Reviewers & Critics

AREFUL readers of contemporary nonfiction anticipate the reviews of book critic Jennifer Szalai with a particular zeal. For the past three years her penetrating insight and nimble, original voice have informed readers of the newspaper not only about what’s noteworthy in nonfiction today, but also about those books she regards as must-reads, those that simply pass muster, and, occasionally, those that aren’t worth a reader’s time at all. Szalai casts her astute critical eye on a wide array of subjects—the arts, culture, philosophy, history, science, technology, business, economics, national and international politics, and more. She’s also a regular contributor to . Before becoming a critic for the daily in January 2018, she worked for four years at the , where she edited both fiction and nonfiction reviews. She also edited Bookends, the back-page feature in which two writer-critics reflected on a literary question,.