Recent Books Reviews

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Thursday, November 12 2009

Cranioklepty: Grave Robbing and the Search for Genius by Colin Dickey

By Alan Ashton-Smith

A preponderance of headless corpses and eccentric scientists means that this is certainly a macabre book, but the silliness of the pseudo-sciences it debunks makes it more entertaining than unnerving.

After the Prophet by Lesley Hazleton

By Trenton Daniel

This will be held up as a primer for grasping the modern-day Middle East — mainly in Iraq but Iran, too.

Wednesday, November 11 2009

One Step Beyond by Terry Edwards

By Christel Loar

Edwards' inside scoop on the story of the making of the classic Madness debut disc is, much like the album itself; a little unusual, a bit nutty, and quite brilliant.

Golden Dreams by Kevin Starr

By John Timpane

Starr writes lucid and stylish prose, and the sheer size and power of this true-life tale open the eyes wide.

Tuesday, November 10 2009

The Humbling by Philip Roth

By Christopher Guerin

Simon Axler, a stage and screen actor of near legendary stature, has earned the “reputation as the last of the best of the classical American stage actors.” The novel begins: “He’d lost his magic.”

Looking for Calvin and Hobbes by Nevin Martell

By Josh Indar

The creator of the universally-beloved Calvin and Hobbes was a perfectionist and a true believer in his art form, yet he hated the fame that his creations brought him.

A Fiery Peace in a Cold War by Neil Sheehan

By Jim Landers

Schriever seems to have given Sheehan more of a good story than a good portrait.

Monday, November 9 2009

Fado by Andrzej Stasiuk

By Carmelo Militano

Moving back and forth through memory and time, these essays act like a vehicle moving through historical, mental and natural landscapes.

Chronic City by Jonathan Lethem

By Zachary Houle

Alas this is a meandering and fairly plotless book, one that is as bewildering as it is baffling.

Friday, November 6 2009

The Death of Conservatism by Sam Tanenhaus

By Chris Barsanti

Tanenhaus elegantly argues that the American conservatism might be at low ebb, but that should not be expected to last. Nor should liberals (as prone to premature gloating as their rivals) even want it to happen.

Thursday, November 5 2009

The Music Room by William Fiennes

By Diane Leach

Those who suffer from epilepsy, their families and friends, can only throw light at this neuro-spectre, as Fiennes does, showing us Richard in all his damaged Richardness, a man who truly haunted a castle.

The Boy Next Door: A Novel by Irene Sabatini

By Carolyn W. Fanelli

Sabatini’s book exudes an authenticity and warmth that can’t come from an author’s imagination alone, but from a lifetime of listening and observing.

Wednesday, November 4 2009

The Casebook of Victor Frankenstein by Peter Ackroyd

By Mary Ann Gwinn

A brooding, melancholy variation on the theme of Mary Shelley's classic novel.

India Exposed: The Subcontinent A-Z by Clive Limpkin

By Sarah Boslaugh

British photojournalist Clive Limpkin has a unique view of modern India in 100 illustrated essays from "Army" to "Zebu".

Tuesday, November 3 2009

Going Away Shoes and Ferris Beach by Jill McCorkle

By Zachary Houle

One can’t help but draw a parallel between McCorkle’s work and the stories of A. M. Homes – just without the controversy or big gross-out that Homes reaches for.

Monday, November 2 2009

Swords from the Desert and Swords from the West by Harold Lamb

By Mike Pursley

Heavy on history but with enough action to give aerodynamic lift, Lamb’s prose exemplifies and occasionally transcends the pulp genre.

Sunday, November 1 2009

Only the Super Rich Can Save Us! by Ralph Nader

By Rachel Balik

Neither fiction nor fact, Nader's sprawling novel is another venue for the same political ideas we've heard, not an opportunity for creativity.

Friday, October 30 2009

Ultraviolet: 69 Blacklight Posters From the Aquarian Age and Beyond by Dan Donahue

By Oliver Ho

Ultraviolet is a unique, informative and thought-provoking experience. And if I stare at these pages long enough, maybe they'll start to move.

Thursday, October 29 2009

Invisible by Paul Auster

By Michael Antman

Paul Auster is a spellbinding storyteller, sometimes thanks to, and other times in spite of, his post-modern narrative trickery.

Wednesday, October 28 2009

Automats, Taxi Dances, and Vaudeville by David Freeland

By Michael Antman

Freeland dreams of a New York that once was and never can be again, a city of pleasures now buried under strata of concrete, commerce, and neglect.

Tuesday, October 27 2009

The Children’s Book by A.S. Byatt

By Diane Leach

This demands a rare thing from today’s readers: an undivided, well-cultivated attention span. For those up to the task in this world of twittering, tweeting texts, the rewards are many.

Monday, October 26 2009

Grunge by Michael Lavine and Thurston Moore

By Brendan Fitzgerald

Sub Pop's first lens on the grunge scene offers an early look at the signs of flannel to come, and the distinctive regional imprints on the sounds that followed punk.

Sunday, October 25 2009

Linthead Stomp: The Creation of Country Music by Patrick Huber

By Ben Child

Patrick Huber's counter-narrative of Piedmont country music's complicated origins and characteristics deserves to be the dominant one.

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