A First Look at Armen Davoudian’s “The Palace of Forty Pillars” – Chicago Review of Books

A First Look at Armen Davoudian’s “The Palace of Forty Pillars” – Chicago Review of Books

[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

The Embrace of the Literary Speculative Space in “Let’s Go Let’s Go Let’s Go” – Chicago Review of Books

The Embrace of the Literary Speculative Space in “Let’s Go Let’s Go Let’s Go” – Chicago Review of Books

[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

An Interview with Michelle Wildgen About “Wine People” – Chicago Review of Books

An Interview with Michelle Wildgen About “Wine People” – Chicago Review of Books

[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

Biting Speculations in “Liquid Snakes” – Chicago Review of Books

Biting Speculations in “Liquid Snakes” – Chicago Review of Books

[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

The Translator’s Voice — Morgan Giles on Translating Yu Miri’s “The End of August” – Chicago Review of Books

The Translator’s Voice — Morgan Giles on Translating Yu Miri’s “The End of August” – Chicago Review of Books

[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

“Hangman” Takes the Reader on a Fascinating Journey Home – Chicago Review of Books

“Hangman” Takes the Reader on a Fascinating Journey Home – Chicago Review of Books

[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

The Funhouse Mirror Worlds of “Disruptions” – Chicago Review of Books

The Funhouse Mirror Worlds of “Disruptions” – Chicago Review of Books

[ad_1] The work of Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Steven Millhauser demands to be read seriously since, at its often disarming core, it is about serious matters: time, memory, seeing the world as it is (reminiscent of Wallace Stevens’s “One must have a mind of winter to regard / the frost…”), the painful, inevitable divisions between human … Read more

The Translator’s Voice — Frances Riddle on Translating Claudia Piñeiro’s “A Little Luck” – Chicago Review of Books

The Translator’s Voice — Frances Riddle on Translating Claudia Piñeiro’s “A Little Luck” – Chicago Review of Books

[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

An Interview with Kyle Dillon Hertz – Chicago Review of Books

An Interview with Kyle Dillon Hertz – Chicago Review of Books

[ad_1] Kyle Dillon Hertz’s The Lookback Window starts in paradise. Or rather, it starts in a clothing-optional resort in South Florida. I found it apt to open the book here, a space of artificial beauty and peacefulness built directly on a foundation of unspoken terrors, all of which are fated to be erased by the … Read more

10 Books, Art, and Music That Embody the City – Chicago Review of Books

10 Books, Art, and Music That Embody the City – Chicago Review of Books

[ad_1] In avery r. young’s words, these are “10 Chicago, books, art, music that I dig. People do what they want to do. Check them out or miss out.” We couldn’t agree more. The Curtis album By Curtis Mayfield Curtom Records, 1970 It’s like the funk of Cottage Grove found its way to The Lyric … Read more