We’re thinking about dynasties this week. From Sarah Gristwood, “The Tudors in Love: Passion and Politics in the Age of England’s Most Famous Dynasty.” From Orlando Figes, ‘The Story of Russia’, in which the Romanovs inevitably play a leading role. And from Natalie Livingstone, “The Women of Rothschild: The Untold Story of the World’s Most Famous Dynasty.” Think of it as a fake baby week at the Book Review.
Also up: a look at the effect ice has had on human civilization; a volume of poetry and account of political protest from Belarus; and, in fiction, two novels and two short story collections. Enjoy reading.
— Gregory Cowles
The codes of ‘courtly love’ – elaborate rituals dating back to the 12th century – governed the public life of the Tudor monarchs. But as Gristwood points out, the royals paid more attention to the grim realities of politics.
Looking at both the past and the present, this comprehensive historical overview exposes national myths formed over centuries and concludes that Vladimir Putin tapped into central tropes of Russia’s traditional political culture in order to act as the sole savior of his country.
Metropolitan | $29.99
Cimafiieva, a Belarusian poet and translator, struggles in her work with questions about language, nationalism and oppression. This collection, her first to appear in English (in translation by Valzhyna Mort and Hanif Abdurraqib), also includes a prose account of the 2020 anti-government protests in Minsk.
Deep parchment | Paperback, $18.95
This free-running history of frozen water, by a quirky polymath and narrator, covers everything from popsicles to global warming. Human civilization is inexplicably linked to ice, Hogge argues; our ultimate fate as a species may be, too.
Pegasus | $27.95
MORNING
Sevgi Soysal
Soysal’s novel, first published in 1975 and translated into English for the first time this year, by Maureen Freely, begins with the robbery of an anarchist diner in Turkey and then moves on to explore the inner lives of several of those present. The power of the story lies in the chorus of wounded, angry voices.
Archipelago | Paperback, $20
They were wealthy and connected, but as Livingstone shows in this ambitious group biography of more than a dozen female members of the banking family, the Rothschild women included talented scientists, political activists and patrons of avant-garde art.
Saint Martin | $39.99
In Wilson’s magnanimous portrayal of the American teen years, a few bored and artsy friends in 1996 Tennessee create a cryptic, moody poster that they copy and post all over their small town, inadvertently causing a fatal moral panic.
After widows and migrant workers, sixth-grade girlfriends and the ghost of a dead aunt, the 10 stories in this intoxicating collection from the author of “Little Gods” are united by a sprawling preoccupation with catastrophe.
Sailor | $27.99
Set in China, the Americas and Mars, this collection depicts the toll of migration on families strained by physical distance and sacrifice. In all stories, Chai builds a remarkable tension, masterfully arranging all the pieces on the board to captivate the reader.
Blister | Paperback, $17.95
