The Book Report: Washington Post critic Ron Charles (June 4)

Entertainment Ron Charles 04/06/2023

By Washington Post book critic Ron Charles

As we all look forward to summer, here are a few new titles to check out: 

Putnam's

Two's company, three's a crowd – and what a crowd they are, in this smart, sly novel by Ore Agbaje-Williams. "The Three of Us" (Putnam's) presents a day in the lives of a husband, his wife, and his wife's best friend who's rich, dazzling and deeply possessive. 

The story unfolds in three acts, each narrated by a different character who has a very different idea about how this marriage should evolve – or dissolve!  

READ AN EXCERPT: "The Three of Us" by Ore Agbaje-Williams

"The Three of Us" by Ore Agbaje-Williams (Putnam's), in Hardcover, eBook and Audio formats, available via Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Bookshop.org

oreawilliams.com

Farrar, Straus and Giroux

Martin Luther King, Jr., has been the subject of several major biographies, but now Jonathan Eig, a former Wall Street Journal reporter, has published a vibrant new biography that looks even deeper into King's upbringing, his activism, and his mission.

Drawing on more than 200 interviews, and thousands of newly-released FBI documents, "King: A Life" (Farrar, Straus and Giroux) presents the iconic leader of the civil rights movement as a deeply human figure who was more radical, more complicated, and consequently more heroic than any legend about his life.

READ AN EXCERPT: "King: A Life" by Jonathan Eig

"King: A Life" by Jonathan Eig (Farrar, Straus and Giroux), in Hardcover, eBook and Audio formats, available via Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Bookshop.org

jonathaneig.com

Random House

In 2016, Emma Cline made a big splash with her debut novel, "The Girls," which involved the Charles Manson Family murders. Now she's back with her second novel, "The Guest" (Random House), about desire and class in America.

It's a smoldering thriller about a young escort who's run out of friends and reliable clients in New York. Desperate to get away, she flees to the Hamptons, where she hopes to con someone into taking care of her before a very determined man from her past tracks her down. 

READ AN EXCERPT: "The Guest" by Emma Cline

"The Guest" by Emma Cline (Random House), in Hardcover, eBook and Audio formats, available via Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Bookshop.org

emmacline.com

Little, Brown and Company

Kwame Alexander is a celebrated author of books for young people, like "Crossover," which won a Newbury Medal and is the basis for a new TV series on Disney+. But this month, Alexander has published an unusual memoir for adults, called "Why Fathers Cry at Night" (Little, Brown and Company).

It tells the story of his parents, his path to literary success, and his struggles to be a good husband and father. And it's packed with family recipes and his poems. These are just snapshots, he says, of a man learning to love. 

READ AN EXCERPT: "Why Fathers Cry at Night" by Kwame Alexander

"Why Fathers Cry at Night" by Kwame Alexander (Little, Brown and Company), in Hardcover, eBook and Audio formats, available via Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Bookshop.org

kwamealexander.com

For more suggestions on what to read, contact your librarian or local bookseller. 

That's it for the Book Report. I'm Ron Charles. Until next time, read on!

     
For more info: 

  • Ron Charles, The Washington Post
  • Subscribe to the free Washington Post Book World Newsletter
  • Ron Charles' Totally Hip Video Book Review
  • indiebound.org (for ordering from independent booksellers)

      
For more reading recommendations, check out these previous Book Report features from Ron Charles: 

  • The Book Report (April 30)
  • The Book Report (March 19)
  • The Book Report (February 12)
  • The Book Report: Ron Charles' favorite novels of 2022
  • The Book Report (November 13)
  • The Book Report (Sept. 18)
  • The Book Report (July 10)
  • The Book Report (April 17)
  • The Book Report (March 13)
  • The Book Report (February 6)
  • The Book Report (November 28)
  • The Book Report (September 26)
  • The Book Report (August 1)
  • The Book Report (June 6)
  • The Book Report (May 9)
  • The Book Report (March 28)
  • The Book Report (February 28)
  • The Book Report (January 31)

     
Produced by Robin Sanders and Roman Feeser.

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  • Books and Beyond

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