Manhattan Beach
Jennifer Egan (Corsair, pbk, $32.99)
Jennifer Egan switches genres at
whim and her robust, visceral writing
never falters. WithManhattan Beach
she’s in historical-novel mode, following
Anna Kerrigan, who becomes the first
female diver at the Brooklyn Navy
Yard during World War II. Gangsters,
torpedoed ships, nightclubs and some
quite terrifying night dives need to
be accompanied by a drink that’ll
steady the nerves. A Manhattan is
thematically correct and packs a punch
with understated, balanced style.
MICHAEL HARDEN, VICTORIA EDITOR
Lincoln in the Bardo
George Saunders (Bloomsbury, pbk, $16.49)
George Saunders goes even lefter of
field in his first foray outside the short
story with a novel imagining what
happened the night the 16th president
spent in a cemetery. Too far? The
Booker prize committee didn’t think
so. As for the drink? Spirits, of course.
Maybe something bittersweet, with
a twist. Sounds like a Negroni to me.
PAT NOURSE, MANAGING EDITOR➤