6 favorite books for people who crave new ideas
Feature The book critic recommends works by Rachel Cusk, Sigmund Freud, and more
-
Bryan Burrough's 6 favorite books about Old West gunfighters
Feature The Texas-raised author recommends works by T.J. Stiles, John Boessenecker, and more
-
Tash Aw's 6 favorite books about forbidden love
Feature The Malaysian novelist recommends works by James Baldwin, Toni Morrison, and more
-
Richard Bausch's 6 favorite books that are worth rereading
Feature The award-winning author recommends works by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway, and more
-
Marya E. Gates' 6 favorite books about women filmmakers
Feature The film writer recommends works by Julie Dash, Sofia Coppola, and more