Washington Post book critic Ron Charles
As autumn approaches, we're bringing you four exciting new books, including one historical work that's wilder than fiction.
Pegasus
Caroline Lee's “Love, Sex and Frankenstein” is a fascinating reimagining of how the young Mary Shelley created her classic novel.
Lea brings to life that dark summer on Lake Geneva with Lord Byron and her lover Percy Shelley in 1816. It is a feverish mixture of jealousy, genius and gothic electricity.
Paired perfectly with Guillermo del Toro's new Frankenstein film, Lea's novel captures the thunder and thrill of a young woman awakening to her amazing powers.
READ REST: “Love, Sex and Frankenstein”
“Love, Sex and Frankenstein” Caroline Lee (Pegasus), in hardcover, e-book and audio formats, available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble And Bookstore.org
MCD 
With your new novel “Guide”, Pulitzer Prize winner Adam Johnson presents an epic play set in Polynesia nearly a thousand years ago.
The story follows a brave young woman and two sons of a king as they navigate storms, myths, and an empire on the brink of chaos.
Filled with legend and political intrigue, Johnson's dazzling adventure feels both ancient and modern—a meditation on storytelling, survival, and the fragile state of the natural world.
READ REST: “The Guide” by Adam Johnson
“Guide” by Adam Johnson (MCD), in hardcover, eBook and audio formats, available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble And Bookstore.org
Knopf 
“The Guard and the Thief” Megha Majumdar's film is set in India, in a climate-ravaged near-future city. One morning, a mother preparing to move her family to America wakes to discover that a starving young man has stolen all their passports, plunging her into seven days of despair and moral reckoning.
Finalist of the competition National Book AwardThis tense, gripping novel offers a searing tale of scarcity, privilege, and the cost of hope.
READ REST: “The Guardian and the Thief” by Megha Majumdar
“The Guard and the Thief” By Megha Majumdar (Knopf), in hardcover, large print paperback, e-book and audio formats, available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble And Bookstore.org
Viking 
New book by Andrew Ross Sorkin. “1929: Inside the Greatest Crash in Wall Street History—And How It Destroyed a Nation” looks back on nearly a century of the country's most infamous market crash.
Through the lives of financiers and speculators, Sorkin recreates the panic and mania that gripped Wall Street. It's a gripping cinematic tale of greed and illusion, and a timely reminder of how quickly exuberance can turn into disaster.
READ REST: “1929” by Andrew Ross Sorkin
“1929: Inside the Greatest Crash in Wall Street History—And How It Destroyed a Nation” Andrew Ross Sorkin (Viking), hardcover, large print paperback, e-book and audio formats, available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble And Bookstore.org
That's it for Book Report. To get these and other suggestions on what to read this fall, talk to your local bookseller or librarian.
I'm Ron Charles. Until next time, read on!
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Produced by Robin Sanders and Cameron Jimenez. Editor: Chad Cardin.
For more reading recommendations, check out our library of previous Book Report features from Ron Charles:
