Book Reviews

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Arts

'The Way Things Were' Is A Detailed Epic of Modern India

7:03am July 11, 2015

by Jason Sheehan

This beautifully conceived story of an exiled princeling and his Manhattan-educated son also manages to include sprawling Sanskrit epics, knotty family dynamics and the recent history of India.

Books
Arts

After Death, James Tate's Poetry Continues To Delight

8:03pm July 10, 2015

by Craig Morgan Teicher

Though James Tate died before his new book was published, his influence and appeal persist due to his surrealist style and willingness to blend tragedy and comedy.

Books
Arts

Examining The War On Mexican Drug Cartels, Through Film And Fiction

11:35am July 08, 2015

by John Powers

Two new works of art — the documentary film Cartel Land and the novel The Cartel — shine a light on the seemingly endless drug war in Mexico. John Powers says both works are bleak, but gripping.

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'Speak' Asks Hard Questions About Communication And Technology

10:03am July 08, 2015

by Michael Schaub

Louisa Hall's novel fits several wildly disparate storylines — a young Puritan girl, a disgraced inventor, a computer programmer — into an unforgettable meditation on what it means to be human.

Books
Arts

In 'The Love She Left Behind,' Mourning Is No Gimmick

7:03am July 08, 2015

by Jason Sheehan

Amanda Coe's new novel about adult siblings forced to come together at their absentee mother's funeral is surprisingly free of melodrama.

Books
Arts

'Aurora' Journeys In A New Direction

3:08pm July 07, 2015

by Alan Cheuse

Veteran sci-fi writer Kim Stanley Robinson returns with a tale of that classic genre trope, the generation ship. Critic Alan Cheuse says this story of spacefaring colonists goes to unexpected places.

Books
Arts

'Unnoticeables' Is A Raunchy Ride Through Punk, Horror And Pop Culture

1:29pm July 07, 2015

by Jason Heller

Robert Brockway's day job is helping to run Cracked.com, and he brings that site's irreverent wit to this lightweight but satisfying tale of a waitress and a punk rocker battling eldritch horrors.

'Vendetta' Recalls The Ruthless Rivalry Between Bobby Kennedy, Jimmy Hoffa

9:02pm July 06, 2015

NPR's Robert Siegel talks with James Neff about his new book Vendetta: Bobby Kennedy versus Jimmy Hoffa.

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Maureen Corrigan's summer thriller recommendations, 2015.

Books
Arts

Dead-Cinch Thrillers: 4 Books To Get Your Heart Pounding

6:37pm July 06, 2015

by Maureen Corrigan

Summer and suspense fiction go together like the Fourth of July and firecrackers. Book critic Maureen Corrigan recommends four books that are deadly accurate in their aim to entertain.

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Books
Arts

'Shadowshaper' Paints A Vibrant Picture

10:55am July 04, 2015

by Amal El-Mohtar

Daniel José Older's new young adult novel follows a Brooklyn teenager who discovers her family has a dangerous magical heritage. Reviewer Amal El-Mohtar says it's full of music, flavor and color.