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New York Times
a day ago
- Entertainment
- New York Times
The Cult Classic That Expanded What African Literature Could Be
Roving Eye is the Book Review's essay series on international writers of the past whose works warrant a fresh look, often in light of reissued, updated or newly translated editions of their books. Everything about the book spoke in riddles to me: the abstract orange-and-black stick figures on the cover; the vague, enigmatic tag line calling it 'a novel from Africa'; the blurb from Dylan Thomas heralding 'a grisly and bewitching story of indescribable adventures.' Then there was the title itself: 'The Palm-Wine Drinkard.' (What, exactly, is a 'drinkard'?) This was my first introduction to the author Amos Tutuola, a Nigerian with little formal education. But he soon became one of the most intriguing international writers I discovered during college and the ravenous, slightly delirious years that followed, their dusty paperbacks excavated from small New York bookstores that have long since vanished. Published in 1952, at the dawn of African independence (and a decade before the classic Heinemann African Writers series appeared), Tutuola's novel stood apart from the others I took home, and its mystery continues to exert a powerful pull. This month, THE PALM-WINE DRINKARD (Grove, 144 pp., paperback, $17) returns to life in a striking new edition, along with Tutuola's 1954 follow-up, 'My Life in the Bush of Ghosts,' with introductions by Wole Soyinka and Kaveh Akbar. Originally published under the Evergreen imprint of Grove Press, the books appeared alongside the storied house's rogues' gallery of midcentury American and European avant-garde authors like William Burroughs, Henry Miller, Samuel Beckett and Jean Genet. Inspired in part by folk tales and written in an idiosyncratic vernacular that mixes English with Yoruba syntax, 'The Palm-Wine Drinkard' went on to become something of a cult classic in the West. Time magazine named it one of the 100 best fantasy books of all time. It has been hailed as a forerunner of the magical realism of Gabriel García Márquez and others, and it had a significant impact on African literature, even if it has been largely overshadowed by Chinua Achebe's 'Things Fall Apart.' How did it become such a crossover success, an early example of what would come to be called 'world literature'? And how was it understood (or not) in its own time, both at home and abroad? The novel begins with a thorny predicament for the homebrew-loving narrator who weaves together the book's adventures. His personal 'tapster,' who for the past 15 years has been climbing and tapping palm trees to provide for the narrator's extravagant daily consumption of palm wine, falls from a tree and dies. All is not lost, though, for perhaps the dead man can be retrieved from 'deads' town,' where the spirits of the deceased congregate. The problem: how to find this ghostly place, and how to get there through a menacing 'bush' teeming with outlandish creatures and magical spells. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
New York Times
14-03-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
Herman Graf, Who Helped Sell ‘Tropic of Cancer,' Dies at 91
Herman Graf, a major and intrepid figure in independent publishing who sold copies of Henry Miller's novel 'Tropic of Cancer' to bookstores after it was embroiled in a legal fight over whether it was obscene, died on Feb. 27 at his home in Flushing, Queens. He was 91. His nephew Paul Lichter said the cause was Parkinson's disease. Among Mr. Graf's many other accomplishments in publishing, he helped turn John Kennedy Toole's satirical novel, 'A Confederacy of Dunces,' into a best seller long after the author's death. A raconteur with a booming voice, Mr. Graf was a bibliophile who loved the works of Stendhal and Thomas Mann. His apartment in Queens was filled with books, many of them first editions. And he was a relentless, and boisterous, salesman for Grove Press, where he spent the better part of two decades, and Carroll & Graf, the publishing house he later founded with Kent Carroll. 'He was audacious and unafraid,' John Donatich, the director of Yale University Press and a former assistant to Mr. Graf, said in an interview. 'He changed people's minds and made people see things his way, whether he was acquiring a book, selling a book to a foreign publisher or getting a foreign publisher to sell one to him.' When Mr. Graf arrived as a salesman at Grove Press in 1964, the publishing house, in Greenwich Village, was near the end of a long First Amendment battle over 'Tropic of Cancer,' a sexually explicit first-person account of a writer's life in Paris during the 1920s and '30s. Barney Rosset, who as Grove's risk-loving owner was known for fighting censorship, had paid Miller $50,000 in 1961 for the rights to reprint his novel, which had been published in Paris in 1934 but never legally in the United States. Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times. Thank you for your patience while we verify access. Already a subscriber? Log in. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Los Angeles Times
26-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
The week's bestselling books, March 2
1. James by Percival Everett (Doubleday: $28) An action-packed reimagining of 'The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.' 2. The God of the Woods by Liz Moore (Riverhead Books: $30) Two worlds collide when a teenager vanishes from her Adirondacks summer camp. 3. All Fours by Miranda July (Riverhead Books: $29) A woman upends her domestic life in this irreverent novel. 4. Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan (Grove Press: $20) During the 1985 Christmas season, a coal merchant in an Irish village makes a troubling discovery. 5. The Wedding People by Alison Espach (Henry Holt & Co.: $29) An unexpected wedding guest gets surprise help. 6. Three Days in June by Anne Tyler (Knopf: $27) A socially awkward mother of the bride navigates the days before and after her daughter's wedding. 7. Intermezzo by Sally Rooney (Farrar, Straus & Giroux: $29) Two grieving brothers come to terms with their history. 8. Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros (Entangled: Red Tower Books: $30) The third installment of the bestselling dragon rider series. 9. Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros (Entangled: Red Tower Books: $30) A dragon rider faces more tests in the 'Fourth Wing' sequel. 10. The Women by Kristin Hannah (St. Martin's Press: $30) An intimate portrait of coming of age in a dangerous time. … 1. The Let Them Theory by Mel Robbins (Hay House: $30) A guide on how to stop wasting energy on things you can't control. 2. Lorne by Susan Morrison (Random House: $36) An authoritative biography of Lorne Michaels, the man behind 'Saturday Night Live.' 3. Memorial Days by Geraldine Brooks (Viking: $28) A memoir of sudden loss, grief and the mysteries of life. 4. How We Learn to Be Brave by Mariann Edgar Budde (Avery: $28) A guide to navigating pivotal moments in life with faith and strength by the bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington. 5. Golden State by Michael Hiltzik (Mariner Books: $33) The Pulitzer winner and L.A. Times columnist writes a definitive new history of California. 6. The Harder I Fight the More I Love You by Neko Case (Grand Central Publishing: $30) The singer-songwriter's vivid portrait of a turbulent life. 7. The Serviceberry by Robin Wall Kimmerer and John Burgoyne (illustrator) (Scribner: $20) The 'Braiding Sweetgrass' author on gratitude, reciprocity and community, and the lessons to take from the natural world. 8. On the Hippie Trail by Rick Steves (Rick Steves: $30) The travel writer recalls his 1978 journey from Istanbul to Kathmandu. 9. The Sirens' Call by Chris Hayes (Penguin Press: $32) An analysis of how trivial distractions have reordered our politics and the fabric of society. 10. Aflame by Pico Iyer (Riverhead Books: $30) An exploration of the power of silence and what it can show us about life, love and death. … 1. Deep End by Ali Hazelwood (Berkley: $20) 2. Orbital by Samantha Harvey (Grove Press: $17) 3. Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar (Vintage: $18) 4. The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood (Anchor: $18) 5. Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros (Entangled: Red Tower Books: $21) 6. Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver (Harper Perennial: $22) 7. North Woods by Daniel Mason (Random House Trade Paperbacks: $18) 8. The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon (Vintage: $18) 9. The Vegetarian by Han Kang (Hogarth: $18) 10. Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir (Ballantine: $20) … 1. The Backyard Bird Chronicles by Amy Tan (Knopf: $35) 2. All the Beauty in the World by Patrick Bringley (Simon & Schuster: $19) 3. The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron (TarcherPerigee: $20) 4. All About Love by bell hooks (Morrow: $17) 5. Slouching Towards Bethlehem by Joan Didion (Farrar, Straus & Giroux: $18) 6. The Art Thief by Michael Finkel (Vintage: $18) 7. The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz (Amber-Allen: $13) 8. Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer (Milkweed Editions: $20) 9. The Courage to Be Disliked by Ichiro Kishimi and Fumitake Koga (Atria Books: $19) 10. On Tyranny by Timothy Snyder (Crown: $12)
Boston Globe
06-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Boston Globe
Local bestsellers for the week ended Feb. 2
3. Riverhead Books 4. Rebecca Yarros Entangled: Red Tower Books 5. Grove Press 6. Henry Holt and Co. 7. Grady Hendrix Berkley 8. Hogarth 9. Entangled: Red Tower Books 10. St. Martin's Press HARDCOVER NONFICTION 1. Mel Robbins Hay House LL C Advertisement 2. Scribner Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Enter Email Sign Up 3. Chris Hayes Penguin Press 4. Neko Case Grand Central Publishing 5. Erik Larson Crown 6. Knopf 7. Oliver Burkeman Farrar, Straus and Giroux 8. Ecco 9. St. Martin's Press 10. Doubleday PAPERBACK FICTION 1. Vintage 2. Entangled: Red Tower Books 3. Grove Press 4. Vintage 5. Catapult 6. Poisoned Pen Press Advertisement 7. Octavia E. Butler Grand Central 8. Harper Perennial 9. Random House Trade Paperbacks 10. Atria Books PAPERBACK NONFICTION 1. Crown 2. Knopf 3. Milkweed Editions 4. Vintage 5. Vintage 6. Penguin 7. Morrow 8. Penguin 9. Julia Cameron TarcherPerigee 10. Vintage The New England Indie Bestseller List, as brought to you by IndieBound and NEIBA, for the week ended Sunday, Feb. 2, 2025. Based on reporting from the independent booksellers of the New England Independent Booksellers Association and IndieBound. For an independent bookstore near you, visit
Los Angeles Times
05-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
The week's bestselling books, Feb. 9
1. James by Percival Everett (Doubleday: $28) An action-packed reimagining of 'The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.' 2. Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros (Entangled: Red Tower Books: $33) A deluxe limited edition of the fantasy series featuring exclusive design work. 3. Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros (Entangled: Red Tower Books: $30) The third installment of the bestselling dragon rider series. 4. All Fours by Miranda July (Riverhead Books: $29) A woman upends her domestic life in this irreverent novel. 5. Witchcraft for Wayward Girls by Grady Hendrix (Berkley: $30) In a home for pregnant young women in 1970 Florida, a book on witchcraft upends lives. 6. The Wedding People by Alison Espach (Henry Holt & Co.: $29) An unexpected wedding guest gets surprise help on her journey to starting anew. 7. Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan (Grove Press: $20) During the 1985 Christmas season, a coal merchant in an Irish village makes a troubling discovery. 8. The God of the Woods by Liz Moore (Riverhead Books: $30) Two worlds collide when a teenager vanishes from her Adirondacks summer camp. 9. The Women by Kristin Hannah (St. Martin's Press: $30) An intimate portrait of coming of age in a dangerous time. 10. Water Moon by Samantha Sotto Yambao (Del Rey: $29) A woman inherits a pawnshop where you can sell your regrets, then embarks on a magical quest. … 1. The Let Them Theory by Mel Robbins (Hay House: $30) A guide on how to stop wasting energy on things you can't control. 2. The Creative Act by Rick Rubin (Penguin: $32) The music producer's guidance on how to be a creative person. 3. The Sirens' Call by Chris Hayes (Penguin Press: $32) An analysis of how trivial distractions have reordered our politics and the fabric of society. 4. Aflame by Pico Iyer (Riverhead Books: $30) An exploration of the power of silence and what it can show us about life, love and death. 5. The Serviceberry by Robin Wall Kimmerer, John Burgoyne (Illustrator) (Scribner: $20) The 'Braiding Sweetgrass' author on gratitude, reciprocity and community, and the lessons to take from the natural world. 6. Atomic Habits by James Clear (Avery: $27) The self-help expert's guide to building good habits and breaking bad ones via tiny changes in behavior. 7. Be Ready When the Luck Happens by Ina Garten (Crown: $34) The Barefoot Contessa shares the story of her rise in the food world. 8. Beyond Anxiety by Martha Beck (The Open Field: $30) A guide to overcoming anxiety by awakening the creativity within. 9. The Small and the Mighty by Sharon McMahon (Thesus: $32) A portrait of 12 ordinary Americans whose courage formed the character of our country. 10. Being Jewish After the Destruction of Gaza by Peter Beinart (Knopf: $26) The political commentator ponders what it means to be Jewish in the shadow of war. … 1. Orbital by Samantha Harvey (Grove Press: $17) 2. Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar (Vintage: $18) 3. Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros (Entangled: Red Tower Books: $21) 4. Good Material by Dolly Alderton (Vintage: $18) 5. Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver (Harper Perennial: $22) 6. North Woods by Daniel Mason (Random House Trade Paperbacks: $18) 7. A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas (Bloomsbury Publishing: $19) 8. The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah (St. Martin's Griffin: $18) 9. The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath (Harper Perennial Modern Classics: $18) 10. The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon (Vintage: $18) … 1. All About Love by bell hooks (Morrow: $17) 2. On Tyranny by Timothy Snyder (Crown: $12) 3. The Backyard Bird Chronicles by Amy Tan (Knopf: $35) 4. The Art Thief by Michael Finkel (Vintage: $18) 5. The Courage to Be Disliked by Ichiro Kishimi and Fumitake Koga (Atria Books: $19) 6. World Travel by Anthony Bourdain and Laurie Woolever (Ecco: $22) 7. Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer (Milkweed Editions: $20) 8. Say Nothing by Patrick Radden Keefe (Vintage: $20) 9. Everyone Who Is Gone Is Here by Jonathan Blitzer (Penguin Books: $21) 10. The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz (Amber-Allen: $13)
