Critical Notes

Roundup: NBCC Finalists, Jennifer Haigh, Nick Turse, and More

By Mark Athitakis

Last week's announcement of the NBCC finalists generated plenty of coverage, from the Los Angeles Times to the Washington Post to the New York Times to the Minnapolis Star-Tribune to the Millions. (All of those articles include links to those sites' reviews or articles on the books and nominees. Seen a good article we missed? Let us know.) In addition, NPR's All Things Considered interviewed Lisa Cohen, biography finalist for All We Know: Three Lives. At Fresh Air, Maureen Corrigan discussed the impact of the work of the Sandrof award winners, feminist scholars Sandra Gilbert and Susan Gubar, while Ron Charles interviewed the two for the Washington Post. This year's Balakian Citation for excellence in book reviewing goes to William Deresiewicz; check out his website for samples of his work.

Meredith Maran reviews Jennifer Haigh's short-story collection, News From Heaven, for the Boston Globe.

Jane Ciabattari interviews Tracy Chevalier about her new novel, The Last Runaway, for the Daily Beast.

Shaun Randol interviews Paul M. Barrett, author of Glock: The Rise of America's Gun, for the Los Angeles Review of Books.

Carl Rollyson's biography of Sylvia Plath, American Isis, is excerpted in the Boston Globe.

Steve Weinberg reviews Nick Turse's book on civilian deaths during the Vietnam War, Kill Anything That Moves, for the Minneapolis Star-Tribune.

Craig Seligman reviews Lawrence Wright's book on Scientology, Going Clear, for BloombergBusinessweek.

Your reviews and recommendations help seed these roundups: If you’re an NBCC member with a review you’d like considered for inclusion, please email nbcccritics@gmail.com. You can also get our attention by using the Twitter hashtag #nbcc or posting on the wall of our Facebook page.