Person
Every book Parul Sehgal recommended on podcasts
Parul Sehgal brings a sharp, deeply analytical perspective to her appearances on The Book Review podcast, where she frequently guides listeners through intricate narratives and compelling contemporary releases. As evident from her podcast discussions, Sehgal possesses a profound appreciation for works that explore complex human experiences, historical trauma, and distinctive stylistic voices. She expressed excitement for David Grann's meticulous historical nonfiction book Killers of the Flower Moon and revisited Jan Morris's groundbreaking memoir Conundrum. Sehgal also brought enthusiastic attention to Vivek Shanbhag's evocative novel Ghachar Ghochar, Yoko Tawada's eccentric and imaginative work The Bridegroom Was a Dog, and Deborah Eisenberg's finely crafted short story collection Your Duck Is My Duck. Her eclectic recommendations further include Mohammed Hanif's Red Birds, Perumal Murugan's poignant narrative The Story of a Goat, and Anne Enright's widely beloved reflection on parenthood, Making Babies. Through these thoughtful selections, Sehgal showcases a literary curiosity that spans international borders, various genres, and diverse storytelling traditions, cementing her role as a discerning voice in contemporary literary criticism.
Books recommended by Parul Sehgal
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Notes on a Scandal
Notes on a Scandal by Zoë Heller is a dark, suspenseful psychological novel that examines obsession, manipulation, and the complex dynamics of female friendship and isolation.
Recommended“so I picked up a favorite book of mine which I haven't read in like seven years but I used to read it every year uh it's Zoe hel's notes on a scandal which was made into a very good movie but the book is just Sublime”
Where to get it
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Her Body and Other Parties
Her Body and Other Parties by Carmen Maria Machado is a collection of genre-bending short stories that blend psychological realism, horror, and feminist critique to examine the physical and societal boundaries placed on women.
Discussed“her body and other Parties by Carmen Maria Machado”
Where to get it
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Conundrum
Conundrum by Jan Morris is a celebrated memoir that chronicles the author's pioneering journey as a transgender woman and renowned travel writer.
Recommended“and I reread a book that I think I bet Pamela has read maybe you guys have read to Jan Morris's conundrum”
Where to get it
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Don't Believe a Word
Don't Believe a Word by David Shariatmadari is a popular science book exploring myths and facts about human language written by a Guardian editor and writer.
Recommended“I reviewed a book called don't believe a word by the guardian editor and writer davet sharat madari and if I'm mangling your name please at me”
Where to get it
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Everything you know
Zoë Heller's compelling novel explores complex personal relationships and sharp social observations through distinct and memorable character dynamics.
Recommended“uh I love her first novel everything you know”
Where to get it
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Ghachar Ghochar
Ghachar Ghochar is a striking, compact novel by Vivek Shanbhag that delves into the complex dynamics of a South Indian family experiencing a sudden and dramatic shift in their financial fortunes.
Recommended“but I do want to talk about a book I just finished and that I've written about in this week's oh it's the review is uh the essay is coming out in in this week's book review and it's a book called kater goer”
Where to get it
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How to Pronounce Knife
How to Pronounce Knife is a critically acclaimed collection of linked short stories by Souvankham Thammavongsa that explores the intricate lives of immigrants and laborers.
Recommended“that said I am looking forward to reading this book of I think it's linked short stories called how to pronounce KN have you guys read it it's by suam tamanga it just won the Giller prize which is of Canada's most prestigious literary award”
Where to get it
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Killers of the Flower Moon
Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann is a harrowing work of investigative journalism that uncovers the systematic murders of wealthy Osage Nation members in Oklahoma during the 1920s following the discovery of oil on their tribal lands.
Recommended“so I'm getting excited for David Gran's new book which is coming out next month I think it's called killers of the flower Moon”
Where to get it
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Making babies
Making Babies is a compelling book by Anne Enright that explores the emotional and physical realities of pregnancy, motherhood, and family life.
Recommended“going back to tone the book I love and that I sort of recommend sort of like most indiscriminately is an enright's book making babies which I think Dwight reviewed it's so good”
Where to get it
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Native speaker
Native Speaker is the acclaimed debut novel by Chang-rae Lee that follows an espionage agent of Korean descent infiltrating a New York politician's campaign while grappling with questions of assimilation and identity.
Recommended“well you know I think writers don't like it when you say their first book is their best but I'm not sure it's his best but it's my favorite shang's book native speaker which came out good good Lord”
Where to get it
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Red Birds
Red Birds is a satirical novel by Mohammed Hanif that explores modern geopolitics, conflict, and displacement through contrasting perspectives in a desert landscape.
Discussed“and he has a new book a new novel called red birds”
Where to get it
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Skating to Antarctica
Skating to Antarctica by Jenny Diski is a striking autobiographical work that blends memoir, travel writing, and psychological reflection.
Recommended“so I've just been reading some of her essays but also her book skating to Antarctica”
Where to get it
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The Bridegroom Was a Dog
The Bridegroom Was a Dog by Yōko Tawada is a concise, sixty-page short story by the acclaimed Japanese writer that explores surreal and transgressive themes.
Recommended“although if you haven't read toada I suggest you start with the bridegroom was a dog which is about just that”
Where to get it
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The cost of living
The Cost of Living by Deborah Levy is a deeply reflective memoir that explores the realities of middle age, independence, and female identity following the dissolution of a marriage.
Recommended“it's part of her living autobiography series and it's called the cost of living and it's just about a writer's life”
Where to get it
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The Secret to Superhuman Strength
The Secret to Superhuman Strength is a graphic memoir by Alison Bechdel that explores the author's lifelong obsession with fitness trends, exercise culture, and her personal journey through aging and artistic creation.
Recommended“John heroically edited my review of Alison beckel's new book The Secret to superhuman strength”
Where to get it
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The story of a goat
The Story of a Goat is a poignant novel by acclaimed Tamil writer Perumal Murugan that explores themes of caste, compassion, grief, and rural life in India through the perspective of an animal.
Recommended“this is how I feel about this book it's the story of a goat by perumal murugan a tamilan Indian writer”
Where to get it
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The Wind in the Willows
The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame is a classic children's novel celebrating the pastoral adventures of anthropomorphic animals like Mole, Ratty, Toad, and Badger along the riverbank.
Recommended“but the book that I'm reading uh in the evenings is The Wind in the Willows with my daughter”
Where to get it
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Underland
Robert Macfarlane’s Underland explores the deep subterranean realms of the earth, blending natural history, archaeology, and human myth.
Recommended“I was reading that that terrific book by is it Robert McFarland underland”
Where to get it
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Wayward
Wayward by Dana Spiotta is a contemporary novel exploring family dynamics and midlife transitions.
Recommended“I reviewed Wayward By Dana spata um a novelist who I really admire uh really enjoy reading”
Where to get it
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Women Talking
Women Talking is a powerful novel by Miriam Toews inspired by the real-life harrowing accounts of women in an isolated religious community seeking to reclaim their agency.
Recommended“parl I think for me it would be women talking by Miriam Taves”
Where to get it
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Your duck is my duck
Your Duck Is My Duck by Deborah Eisenberg is a sharp and incisive collection of short stories that interrogates contemporary anxieties, political disillusionment, and shifting social landscapes.
Recommended“I had a very good week I reviewed the new Deborah Eisenberg it's a book called your duck is my duck”
Where to get it
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100 Boyfriends
Discussed“I reviewed 100 boyfriends by brones Perell who is this polymathic artist”
Where to get it
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A case of exploding mangoes
Discussed“in his books a case of exploding mangoes and Our Lady of Alice putti he has these incredibly sad Savage sa ties of life in Pakistan”
Where to get it
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A life's work
A Life's Work by Rachel Cusk is an unflinching and provocative memoir that explores the complex, often difficult realities of early motherhood.
Discussed“in some way I think in terms of tone it's the books that are not parenting books that but that are books that in some way deal with Parenthood in a way that I find to be interesting where the tone I mean one example is Rachel cusk's book life's work which a lot of people are put off by”
Where to get it
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A manual for cleaning women
A Manual for Cleaning Women by Lucia Berlin is a celebrated short story collection that showcases the author's remarkable talent for capturing the grit, humor, and dignity of everyday working-class lives.
Discussed“at number 18 on the extended um hard cover bestseller list and fiction is a book called manual for cleaning women by Lucia Berlin”
Where to get it
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Anna Karenina
Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy is a sweeping nineteenth-century masterpiece examining love, infidelity, and societal norms in imperial Russia.
Discussed“you have books like the makioka sisters or anak Kina they're some of the best things we've ever done as a species you know”
Where to get it
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Are you my mother?
Are You My Mother? by Alison Bechdel is an acclaimed graphic memoir that explores the complex psychological relationship between a daughter and her mother through literature, psychoanalysis, and art.
Discussed“her other book are you my mother has this spot color this like dark almost lipstick looking accent”
Where to get it
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Autumn
Discussed“so tell us what you've reviewed so far I reviewed danzi senna's book new people the novel and Carlo vard's I think this is the seventh or eighth book Autumn”
Where to get it
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Blue dreams
Discussed“well I mean I took things in a very depressing direction as always and reviewed a book called Blue Dreams by Lauren Slater that sort of looks at this”
Where to get it
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CoDex 1962
Discussed“I reviewed a book by the Icelandic writer shown the book is called codex 1962 and as I said the review it feels like this book was designed to drive me crazy it has everything I hate”
Where to get it
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Crooked Hallelujah
Crooked Hallelujah by Kelli Jo Ford is a compelling debut novel that explores the complex lives of multiple generations of Cherokee women.
Discussed“and it's her first novel called crooked Hallelujah”
Where to get it
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Ducks, Newburyport
Ducks, Newburyport by Lucy Ellmann is an ambitious, experimental stream-of-consciousness novel structured around a single, massive sentence spanning over a thousand pages.
Discussed“and I and I just in general am a big fan of the Canadian press biblioasis which put out one of my favorite books of recent years called Ducks Newberry Port which is this immense book told in one sentence and continually sort of puts out really sort of creative strange Innovative books”
Where to get it
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Fun
Fun Home is a critically acclaimed graphic memoir by Alison Bechdel that explores the author's complex relationship with her closeted father, her own coming out, and the literary allusions that shaped her upbringing.
Discussed“you know if you've read her books fun home she uses an occasional blue green kind of wash”
Where to get it
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Heart berries
Discussed“yeah I did I reviewed a book by and if I'm bungling your name I'm so sorry theres Marie Milo who is a firsttime writer she wrote a book called heart berries”
Where to get it
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Homesick For Another World
Homesick for Another World is a striking collection of dark, idiosyncratic short stories by Ottessa Moshfegh that investigates loneliness, grotesque human behavior, and contemporary alienation with biting wit.
Discussed“homesick for another world bya mve NW by Zade Smith”
Where to get it
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In the Dream House
Discussed“uh I reviewed a book by Carmen Maria Machado it's called in the dream housee and Machado is a young writer”
Where to get it
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Les Miserables
Les Misérables by Victor Hugo is a sweeping historical novel that follows the ex-convict Jean Valjean as he seeks redemption in nineteenth-century France against a backdrop of revolution, poverty, and social injustice.
Discussed“I'm reading a book that is I on the contrary about everything lame as Zera which I keep making my way through as my bedtime reading”
Where to get it
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Lose your mother
Discussed“she's written a book about her family called lose your mother which is you know which she travels back to Ghana”
Where to get it
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Ma'am Darling: 99 Glimpses of Princess Margaret
Ma'am Darling: 99 Glimpses of Princess Margaret by Craig Brown is an unconventional, kaleidoscopic biography that shatters traditional biographical norms to portray the rebellious and often tragic royal.
Discussed“well there was of course that that Craig Brown oh yeah 99 glimpses of Princess Margaret which I I I love just for that idea for the structure”
Where to get it
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Melmoth
Melmoth is a dark, haunting novel by Sarah Perry that reimagines the classic Gothic myth of eternal wandering and the burden of historical guilt.
Discussed“it's called melmoth by Sarah Perry who wrote a book called the Essex serpent”
Where to get it
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NW
NW is a critically acclaimed contemporary novel by Zadie Smith that follows the intertwined lives and experiences of four individuals growing up together in a diverse section of London.
Discussed“homesick for another world bya mve NW by Zade Smith”
Where to get it
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On dreams
Discussed“so I'm reading Freud on dreams um um and not only just any it's this is my mom's old copy which I love and it's this tiny you know slim little book”
Where to get it
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Our Lady of Alice Bhatti
Discussed“in his books a case of exploding mangoes and Our Lady of Alice putti he has these incredibly sad Savage sa ties of life in Pakistan”
Where to get it
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Outrages
Outrages by Naomi Wolf is a historical nonfiction book that examines same-sex desire and state suppression in nineteenth-century Britain.
Discussed“um so I reviewed two books in the last few weeks I reviewed Naomi Wolf's book outrages which has been heavily criticized for containing some pretty serious errors”
Where to get it
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Prozac Diary
Discussed“so if you've been following Slater's trajectory she published Prozac diary when she was I think 26 or 27”
Where to get it
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Salvage the Bones
Discussed“salvaged the bones by jine Mard and mislaid by Nel zinc”
Where to get it
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Serious Noticing
Discussed“sure I reviewed James Wood's new collection called serious noticing which gathers about 30 years of his criticism and essays”
Where to get it
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The armies of the night
Discussed“so there's an excerpt in this from armies of Knight which is his participant Observer of the March on Washington”
Where to get it
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The Art of fact : a historical anthology of literary journalism
Discussed“so I I picked up this book that he discarded a few months ago it's called The Art of fact a historical anthology of literary journalism”
Where to get it
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The emissary
The Emissary by Yōko Tawada is a translated work of contemporary Japanese fiction that presents a somber and dystopian vision of society.
Discussed“and she's a new book called The Emissary which is not funny and it is not light but it's very good in certain ways”
Where to get it
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The Essex Serpent
Discussed“it's called melmoth by Sarah Perry who wrote a book called the Essex serpent which came out I think last year”
Where to get it
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The flamethrowers
The flamethrowers by Rachel Kushner is a sweeping novel set in the 1970s art and radical politics scene.
Discussed“the flamethrowers by Rachel Kushner”
Where to get it
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The Funny Thing
Discussed“but this one is called the funny thing and it's just about this really odd creature and someone trying to persuaded to eat anything other than dolls”
Where to get it
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The Great Gatsby
The Great Gatsby by F.
Discussed“and one of those books is The Great Gatsby”
Where to get it
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The heart is a shifting sea
Discussed“I reviewed two books on how marriage is changing the heart is a shifting Sea by Elizabeth flock a book about Bombay or Mumbai um following a bunch of different couples over the period of 10 years”
Where to get it
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The Man Who Saw Everything
Discussed“so I reviewed the new Deborah Levy book with the terrifically ironic title The Man Who Saw everything”
Where to get it
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The mean mouse, and other mean stories
Discussed“but this one is called the mean Mouse and other mean stories and it's just got a vicious looking rodent on the cover”
Where to get it
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The Ministry of Utmost Happiness
The Ministry of Utmost Happiness is Arundhati Roy's highly anticipated second novel, which arrived two decades after her celebrated debut, The God of Small Things.
Discussed“but I recently had the chance to sort of write at length about arti Roy's new novel the ministry of utmost happiness”
Where to get it
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The power broker: Robert Moses and the fall of New York
The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the Fall of New York by Robert A.
Discussed“and since I said that I've been reading with one eye especially alert to Robert Caro's language”
Where to get it
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The Shadow Drawing
Discussed“it's called The Shadow drawing by an art historian named Franchesca fani and look like there's nothing in this book that comes as a grand Revelation”
Where to get it
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The talented Miss Highsmith
Discussed“last week uh my friend the great biographer Joan shenar died and she wrote a beautiful biography of Patricia heith called The Talented Miss heith and one of the things that she did”
Where to get it
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The Trial of Lizzie Borden
The Trial of Lizzie Borden by Cara Robertson is a meticulous historical re-examination of one of America's most infamous murder cases, drawing on newly uncovered archival materials and courtroom testimony.
Discussed“I reviewed a book by Cara Robertson it's called the trial of Lizzy bordon and it revisits the trial”
Where to get it
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The Vanishing Half
The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett is a compelling contemporary novel that examines family, racial identity, and the choices that shape our lives through the lives of twin sisters who choose to live in very different worlds.
Discussed“I reviewed Britt Bennett's second novel The Vanishing half which is about two sisters who grew up in a small town in Louisiana that is established for light-skinned black people”
Where to get it
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The Volcano Lover
The Volcano Lover by Susan Sontag is a historical novel that revolves around the life of Lord Hamilton, the British ambassador to Naples, and intricately weaves together themes of art, revolution, and romantic obsession.
Discussed“or if an editor told me this and tell me if it's in the book was someone came up to her at a cocktail party and said you know I I just absolutely loved your novel The Volcano lover”
Where to get it
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Those who knew
Those Who Knew is a novel by Idra Novey that examines collective complicity, silence, and the reckoning with abuse in a fictional island nation.
Discussed“so many different books are being described as me too novels trust exercise by Susan Choy Those Who Knew by idra Novi just goes on and on westerns dystopia in reviews people were calling them me to novels”
Where to get it
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To the Friend Who Did Not Save My Life
Discussed“I reviewed two books by the amazing French writer erve giber who died I think in the in the early in the early 90s and I reviewed his two books to the friend who did not save my life and written invisible Inc”
Where to get it
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Trust Exercise
Susan Choi's novel Trust Exercise is a complex narrative that explores a high-pressure performing arts high school while constantly upending reader expectations through startling structural shifts.
Discussed“so many different books are being described as me too novels trust exercise by Susan Choy Those Who Knew by idra Novi just goes on and on westerns dystopia in reviews people were calling them me to novels”
Where to get it
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Wanderlust
Discussed“Rebecca solet's book Wanderlust is also um a book that I used to really really enjoy”
Where to get it
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Wayward Lives, Beautiful Experiments
Wayward Lives, Beautiful Experiments by Saidiya V.
Discussed“so I reviewed a book by the scholars s Hartman it's called Wayward lives beautiful experiments”
Where to get it
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Where Reasons End
Where Reasons End by Yiyun Li is a poignant novel exploring grief, language, and the tragic loss of a child through imaginative dialogue.
Discussed“and so this is the sort of backstory to this to this novel which is called where reasons end”
Where to get it
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Written in Invisible Ink
Discussed“I reviewed two books by the amazing French writer erve giber who died I think in the in the early in the early 90s and I reviewed his two books to the friend who did not save my life and written invisible Inc”
Where to get it
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Yoga
Yoga by Emmanuel Carrère is a genre-bending autobiographical work that chronicles the author's journey through depression, psychiatric hospitalization, and spiritual seeking, while openly questioning the boundary between strict truth and fiction.
Discussed“there's some point where I'm reading like I was recently reading this book yoga by Emanuel carrer and you know there's a point where he's very depressed and he's in a a mental institution”
Where to get it
Appearances
Other mentions (28: passing, ad reads, own books)
“um and it's not interpretation of dreams on dreams was written a few years after”
“the elizab withth wartel Girl Interrupted all these books that were talking about mental health”
“I was in Australia a couple of years ago interviewing a novelist an Australian novelist who' written a novel called see what I have done and it fascinated me that this Australian novelist was so obsessed with this story”
“there is a new Ed book store that I like not new but you know there there's one that I've discovered on the upper west side you know there's a character in Tropic of Cancer who never wants other people to know what he's reading”
“he wrote a book a few years ago that was kind of his breakup book translated into English called tomb song about his childhood”
“he wrote a book a few years ago that was kind of his breakup book translated into English called tomb song about his childhood”
“parl I reviewed a woman like her by son Mah”
“this technique which allows Melville to write Moby Dick and wolf to write to the lighthouse”
“this technique which allows Melville to write Moby Dick and wolf to write to the lighthouse”
“and then there's this great one by Wanda Gog who wrote hundreds of millions of cats or whatever that that that famous book is”
“I mean here's one by the author of a tree is nice which I think we probably all remember from our childhood and I don't know if this was her followup”
“it's how to get rich in rising Asia that was in second person for you”
“stuff I haven't you know my ignorance is always ging and there's a really there's a a lot of like lovely stuff in here from Boswell but the big surprise to me has been Norman maer which i' I've read him like little pieces you know here in their executioner song”
“and I reviewed p languages of Truth by salon rushi”
“we don't really look at a book like moobi dick or huin and say like is the writing good”
“we don't really look at a book like moobi dick or huin and say like is the writing good”
“and Fitzgerald himself was very influenced by the Wasteland and and by certain kind of thunderous symbolism”
“I have two books on pause right now both of which I intend to finish both of which I was enjoying one of them was travels in Siberia by Ian Frasier”
“the other one is the return of the Native by Thomas as hearty”
“so Dana spata is is perhaps best known for her books including Stone in Arabia and lightning Fields”
“so Dana spata is is perhaps best known for her books including Stone in Arabia and lightning Fields”
“I reviewed Wayward By Dana spata and I think if you're new to Malcolm I'd start with”
“there's friction by Sandra Brown the murderer's daughter by John Jonathan Kellerman”
“the murderer's daughter by John Jonathan Kellerman”
“the only new title is John Sanford's extreme prey which debuts at number one”
“the Dutch primatologist France dewal who he spoke a little bit last week has his book are we smart enough to know how smart animals are”
“and at number 10 Michael Kinsley who founded slate and you know longtime established journalist he was on our podcast recently”
“the other new book on the non-fiction list this week is Phil Knight's u Memoir shoe dog”