Books

Book critic Maureen Corrigan reviews two new short story collections: The Winter Without Milk by Jane Avrich, and The Laws of Evening by Mary Yukari Waters.

Critic-at-large John Powers reviews the autobiographical novel which has become a big bestseller and has been translated into 20 languages. John says the novel is as relevant in America as it is in its home country.

Journeys, near and far, into the past and even into near space, are the subject of the novels, memoirs and narrative histories that make up book critic Maureen Corrigan's early summer reading list.

Susan Burton has dedicated her life to stopping the cycle of recidivism, not just in her life, but in the lives of other women like her. She founded the organization A New Way of Life which helps women released from prison.

Paul Steinbeck's new book chronicles the antics, both on and off stage, of the storied jazz ensemble. Critic Kevin Whitehead says Message to Our Folks celebrates the band's success on their own terms.

In 2010, writer Rakesh Satyal won the Lambda Literary Award for Gay Debut Fiction, for his novel "Blue Boy." His new novel is called "No One Can Pronounce My Name" which book critic Maureen Corrigan says is a misleading title.

Before she turned to writing, the National Book Award nominee ran away from home and worked as a stripper. Her new collection of personal essays is Somebody with a Little Hammer.

Maureen Corrigan reviews 'Anything Is Possible,' the new book by Elizabeth Strout. Strout also wrote 'Olive Kitteridge' which won the 2009 Pulitzer Prize.

These days, the whole world, including our politics, is being shaped by migration. Few people explore the nuances of this reality more skillfully than Valeria Luiselli, a strikingly gifted 33-year-old Mexican writer who knows the migratory experience first-hand.

Maureen Corrigan says 'One of the Boys', is a slim, deeply affecting and brutal story, about the fierce power of a father-son relationship.