University of California Press Review by Brian Tanguay Environmental justice advocates have long used origin stories to frame experience of disease, displacement and disability, to personalize and collectivize such experiences…
Category: Genres
Small in Real Life by Kelly Sather
Pittsburgh Review by David Starkey When it’s really working, the short story is, word-for-word, the most satisfying of the literary genres. A successful short story has all the punch of…
Dogland: Passion, Glory, and Lots of Slobber at the Westminster Dog Show by Tommy Tomlinson
Avid Reader Review by George Yatchisin As I was reading Tommy Tomlinson’s Dogland: Passion, Glory, and Lots of Slobber at the Westminster Dog Show, something delightful and ridiculous—at least in…
The Overstory: A Novel by Richard Powers
Norton Review by Brian Tanguay It has been some time since I finished a novel and immediately felt compelled to turn back to the first page and start over. The…
The Light Eaters: How the Unseen World of Plant Intelligence Offers a New Understanding of Life on Earth by Zoë Schlanger
Harper Review by Walter Cummins My approach to The Light Eaters differs from those who have praised the book for its presentation of the latest findings about plant behavior, including…
The Morningside by Téa Obreht
Random House Review by Walter Cummins The pleasure of reading The Morningside is engaging with the inventive creations of Téa Obreht’s impressive imagination. The frustration is not getting a developed…
The Price is Wrong: Why Capitalism Won’t Save the Planet by Brett Christophers
Verso Review by Brian Tanguay An item in the Harper’s Index in the June 2024 issue of the magazine notes that corporate broadcast news coverage about climate change decreased by…
My Beloved Life: A Novel by Amitava Kumar
Knopf Review by Brian Tanguay During his first year in college, Jadunath Kunwar — Jadu for short — attends a ceremony in honor of Tenzing Norgay, the Sherpa who along…
Looking At Mexico/Mexico Looks Back By Janet Sternburg with Comments by Jose Alberto Romero Romano
Distanz Review by Brian Tanguay Not long after receiving a copy of Looking at Mexico/Mexico Looks Back, Claudia Sheinbaum was overwhelmingly elected as Mexico’s first female president, a milestone in…
And Then? And Then? What Else? by Daniel Handler aka Lemony Snicket
Liveright Review by George Yatchisin Given he has previously penned a series of four books called All the Wrong Questions, it’s not surprising author Daniel Handler (aka Lemony Snicket) would…