18 of the Best Books for National Reading Month
Frisky fish, pensive poets, illicit lovers...and more
By Kseniya Melnik, Elliott Holt, Leigh Haber, Dotun Akintoye, Natalie Beach and Hamilton Cain
4 of 18
Children of Paradise
By Laura Secor
528 pages;
Riverhead Books
Laura Secor's Children of Paradise (Riverhead) takes a historian's view of Iran, a nation that has long perplexed—even scared—Americans. But Secor is also an entrancing storyteller. In her hands, clerics, scholars, and others who helped Iran morph into a republic where mosque and state are inseparable are like larger-than-life characters from an epic novel, with thinkers such as Jean-Paul Sartre and Karl Marx playing supporting roles.
— Leigh Haber
Published 03/01/2016