The Manhattan-based Weekend Update

I think it’s fair to say that this past week — my very first as a Young Professional in the City — has been all about endurance (or maybe it’s to do with the nasty cough I can’t seem to shake.) But BEA is now a fading memory, and the adjustment period is over. So on with the update, shall we?

NYTBR: Good lord, it seems to be a crime fiction kind of weekend over at the Book Review. Marilyn Stasio’s column finds fault and favor with new stuff by Jeffery Deaver, Giles Blunt, Peter Lovesey and Stuart Kaminsky; Douglas Wolk’s fiction roundup is decidedly mystery-themed, looking at books by Mo Hayder, Joseph Finder, Joan Brady and Rob Roberge; and Alan Dershowitz has yet to fully convince me he can write a good book review, but he likes Kermit Roosevelt’s debut legal thriller IN THE SHADOW OF THE LAW a whole lot.

Otherwise, Miss Manners gets bossy in book format, Martina & Chris’s epic rivalry is analyzed in meticulous detail, and Lila Azam Zanganeh looks at African literature originally written in French.

WaPo Book World: David Plotz recounts the bizarre history of the Nobel Prize sperm bank; Jim Lehrer’s latest novel probes a disturbing mystery featuring Benjamin Franklin; and Michael Dirda applauds THE HISTORIAN for its ambition but kind of damns the book with faint praise.

G&M: Margaret Cannon looks at brand new crime fiction by James Crumley, Mike Harrison, C.J. Box, John Sandford, Jonathan Kellerman & Iris Johansen; Michelle Berry has a decidedly positive take on Melissa Bank’s THE WONDER SPOT; and Martin Levin concocts his own very special summer reading list.

Guardian Review: Gordon Burn reflects on Newcastle’s past and its more progressive present; James Wood explains how great novels can have really crappy endings and still work, sort of; and Julia Lovell rounds up worthy Chinese novels that are available in translation.

Observer: Polly Vernon digs Emma Forrest’s sharp-tongued irreverence on display in her new novel; Lindsay Nicholson chats with Lynn Barber about the dual tragedies that inspired her new memoir; and Stephanie Merritt expounds on how childhood reads endure into adulthood for a great many.

The Times: John Connolly reveals the strange history and his unending fascination for the ossuary in Sedlec; Bel Mooney tries to understand the enduring, worldwide appeal of Paulo Coehlo (I don’t much get it myself); and uh oh, what’s this? A negative review for John Banville’s new book? Somebody’s not gonna like this…

The Scotsman: Scarlett Thomas, on the other hand, is far more receptive to the new Banville; a Nobel Laureate comments on the many facets of his native India;  and Carl MacDougall wonders why Scottish literature is virtually ignored in the country’s school system.

The Rest:

In the wake of Lionel Shriver’s Orange Prize win, Boyd Tonkin at the Independent shines his weekly light upon her UK pubisher, the fantabulous Serpent’s Tail. Oh, how I love these guys. Let’s see, they publish (just to name a few) Danny King, Joolz Denby, Charlie Williams, Jenny Davidson, Emily Maguire, Stella Duffy and launched the careers of David Peace, George Pelecanos and Walter Mosley in the UK? Never mind Elfride Jelinek and Ismael Kadare to a lesser extent? Amazing.

Oline Cogdill has lots of good things to say about Lisa Scottoline’s foray into Old Philly for her latest effort, DEVIL’S CORNER.

Dick Adler’s new column looks at new releases by Dylan Schaffer, Penny Rudolph, Louise Ure, Caroline Petit, Giles Blunt, Susan Kandel, Isadore Haiblum, and Brandon Massey.

In John Burdett’s world, objects in the mirror require a completely different reflection, or at least that’s the way Regis Behe interprets things in his Q&A with the author.

Is THE MYSTERIOUS FLAME OF QUEEN LOANA to be Umberto Eco’s final novel? It seems that way, according to this profile in the Independent.

Martha O’Connor’s THE BITCH POSSE was borne out of rage and frustration. Quite a different thing from the previous four books she’d written, as she tells the LA Times.

The Long Beach Press Telegram catches up with Lisa Glatt, currently on tour for her wonderful collection of short stories, THE APPLE’S BRUISE.

So how does Alexander McCall Smith’s daily serial 44 SCOTLAND STREET work as a single volume novel? The Chicago Sun-Times’ Allison Block thinks it works very well indeed.

Think Japanese crime fiction is lurid and bizarre? Not surprisingly, those stories pale in comparison to real life, according to a new compendium of tabloid tales.

Cross a plagiarist with a multiple murderer and what do you get? The crazy tale told by Michael Finkel in his new book.

I’d wanted to read Nick Tosches’ KING OF THE JEWS for ages now, but this review in the SF Chronicle just adds to my own self-hype.

Robin Dougherty wrote the literary Q&A column for the Boston Globe before dying two weeks ago of complications from breast cancer. The paper recently unearthed a previously unpublished one featuring Susan Sontag. Poignant to say the least.

Augusten Burroughs’ story is likely old hat in the US, but over at the Melbourne Age, they’re just starting to catch up to his horrific childhood and bizarre humor.

A strange, if interesting interview with Melissa Bank by Whit Stillman (!) appears in the New York Post.