Dave C

If you're not from the US, i guess you get a pass on not knowing Toni Morrison, but she's a frequent clue in the NYT crossword. But anyone complaining about a puzzle this easy as an American, I just literally don't understand. The Bluest Eye and Beloved are taught regularly in schools. Song of Solomon was a clue so easy you didn't need to know anything about the author. The NE corner with maybe the least known book had also the most obvious word and another easy clue without any book knowledge (1920s Harlem!). Sula was entirely done by crosses for me such that I never even read the clue, so i can't speak to that one, but again the crosses were so straightforward that it doesn't even matter. This was way too easy to be a Thursday puzzle (as some have suggested) and belongs where it was slotted. I still finished it 20% below usual Tuesday time. Ppl really will complain about anything. I think the only forced oddity in there was OY. I personally really appreciated the theme -- not gimmicky or tricky, just a nod to one of the best known and celebrated American authors, and kudos for getting all the book titles in there.

I can't believe there are people complaining about this one (truly LOL at CAMUS being called an obscure reference and other such nonsense). I finished it in less than average time for a Wednesday puzzle, and while I too could not recall SLADE and absolutely needed crosses for VIAND, this themed puzzle was both fun (with the incorporation of the mountains and related pun) and relatively straightforward. Kudos to the author on this one.

I'm surprised by all the whining about this one. This was an easy Thursday puzzle with a straightforward trick and no rebuses. The path to figuring it out was simple considering the themed answers themselves were Monday-level clues. I wouldn't say this was a fav, but my only clue gripe was MIKE for MIC, and I appreciated the Chelsea swap, making the HANDLER mistake as well.