Aaron Coats – Page 2

Nearly Eighty Years Later, Richard Wright’s “The Man Who Lived Underground” Emerges – Chicago Review of Books

Book ReviewsApril 21, 2021 by Aaron Coats

[ad_1] Before Ralph Ellison’s unnamed narrator took residence beneath the surface of the world in Invisible Man, there was Fred Daniels—the protagonist of Richard Wright’s long-awaited novel, The Man Who Lived Underground. The tragic tale of Daniels was borne from a lifetime of experiences, which Wright explains in the accompanying essay, “Memories of My Grandmother.” … Read more

The Fire of Trauma in “The Ancient Hours” – Chicago Review of Books

Book ReviewsDecember 15, 2020 by Aaron Coats

[ad_1] The first sentence of Michael Bible’s latest novel, The Ancient Hours, is a lie. “We were innocent,” is an immediate provocation that gives the impression of someone in an interrogation room telling authorities a story agreed upon by a group of accomplices. Bible makes a bold statement beginning with this line, and also by … Read more

Storytelling is Power in “A Girl is a Body of Water” – Chicago Review of Books

Book ReviewsSeptember 9, 2020 by Aaron Coats

[ad_1] Kirabo presses against the boundaries of tradition in her small village of Nattetta, Uganda. She does not outright reject her people’s customs, but her desire to learn where she comes from—specifically, the history of her mother—drives her to seek help along the edge of what tradition allows to find her own way into womanhood. … Read more

Finding What’s Lost in ‘Empire of Wild’ – Chicago Review of Books

Book ReviewsJuly 29, 2020 by Aaron Coats

[ad_1] Cherie Dimaline is a writer of indigenous stories. Her newest novel, Empire of Wild, focuses on a community of displaced Métis descendants who ended up in Arcand, Canada, determined to make a living. Joan and her tight-knit (though sometimes-smothering) family survive as best they can with a construction business, building on land slowly being … Read more

Bent but Not Broken – Chicago Review of Books

Book ReviewsFebruary 28, 2020 by Aaron Coats

[ad_1] Remaining insulated from the real world is no longer an easy choice for Wallace in Brandon Taylor’s novel, Real Life. After discovering his grad school biochem research had been contaminated by a jealous and racist peer, setting him back weeks if not months, he leaves the lab to meet with friends only to spend … Read more