-
Your next favorite book
is waiting.
A new novel by bestselling author Nicholson Baker reintroduces feckless but hopeful hero Paul Chowder, whose struggle to get his life together is reflected in his steadfast desire to write a pop song, or a protest song, or both at once.
"Starred Review. In sparkling and witty prose, Baker reminds readers why he's one of the masters of the contemporary novel." - Kirkus
"Baker's endearingly comedic, covertly philosophical love story, spiked with intriguing - even alarming - little-known facts, mischievously celebrates song and silence, steadfastness and loving-kindness." - Booklist
"Paul Chowder, the rambling protagonist of The Anthologist, returns in Baker's less successful latest." - Publishers Weekly
This information about Traveling Sprinkler was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
I've written thirteen books, plus an art book that I published with my wife, Margaret Brentano. The most recent one is a comic sex novel called House of Holes, which came out in August 2011. Before that, in 2009, there was The Anthologist, about a poet trying to write an introduction to an anthology of rhyming verse, and before that was Human Smoke, a book of nonfiction about the beginning of World War II. My first novel, The Mezzanine, about a man riding an escalator at the end of his lunch hour, came out in 1988. I'm a pacifist. Occasionally I write for magazines. I grew up in Rochester, New York and went to Haverford College, where I majored in English. I live in Maine with my family.
If you liked Traveling Sprinkler, try these:
by Carvell Wallace
Published 2025
A transformative memoir that reimagines the conventions of love and posits a radical vision for healing.
by Virginia Evans
Published 2025
Discover the word-of-mouth hit hailed by Ann Patchett as "a cause for celebration"—an intimate novel about the transformative power of the written word and the beauty of slowing down to reconnect with the people we love.
by Jonathan Evison
Published 2019
Lawn Boy is an important, entertaining, and completely winning novel about social class distinctions, about overcoming cultural discrimination, and about standing up for oneself.
L.A. Women by Ella Berman
Two ambitious writers in 1960s LA face betrayal when one writes a novel based on the other's life.
Your guide toexceptional books
BookBrowse seeks out and recommends the best in contemporary fiction and nonfiction—books that not only engage and entertain but also deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.
