{"id":4236,"date":"2025-09-05T18:03:14","date_gmt":"2025-09-05T18:03:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/4236\/"},"modified":"2025-09-05T18:03:14","modified_gmt":"2025-09-05T18:03:14","slug":"what-should-you-read-next-here-are-the-best-reviewed-books-of-the-week-literary-hub","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/4236\/","title":{"rendered":"What Should You Read Next? Here Are the Best Reviewed Books of the Week \u2039 Literary Hub"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Book<\/a><\/p>\n

Rabih Alameddine\u2019s The True True Story of Raja the Gullible (and His Mother), Arundhati Roy\u2019s Mother Mary Comes to Me, and Patrick Ryan\u2019s Buckeye all feature among the best reviewed books of the week.<\/p>\n

Brought to you by Book Marks<\/a>, Lit Hub\u2019s home for book reviews.<\/p>\n

*<\/p>\n

Fiction<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Buckeye<\/p>\n

1. Buckeye<\/a> by Patrick Ryan
(Random House)<\/p>\n

5 Rave \u2022 2 Positive
Read an interview with Patrick Ryan here<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cCaptivating \u2026 Omniscient, sweeping, almost defiantly sentimental, Buckeye is a reminder of the deep pleasure of following a cast of characters over their entire lives \u2026 Ryan\u2019s wide-angle approach complements his evocative yet tranquil style \u2026 The author clearly loves these people, and he makes the safe bet that you will, too.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2013Jess Walter (The New York Times Book Review<\/a>)<\/p>\n

\"True<\/a><\/p>\n

2. The True True Story of Raja the Gullible (and His Mother)<\/a> by Rabih Alameddine
(Grove)<\/p>\n

4 Rave \u2022\u00a02 Positive<\/p>\n

\u201c[A] blend of humor and cattiness \u2026 A perfect match for Alameddine\u2019s edgy charm\u2014an edginess that always leaves room for compassion, which readers will find in abundance in this challenging but exceptional book.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2013Michael Magras (BookPage<\/a>)<\/p>\n

\"Mercy<\/p>\n

3. Mercy<\/a> by Joan Silber
(Counterpoint)<\/p>\n

5 Rave
Read an interview with Joan Silber here<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cIf you are interested in friendship and betrayal, pain and relief, the power of sex, the ever-present mixture of love and misunderstanding between generations of a family, the process of coming to terms with one\u2019s past\u2014the characters of Mercy have some stories they would like to tell you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2013Marion Winik (The Boston Globe<\/a>)<\/p>\n

**<\/p>\n

Nonfiction<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Mother<\/a><\/p>\n

1. Mother Mary Comes to Me<\/a> by Arundhati Roy
(Scribner)<\/p>\n

7 Rave \u2022 2 Positive \u2022 1 Mixed<\/p>\n

\u201cRoy\u2019s stunning, dramatic, funny, far-ranging, and complexly illuminating chronicle portraying two strong-willed women fighting for justice and truth is incandescent in its fury, courage, and love.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2013Donna Seaman (Booklist<\/a>)<\/p>\n

\"Wild<\/a><\/p>\n

2. Wild for Austen: A Rebellious, Subversive, and Untamed Jane<\/a> by Devoney Looser
(St. Martin\u2019s Press)<\/p>\n

3 Rave \u2022 1 Positive \u2022 1 Mixed<\/p>\n

\u201cLooser tackles the common notion of Austen as someone nothing much ever happened to \u2026 The third part of her book contains some of her most riveting material \u2026 Fascinating \u2026 While Looser writes from an academic standpoint, her book is accessible and fun, with appeal for both fans of Jane Austen and of history alike.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2013Nancy McCabe (The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette<\/a>)<\/p>\n

\"Our<\/a><\/p>\n

3. Our Fragile Freedoms<\/a> by Eric Foner
(W. W. Norton & Company)<\/p>\n

3 Rave \u2022 1 Positive<\/p>\n

\u201cOutstanding \u2026 The collection demonstrates Foner\u2019s powerful grasp of his subject matter \u2026 An ideal collection of essays for students of the history of race and the United States after the Civil War.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2013Russell James (Library Journal<\/a>)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Rabih Alameddine\u2019s The True True Story of Raja the Gullible (and His Mother), Arundhati Roy\u2019s Mother Mary Comes…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":4237,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[489,156,111,139,69],"class_list":{"0":"post-4236","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-books","8":"tag-books","9":"tag-entertainment","10":"tag-new-zealand","11":"tag-newzealand","12":"tag-nz"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4236","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4236"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4236\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4237"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4236"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4236"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4236"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}