New York Times Book Reviews

This week’s Crime column features a mom who runs a spy operation and a female medical student in 19th-century Edinburgh. Also a hit man turned P.I.

In Fernando Aramburu’s novel “Homeland,” the Basque separatist movement spawns violence that shatters two families.

The novel is based on the real-life journalist Varian Fry, who helped thousands of Jews escape from the Nazis during World War II.

Six new paperbacks to check out this week.

Readers respond to recent issues of the Sunday Book Review.

“Oksana, Behave!” and “Lights All Night Long” serve up stories of immigration and semi-integration.

Paul Mendes-Flohr’s biography examines the life and legacy of the Jewish thinker and theologian.

Suggested reading from critics and editors at The New York Times.

“The Light Years,” a memoir by the artist Chris Rush, evokes his troubled youth in a wealthy Catholic family in New Jersey and his search for acceptance in the mountains of the Southwest.

In his Graphic Content column, Ed Park looks at Mira Jacob’s “Good Talk,” about her American identity, as well as Bill Griffith’s “Nobody’s Fool,” an origin story set on the freak show circuit.

“The Death and Life of Aida Hernandez,” by Aaron Bobrow-Strain, captures the plight of an undocumented Mexican immigrant in harrowing, novelistic detail.

“Henry, Himself” uses short vignettes to capture a year in the life of the Pittsburgh man whose shadow loomed over two earlier novels.

“Everything in Its Place” features essays that are actually all over the place.

In her debut, “Miracle Creek,” Angie Kim explores just how far people will go to protect their families.

A selection of recent audiobooks; plus, a peek at what our colleagues around the newsroom are reading.

Surrender of self, the Op-Ed columnist says, can awaken love and connection and lead to a life of deep commitment.

“Machines Like Me” asks if synthetic humans could spark enlightenment or ease pain — and whether it’s a good idea to invent stuff that could eat your lunch.

Siri Hustvedt reviews “So Much Longing in So Little Space: The Art of Edvard Munch.”

Jenny Odell is an artist who wants us to learn to detach from social media. In “How to Do Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy,” she shows us a way.

Haunted by climate change, the poet’s postapocalyptic fifth collection envisions a world where humans have ruined things for everyone.