B8 EZ BD THE WASHINGTON POST.SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 22 , 2020
23 MONDAY | 6 P.M. Philip Kaplan discusses “Night
in Te hran,” streamed through Politics and Prose Live
at http://www.politics-prose.com/events.
6:30 P.M. Denise Kiernan discusses “We Gather
Together” with Gilbert K ing, streamed through
Tombolo Books at http://www.tombolobooks.com.
7 P.M. Adania Shibli’s “Minor Detail” is discussed in
the In Tr anslation Book Club, streamed through Lost
City Books at http://www.lostcitybookstore.com.
8 P.M. Kirsten Ivey-Colson and Lynn Turner discuss
“The Antiracist Table,” streamed through Politics and
Prose Live.
24 TUESDAY | 1 P.M. John Birdsall discusses “The
Man Who Ate Too Much: The Life of James Beard” with
Te d Allen, streamed through Politics and Prose Live.
5 P.M. Dean S pade discusses “Mutual Aid: Building
Solidarity During This Crisis (and the Next)” with Mia
Mingus, streamed through Verso Books at
http://www.versobooks.com/events.
6 P.M. Robert M acfarlane discusses “Ghostways”
and “Underland,” streamed through Politics and
Prose Live.
7 P.M. Denise Kiernan discusses “We Gather
Together” with Karen Abbott, streamed through the
National Archives Foundation at
http://www.archivesfoundation.org/event/we-gather-together.
7 P.M. Nathan Hale discusses “Blades of Freedom,”
streamed through An Unlikely Story at
http://www.anunlikelystory.com/event.
7 P.M. E.A. B arres discusses “They’re Gone” with J.J.
Hensley and Elizabeth Heiter, streamed through Lost
City Books.
8 P.M. Yaa Gyasi discusses “Transcendent Kingdom”
with Doreen St. Félix, streamed through Live Fr omNew York Public Library at http://www.nypl.org/events/
calendar.
8 P.M. Ernest Cline discusses “Ready Player Two,”
streamed through Book People at
http://www.bookpeople.com/event. Ticket required.
25 WEDNESDAY | 3 P.M. Denise Kiernan discusses
“We Gather Together” with Joseph D’Agnese,
streamed through Boswell Book Company at
http://www.boswellbooks.com/upcoming-events.
7 P.M. Arkady M artine’s “A Memory Called Empire” is
discussed in the Speculative Fiction Book Club,
streamed through Lost City Books.
28 SATURDAY | 6 P.M. Greer Macallister discusses
“The Arctic Fury” with Denny S. B ryce, streamed
through One More Page Books at
http://www.onemorepagebooks.com/event.
For more literary events, go to wapo.st/litcalLITERARY CALENDARNov. 23-28Book World
Washington Post Paperback Bestsellers
COURTESY OF THE AMERICAN BOOKSELLERS ASSOCIATIONFICTION1 DEVOTIONS (Penguin, $20). By Mary Oliver. A
collection of the late Pulitzer Prize winner’s work.2 WHAT KIND OF WOMAN: POEMS (Harper Perennial,
$17). By Kate Baer. A debut poetry collection exploring
the roles of women in today’s world.3 THE OVERSTORY (Norton, $18.95). By Richard
Powers. In this Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, several
people find their lives intertwined with trees.4 CIRCE (Back Bay, $16.99). By Madeline Miller. This
follow-up to “The Song of Achilles” is about the
goddess who turns Odysseus and his men to swine.5 SHUGGIE BAIN (Grove Press, $17). By Douglas Stuart.
A Scottish working-class boy cares for his alcoholic
mother while aspiring to his perception of a normal
life.6 OLIVE, AGAIN (Random House, $18). By Elizabeth
Strout. Set two years after her husband’s death, Olive
Kitteridge continues living her life in Maine.7 THE NICKEL BOYS (Anchor, $15.95). By Colson
Whitehead. A Black teenager is sentenced to a
juvenile reformatory where students are physically
and sexually abused.8 THIS TENDER LAND (Atria, $17). By William Kent
Krueger. Four orphans run away from their school in
Minnesota and sail down the Mississippi River.9 THE BEST AMERICAN SHORT STORIES 2020
(Mariner, $16.99). Edited by Curtis Sittenfeld and Heidi
Pitlor. A collection that includes work by Kevin Wilson,
T. C. Boyle and Emma Cline.10 THE TOPEKA SCHOOL (Picador, $17). By Ben Lerner.
A family that appears to have it all is haunted by toxic
masculinity.NONFICTION1 THE TRUTHS WE HOLD (Penguin, $18). By Kamala
Harris. The senator and vice president-elect describes
her upbringing and career in public service.2 BRAIDING SWEETGRASS: INDIGENOUS WISDOM,
SCIENTIFIC KNOWLEDGE AND THE TEACHINGS OF
PLANTS (Milkweed Editions, $18). By Robin Wall
Kimmerer. Essays by an Indigenous scientist offer
lessons in reciprocal awareness between people and
plants.3 MY OWN WORDS (Simon & Schuster, $18). By Ruth
Bader Ginsburg. The Supreme Court justice reflects on
her life.4 WHITE FRAGILITY (Beacon Press, $16). By Robin
DiAngelo. An academic explores the
counterproductive ways some White people respond
to discussions about racism.5 THE WARMTH OF OTHER SUNS (Vintage, $17.95). By
Isabel Wilkerson. A comprehensive history of the Great
Migration, from 1915 to 1970.6 THE BODY KEEPS THE SCORE (Penguin, $19). By
Bessel van der Kolk. A scientific look at how trauma
can reshape a person’s body and brain.7 BORN A CRIME (One World, $18). By Tr evor Noah. The
“Daily Show” host recounts his upbringing in South
Africa during apartheid.8 WHAT UNITES US: REFLECTIONS ON PATRIOTISM
(Algonquin Books, $16.95). By Dan Rather and Elliot
Kirschner. The television journalist reflects on
America’s founding principles and the values its
citizens share.9 THE COLOR OF LAW (Liveright, $17.95). By Richard
Rothstein. An in-depth look at how the U.S.
government imposed residential segregation.10 BURNOUT (Ballantine, $17). By Emily Nagoski and
Amelia Nagoski. The authors show stressed and
exhausted women how to find a path toward wellness.MASS MARKET1 DUNE (Ace, $10.99). By Fr ank Herbert. In the classic
science fiction novel, a young boy survives a family
betrayal on an inhospitable planet.21984 (Signet, $9.99). By George Orwell. The classic
novel about the perils of a totalitarian police state.3 DUNE MESSIAH (Ace, $9.99). By Fr ank Herbert. The
second book in the Dune Chronicles picks up the story
of Paul Atreides 12 years after he became emperor of
the known universe.4 THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF MALCOLM X (Ballantine,
$7.99). By Malcolm X. The life of an American Muslim
minister who was a civil rights leader and an iconic
proponent of black nationalism.5 LORD OF THE FLIES (Perigee, $11). By William
Golding. The classic, unsettling tale of English
schoolboys stranded on a deserted isle.6 I KNOW WHY THE CAGED BIRD SINGS (Ballantine,
$7.99). By Maya Angelou. The poet, memoirist and
political activist’s debut memoir.7 WOMEN WHO RUN WITH THE WOLVES (Ballantine,
$8.99). By Clarissa Pinkola Estes. An in-depth look at
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inner fierce nature.8 SLAUGHTERHOUSE-FIVE (Laurel Leaf, $7.99). By Kurt
Vonnegut. The classic antiwar novel that centers on
the firebombing of Dresden.9 ANIMAL FARM (Signet, $9.99). By George Orwell.
Animals stage a workers’ coup on a farm, then create
a totalitarian state, in this classic broadside against
Stalinism.10 THE HITCHHIKER’S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY (Del Rey,
$7.99). By Douglas Adams. Just as Earth is
demolished, mild-mannered Arthur Dent escapes to
the galactic freeway.Rankings reflect sales for the week ended Nov. 15. The charts may not be
reproduced without permission from the American Booksellers Association, the
trade association for independent bookstores in the United States, and
indiebound.org. Copyright 2020 American Booksellers Association. (The
bestseller lists alternate between hardcover and paperback each week.) Bestsellers at washingtonpost.com/booksJONATHAN NEWTON/THE WASHINGTON POSTThe Cold Moon is the last full moon before the winter solstice, Roger Rosenblatt writes — and a m etaphor as he anticipates “the coming of
my wintertime of life.” In his book he recounts personal stories, such as the times he wandered away from home at a young age.
He smiled. “He kills someone, I bury the
body.” Of course, this will never happen. He
means it, just in case.
T his Rosenblatt and his memories.
His Aunt Julia was “small and bent from
osteoporosis,” but nobody noticed because
“her bright ‘Hello’ ran interference for her.”
When he was a teenager, he poked around old
bookstores “like a botanist in a rain forest.”
When he was 5, he wandered off again —
what is it with this kid? — and walked into a
stranger’s home to play the Steinway.
“It’s so unusual,” the woman said to his
mother after returning him to his parents.
“Your son has no fear. He just walked into a
strange house and played the piano.”
His mother smiled and nodded. “It’s the
way he is,” she said. “He thinks the world is
waiting for him to walk in and play the
piano.”This Rosenblatt and his questions.
“While we’re at it,” he writes, “whatever
happened to you? You were here a minute
ago. There is life before death. Whatever
happened to you?”
What nerve. The one he touches, I mean.
We move on to now, in the throes of this
pandemic. He never mentions it, and yet he
does.
“Everybody grieves. That’s the key to
responsible mourning — remember that
everyone grieves. Philo said, ‘Be kind, for
everyone you meet is carrying a great
burden.’ In grief it is difficult to think of
everyone, but when you do, beauty intrudes
upon sorrow, and something lifts. Everybody
grieves.”
More memories, still raw. So many lost to
this pandemic, with many more to die.
“Remember what Brecht said when asked
what we should sing about in the dark times.
He said sing about the dark times. Loud, lusty
singing. No cowering in a parenthesis.”
Let’s do remember Brecht, but let us abide
by Rosenblatt’s No. 3: We are responsible for
each other.Connie Schultz is a Pulitzer Prize-winning
columnist living in Cleveland and the author, most
recently, of the novel “The Daughters of Erietown.”“I believe in life.
I believe in love.
I believe we are responsible for each other.”
Off we go, to explore his reasons why.
“Wipe the tears from your face, see the
moonlight, and rise,” he writes. “No need for a
stairway. Hold on to your soul. One shot of
courage and we’re climbing.”
Rosenblatt’s mood pivots and leaps as his
imagination “ruffles the mind.” He writes of
the beetles that save mimosa trees in Hous-
ton, his daughter’s death at age 38 and
greeting “small nervous birds” in walks along
the sea. He marvels at the “ingenious genius-
es” of both Shakespeare and the creator of the
cluster bomb, and pivots
again, to an unnamed “you”
sitting with him for break-
fast at a diner.
“You looked at our fifty-
something Latina waitress,
with her morning smile
competing with her ex-
hausted eyes, and then at
me. ‘Do we have a hundred
dollars to leave her for a
tip?’ you said. And when
our waitress could not be-
lieve what we did and kept
looking alternately at the
money and at us and you
said, ‘A New Year’s gift’ to
remove the sting of charity
from the gesture.”
Stay with him. He watch-
es four homeless men at the
village dump setting fire to a pile of prosthet-
ic legs “for warmth — and s’mores.” Eight
pages later, we’re in the segregated “Col-
oreds” car of a long-ago train, where the
Dixieland Five band members sleep, their
instruments piled in the aisle “in a great slag
hill, like possessions taken from prisoners.”
Off to Antarctica! “The world’s biggest
iceberg, the size of Delaware and Rhode
Island, is breaking up and drifting out the
Southern Ocean. Who can blame it? It has to
be a burden, being that big and solid. I
couldn’t do it, I’ll tell you that,” he insists. “I
too would want to chip away from myself and
drift. I couldn’t bear the pressure of all that
colossal adamancy.... Chop me up into ice
cubes and let me float in a vodka tonic.”
Another memory bubbles up, and three
years later it alarms me still. We were in a
restaurant in Rhode Island. I mistook my
vodka tonic for a glass of water and leaned
toward my toddler grandson to give him a
sip. His father flew out of his chair and
swatted away the straw — and my string of
apologies. He is kind that way.
“You sure love your son,” I told him later.W
hen Roger Rosenblatt was 3
years old, he wandered away
from home, and his parents
had to call the police to find
him.
“How long I walked I cannot say,” he writes
of his sojourn on a beach in Cape Cod. “But
after a while I heard the police car siren
behind me.” Little Roger was unrepentant.
He greeted them with a smile on his face and
a dead horseshoe crab dangling from his
hand.
“You can’t just wander off without telling
us,” his father said.
“We were scared to death,” his mother said.
I read this and paused as a long-ago
memory started poking and prodding for my
attention. This is one of the gifts of Rosenb-
latt’s book “Cold Moon: On Life, Love, and
Responsibility.” It provokes reader participa-
tion.
In his deceptively short book, the celebrat-
ed author and essayist takes us on a tour of
his “weathered mind” at age 80. He eschews
chapters for a series of written snapshots.
Some are short essays, but many are streams
of fragments — often barely a word or two, all
of them deftly arranged and fluttering about.
They are more than enough to stir things up.
His memories of his life summon ours,
without warning or apology. Line by line, he
helps us find softer landings.
When I read about his wandering the
beach at age 3, I thought of one of my
mother’s memories, recounted to me
throughout my life. One cool, sunny day
before I could walk, I went missing in my
great-aunt’s home, where my 20-year-old
parents lived for the first few months after
their elopement five months before my birth.
The three adults repeatedly shouted my
name as they frantically searched the house,
until my father looked out the front window.
There I was, sitting in the grass, smiling
upward for no reason they could discern.
Every time my mother told that story, her
voice rose to the timber of parental pride.
“We never figured out how you got out there.
You didn’t look the least bit scared or
surprised when we found you. You just
smiled and reached up for me.” I haven’t
heard that story in my mother’s voice for
more than 20 years. Rosenblatt invited her
back for just a moment, and this time I heard
the story of how I was capable of magic.
The Cold Moon, Rosenblatt explains at the
onset, is the last moon before the winter
solstice, a fitting metaphor as he embraces
“the coming of my wintertime of life.” His life,
like all lives, has known its share of upending
experiences, but he is now certain of three
things:
ESSAYS REVIEW BY CONNIE SCHULTZ
80 years of memories that will stir readers’ own
COLD MOON
On Life, Love,
and
Responsibility
By Roger
Rosenblatt
Tu rtle Point.
98 pp. $15.95“It’s so unusual,” the woman
said. “Your son has no fear. He
just walked into a strange house
and played the piano.”