Heller McAlpin

New York, United States

Freelance Book Critic at NPR

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Articles

Joan Didion leaves one more piece of writing to faithful fans

2 days ago | boisestatepublicradio.org | Heller McAlpin

In November 1999, writer Joan Didion started seeing Roger MacKinnon, a New York psychiatrist, on the recommendation of the psychiatrist who was treating her daughter Quintana for borderline personality disorder, depression, and alcoholism. Both doctors felt that the mother-daughter dynamic and powerful co-dependency were central to Quintana's problems.
Brontë family life, as narrated by Emily in 'Fifteen Wild Decembers'

3 weeks ago | csmonitor.com | Heller McAlpin

British writer Karen Powell’s darkly atmospheric second novel, “Fifteen Wild Decembers,” offers a fresh perspective on the talented Brontë family, whose childhoods on the isolated, rain-lashed West Yorkshire moors nurtured their hearts and fueled their imaginations.
‘The Paris Express’ Review: Ticket to Disaster

3 weeks ago | wsj.com | Heller McAlpin

In 1895, newspapers around the world carried shocking photographs of a derailed steam engine that had smashed through the parapet of Paris’s Montparnasse Station. In “The Paris Express,” the Irish Canadian writer Emma Donoghue tracks the catastrophe-bound train in that photo on its seven-hour journey on Oct. 22, 1895 from Granville, on the Normandy coast, to Paris.
‘The Café With No Name’ Review: A Refuge in Vienna

1 month ago | wsj.com | Heller McAlpin

Robert Seethaler, a writer born in Vienna in 1966, is an exquisite miniaturist whose concise novels depict the quotidian struggles of ordinary, hardworking Austrians in the 20th century. His interest is in how these small-scale lives fit into the larger picture of a country subject to dizzying changes through the decades before and after World War II. Mr. Seethaler’s quietly beguiling eighth novel, “The Café With No Name,” is his most uplifting to date.
In ‘Raising Hare,’ Chloe Dalton rescues a newborn hare

1 month ago | csmonitor.com | Heller McAlpin

In times of great stress, people often find comfort in the natural world, sometimes by forging unexpected connections with wild creatures. This has resulted in a bounty of beautiful books, including Helen Macdonald’s “H is for Hawk,” Amy Tan’s “The Backyard Bird Chronicles,” and Catherine Raven’s “Fox and I,” along with Craig Foster’s documentary film, “My Octopus Teacher.” Chloe Dalton’s “Raising Hare” is a welcome addition to these stories of transformative, interspecies trust-building.
Anne Tyler’s trademark wit and empathy shine in ‘Three Days in June’

2 months ago | csmonitor.com | Heller McAlpin

Anne Tyler’s 25th novel, “Three Days in June,” is a valentine to readers. It’s funny and touching. The story features a divorced couple thrown together by their daughter’s wedding – one ex-spouse is incorrigibly spontaneous, the other rigid – plus an old, overweight rescue cat. This may be Tyler lite, not as complex as “A Spool of Blue Thread” or “French Braid,” but there isn’t a wrong move in it. It’s the literary equivalent of a box of chocolates with no duds.
‘The New Internationals’ Review: An Afro-Parisian Love Triangle

Jan 24, 2025 | wsj.com | Heller McAlpin

In 2022 David Wright Faladé published an essay in the New Yorker about his complicated parentage called “The Truth About My Father.” He’d grown up in the U.S. thinking he was the son of Jack Wright, an African-American GI whom his French mother had met and married in Paris in the 1950s. His parents divorced when he was 3, and years later, when young David was still a teenager, his mother told him that his biological father was actually Max Faladé, whom she’d met at the same time.
5 art books to indulge the art lover on your holiday list

Dec 9, 2024 | csmonitor.com | Heller McAlpin

Beautifully produced art books provide a feast for the eyes. The imagery in our five selections runs the gamut from subtle watercolors and prints to vivid depictions of trees over the centuries. Why We Wrote This‘Tis the season for gorgeous art books, which will delight armchair aficionados with everything from 19th-century Japanese wood block prints to 20th-century geometric-patterned textiles.
Five Glorious Art Books Bring The Gallery To Your Couch - The Christian Science Monitor

Dec 9, 2024 | everand.com | Heller McAlpin

The best art books lend themselves to exploration, exhilaration, and contemplation. They open you up to other cultures and eras without leaving the comfort of home. No jostling for an unobstructed view in crowded museum galleries, and no rush. You can spend hours happily turning pages or being absorbed in a single image. These five books will transport you to early-19th-century Japan, late-19th-century England, and mid-20th-century America.
Niall Williams' 'Time of the Child' pulls back the layers of an Irish town

Nov 19, 2024 | csmonitor.com | Heller McAlpin

“Real change is often only seen in hindsight,” Irish writer Niall Williams observes in “Time of the Child.” This theme runs through many of his novels, which look back on pivotal points when the winds of change, however subtle, could be felt rustling through rural communities. Williams’ latest bear hug of a book takes place in 1962 and is set, like “History of the Rain” and “This Is Happiness,” in a fictional Irish village called Faha, on the banks of the River Shannon in County Clare.