Heller McAlpin
Heller McAlpin is a New York-based critic who reviews books regularly for NPR.org, The Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, The Christian Science Monitor, The San Francisco Chronicle and other publications.
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Anne Tyler's latest novel — about a man who discovers that his calm, routine life may not be the one he really wants — is a balm for jangled nerves.
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Kate Elizabeth Russell's new novel centers on a woman coming to terms with a relationship she had with a predatory teacher when she was 15. It's overworked and overlong, but still packs a punch.
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Lily King's latest novel — about a young woman choosing between two loves while trying to live a creative life — proves literature doesn't have to be groundbreaking to be absolutely compelling.
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Katie Roiphe's journal-like entries are a series of brief-but-potent meditations on women, autonomy, independence, and power — on "women strong in public, weak in private" — including herself.
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In his latest book, Julian Barnes dives into the glittering life of Samuel Jean Pozzi, a celebrated French gynecologist who palled around with some of the brightest stars of the Belle Epoque.
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Jenny Offill's darkly funny, urgent new novel follows a librarian who gets involved in doomsday prepping. It's a perfect portrait of our age of rising anxiety over climate change and
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If the chances of dying in a plane crash are slim, being the sole survivor is even less likely — but that's the premise for two new novels, Ann Napolitano's Dear Edward and Rye Curtis's Kingdomtide.
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Miranda Popkey's novel tackles the complicated issues of female desire, sex and failed relationships through a troubled, unnamed narrator who reports on her conversations with a series of other women.
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Wilson's new novel centers on a young woman taking care of two kids with a disturbing ability: When upset, they burst into flames. But in Wilson's hands, what could be scary is funny, even beautiful.
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In her new novel, Jami Attenberg dives deep into the dark heart of one family over the course of one long day, as their abusive, angry patriarch lies dying in the hospital after a heart attack.