Hamilton Cain
@hamiltoncain.bsky.social
Expat Tennesseean in NYC. Bylines: New York Times Book Review, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Boston Globe, Oprah Daily, The Atlantic, Los Angeles Review of Books, Publishers Weekly, Chapter 16, On The Seawall, Harvard Review.
'Tis the season for books! Here's my "something for everyone" basket of 41 titles for TIME--thanks to editors Lucy Feldman and Mahita Gajanan: time.com/article/2026...
The Best New Books to Read This Summer
This season’s new fiction and nonfiction illuminate our manic world while offering riveting escapes
time.com
In which I review Teddy Wayne's erotic thriller, "The Au Pair," for @bostonglobe.com. Thanks to @katekilla.bsky.social for her terrific edits. www.bostonglobe.com/2026/06/24/a...
Nobody comes out unscathed in Teddy Wayne’s latest novel, ‘The Au Pair’ - The Boston Globe
Novels about writers are often terrible, but we keep writing and reading them. There’s even a common subcategory: the Middle-Aged White Male Author afflicted with ennui and creative block, forever one...
bostonglobe.com
Happy Juneteenth and Father's Day weekend! Here's my review of "Dad Brain" for @wsj.com: www.wsj.com/arts-culture...
‘Dad Brain’ Review: Inside a Father’s Head
How parenting affects the male brain is still poorly understood.
wsj.com
Award-winning critic Isaac Butler revisits the culture wars of the 1980s and '90s in "The Perfect Moment," out next Tuesday from @bloomsburybooksus.bsky.social. Here's my review for @bostonglobe.com, with thanks to @katekilla.bsky.social for her edits: www.bostonglobe.com/2026/06/17/a...
This country has always had culture wars, but 1988 was the year everything broke open - The Boston Globe
In the life of a nation there are watershed years that forever shape its citizens. Consider 1988: an unease percolated as the United States geared up to close out the Reagan presidency just four years...
bostonglobe.com
Set in the High Sierra before and during the California Gold Rush, Josh Weil's gorgeous new novel, "What Came West," offers a fresh twist on Manifest Destiny. Out today from @doubledaybooks.bsky.social. Here's my review for @nytimes.com: www.nytimes.com/2026/06/02/b...
Go West, Young Neurodivergent Man
nytimes.com
Looking for the books of the summer? We've got 'em! Thank you to @hamiltoncain.bsky.social, @daneetsteffens.bsky.social, @cvbell.bsky.social, Chris Vognar & Marion Winik for your stellar contributions. In print on Sunday in the @bostonglobe.com! www.bostonglobe.com/2026/05/27/a...
Your summer reading guide featuring 75 books to keep you reading all season long - The Boston Globe
Our annual summer reading guide, just for you.
bostonglobe.com
Bibliophiles, start your engines! Here's @bostonglobe.com's stellar summer reading guide, with offerings from literary fiction to topical nonfiction to beach reads. Many thanks to @katekilla.bsky.social for the opportunity to contribute. www.bostonglobe.com/2026/05/27/a...
Your summer reading guide featuring 75 books to keep you reading all season long - The Boston Globe
Our annual summer reading guide, just for you.
bostonglobe.com
I had big fun with Ann Patchett's new novel, "Whistler," out next week from @harperbooks.bsky.social. Here's my review for Chapter 16: chapter16.org/chance-encou...
Chance Encounter
While museums are among New York’s crown jewels, I revere one above all others: the Metropolitan Museum of Art, which seemingly goes on forever, entire wings…
chapter16.org
I loved @hamiltoncain.bsky.social's review of Ali Smith's new novel, GLYPH, in which he raves about her skill in channeling "molten rage." In print this Sunday in the @bostonglobe.com. www.bostonglobe.com/2026/05/13/a...
Author Ali Smith mulls writing and language in ‘Glyph’ - The Boston Globe
In her feisty, graceful “Glyph,” Ali Smith mulls writing and language among other themes: it’s her best work since the lauded Seasonal Trilogy.
bostonglobe.com
Ali Smith's "Glyph" is another banger and her finest novel since the Seasonal Quartet. Out next week from @pantheonbooks.bsky.social. Here's my review for @bostonglobe.com, with thanks to @katekilla.bsky.social for the opportunity: www.bostonglobe.com/2026/05/13/a...
Author Ali Smith mulls writing and language in ‘Glyph’ - The Boston Globe
In her feisty, graceful “Glyph,” Ali Smith mulls writing and language among other themes: it’s her best work since the lauded Seasonal Trilogy.
bostonglobe.com
Booker laureate Douglas Stuart returns with "John of John," out 5/5 from @groveatlantic.bsky.social, his finest novel yet. Here's my rave review for @bostonglobe.com, with thanks for @katekilla.bsky.social for the opportunity. www.bostonglobe.com/2026/04/28/a...
A portrait of the artist in the Hebrides - The Boston Globe
Douglas Stuart's novel "John of John" recounts 22-year old John-Calum (“Cal”) Macleod’s return, after four years at an arts college near Edinburgh, to his childhood home in Falabay, tucked amid the He...
bostonglobe.com
Three cheers for independent bookstores and @bookshop.org, which made @time.com's list of ten most influential social good companies in 2026. Congrats to @andyhunter777.bsky.social and his team! time.com/article/2026...
The 10 Most Influential Social Good Companies of 2026
Presenting the inaugural TIME100 Companies: Industry Leaders list of the world's most influential social good businesses of the year
time.com
@praddenkeefe.bsky.social's "London Calling" is a masterclass in narrative craft, raising provocative questions about a writer's role in telling a story. Here's my review for @bostonglobe.com, with thanks to @katekilla.bsky.social for the opportunity. www.bostonglobe.com/2026/04/04/a...
Patrick Radden Keefe spins another tantalizing tale, but is he trying too hard to play detective? - The Boston Globe
In the early morning of November 29, 2019, a security camera at MI6 headquarters captured a figure leaping from a fifth-floor balcony across the Thames River, close to Vauxhall Bridge. Hours later the...
bostonglobe.com
Happy April, bibliophiles! Here's my "something for everyone" basket of new books, compliments of TIME: time.com/article/2026...
The 12 New Books You Should Read in April
From 'Yesteryear' to 'Transcription,' these are the can't-miss books coming out this month
time.com
Join me, @amandaleekoe, @shteyngart, and @sam__sussman at the #worldvoicesfestival for “Crafting the City,” a @PENworldvoices conversation on May 2nd @ 3:30 PM, Festival Stage, Washington Square South. I guarantee a lively discussion! worldvoices.pen.org/event/crafti...
This spring @penamerica.bsky.social is hosting its World Voices festival in NYC and Los Angeles. I'm thrilled to be moderating "Crafting the City" on 5/2. Join us! worldvoices.pen.org/event/crafti...
Crafting the City - PEN World Voices Festival
Cities live in our imaginations as sites of possibility. Self-transformation, unexpected encounters, and unforeseen opportunities are all within reach. In the novels of Amanda Lee Koe (Sister Snake), ...
worldvoices.pen.org
The Love Boat has an evil twin! Set on a cruise ship in the aftermath of 9/11, Jung Yun's "All the World Can Hold" probes American escapism amid political strife. Here's my review for @bostonglobe.com, with thanks to @katekilla.bsky.social for the opportunity. www.bostonglobe.com/2026/03/04/a...
In Jung Yun’s new novel, a ship of fools that look a lot like us - The Boston Globe
Jung Yun captures post-9/11 grief and resolve in her witty, wrenching “All the World Can Hold,” both a rollicking yarn and a shrewd send-up of American culture. She opens her novel on Sunday, Septembe...
bostonglobe.com
Cease and desist y'all's doom-scrolling and pick up a book! March into spring with my "something for everyone" basket of ten new titles, courtesy of Time Magazine: time.com/7381423/best...
10 New Books You Should Read in March
From Christina Applegate's memoir to Tara Menon's "Under Water"
time.com
"The author drops us into an Eden of wonder, where once upon a time we first cracked the codes of Dr. Seuss and 'Goodnight Moon.'" Here my review of Oliver James's "Unread" for @wsj.com: www.wsj.com/arts-culture...
‘Unread’ Review: A Very Public Education
After confessing his illiteracy on TikTok, a fitness influencer discovered that his online audience was ready to help him learn to read.
wsj.com
A noir delight, @poingu.bsky.social's "Evil Genius" recounts one young woman's coming-of-age in 1970s San Francisco. Out Tuesday from @eccobooks.bsky.social. Here's my review for @nytimes.com: www.nytimes.com/2026/02/15/b...
In 1970s San Francisco, a Groovy Tale of Sex and Menace
nytimes.com
Cool, thanks @literaryhub.bsky.social ! lithub.com/5-book-revie...
5 Book Reviews You Need to Read This Week
Our murder’s row of magnificent reviews this week includes Ron Charles on Jonathan Miles’s Eradication, Karan Mahajan on Daniyal Mueenuddin’s This Is Where the Serpent Lives, Alexandra Jacobs on Li…
lithub.com
To quote the estimable @maris.bsky.social: Burn it all down.
Oyez, bibliophiles: here's my list of ten February books, compliments of TIME: time.com/7362790/best...
The Best New Books to Read in February
From Tayari Jones' Kin to Gisele Pelicot's memoir, here are the best books to read this month
time.com
Frequent contributor @hamiltoncain.bsky.social reviewed the latest George Saunders novel, VIGIL, for us. He writes that the book is "thrilling on the page." Read his review in the print @bostonglobe.com on Sunday, or here now. www.bostonglobe.com/2026/01/20/a...
Can anything save the soul of a tycoon? In ‘Vigil,’ George Saunders mines empathy, memory, and heart. - The Boston Globe
We meet Jill Blaine first as she plummets toward K.J. Boone's Dallas mansion from “the elevation,” a celestial perch where a few select dead usher their charges into the afterlife.
bostonglobe.com
The great George Saunders is back with a masterful second novel, "Vigil," out next week from Random House. Here's my review for @bostonglobe.com with thanks to @katekilla.bsky.social for the opportunity. www.bostonglobe.com/2026/01/20/a...
Can anything save the soul of a tycoon? In ‘Vigil,’ George Saunders mines empathy, memory, and heart. - The Boston Globe
We meet Jill Blaine first as she plummets toward K.J. Boone's Dallas mansion from “the elevation,” a celestial perch where a few select dead usher their charges into the afterlife.
bostonglobe.com
Jeanette Winterson's "One Aladdin Two Lamps" is a rich if problematic meditation on storytelling, out next week from @groveatlantic.bsky.social. Here's my review for @washingtonpost.com: www.washingtonpost.com/books/2026/0...
Review | A groundbreaking writer finds a novel way to air her grievances
Jeanette Winterson’s genre-bending “One Aladdin Two Lamps” channels her anger at patriarchy in a reimagining of “One Thousand and One Nights.”
washingtonpost.com
