Kentucky Derby weekend picks for book lovers
What should you read this weekend? Paste BN’s picks for book lovers include a new look at last year's breathtaking run by Triple Crown winner American Pharoah, and two new mysteries.
American Pharoah: The Untold Story of the Triple Crown Winner’s Legendary Rise by Joe Drape; Hachette, 258 pp.; non-fiction
A Triple Crown winner: Like so many horse racing fans, Joe Drape was rooting for one.
He’d had his heart broken at Belmont Park seven previous times, but June 6, 2015, would be different.
American Pharoah, the thoroughbred with the misspelled name, would ride to glory as only the 12th Triple Crown winner in history, and the first in 37 years, and many tears of joy would be shed.
Drape, who covers racing for The New York Times, witnessed the feat up close. Now he tells the story of the chestnut champion in a new book, which arrives in time for this year’s Kentucky Derby and a fresh round of Triple Crown hopes.
Paste BN says *** ½ out of four. “A feel-good tale …rides into the winner’s circle via effortless prose, well-reported insider details, a compelling human cast of characters — and an irresistible horse.”
The Legend of Zippy Chippy by William Thomas; McClelland & Stewart, 274 pp.; non-fiction
If American Pharoah was the prom king of the racetrack, then Zippy Chippy was the class clown. Despite a pedigree as impressive as Pharoah’s, Zippy managed to lose 100 races in a row in the 1990s and early 2000s.
Paste BN says *** stars. "Entertaining …this ‘lovable loser’ gets to take a long-awaited victory lap.”
The Passenger by Lisa Lutz; Simon & Schuster, 302 pp.; fiction
This novel has eight narrators; all of them are the same woman. She starts out coolly assessing her husband’s corpse, which lies at the bottom of a staircase.
Paste BN says ***½ stars. A “dark, readable, intelligent novel… Lutz belongs in a conversation with writers like Gillian Flynn, George Pelecanos and Megan Abbott.”
The Hourglass Factory by Lucy Ribchester; Pegasus, 504 pp.; fiction
Frankie George is a journalist trying to learn what has become of an acrobat named Ebony Diamond, who may have links to the British suffragettes in this historical mystery.
Paste BN says *** ½ stars. A “wonderful debut… a lively, funny, unexpected book.”
Eruption: The Untold Story of Mount St. Helens by Steve Olson; Norton, 245 pp.; non-fiction
Looks back at the 1980 eruption of a long-slumbering volcano in the Pacific Northwest, which claimed 57 lives.
Paste BN says **** stars. “Engaging…vividly reported.”
Contributing reviewers: Jocelyn McClurg, Charles Finch, Matt Damsker