‘The Cinema of Extractions’ Drills into Hollywood’s Petrochemical Bones
Professor of visual culture Brian Jacobson drills down into how oil fueled Hollywood and Hollywood fueled a new “Cinema of Extractions”.
book review
‘Great Black Hope’ Prods Black Affluence
In Great Black Hope, Rob Franklin’s debut novel, we have a Black protagonist able to hide behind his finances, even when he slips.
‘Not Long Ago Persons Found’ Destroys Order
The narrator of Not Long Ago Persons Found says “a detective story is supposed to be about the restoration of order”, yet this Kafkaesque tale does not do so.
Gang of Four Memoir Is Full of Spit and Vinegar
Jon King’s Gang of Four memoir To Hell With Poverty! is full of spit and vinegar, a bit tetchy with a sly sense of humor.
‘A Living’ and the Affirmation Work
Michael D. Stein’s A Living: Working-Class Americans Talk to Their Doctor affirms the dignity of work while refusing to reduce workers to transactions.
‘Dark City Dames’ Sheds Light on Women in Film Noir
The incredible amount of information and the stunning reproductions of posters, stills, and publicity photos make Eddie Muller’s Dark City Dames a stirring tribute to women in film noir.
Eric Puchner’s ‘Dream State’ Mirrors Life’s Haze
In Eric Puchner’s Dream State dramatic plot points bob upon a flat-line surface rather than rising, reflecting the rhythm inherent in actual human life.
Sayaka Murata’s Spectacularly Strange ‘Vanishing World’
In Sayaka Murata’s eagerly awaited novel Vanishing World, our conventional understanding of love and sex has all but disappeared.
Sameer Pandya’s ‘Our Beautiful Boys’ Is Vulnerable and Powerful
Sameer Pandya mines the pain of immigrant parents wrestling with America’s existential crises in Our Beautiful Boys .
Joni Mitchell Inspires and Unsettles a Memoirist’s Life
Reverence for Joni Mitchell is clear in Paul Lisicky’s memoir. So, too, is an artistic courage that both inspires and unsettles him.
You’ve Gotta Get Satire to Get Dion DiMucci
Dion: The Rock ‘N’ Roll Philosopher is a tongue-in-cheek title that only Dion DiMucci can pull off with street panache—braggin’ is a blues tradition, after all.
American Jews’ and Muslims’ Conflicts and Commonalities
America’s religiously observant Jews and Muslims straddle a highway, each with one foot in religion and one in culture while worrying about being hit by traffic.