Book reviews from Tin House Press — fiction, nonfiction, children’s and independent titles, read and reviewed by our editorial team.
The author is the descendant of Jewish Germans who were sent to concentration camps when Nazism rose in their country, while the rest of their family were able to immigrate to the United States throughout the 1930s. In these pages, Neuburger offers a partially fictionalized account, focusing on three connected German nuclear families over two …
King Finn, son of Folcwald, is a Frisian king. Unlike many great men and kings of his time, he is not a warlord—though he finds himself occasionally concerned about being known as “a king who traded rather than raided,” he knows he has built a solid home for his people and his family. Queen Hildeburh, …
“The decision I made in 1992 to be baptized as a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was not a particularly popular one among my Jewish family,” writes Blank in his introduction. In these pages, the author discusses events from his own spiritual journey while offering broader reflections on faith from …
Rae, an author, academic, and musician, examines the Grateful Dead’s eventful history and “points to the unique fusion of the band’s ethos and praxis with elements of Buddhist thought.” Certainly, the band’s countercultural milieu was awash in Eastern and Native American spirituality, and, though none of the group’s members practiced Buddhism as such, many of …
The novel begins with 15-year-old Lijah coming home to an empty townhouse. His mother has apparently stepped out, and his truck-driver father, who’s been away for work, should have returned days ago. Peace Force officers suddenly show up and drive Lijah to a massive building called Linderhaven. As he checks in, he finds that both …
Dev, a well-meaning but occasionally impetuous kid from Kathmandu, is sent to Everest Base Camp to learn some responsibility after breaking a flower pot while playing cricket. Luckily, he won’t be alone; his friend Joon is headed to camp, too—plus, their yeti pal, Hiũ, makes his home in the snowy mountains. After they get situated, …
It’s 1979, and Bonnet Shores is slowly knitting itself back together after last summer’s rash of home invasions. The perpetrators were caught, and while alarm systems now protect windows such as 15-year-old Maddie Grove’s, she’s happy to once again have the freedom to stay out late with her friends, and have her crush visit her …
Poppy Sterling is used to interviewing the rich and famous in her job as a celebrity journalist in London. She stakes out the red carpet and even hosts her own interview show, making her a bit of a celeb in her own right. But there’s one person who can get under her skin: Rory Wallace, …
The latest novel by de Waal (My Name Is Leon, 2016) was published in the U.K. last year as The Best of Everything. It reaches these shores with a new, more memorable title that underscores the story’s folksy tenderness. “My Sweet Pea” is what Paulette’s grandmother called her as a girl on St. Kitts, raising …
English actor, director, and motion-capture pioneer Serkis is a thrill-seeker in life—he writes here of his successful “solo assault” on the Matterhorn—and also in his art. His attitude is distilled in his initial response to being asked to play Ulysses Klaue in Marvel’s Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015): “Charismatic South African villain who gets his …
