Notable Books

In this novelized memoir, Hickam tells the improbable story of his just-married parents, who take a Depression-era journey from West Virginia to Florida to free an alligator given to Elsie by the actor Buddy Ebsen, whom she briefly dated. Along the way they meet strange characters, escape dangers, and cement a marriage that started out as a one-sided love match, as his mom longed for more than life in a coal town. It’s a rollicking story with an acknowledgment of God’s presence and providence throughout.

The Unexpected Inheritance of Inspector Chopra

Inspector Ashwin Chopra is supposed to retire from the Mumbai police but finds it hard to quit, especially because his replacement seems unwilling to look into the death of a young man. At the same time, Chopra’s uncle dies and bequeaths to his nephew a baby elephant—which makes no one in the apartment complex happy. Chopra’s wife, meanwhile, worries about what could cause her husband to act so strangely. This new mystery series set in India offers a gentle introduction to that culture by way of a mystery that plumbs man’s depravity in a nongraphic way.

Still Time

John Wilson, a Shakespeare scholar who prides himself on being able to quote whole plays from memory, moves into a nursing home as his Alzheimer’s advances. As he struggles with memory, Shakespeare’s words continue to illumine his understanding. With tenderness and lots of Shakespeare, Hegland tells the story of a flawed man cut off from his daughter, though he does not remember why. He feels flares of anger whenever his wife urges him to reconcile. As the disease accelerates, Hegland creates tension: Will they forgive each other while there is yet time? The book contains some R-rated language.

My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry

Precocious 7-year-old Elsa has one friend, her 77-year-old grandmother, who is crude and eccentric and loves her oddball granddaughter. They share a secret language and stories about secret lands. But Granny also keeps secrets about her past. As she’s dying, she makes Elsa promise to deliver a letter “to him who’s waiting” with instructions to say that Granny “says she’s sorry.” As Elsa delivers a series of letters, she learns about Granny’s past and the lives of the odd characters who live in her building. This oddly charming novel has coarse language.

Spotlight

In Wait for Me: And Other Poems About the Irritations and Consolations of a Long Marriage (Simon & Schuster, 2015), Judith Viorst celebrates the indignities of aging and the unexpected pleasures of a long marriage. “The Widow” ends on this poignant note: “And reminds me once again how lucky I am, how happy I am, how incredibly grateful I am / That you are alive.” She returns to the theme in “Like Two Ships That Pass in the Night.” After describing the nightly trips to the bathroom, she ends with this: “Yet the sight of each other is a most comforting sight. / Like those ships, we’re glad we’re not alone in the night.”

Reporting Always (Scribner, 2015) is a collection of Lillian Ross’ New Yorker articles from her six decades at the magazine. It includes celebrity profiles, reviews, and slice-of-life features that give a sense of New York and the things culturally important New Yorkers valued in the late 20th century. —S.O.