Book Reviews

[ad_1] American horror writer Shirley Jackson is most famous for “The Lottery,” the short story that earned The New Yorker the most hate mail in its history. Readers were incensed by her portrayal of ordinary folks who, in the work of other authors, might represent a simpler, more wholesome time. Jackson wrote them stoning an … Read more

[ad_1] Poets & Writers awards the annual Jackson Poetry Prize to a poet with exceptional talent. The prize includes $70,000, a sum designed to help poets sustain writing, and it also serves as a gift of gratitude for outstanding contributions to the art. Recipients are first nominated by peers then selected by a panel of … Read more

[ad_1] Including insightful, entertaining, and beautifully written novels, memoirs, and poetry collections, here’s a list of the editors’ favorite books hitting shelves this June. A BurningBy Megha MajumdarRandom House “For readers of Tommy Orange, Yaa Gyasi, and Jhumpa Lahiri, an electrifying debut novel about three unforgettable characters who seek to rise—to the middle class, to … Read more

[ad_1] “The language of butterflies is the language of color,” Wendy Williams writes in her new book centered on the six-legged insects. Lepidoptera have offered delight and visual pleasure for centuries because of their brilliant hues and ostentatious patterns. The Language of Butterflies: How Thieves, Hoarders, Scientists, and Other Obsessives Unlocked the Secrets of the … Read more

[ad_1] A third of the way through Ilana Masad’s All My Mother’s Lovers, Maggie Krause, our protagonist, prepares to leave her father and younger brother holding shiva while she sets out to deliver, in person, a handful of letters left by her mother, who unexpectedly died in a car accident: “As the garage door opens … Read more

[ad_1] That there are links between music and literature is not a new or original notion. In both, one finds meaning and messages in sets of complex symbols. But comparing the two art forms, listing their differences and similarities, determining what one does better than the other, is no easy task. Namely because both the … Read more

[ad_1] As you may have heard, the coronavirus pandemic has caused a significant dip in advertising for digital publications. The Chicago Review of Books has not been immune to this trend. So the last month we’ve been using our advertising slot to promote ourselves. Or more specifically — we’ve been pushing a two-hour Story Studio … Read more

[ad_1] As the days blend together and our minds wander, many of us are looking for gripping reads that can hold our attention. While creepy short stories may not scream “stress relief,” successful horror rewards us for our complete attention with full-body thrills and chills. Here are some of the most memorable scary stories you … Read more

[ad_1] Women’s fight for equality is an old song. From Susan B. Anthony to Margaret Sanger to the #MeToo era, the struggle for equal gender opportunity and recognition is as American as a June Clever baked apple pie. Progress takes innovation, though, and innovation takes nerve. It also takes time and patience. This kind of … Read more

[ad_1] At fourteen years old I was assigned Paolo Coelho’s landmark novel The Alchemist for summer reading. I threw it on my bed in disgust, barely able to finish the slim volume. To my literal mind it read like nothing more than vague, repetitive abstractions, amounting to almost nothing in the end. Today, over ten … Read more