Book Reviews

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Arts

Men Are Momentary, But Art Is Forever In 'Innocents And Others'

1:22pm March 15, 2016

by Maureen Corrigan

Dana Spiotta's new novel centers on a friendship between two female filmmakers. Critic Maureen Corrigan calls it an uncanny work, whose characters and ideas linger "long after the story is over."

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Beautiful 'Breathing' Is A Nuanced Family Drama

12:27pm March 15, 2016

by Heller McAlpin

Elizabeth Poliner's book takes a familiar dramatic trope — the death of a child — and makes it the linchpin for an intricate tale that follows a close-knit family at a cultural turning point.

Books
Arts

No Paper Tiger, This 'Menagerie' Is Full Of Fierce Feeling

7:00am March 13, 2016

by Amal El-Mohtar

Ken Liu's new The Paper Menagerie, collects fifteen of his Hugo and Nebula Award-winning stories. Critic Amal El-Mohtar calls it "stupendously good work" that strikes chords profound enough to hurt.

Books
Arts

Bravery Among The Ruins In 'Noonday'

7:00am March 12, 2016

by Jean Zimmerman

Pat Barker's latest novel completes the trilogy she began with Life Class. Her first foray into the World War II era is rich with evocative language, though it occasionally verges on soap opera.

Books
Arts

Tales Of Sex, Corruption And 'Peacekeeping' In A Fictional Haiti

7:00am March 11, 2016

by Jason Sheehan

Mischa Berlinski's novel is about a failed Florida policeman trying to make a new life in Haiti. Critic Jason Sheehan says the book explores "the gray middles of everything."

Books
Arts

Wild Energy Flows Free In A Feminist Comics Anthology

10:32am March 10, 2016

by Etelka Lehoczky

The Complete Wimmen's Comix collects two decades of the groundbreaking all-women series. Critic Etelka Lehoczky calls it a "frenetic, anarchic, occasionally kamikaze production."

Books
Arts

'What Is Not Yours' Is Flawless

9:41am March 09, 2016

by Michael Schaub

Helen Oyeyemi's new story collection has all the sly humor, gorgeous writing and magical characterization as her novels. Critic Michael Schaub calls it a dreamy, spellbinding masterpiece.

Books
Arts

Unnerving WWII Noir In 'A Man Lies Dreaming'

12:41pm March 08, 2016

by Jason Heller

Lavie Tidhar's new alternate history imagines a world where Communists took over Germany in 1933, Fascism is on the rise in the U.K. and a down and out German PI in London dreams of world domination.

Books
Arts

'Charlie Chan Hock Chye' Offers A Heartfelt Take On Aging, Art And History

11:07am March 08, 2016

by John Powers

John Powers reviews a new graphic novel that he describes as an astonishing work of imagination by the Singaporean writer and illustrator Sonny Liew. It's called The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye.

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Books
Arts

An Audacious Transformation Bogs Down In 'Blackass'

7:00am March 06, 2016

by Michael Schaub

A. Igoni Barrett's new novel is a long, bizarre riff on Kafka's Metamorphosis, transplanted to Nigeria. Reviewer Michael Schaub says Barrett's strong writing is ultimately mired in a rambling plot.