For The Book Obsessed
Should you read that book you’ve had your eye on? Will it totally rock or sink like a stone? Check out these book reviews from book lovers like you to help you find your next great read!
[ad_1] Ottessa Moshfegh’s fourth novel, Lapvona, is a gruesome experiment in historical fiction. There’s grisly death, cannibalism, rape, mysticism, deception, revenge, hints at pedophilia, and very little love. The characters bleakly reflect the worst in humanity, and grotesque antics dot almost every page—facts that compete with great storytelling and end up creating few opportunities for … Read more
[ad_1] 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 and identities compete with public achievements. Interesting is a highly subjective term, too, one almost impossible to dispute since it’s in the mouth of the proclaimer. It’s a word … Read more
[ad_1] 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 there is a famous writer named Jordan Castro within the novel. The unnamed narrator admires Jordan Castro—he’s everything the narrator wants to be as a writer, and he envies … Read more
[ad_1] 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 “take their time” and offer space and a sympathetic ear. But grief, and suffering at large, often manifests itself in physical means as well. Times like these can show … Read more
[ad_1] 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 to as “the immigrant time capsule effect.” It can be experienced in many of the ethnic enclaves in the US. My first impression of Los Angeles’ Koreatown when I … Read more
[ad_1] 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 podcast host, seeks to talk to readers and writers about the books that light a fire inside them. What’s your favorite book and why? Our guest is Joseph Han, … Read more
[ad_1] 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 when regularly reading through submissions. The trend toward defamiliarizing and unconventional prose is not so bad on its own, but when unusual language and complex punctuation are all that … Read more
[ad_1] 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 granddaughters of the witches you couldn’t burn.” This pithy rejoinder to patriarchal overreach was taken from a 2015 Tish Thawer novel but has since taken on a life of … Read more
[ad_1] 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 know us well can be very different from who we actually are. This disconnect between our public and private selves is a veritable playground for fiction writers to explore, … Read more
[ad_1] For as long as sports shape so much of our culture—globally, nationally, and locally—the stories we tell about them will shape us, too. In the United States, football remains the most popular sport, generating billions of dollars in revenue every year. Women and other people of marginalized genders have been systematically shut out of … Read more