For The Book Obsessed
[ad_1] It’s fitting that the narrator of Ruth Madievsky’s debut novel, All-Night Pharmacy, is never given a name. Despite the first-person participant point of view, she seems to have sprung fully formed from the functions of those around her, namely her sister, Debbie. Her own traits, her own personhood, are obliterated when Debbie is around. … Read more
[ad_1] I’d like to ask Kevin Maloney if he’s familiar with “Return of the Grievous Angel,” the Gram Parsons’ song with themes of wandering, life on the road, and a kind of longing that leads to an inevitable return. I kept hearing this song in my head as I read Maloney’s novel The Red-Headed Pilgrim, … Read more
[ad_1] When regarding works of art, Kandinsky asked the viewer, listener, reader to consider “[…] whether the work has enabled you to ‘walk about’ into a hitherto unknown world.” Before this request was an imperative: “Stop thinking!” This can be read as a rejection of searching for a deeper meaning, or engaging in excessive interpretation … Read more
[ad_1] Editor’s Note: This book and this review were written before the insurrection against the United States Capitol on January 6th, 2021 1. Two events in recent history: In April and May of 2020, a series of demonstrations took place inside and around the state Capitol in Lansing, Michigan. Demonstrators gathered in protest of recent … Read more
[ad_1] In his new book, This Isn’t Happening: Radiohead’s “Kid A” and the Beginning of the 21st Century, a story centered on the Radiohead album Kid A, music critic Steven Hyden—without meaning to—asks the “Where were you when…” question regarding the album’s release: “I know I bought Kid A the day it came out, as … Read more
[ad_1] In a 2017 interview with The Brooklyn Rail, Sarah Gerard was asked a question about what she was reading. “I’m interested right now in reading a lot about love. Love, desire, sex. […] I’m thinking a lot about sex and love from a political standpoint too,” she said. “I’m also looking very skeptically at … Read more
[ad_1] In our current state of semi-solitude, trying to write sentences about other sentences feels alien. I spend too much time staring at screens and reading the news, my mind is quick to tilt towards anger at those in power. Reading anything literary is difficult, hard to connect with. Everything is a political polemic.That includes … Read more
[ad_1] As an experiment, I shut my eyes and flipped through the pages of Nick Flynn’s new book, Stay. Eyes still closed, I stopped flipping, jabbed my index finger at the open page and decided to write down whatever line I was pointing to. When I opened my eyes, this is what I read: “All … Read more