NYT Books

In “Lower Than the Angels,” the historian Diarmaid MacCulloch traces two millenniums of libidinal frustration.

Sayaka Murata’s novel “Vanishing World” envisions an alternate universe where artificial insemination is the global norm, and sex takes a back seat.

“Poet in the New World” introduces readers to the often overlooked early work of the Polish master Czeslaw Milosz.

In “Precious Rubbish,” Kayla E. turns to midcentury children’s comics to help tell her shattering story.

In his personal, engaging new book, “Sorrowful Mysteries,” the novelist and journalist Stephen Harrigan explores the enduring power of the Virgin of Fatima.

In his new book, “The Illegals,” Shaun Walker studies the Russian agents who worked deep undercover as Americans for decades.

In Sean Hewitt’s novel, “Open, Heaven,” two isolated boys develop an intense, undefined relationship.

Heather McGowan’s novel “Friends of the Museum” takes place over a single, chaotic day in the lead-up to a Met-inspired costume gala.

“What’s Left,” by Malcolm Harris, arrives at a particularly difficult time to consider anything beyond our immediate turmoil.

Two new books examine efforts to standardize English orthography and the pronouns at the heart of our culture wars, finding that spelling and usage have never conformed to any rules.