John Kenney's debut novel, Truth in Advertising, won the 2014 Thurber Prize for American Humor and his Love Poems for Married People was a national best-seller. In his new novel, I See You've Called in Dead, a newspaper hack accidentally publishes his own obituary.
'Someone' by Alice McDermott (2013)
'Underworld' by Don DeLillo (1997)
A sweeping, majestic book—the history of the second half of the 20th century told through a remarkable cast of characters. Moments and sentences that stop you dead, grab hold of you. The "Angel Esmeralda" chapter is one of the greatest pieces of writing I've ever encountered. Buy it here.
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'The Night Manager' by John le Carré (1993)
I'm not a fan of labels, of categories. Le Carré is sometimes called a spy novelist. Rubbish. He's a novelist of the first order. His protagonist here is Jonathan Pine, trying to infiltrate the life of "the worst man in the world," an international arms dealer. Like all of le Carré's work, this is a morality play on a global stage. Buy it here.
'Franny and Zooey' by J.D. Salinger (1961)
The Glass family breaks my heart. I want to be friends with them, and I feel like I am in some way. In the scene where lovely, confused, too-smart Franny sits at lunch with her overconfident, insecure date, her too-quick wit, her college-aged anxiety, is just remarkable. Buy it here.
'A Confederacy of Dunces' by John Kennedy Toole (1980)
I've read this book maybe four times and still don't understand quite how the author conjures the character of Ignatius J. Reilly, his warped and wonderful mind, his hilarious utterances, his mother, and his ex-girlfriend, Myrna. Yes, it is riotously funny. But how strange and wonderous to find yourself laughing through tears at the end. Buy it here.
'Who Is Rich?' by Matthew Klam (2017)
Klam is the rare writer who makes me laugh out loud. Who Is Rich? follows a middle-aged cartoonist whose early career success is a distant memory. It's a portrait of an artist in pain and crisis. Klam is a superb writer, sentence-for-sentence wonderful. Buy it here.
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Political cartoons for October 26Cartoons Sunday’s editorial cartoons include Young Republicans group chat, Louvre robbery, and more
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Why Britain is struggling to stop the ransomware cyberattacksThe Explainer New business models have greatly lowered barriers to entry for criminal hackers
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Greene’s rebellion: a Maga hardliner turns against TrumpIn the Spotlight The Georgia congresswoman’s independent streak has ‘not gone unnoticed’ by the president
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Roasted squash and apple soup recipeThe Week Recommends Autumnal soup is full of warming and hearty flavours
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6 well-crafted log homesFeature Featuring a floor-to-ceiling rock fireplace in Montana and a Tulikivi stove in New York
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Film reviews: A House of Dynamite, After the Hunt, and It Was Just an AccidentFeature A nuclear missile bears down on a U.S. city, a sexual misconduct allegation rocks an elite university campus, and a victim of government terror pursues vengeance
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Book reviews: ‘Gertrude Stein: An Afterlife’ and ‘Make Me Commissioner: I Know What’s Wrong With Baseball and How to Fix It’Feature Gertrude Stein’s untold story and Jane Leavy’s playbook on how to save baseball
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Rachel Ruysch: Nature Into ArtFeature Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, through Dec. 7
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Music reviews: Olivia Dean, Madi Diaz, and Hannah FrancesFeature “The Art of Loving,” “Fatal Optimist,” and “Nested in Tangles”
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Gilbert King’s 6 favorite books about the search for justiceFeature The journalist recommends works by Bryan Stevenson, David Grann, and more
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Ready for the apocalypseFeature As anxiety rises about the state of the world, the ranks of preppers are growing—and changing.
