Person
Every book Rumaan Alam recommended on podcasts
Key facts
- Rumaan Alam has recommended or discussed 8 books on podcasts, as of August 31, 2018.
- Rumaan Alam has talked about books on 1 podcast, as of August 31, 2018.
- Those books came up in 3 episodes, as of August 31, 2018.
- The 3 books Rumaan Alam has mentioned in the most episodes, as of August 31, 2018: Dora Bruder, So You Don't Get Lost in the Neighborhood and Buddenbrooks.
- The latest episode with a book mention from Rumaan Alam aired on August 31, 2018.
Updated
Rumaan Alam’s most recommended books
- Dora Bruder by Patrick Modiano
- So You Don't Get Lost in the Neighborhood by Patrick Modiano
- Buddenbrooks by Thomas Mann
- Nicotine by Nell Zink
- The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai
- The Transit of Venus by Shirley Hazzard
- Difficult women by David Plante
- Transactions in a foreign currency by Deborah Eisenberg
Rumaan Alam is an author and contributor who appeared on podcasts to discuss literature and his reading habits. During his appearances on The Book Review, Alam shared several reading recommendations and discussed various works of fiction. He mentioned finishing Rebecca Makkai's novel The Great Believers, noting that it had received a review by Michael Cunningham. He also described Thomas Mann's Buddenbrooks as the best book he had ever read on vacation, calling it a nerdy yet beautiful book to get lost in. Additionally, Alam recommended Nell Zink's novel Nicotine as a different change of pace after reading serious books. Turning to the works of Patrick Modiano, Alam discussed reading So You Don't Get Lost in the Neighborhood for the first time, noting that it begins as a mystery involving a lost address book and someone calling to report finding it, and he praised Modiano's Dora Bruder as remarkable. Alam further highlighted Shirley Hazzard's The Transit of Venus as potentially a perfect novel. Finally, he discussed reading Deborah Eisenberg's first story collection, Transactions in a Foreign Currency.
Books recommended by Rumaan Alam
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Dora Bruder
Dora Bruder by Patrick Modiano is a haunting biographical novel that traces the author's real-life obsessive quest to uncover the wartime fate of a young Jewish girl who disappeared in Nazi-occupied Paris.
Recommended“because actually I found that book and the book Dora Bruder which I'm reading right now to be really remarkable”
Where to get it
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So You Don't Get Lost in the Neighborhood
So You Don't Get Lost in the Neighborhood by Patrick Modiano, translated by Euan Cameron, is a haunting and atmospheric novel that begins as a mystery involving a writer who is contacted by strangers after losing his address book.
Recommended“and I recently read Patrick Modano for the first time I picked up a book called so you don't get lost in the neighborhood and I was so Charmed by it”
Where to get it
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Buddenbrooks
Buddenbrooks by Thomas Mann is a sweeping historical novel that chronicles the decline of a prosperous merchant family across four generations in northern Germany.
Recommended“I mean the best book I ever read on vacation was B and Brooks by Thomas M which is like such a nerdy but it's such a beautiful book to get lost in”
Where to get it
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Nicotine
Nicotine is a satirical novel by Nell Zink that explores counterculture, family estrangement, and smoking through the life of a young woman named Penny Baker.
Recommended“I have two more books that I wanted to mention because after reading this big serious book I wanted something really different and so I read novel by Nel zinc called nicotine”
Where to get it
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The Great Believers
The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai is a powerful, emotionally devastating novel that chronicles the devastating impact of the AIDS crisis on the arts community in 1980s Chicago alongside a parallel storyline in modern-day Paris.
Recommended“I just finished reading the great Believers by Rebecca McKai which came out earlier this month and got a beautiful review in the book review by Michael Cunningham”
Where to get it
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The Transit of Venus
The Transit of Venus is a novel by Shirley Hazzard that traces the lives of two orphaned Australian sisters moving to England, exploring complex themes of love, intellect, fate, and betrayal over several decades.
Recommended“the transit of Venus is maybe a perfect novel”
Where to get it
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Difficult women
Critiqued“and the other book I was going to talk about is a book called difficult women by David plant and it is a pretty atrocious book it's a it's a reissue of a book”
Where to get it
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Transactions in a foreign currency
Transactions in a foreign currency is the debut short story collection by Deborah Eisenberg, showcasing her sharp wit and remarkable command of narrative voice.
Discussed“and at the same time was reading a book of stories called transactions in a foreign currency which is Deborah eisenberg's first collection”
Where to get it
Appearances
| Episode | Podcast | Date | Books |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Uses and Misuses of Identity | The Book Review | 2018-08-31 | 5 |
| Interrogating the Change Makers | The Book Review | 2018-08-24 | 1 |
| An Inside View of Putin | The Book Review | 2018-07-06 | 4 |