NPR's Book of the Day

NPR's Book of the Day

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Ann Patchett’s 'Whistler' and 'Tom Lake' are novels written with love in mind

Novelist Ann Patchett has written about things as wild as hostage takeovers, fairy tales, and betrayed magicians’ assistants. But her new novel Whistler turns down the stakes to focus on the quieter complexities of human relationships. Today’s episode features two conversations b ...  Show more

 . 17min 59sec

All Episodes

Ann Patchett’s 'Whistler' and 'Tom Lake' are novels written with love in mind

Novelist Ann Patchett has written about things as wild as hostage takeovers, fairy tales, and betrayed magicians’ assistants. But her new novel Whistler turns down the stakes to focus on the quieter complexities of human relationships. Today’s episode features two conversations b ...  Show more

 . 17min 59sec
'A Pair of Aces' is about two women who face down the mob in 1930s New York

Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray have just published new historical fiction. Their novel A Pair of Aces is about two women in 1930s New York who face down the mob and try to take down the infamous gangster Lucky Luciano. One of the protagonists is Eunice Carter, bas ...  Show more

 . 8min 40sec
In 'Keeper of My Kin,' Ada Ferrer struggles with being her mother's "chosen one"

At the start of the Cuban Revolution, Adela Ferrer’s husband made an impossible decision. Her husband had fled Havana for New York, and she planned to take her two children and join him. But instead, she was forced to bring only her daughter, leaving her 9-year-old son behind. Th ...  Show more

 . 8min 37sec
Maggie O'Farrell's novel 'Land' takes readers to a famine-ravaged yet resilient Ireland

What happened to those who remained in Ireland after the Great Famine of 1865? It’s a question that fascinated Maggie O’Farrell, author of Hamnet, as she began her newest novel Land. Drawing on fragments of Irish history from her great-great-grandfather, O’Farrell’s Land is about ...  Show more

 . 8min 55sec
In 'View From the East Wing,' Jill Biden reflects on the debate that changed history

The first and only 2024 Biden-Trump presidential debate was not a night easily forgotten. Joe Biden’s stumbling performance and Kamala Harris’ resulting candidacy changed history — but questions remain. In former first lady Jill Biden’s new memoir View From the East Wing, she tri ...  Show more

 . 8min 20sec