University of Chicago Press Review by Brian Tanguay Why do Americans revere the Constitution? Why do many of us believe that this founding document, written by mortal and fallible men…
Tag: California Review of Books
Guest Privileges: Queer Lives and Finding Home in the Middle East by Gaar Adams
Dzanc Books Review by Brian Tanguay The Gulf region of the Middle East is home to the largest number of migrants per capita of any place on the planet. Many…
The Etruscan by Linda Lappin
Pleasure Boat Studio Review by Walter Cummins This new edition of Linda Lappin’s The Etruscan marks the twentieth anniversary of the novel’s initial publication in 2004. I reviewed it then,…
The Age of Choice: A History of Freedom in Modern Life by Sophia Rosenfeld
Princeton Review by Walter Cummins In The Age of Choice, Sophia Rosenfeld, an academic historian, joins the perspectives of psychology and sociology to her historical presentation of developments in recent…
The Vinegar Girl by Anne Tyler
Hogarth Review by Linda Lappin Anne Tyler’s delightful Vinegar Girl (2016) is often praised as a deliciously witty retelling of Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew. The novel shares the basic plot of much…
Thanks to Life: A Biography of Violeta Parra by Ericka Verba
University of North Carolina Press Review by Brian Tanguay Most of what I’ve learned about Chile has come from reading novels by Chilean writers, studying the country’s political fortunes since…
Insectopolis: A Natural History by Peter Kuper
Norton Review by David Starkey Peter Kuper’s book-length comic, Insectopolis: A Natural History, begins with an entomologist and her brother walking to the New York Public Library to see an…
Miracles and Wonder: The Historical Mystery of Jesus by Elaine Pagels
Doubleday Review by David Starkey The subtitle of Elaine Pagels’s new book, Miracles and Wonder: The Historical Mystery of Jesus, isn’t meant to question whether Jesus existed—Pagels finds plenty of…
Flashlight by Susan Choi
Farrar, Straus & Giroux Review by Walter Cummins Flashlight’s nineteen sections, each focused on a situation in the life of a central character, are tour de forces, the situations inventive,…
Hating Jazz: A History of Its Disparagement, Mockery, and Other Forms of Abuse by Andrew S. Berish
Chicago Review by Nikolas Mavreas “Jazz is stupid. I mean, just play the right notes!” Though uninspired, this line from The Office TV series encapsulates a very common attitude. The…