For The Book Obsessed
[ad_1] There’s a certain serenity implicit on a “quiet street.” A quiet street is calm, peaceful; perhaps even a bit dull in its lack of activity. Such an atmosphere seems an appropriate place from which to reflect on past experience, as Nick McDonell does in his memoiristic exploration of the one percent, Quiet Street: On … Read more
[ad_1] In the Lobby of the Dream Hotel is like a Lifetime movie run amok. Author Genevieve Plunkett’s anti-heroine Portia is a thirtysomething aspiring guitarist who struggles with bipolar disorder. Though the story is apparently set in the present day, Portia tries to fulfill a 1950s-housewife role while simultaneously playing in a punk rock band. … Read more
[ad_1] Don Paterson is one of the most decorated and influential poets writing in the UK today. He is also an accomplished guitarist who founded and toured with a jazz ensemble throughout the 90s. Early in his new memoir Toy Fights, which covers the first twenty years of his life, Paterson explains that he quit … Read more
[ad_1] Chicago Review of Books is excited to feature the cover reveal of Armen Davoudian’s debut poetry collection, The Palace of Forty Pillars, out on March 19, 2024 with Tin House Books! Regarded as a “brilliant and deft and heartfelt” collection by A Hundred Lovers author Richie Hoffman and praised for its images that “embody a … Read more
[ad_1] In her debut collection examining the myriad identities of modern Asian and Asian-American women, Cleo Qian does not shy away from both the real and surreal aspects of longing. Indeed, longing is the most palpable feeling of Let’s Go Let’s Go Let’s Go, and Qian embodies this feeling in all its dimensions. Whether the … Read more
[ad_1] In Wine People, Michelle Wildgen dives into the rich and ruthless business of wine via the dueling perspectives of two young women working for a Manhattan importer. While steely, pragmatic Wren learns the nuances of wine buying from her quixotic mentor, Sonoma-bred Thessaly prides herself on delivering top sales numbers alongside an eclectic cast … Read more
[ad_1] Mostly set around Atlanta, with excursions to Louisiana, Stephen Kearse’s Liquid Snakes is a psychotropic crime thriller, a revenge story, and a bitter invective against environmental racism. It’s also an immensely engaging read—clever and nimble in its narration, pointed in its critiques—with a chorus of interesting voices and arresting images. Although the novel is … Read more
[ad_1] Mostly set around Atlanta, with excursions to Louisiana, Stephen Kearse’s Liquid Snakes is a psychotropic crime thriller, a revenge story, and a bitter invective against environmental racism. It’s also an immensely engaging read—clever and nimble in its narration, pointed in its critiques—with a chorus of interesting voices and arresting images. Although the novel is … Read more
[ad_1] The Translator’s Voice is a new monthly column from Ian J. Battaglia here at the Chicago Review of Books, dedicated to global literature and the translators who work tirelessly and too often thanklessly to bring these books to the English-reading audience. Subscribe to his newsletter to get notified of new editions as well as … Read more
[ad_1] One morning, you receive a call and are told to board a flight. Your bags are already packed, a car has been sent to pick you up. When you’re hungry, you find food has been packed for you as well. It tastes like nothing. Perhaps someone is dead. This is how the narrator of … Read more