(Farrar, Straus and Giroux) Review by Walter Cummins Like Rachel Aviv, the people whose mental issues she explores in Strangers to Ourselves are driven to write, some with works that…
Category: Genres
You’ll Like It Here by Ashton Politanoff
(Dalkey Archive) Review by George Yatchisin A fascinating smudging of the notions of the novel, Ashton Politanoff’s You’ll Like It Here alternates between being charming and creepy, nostalgic and prophetic,…
The High Desert: A Memoir by James Spooner
Review by David Starkey On a grand scale, not much happens in The High Desert, James Spooner’s graphic memoir of his freshman year at Apple Valley High School, which he…
A Heart That Works by Rob Delaney
Review by Walter Cummins Rob Delaney doesn’t exploit the ironic connection of the title used for his four-season television series—Catastrophe—and this book about the sufferings and eventual death of his…
The Persuaders: At the Front Lines of the Fight for Hearts, Minds, and Democracy by Anand Giridharadas
Review by Brian Tanguay Calling people out for their lack of political awareness or insufficient wokeness isn’t the problem with the political left; the problem is not calling people in.…
Ten Best Books of 2022
While those familiar with other Best of 2022 lists will recognize some of the titles below, we hope the California Review of Books’ Top 10 will also nudge the curious…
A Quiet Life by Ethan Joella
Review by Walter Cummins When I’m reviewing a book, I defer from reading other reviews until I’ve written my own to avoid influencing my reaction. But in the case of…
The Last Days of Roger Federer: And Other Endings, by Geoff Dyer
Review by George Yatchisin Some lines from Robert Christgau about Lloyd Cole have always stuck with me: “So what if he can’t stop talking about books and movies and gathers…
Lucy by the Sea, by Elizabeth Strout
Review by David Starkey I’m not quite sure why I love Elizabeth Strout’s new novel, Lucy by the Sea, as well as its predecessor, Oh William! as much as I…
The Passenger and Stella Maris, by Cormac McCarthy
Review by David Starkey I have always thought of the novels of Cormac McCarthy as ultra-violent adventure stories written in an over-the-top style that’s sometimes mesmerizing and sometimes a bit…