Book Reviews

Frank O’Hara, My Father, and Me”? – Chicago Review of Books

Book ReviewsJune 17, 2022 by vcolsen

Let’s start with the word “interesting.” Are only “interesting” lives worthy of memoir? If so, the criteria have certainly changed over time, as private lives … Read More

The Anxieties of Autofiction in “The Novelist” – Chicago Review of Books

Book ReviewsJune 16, 2022 by Joshua Vigil

The unnamed narrator of Jordan Castro’s The Novelist is not Jordan Castro. Castro, the author, wants this to be clear. So clear, in fact, that … Read More

“Broken Icarus,” “The Devil in the White City,” and the World’s Fair Nonfiction Novel – Chicago Review of Books

Book ReviewsJune 15, 2022 by Steve Nathans-Kelly

When the United States rejoined the Bureau of International Expositions in 2017, in support of a since-failed bid to bring a World’s Fair to Minneapolis … Read More

A True Story of Black Creeks in “We Refuse to Forget” – Chicago Review of Books

Book ReviewsJune 14, 2022 by Ryan Asmussen

In 1830, President Andrew Jackson, a former Army general with the nickname “Indian Killer,” signed into law one of the most cruel pieces of legislation … Read More

The Anatomy of Grief in “Garden of Earthly Bodies” – Chicago Review of Books

Book ReviewsJune 13, 2022 by Ian J. Battaglia

Grief wracks us in many ways. Of course, much is made of the mental and emotional toll of grief, as well-wishers encourage those suffering to … Read More

The Haunted Child of “Nuclear Family” – Chicago Review of Books

Book ReviewsJune 10, 2022 by Minyoung Lee

In diaspora communities, it’s not uncommon to find cultural practices from the homeland, even after they’ve become unpopular or forgotten there. This is colloquially referred … Read More

Your Favorite Book with Joseph Han – Chicago Review of Books

Book ReviewsJune 9, 2022 by Malavika Praseed

Welcome to another installment of a collaboration between the Chicago Review of Books and the Your Favorite Book podcast. Malavika Praseed, frequent CHIRB contributor and … Read More

Crafting Patience and Permanence in “God’s Children are Little Broken Things” – Chicago Review of Books

Book ReviewsJune 9, 2022 by Aram Mrjoian

Published in the Winter 2022 issue of Michigan Quarterly Review, Joe Sacksteder’s craft essay, “Against Quirky Writing,” captures many of the editorial frustrations I find … Read More

Revisiting “The Witches of Eastwick” 330 Years After Salem – Chicago Review of Books

Book ReviewsJune 8, 2022 by Sara Batkie

Around the time that Donald Trump was elected president in late 2016, a phrase began circulating periodically on my social media feeds: “We are the … Read More

The Disconnect Between Private and Public in ‘Sleeping Alone’ – Chicago Review of Books

Book ReviewsJune 7, 2022 by Rachel León

One of my favorite things about reading fiction is that it allows us to study contradictions within people: How we appear to someone who doesn’t … Read More

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