The New York Times Book Review - USA (2020-09-13)

4 SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2020

THE EVENING AND THE MORNING, by Ken Follett.

(Viking, $36.) The latest entry in Follett’s

Kingsbridge series, a prequel to his best-sell-

ing “The Pillars of the Earth,” weaves multi-

ple narrative strands into a story of Europe

just before the Middle Ages.

CUBED: THE PUZZLE OF US ALL,by Erno Rubik. (Flat-

iron, $25.99.) The inventor of the Rubik’s Cube

describes his creative process, which empha-

sizes perpetual curiosity and a willingness to

make mistakes, and recalls the unexpected

success of the toy he designed for his own

amusement.

OUR MALADY: LESSONS IN LIBERTY FROM A HOSPITAL DIA-

RY, by Timothy Snyder. (Crown, paper, $12.)

After undergoing emergency surgery at the

end of last year, Snyder began to reflect on the

critical need for health — and health care — in

a free society, a lesson that holds new urgency

in the face of our current pandemic.

THE DISCOMFORT OF EVENING, by Marieke Lucas Ri-

jneveld. Translated by Michele Hutchison.

(Graywolf, paper, $16.) Rijneveld’s debut nov-

el, which won the 2020 International Booker

Prize, centers on a dreamy girl growing up in

straitened circumstances on a Dutch farm.

THE DEEPEST SOUTH OF ALL: TRUE STORIES FROM NATCHEZ,

MISSISSIPPI, by Richard Grant. (Simon & Schus-

ter, $26.) An entertaining tour of a complex

Mississippi town built on slavery and defined

today by a handful of eccentric characters.

Times are tough all around. So why not imagine

a world where a giant asteroid landed on the

Eastern United States in the 1950s, prompting

an earlier space race to get to the moon and

Mars much faster than we’ve managed in our

timeline? That’s what Mary Robinette Kowal

does in her “Lady Astronaut” series. Starting

with THE CALCULATING STARS, which won a Hugo Award for science fic-

tion writing, the story is told through the eyes of Elma York, a pilot

and mathemagician who becomes the first of the “lady astro-

nauts.” Elma’s dry wit and assortment of talents help her tackle a

variety of problems: overcoming sexism in the astronaut corps;

contending with a bit of impostor syndrome; and, even fixing a

clog in the darned spaceship toilet. Kowal is an excellent writer —

she’s written for us in Science Times — and she researches the

heck out of the details, making her series both accessible to the

casual sci-fi reader and believable to the space enthusiast.

—MICHAEL ROSTON, SENIOR STAFF EDITOR, SCIENCE

New & Noteworthy

WHAT WE’RE READING

REFLECTIONS, MEMORIES,

CONFESSIONS

With more than 600 photographs

“HONEST, COMPELLING,

INTRIGUING.”

—DAN W. LUFKIN, Founder, Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette

The acclaimed play, The Lehman Trilogy,

features Mayer Lehman, John Loeb’s great-grandfather.

Discover the remarkable history of the entire Lehman family

in John’s comprehensive and beautifully illustrated memoir.

View the exclusive footage of John’s extraordinary 75th

birthday celebration at Blenheim Palace on the bonus

DVD, along with historic coverage of the event, and read

David Patrick Columbia’s review of the party on page 647.

For more details, go to ambassadorloeb.com.

HARDCOVER $29.99 and EBOOK $8.99

available from AMAZON, BARNES & NOBLE, and APPLE BOOKS

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JOHN L. LOEB JR.JOHN L. LOEB JR.

AMBASSADOR,

CHAIRMAN, WINSTON CHURCHILL FOUNDATION, USA

AMBASSADOR,

CHAIRMAN, WINSTON CHURCHILL FOUNDATION, USA