Book World: A familiar desecration made wrenchingly fresh
Ron Charles, The Washington Post
March 16, 2021
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By Imbolo Mbue
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In 2016, during a presidential campaign punctuated by racist alarms about immigration, Imbolo Mbue published her first novel about an African man struggling to become an American citizen. Informed by her own experience as an immigrant from Cameroon, Behold the Dreamers captured the hopes and frustrations of millions of people drawn to this country. Mbue s capacious sympathy and careful fidelity to the voices of her characters - from the extraordinarily rich to the precariously poor - made Behold the Dreamers one of the most illuminating and touching novels of the year. When it won the PEN/Faulkner prize, Mbue s success felt like a double celebration of the artistic talent of a young writer and the growing diversity of our literary canon.
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Critic s picks: 10 March book releases to read, including The Code Breaker by Walter Isaacson and a history of Latin music
Jim Kiest, Staff writer
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Imbolo Mbue, the author of the new book ?’How Beautiful We Were,?“ near her home in Rhinebeck, N.Y., Feb. 15, 2021. The book is a story about how people respond to environmental destruction. It was delayed by the pandemic and before that by the success of her previous book, ?’Behold the Dreamers.?“ (Lauren Lancaster/The New York Times)Lauren Lancaster /NYTShow MoreShow Less
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Book World: 10 books to read in March
Bethanne Patrick, The Washington Post
March 2, 2021
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Festival Days/The Hill We Climb/The Code BreakerLittleBrown/Viking/Simon and Schuster - handout
Start your reading engines early this month, because this month s book picks have heft - in number of pages, yes, but also in terms of thought and inquiry. Novelists consider the nature of borders and how substances (including oil and drugs) corrupt; journalists examine health care, feminism, genetics; and a young but already accomplished poet releases her first book. The Soul of a Woman, by Isabel Allende (March 2) When I say I was a feminist in kindergarten, I am not exaggerating, declares the acclaimed Chilean journalist, novelist and activist in this memoir that reflects on her upbringing - she was raised with her two sisters by a single mother - while pondering women s nature and women s needs.
From Kazuo Ishiguro to Viet Thanh Nguyen, there is no shortage of new book highlights in the coming months. Photo: Handout
Say what you will about 2020, it was a great year for books. How s 2021 looking? Here are some titles we are looking forward to in the first four months.
The Great Gatsby: A Graphic Novel Adaptation, by K. Woodman- Maynard (Candlewick, out now)
Woodman-Maynard, a Minnesota graphic designer, has woven excerpts from F. Scott Fitzgerald s famous novel throughout mystical and haunting watercolours.
That Old Country Music, by Kevin Barry (Doubleday, Jan 12)
Irish writer Barry, winner of the Dublin Literary Award and the Goldsmiths Prize, returns with his third collection of stories that blend humour and pathos, beauty and sorrow.