We take the weekend to highlight recent books coverage:

A tour of the Book Review

Ben Lerner, whose latest novel, “The Topeka School,” reviewed here, is widely recognized as one of the most interesting writers of his generation. He’s won a MacArthur, a Guggenheim and a Fulbright, and was an accomplished poet and critic even before commanding attention for his first two novels, “Leaving the Atocha Station” and “10:04.”

Our reviewer for “The Topeka School” is Garth Risk Hallberg, an acclaimed novelist in his own right (“City on Fire”). He joins us on this week’s podcast.

It’s a joy to have the Oscar-winning actress Lupita Nyong’o answer our By the Book questions this week. Nyong’o has previously, and powerfully, contributed to The Times Op-Ed page, but this is her first time in the Book Review, as she makes her debut as a picture book author.

The critics

Parul Sehgal also reviews “The Topeka School,” putting it in context of other recent books about, as she puts it, “masculinity and its discontents.”