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The Book Report: Washington Post critic Ron Charles (April 28)
By Washington Post book critic Ron Charles
Here are four new books to check out this spring.
Viking
In 2016, the world fell in love with an immensely charming novel by Amor Towles, called “A Gentleman in Moscow.” And now, with the adaptation starring Ewan McGregor streaming on Showtime, anticipation is running high for Towles’ next book.
Step this way: “Table for Two” is an irresistible collection of short stories and a novella split between New York and Los Angeles. Flavored with wit, intrigue, and a dash of bitter fate, “Table for Two” demonstrates that Towles is just as masterful at preparing a full literary meal as he is a tart little dessert.
Read an excerpt: “Table for Two”
“Table for Two” by Amor Towles (Viking), in Hardcover, eBook and Audio formats, available via Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Bookshop.org
Amor Towles on “A Gentleman in Moscow” (“Sunday Morning”)
Book excerpt: “A Gentleman in Moscow”
Book excerpt: “The Lincoln Highway”
Grove Press
Leif Enger’s debut novel, “Peace Like a River” was released more than 20 years ago, but I’ve never forgotten its buoyant optimism. Well, things are heating up in Enger’s dystopian new novel, “I Cheerfully Refuse.”
It’s about a man on Lake Superior who’s happy and hopeful, even though the government and the climate are wrecked. When violence hits home, though, he’s forced to flee, sailing around the Great Lake looking for a place to dock in a world that’s burning up and going mad. How he manages to do that is just one of several miracles in this strange, alluring novel.
Read an excerpt: “I Cheerfully Refuse”
“I Cheerfully Refuse” by Leif Enger (Grove Press), in Hardcover, eBook and Audio formats, available via Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Bookshop.org
Viking
So far, American readers have not paid enough attention to Sunjeev Sahota, but in England he’s been nominate for the Booker Prize twice.
His brilliant new novel, “The Spoiled Heart,” is about an ambitious, well-liked man named Nayan who’s running to be the leader of his labor union. He’s widely expected to win the election, but then a young woman announces her candidacy, and devastating secrets from Nayan’s past begin to arise and cracks appear in his campaign – until he finds himself at odds with the culture he once championed.
Read an excerpt: “The Spoiled Heart”
“The Spoiled Heart” by Sunjeev Sahota (Viking), in Hardcover, eBook and Audio formats, available via Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Bookshop.org
Macmillan
Judi Dench, master of film, TV and stage, has been bringing Shakespeare’s plays alive for more than 60 years.
And now, at the age of 89, Dench steals the show again with a delightful new memoir, called “Shakespeare: The Man Who Pays the Rent.”
Compiled from conversations with her friend, the actor Brendan O’Hea, this is a treasure trove of wit and wisdom about a unique relationship between an incomparable actress and the immortal playwright who still sets her heart ablaze.
Read an excerpt: “Shakespeare: The Man Who Pays the Rent”
“Shakespeare: The Man Who Pays the Rent” by Judi Dench and Brendan O’Hea (Macmillan), in Hardcover, eBook and Audio formats, available via Amazon, Barnes & Noble and
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:
For more reading recommendations, check out these previous Book Report features from Ron Charles:
Produced by Robin Sanders and Roman Feeser.
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Barry Enderwick is eating his way through history, one sandwich at a time. Every day from his home in San Jose, California, Enderwick posts a cooking video from a recipe that time forgot. From the 1905 British book “Salads, Sandwiches and Savouries,” Enderwick prepared the New York Sandwich.
The recipe called for 24 oysters, minced and mixed with mayonnaise, seasoned with lemon juice and pepper, and spread over buttered day-old French bread.
Rescuing recipes from the dustbin of history doesn’t always lead to culinary success. Sampling his New York Sandwich, Enderwick decried it as “a textural wasteland. No, thank you.” Into the trash bin it went!
But Enderwick’s efforts have yielded his own cookbook, a collection of some of the strangest – and sometimes unexpectedly delicious – historical recipes you’ve never heard of.
Harvard Common Press
He even has a traveling stage show: “Sandwiches of History Live.”
From the condiments to the sliced bread, this former Netflix executive has become something of a sandwich celebrity. “You can put just about anything in-between two slices of bread,” he said. “And it’s portable! In general, a sandwich is pretty easy fare. And so, they just have universal appeal.”
Though the sandwich gets its name famously from the Fourth Earl of Sandwich, the earliest sandwich Enderwick has eaten dates from 200 B.C.E. China, a seared beef sandwich called Rou Jia Mo.
He declared it delicious. “Between the onions, and all those spices and the soy sauce … oh my God! Oh man, this is so good!”
While Elvis was famous for his peanut butter and banana concoction, Enderwick says there’s another celebrity who should be more famous for his sandwich: Gene Kelly, who he says had “the greatest man sandwich in the world, which was basically mashed potatoes on bread. And it was delicious.”
Whether it’s a peanut and sardine sandwich (from “Blondie’s Cook Book” from 1947), or the parmesian radish sandwich (from 1909’s “The Up-To-Date Sandwich Book”), Enderwick tries to get a taste of who we were – good or gross – one recipe at a time.
RECIPE: A sophisticated club sandwich
Blogger Barry Enderwick, of Sandwiches of History, offers “Sunday Morning” viewers a 1958 recipe for a club sandwich that, he says, shouldn’t work, but actually does, really well!
MORE: “Sunday Morning” 2024 “Food Issue” recipe index
Delicious menu suggestions from top chefs, cookbook authors, food writers, restaurateurs, and the editors of Food & Wine magazine.
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Story produced by Anthony Laudato. Editor: Chad Cardin.
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