REVIEWED BY EMILY CHENOWETH
NOVEL
In this exceptional tale that takes the form of a memoir, the oft-maligned Marie Antoinette—now having a moment as the heroine of Sofia Coppola's latest film—shakes off two centuries of calumny to emerge as a kind of tragic heroine. Innocent and undereducated, the Austrian princess marries the French Dauphin at 14 and, like her 15-year-old husband, is wholly unprepared for the crown that becomes hers four years later. Falling to their knees and praying after King Louis XV succumbs to smallpox, the couple implore, "Dear God, guide us and help us. We are too young to reign." Despite their frivolity and willful ignorance—"Toinette" flirts and gambles all night while Louis XVI hunts and works in his smithy—the pair emerge as sympathetic characters. The author injects humanity into the two as, over the years, they become parents and grow into their authority. Naslund (Ahab's Wife) paints a richly detailed portrait of an opulent, turbulent time, revealing the Queen's journey—from frivolity to responsibility, and from palace to prison cell—to be one of striking beauty and terrible loss. "Ours is a cozy sorrow," the Queen writes in 1789, the day the National Assembly has formed to declare the sovereignty of the commoners. "We are living through the end of an era, but we are together."
By Gillian Flynn
REVIEWED BY NATALIE DANFORD
NOVEL
"I am a cutter ... a snipper, a slicer, a carver, a jabber," confesses Camille Preaker, narrator of this darkly original mystery. Certain words ("petticoat," "wicked") are so hypnotic to Camille that for years she carved them into her skin. After a stint in a mental hospital, the young reporter returns to her hometown to cover the murders of two local girls for her Chicago newspaper. Oddly, the bizarre story evokes the grief she felt when her half sister Marian died. Flynn expertly ratchets up the suspense when Camille's investigation and her forced interaction with her icy mother push her into dangerous psychological territory. The TV critic for ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY, the author crafts a disturbing yet riveting tale that suggests you can go home again—but perhaps for sanity's sake you shouldn't.
>Tricks & treats for all ages
Mommy? by Maurice Sendak, Arthur Yorinks and Matthew Reinhart A sweetly ghoulish take on the P.D. Eastman classic, Mommy? chronicles a babe's quest for his be-witching parent. Perfect for kids in love with Sendak's woolly Wild Things.
Scary Stories illustrated by Barry Moser With haunting selections from greats including Shirley Jackson (The Lottery), these creepy classics aimed at tweens and teens will thrill adults as well. Moser's edgy engravings raise the chill factor.
Monsters foreword by Forrest J. Ackerman Here's a strangely endearing retrospective celebrating Universal Studios' horror-movie masterpieces. Photos from the sets of films like The Phantom of the Opera illustrate a volume that's a must for fanatics who dissected Tod Browning's Dracula in film school.
Alfred Hitchcock: The Master of Suspense by Kees Moerbeek A splendid pop-up for grown-ups, this homage to Hitch's finest is a gem for the bibliophile with a taste for suspense. Clever spreads on faves including Vertigo are jazzed up with grabby trivia and photos of Hitchcock in his cameos.
Alex Kuczynski, now 38, was sucked into perpetual-makeover mode while covering cosmetic surgery for The New York Times. In Beauty Junkies she cops to her own fixes and puts the plastic-surgery industry in perspective.
DESCRIBE THE SLIPPERY SLOPE
I started at 28 with microdermabrasion; then I began getting Botox every six months to try to prevent wrinkles. After that I said, "I'm gonna get the fat sucked out of my behind." Then I thought, "That was easy; I should get my eyelids done."
WHY GO PUBLIC?
So many people say, "I didn't do anything, I just look like this." I want America to know that everybody [in public life] is Adobe Photo-shopped to within an inch of their life.
WORST MOVE?
Before a friend's memorial service I talked my doctor into injecting Restylane [then not approved for that use] into my lip, which looked like a giant sweet potato. I missed the service.
WHAT HELPED YOU REFORM?
I only got Botox a couple of times after that. Also, when I met my husband in 2002 I was a little chunky and still had squinty eyes and he loved me. If you know someone loves you, it's a lot easier to say, "I'm through with all of this."
Carly Fiorina
In a new memoir, Fiorina, former Hewlett-Packard CEO, describes an early-'80s scene where, as a saleswoman, she was hazed by male colleagues who'd scheduled a business lunch at a strip club.
"I was cordial, tried to appear relaxed.... [David] kept calling the women over to dance on top of the table. The other men were either slightly amused or embarrassed.... The next day in the office, the balance of power had shifted perceptibly. I had shown ... that I would not be intimidated."
Saved by the Bell Reunion
The hookups, the meltdowns, the memoires
The case reveals what was really going on what they think of each other now!
