A Novel of the Frankenstein Women” – Chicago Review of Books

A Novel of the Frankenstein Women” – Chicago Review of Books

[ad_1] Though any book can be released, or read, at any time of year, October always seems to bring an extra helping of reading in the eerie/spooky vein. One of this October’s most deliciously Gothic new releases is Kris Waldherr’s inventive retelling of Frankenstein from the perspective of three women in Victor Frankenstein’s life, Unnatural … Read more

Stretching the Boundaries of American Political Reality in “Our Missing Hearts” – Chicago Review of Books

Stretching the Boundaries of American Political Reality in “Our Missing Hearts” – Chicago Review of Books

[ad_1] Following her critically acclaimed novels “Everything I Never Told You” and “Little Fires Everywhere” author Celeste Ng explores new territory in her latest novel “Our Missing Hearts” by stretching the boundaries of American political reality. This book, centering twelve year old Bird Gardner and his complex relationship with his absent mother, is set in … Read more

Surviving Racism in Erin E. Adams’s “Jackal” – Chicago Review of Books

Surviving Racism in Erin E. Adams’s “Jackal” – Chicago Review of Books

[ad_1] In her debut novel, Jackal, Erin E. Adams creates a horror story inspired by a tragically familiar and yet neglected issue in America—the epidemic of disappearing Black girls—and authorities’ and media’s lack of concern or coverage. The best social horror stories allow the inherent darkness of the social phenomenon at their hearts to show … Read more

12 Must-Read Books of October – Chicago Review of Books

12 Must-Read Books of October – Chicago Review of Books

[ad_1] Spooky season is officially here, and you could say it’s downright scary how many exciting books are arriving in October. From triumphant returns from today’s biggest literary stars to exciting debuts, there’s something for everyone this month.  Whether you’re looking for an enjoyable fright or want to get lost in a book as the … Read more

The Subtext of Friendship in “Best Of Friends” – Chicago Review of Books

The Subtext of Friendship in “Best Of Friends” – Chicago Review of Books

[ad_1] The best thing about Kamila Shamsie’s eighth novel, Best of Friends, is the story isn’t hinged on a friendship gnarled with sexual, bodily, or intellectual envy. The conflict is more nuanced, primarily marred by a class difference, but more implicitly by the contradictions that exist within a life-long friendship. At times, the characters feel … Read more

Shuffling the Gothic Cards in “One Dark Window” – Chicago Review of Books

Shuffling the Gothic Cards in “One Dark Window” – Chicago Review of Books

[ad_1] The opening chapter of Rachel Gillig’s debut novel One Dark Window, is itself a dark window, inviting readers to look into the misty woods where shadows stalk, explore the medieval town of Blunder with its superstitions and prejudices, and collect the arcane “Providence” cards (not unlike a Tarot deck or a set of Oracle … Read more

An Interview with George Prochnik on “I Dream with Open Eyes” – Chicago Review of Books

An Interview with George Prochnik on “I Dream with Open Eyes” – Chicago Review of Books

[ad_1] “And now,” writes George Prochnik in his new memoir, I Dream with Open Eyes, “I have left America because the country became alien to me, or because I believe that somewhere out there in the great beyond I might still find a place that sings home?” On that subtle “or” hangs an inquiry.  After … Read more

A Prismatic Centennial – Chicago Review of Books

A Prismatic Centennial – Chicago Review of Books

[ad_1] This year marks one hundred years since a Viennese newspaper first serialized Felix Salten’s novel Bambi. A new translation by Jack Zipes emerged from Princeton University Press earlier in the year. This fall, a reissue from New York Review Books Classics—translated by Damion Searls, with an afterword by Mark Reitter—offers readers another look at … Read more

The Urgency of Existence in “I Fear My Pain Interests You” – Chicago Review of Books

The Urgency of Existence in “I Fear My Pain Interests You” – Chicago Review of Books

[ad_1] Margot Highsmith is 30,000 feet in the air, crammed into the airplane bathroom dabbing at a bloody lip she hadn’t realized was bleeding. Behind in New York: family despair and romantic anguish that might actually just be humiliation. (Sometimes it’s hard to disentangle the two.) But outside of Bozeman, Montana is an empty house … Read more

The Law of Desire in “Getting Lost” – Chicago Review of Books

The Law of Desire in “Getting Lost” – Chicago Review of Books

[ad_1] During the year I lived in France, I read Annie Ernaux insatiably. For months, I returned to the library to get her books, one copy after another. Faced with the loneliness of living abroad, I threw myself into reading. Into Ernaux. I liked the way she juxtaposed a detached style with intimate stories. Those … Read more