Book Reviews

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Arts

'To Be A Machine' Digs Into The Meaning Of Humanity

7:00am February 28, 2017

by Jason Heller

Mark O'Connell's new book is a lucid, soulful look at the transhumanist movement — a group who believe that direct interface between humans and machines is the only way forward for our species.

Dear Friend, from My Life I write to You in Your Life, by Yiyun Li

Books
Arts

'Dear Friend' Is An Fraught And Unusual Memoir

7:00am February 25, 2017

by Mina Tavakoli

Yiyun Li's first book of nonfiction is an unusual memoir — one that examines her depression and suicidal thoughts by drifting through her memories and thoughts on literature.

Guess Who's Coming To Dinner And Never Leaving: Chris (Daniel Kaluuya) and Rose (Allison Williams) in Get Out.

Books
Arts

'Get Out': A Terrifically Topical — And Terrifying — Satire

5:00pm February 23, 2017

by Chris Klimek

Comedian Jordan Peele's debut feature as writer/director is a blisteringly smart horror film buoyed by the "shimmering, righteous anger" of its take on race, says critic Chris Klimek.

A Horse Walks into a Bar by David Grossman

Books
Arts

'A Horse Walks Into A Bar,' And A Bad Comedy Set Proves Revelatory

10:00am February 23, 2017

by Michael Schaub

David Grossman's unsettling new novel takes place over the course of a two-hour comedy set, as what seems like just a bad performance evolves into something truly strange, painful and urgent.

Books
Arts

This Trip Through 'The Alps' Is A Little Bit Bumpy

7:00am February 23, 2017

by Heller McAlpin

Stephen O'Shea's quirky travelogue is packed with facts and history, but it's marred by a few odd choices — for example, why visit the famed skiing town of Val d'Isère at the height of summer?

My Favorite Thing Is Monsters explores the theme of "monstrousness" from various angles.

Books
Arts

'My Favorite Thing Is Monsters' Is A Dazzling, Graphic Novel Tour-De-Force

2:02pm February 22, 2017

by John Powers

Set amid the political swirl of late '60s Chicago, Emil Ferris' graphic novel debut reflects on race, class, gender and the holocaust. Critic John Powers says readers won't want to put it down.

Queue Listen Now

Books
Arts

Adolescence Isn't The Only Horror In 'The Mercy Of The Tide'

7:00am February 22, 2017

by Jason Heller

Zinemaker and designer Keith Rosson's debut novel is set in a small Oregon town in the 1980s, where the rain pours down, jellyfish rot on the beach — and a strange supernatural force is on the move.

Books
Arts

The Circus Is A Glittering Wartime Refuge In 'The Orphan's Tale'

4:01pm February 21, 2017

by Jean Zimmerman

Pam Jenoff's new novel follows two women who sign on with a German traveling circus — and the Jewish baby they're both determined to protect as the darkness of World War II falls across Europe.

Books
Arts

Letting Go Is The Hardest Thing For 'Lincoln In The Bardo'

7:00am February 18, 2017

by Jason Sheehan

George Saunders — master of the short story — debuts as a novelist with this strange, haunting (and haunted) tale of President Lincoln as he grieves the death of his young son Willie.

Books
Arts

Book Review: '300 Arguments,' Sarah Manguso

4:35pm February 16, 2017

Poetry reviewer Tess Taylor declares Sarah Manguso's new book, 300 Arguments, is poetry, not essays — or is it?