Maureen Corrigan
Maureen Corrigan's Favorite Books Of 2019: Here Are 10 Unputdownable Reads
My best books of the year list for 2019 is a mix of literary fiction and true crime and memoirs and essays. There are acclaimed authors here, as well as some brand new voices. The only thing that unites all these books is that, in my opinion, they are unputdownable.
'The Great Pretender' Investigates A Landmark Moment In Psychiatric History
Some writers search for their signature subjects; Susannah Cahalan had her subject thrust upon her. In 2009, she was a young reporter for the New York Post when, one day, she began feeling like she had the flu. Shortly thereafter, she was hospitalized, in the throes of full-blown hallucinations and paranoia.
Essayist Ventures 'From The Greeks To Game Of Thrones' — And Back Again
This past summer, I made time to catch up on a book I'd missed when it was published two years ago. Ever since, I've been telling friends, students and random strangers on a train that they must read Daniel Mendelsohn's memoir called An Odyssey. In it, he recalls teaching a seminar on Homer's Odyssey that his then 81-year-old father sat in on as an auditor.
Saeed Jones' Eloquent Coming-Of-Age Is Hard To Read — And Harder To Put Down
Book critic Maureen Corrigan reviews the memoir 'How We Fight For Our Lives.'
W.H. Auden's Poem 'September 1, 1939' Still Resonates In Times Of Crisis
Book critic Maureen Corrigan reviews a new book about an Auden poem written after the start of World War 2.
Atwood Hints At A Brighter Future In 'Handmaid' Sequel 'The Testaments'
Book critic Maureen Corrigan reviews Margaret Atwood's sequel to 'The Handmaid's Tale.'
Katrina Destroyed 'The Yellow House' — But Inequality Eroded Its Foundation
When Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans on Aug. 29, 2005, writer Sarah M. Broom was living in New York City, far away from her hometown and her family. In her extraordinary debut, a memoir called The Yellow House, Broom quotes from interviews with her mother and some of her 11 siblings to piece together the story of what happened when "the Water" roared into their neighborhood of New Orleans East and rose, up, up, up until it edged the tops of the houses.
A Perfect Summer Book, 'Late Migrations' Reminds Us Of Life's Beauty And Fragility
Book critic Maureen Corrigan reads the first book of essays by New York Times opinion writer Margaret Renkl.
If These 2 Titles Remind You Of Masterful Suspense Novels, They Should
Book critic Maureen Corrigan recommends two mystery novels : 'Lady in the Lake' by Laura Lippman and 'The Turn of the Key' by Ruth Ware. The titles of both books evoke classic suspense novels by two men.
Rooted In History, 'The Nickel Boys' Is A Great American Novel
It's pretty rare for a writer to produce a novel that wins the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award and, then, a scant three years later, bring out another novel that's even more extraordinary. But, that's what Colson Whitehead has done in following up his 2016 novel, The Underground Railroad, with The Nickel Boys. It's a masterpiece squared, rooted in history and American mythology and, yet, painfully topical in its visions of justice and mercy erratically denied.