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] Approaching a genre for the first time is like learning a new language. Sifting through the impenetrable for words you understand, learning the conventions and tropes as one would nouns, adjectives, and verbs. And while most start with simple phrases, others take on ambitious, intimidating projects and throw themselves in headfirst. I, a new … Read more
[ad_1] It’s hard to sum up Marie NDiaye’s That Time of Year (Un temps de saison, translated from French by Jordan Stump), a short novel that unfolds with a dreamlike logic. Every year Herman, a math teacher from Paris, spends the month of August with his wife Rose and their son in a small country … Read more
[ad_1] When asked about her triptych, now translated in full from the French and published by Dorothy Project, Nathalie Léger suggested that her intention was to “try to rescue the words of a woman who couldn’t utter them herself.” Indeed, Léger’s three books give voice to many women: The Italian aristocrat Countess of Castiglione in … Read more
[ad_1] It is said that no two people ever read the same book. Our personal history goes a long way in determining the points of references that resonate with us in a story. This is especially true for my time with Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi, since so much of what resonates with me about … Read more
[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
[ad_1] The first two-thirds of Sisters is filled with allusions to the event that lies at the crux of the story; these sprinkled tidbits of information slowly work to clear the dirt away from the truth of what happened. When you discover the details of that event, you might be shocked, like I was, or … Read more
[ad_1] The Chicago Review of Books acknowledges the unfortunate passing of Randall Kenan on August 28th, 2020. His work as a writer and educator, and contributions to the field of literature, particularly as a Black, gay writer from the South, cannot be overstated. If I Had Two Wings, Randall Kenan’s second collection of stories, immediately … Read more
[ad_1] Happy September! Fall is in the air, which means it’s time to put great new fall books on our bookshelves. Here are ten of our favorite books coming out this month, including works of sci-fi, fantasy, memoir, environmental reportage, and much, much more. City of SparrowsBy Eva Nour; Translated by Agnes BrooméMelville House “Growing … Read more
[ad_1] I’ve been lucky enough to know Megan Cummins for over a decade, ever since we did an MA in Creative Writing together at UC Davis. It’s been thrilling to see her sharp, lyrical, and hilarious stories find a final form in her debut collection, If The Body Allows It. The book centers on Marie, … Read more
[ad_1] With starred reviews from Library Journal and Kirkus, a TV deal with Bruna Papandrea’s Made Up Stories already inked, and places on a half-dozen lists of the year’s most anticipated books, Christina Baker Kline’s new novel The Exiles is poised to make a splash. It is in some ways a quiet book, focusing on … Read more