1. Ananya Bhattacharyya’s review of Under the Tamarind Tree: A Novel by Nigar Alam (G.P. Putnam’s Sons). “The bulk of the narrative takes place in 1964 and focuses on Rozeena, who is now a pediatrician, and her three neighborhood friends, Aalya, Zohair, and Haaris. Aalya, a next-door neighbor and practically a little sister to Rozeena, and Zohair — who is not as well fleshed out as the others — seem to have a special connection, although we only see hints of their blossoming relationship. What is clearer is the mutual attraction felt between Rozeena and the wealthy Haaris. But something stands in the way of both these connections: class and class consciousness, which permeate the book.”


2. Michael Causey’s review of Citizen Cash: The Political Life and Times of Johnny Cash by Michael Stewart Foley (Basic Books). “Foley is no Cash apologist, but I suspect he’d say the superstar ended his life with a ledger far richer in black ink than red. And the book makes a compelling argument in Cash’s favor regarding his stances on the major issues of the day. He was no firebrand and may have been determined to make no enemies, but Johnny Cash always believed America and Americans could be better tomorrow if we’d just find common ground to build upon today. Let’s hope he was right.”


3. Mark Gamin’s review of Distant Sons: A Novel by Tim Johnston (Algonquin Books). “As Sean puts it, ‘Behind every good, the bad waited its turn.’ There must be more to this saga. I say, bring it on. It’s confounding (as your A.R. has written before) trying to figure out which of the many, many mystery/suspense/crime writers, no matter how popular, are worth the time, and which will make you rue — 15 pages from the end — the effort you’ve already put in. With so many of them cranking out novels, how can you tell? Well, that’s what book reviews are for. So, trust your A.R.: This Tim Johnston fellow, he’s the good stuff.”


4. Anne Eliot Feldman’s review of The Heart of It All: A Novel by Christian Kiefer (Melville House). “Kiefer’s expertly drawn characters rarely lose sight of ‘the fierce terror of life’s essential fragility, not only brittle but actively aflame.’ While most are “surviving paycheck to paycheck, on loan, on credit, on faith,” it is their human frailties that move us to the core. Mary Lou wonders if the career path she chose might’ve been far less ambitious than she was capable of achieving. She and others like her put in long hours at tedious jobs they hate but need. Anthony’s hyper-awareness of being a 19-year-old Black man in an all-white community is palpable when he takes an innocent stroll at night while Tom’s daughter, Janey, walks nearby. Tom and Sarah, for their part, persist in a difficult marriage.”


5. William Rice’s review of The Hidden Roots of White Supremacy: And the Path to a Shared American Future by Robert P. Jones (Simon & Schuster). “The book is a sad, heartfelt, ultimately (and defiantly) hopeful exploration of white racism as wielded against Native Americans and African Africans in Minnesota, Mississippi, and Oklahoma. The violations against Indigenous tribes generally span generations, while the anti-Black crimes covered are discrete 20th-century events, two occurring in 1920. Some of the outrages have in recent years become notorious — the Tulsa Race Massacre and the murder of Emmett Till — while others, like the mass execution of 38 Dakota Indians during the Civil War, have drawn less attention.”

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