Weekend picks for book lovers
What should you read this weekend? Paste BN's picks for book lovers include a couple of witchy brews: Stephen King's new story collection, and Stacy Schiff's history of the Salem Witch Trials.
The Bazaar of Bad Dreams by Stephen King; Scribner, 512 pp.; fiction
As prolific a novel writer as he is, Stephen King also has maintained a mastery of the short story over his long career.
Some of the stuff included here is already pretty well-known among King aficionados — among them the sharp baseball-centric novella Blockade Billy as well as UR, a 2010 tale that uses a tablet to see other worlds and was penned during the infancy of the Kindle.
King deals with a lot of real-life horror as well: Morality digs into a sinful proposal that drives a violent wedge between a married couple, and A Death doles out old-fashioned justice to a man who may or may not be a child killer.
Not surprisingly, the more fantastical stuff is outstanding. An obit writer finds out his work is really killer in Obits, and an elderly judge keeps a secret in The Dune: The sandy part of an island near his home foretells many a fatal fate.
Paste BN says ***1/2 out of four stars. "King's usual homespun style and storytelling swerves are fully evident."
The Witches: Salem, 1692 by Stacy Schiff; Little, Brown, 498 pp.; non-fiction
The Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Cleopatra re-examines the infamous Salem Witch Trials.
Paste BN says ****. "Almost scandalously pleasurable …(Schiff) casts a spell on you."
MJ: The Genius of Michael Jackson by Steve Knopper; Scribner, 438 pp.; non-fiction
Steve Knopper is on a rescue mission: to re-establish Michael Jackson's historic stature, six years after his death at age 50, as the greatest song-and-dance man of the 20th century's latter half.
Paste BN says ***1/2. "Knopper…is more conscientious historian than tabloid newshound."
The Secret Chord by Geraldine Brooks; Viking, 302 pp.; fiction
Novel about the life of David, King of Israel – perhaps better known to most of us from the world's most famous statue, by Michelangelo.
Paste BN says ***1/2. "Beautiful, subtle, grave."
Rogue Lawyer by John Grisham; Doubleday; 344 pp., fiction
Sebastian Rudd is a defense lawyer with loose morals who works out of a motor vehicle instead of an office. Grisham finds intense drama in the little skirmishes that play out across our legal system every day.
Paste BN says ***. "Deeply engaging and enjoyable."
Contributing reviewers: Brian Truitt, Kevin Nance, Gene Seymour, Charles Finch