Books & Fiction: Thirty Books to Read from the National Book Awards Longlist

Plus: Ayad Akhtar’s “Homeland Elegies”; Hervé Guibert’s defiant fiction; and Roger Angell turns one hundred. View in browser | Update your preferences Page-Turner The 2020 National Book Awards Longlist: Fiction The list includes three débuts and only one repeat nominee. By The New Yorker More from the National Book Awards Longlist Page-Turner The 2020 National Book Awards Longlist: Nonfiction This year’s lineup includes several books that illuminate the workings of race and other vectors of power. By The New Yorker Page-Turner The 2020 National Book Awards Longlist: Poetry Many of this year’s contenders observe the violence of empire and excavate histories that have been forgotten or erased. By The New Yorker PAID POST The #1 Worldwide Bestseller, “The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” “Collins once again proves that she is a master of building a fascinating world” (The Associated Press) in this New York Times bestselling prequel to the “Hunger Games” trilogy. Essays & Criticism Life and Letters An American Writer for an Age of Division The playwright and novelist Ayad Akhtar has never been afraid of provoking audiences. His latest work explores the origins of Trump’s toxicity and the tensions of Muslim identity. By Alexandra Schwartz Books When a Virus Becomes a Muse Hervé Guibert wrote about the ravaging of AIDS in controversial, self-exposing, always defiant fiction. A revival of his work places it within the canonical literature of illness. By Julian Lucas Double Take Roger Angell Turns One Hundred As we celebrate our friend this week, we, his readers, get the best gifts. By David Remnick Books Briefly Noted “Wandering in Strange Lands,” “The Pink Line,” “The Discomfort of Evening,” and “High as the Waters Rise.” Poetry Poems “Remedy” “The more I know about human nature / the more I plan to be tall grass in a field.” By Bob Hicok Poems “Rauschenberg” “Our first concern might be did the artist consider the impossibility of defining / nothing without speaking of absence without speaking.” By Maya Phillips This e-mail was sent to you by The New Yorker. To insure delivery, we recommend adding newyorker@newsletters.newyorker.com, to your contacts, while noting that it is a no-reply address. Please send all newsletter feedback to tnyinbox@newyorker.com. For more from The New Yorker, sign up for our newsletters, shop the store, and sign in to newyorker.com, where subscribers always have unlimited access. Contact us with questions. View our Privacy Policy Unsubscribe Copyright © Condé Nast 2020. One World Trade Center, New York, NY 10007. All rights reserved.