For The Book Obsessed
[ad_1] How do we begin to talk about the past four years—or even farther back—where perhaps the most unprecedented thing is the unprecedented need to overuse the word unprecedented? Tell me about it! In The Great Wave, Michiko Kakutani’s latest—a part political, part historical, nonfiction ride of a book—she does just that, taking us on … Read more
[ad_1] An avid reader of the short story will soon learn the basic elements that make the form tick: an irresistible opening line, clearly established characters, a central conflict, well-placed details, a satisfying ending. For the writer, these are more of a hypothesis than a formula. Each element can be elusive in its own way, … Read more
[ad_1] The pandemic forced everyone indoors, but while some spent their quarantine staring longingly out the window, growing stir crazy and desperate for human contact, others heaved a sigh of relief, secretly grateful for an excuse to shut out our chaotic, complicated society. Author and journalist Kathryn Bromwich clearly sympathizes with both views. In fact, … Read more
[ad_1] Alaska is a place of extremes: geography, isolation, weather—even daylight. These extremes sit at the center of Leigh Newman’s new story collection Nobody Gets Out Alive, as the collection probes the limitations and impact of the unique environment. Alaska serves as a common thread linking the narratives and defines the collection. Newman’s 2013 memoir … Read more
[ad_1] The Edge of Being by James Brandon is a tender and heartfelt queer YA novel about the multiplicities of grief, deeply held family secrets, and finding new love. Isaac Griffin has always felt something was missing from his life. And for good reason: he’s never met his dad. He’d started to believe he’d never belong in … Read more
[ad_1] If you’re STILL not over the fake-date-skate relationship of Canadian superstars Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir; if The Cutting Edge, Ice Castles, or Netflix’s too quickly cancelled Spinning Out had you binge watching for hours AND if you’re a fan of swoony supportive men helping their love interest realize their dreams – ahem Pacey Witter & … Read more
[ad_1] The grounds upon which A Bed for the King’s Daughter was passed up by English-language publishers also mark, perhaps unsurprisingly, the roots of its merits. Sawad Hussain samples these rejections in her translator’s note. That the twenty-two micro-fictions in Shahla Ujayli’s proportionately short collection were considered on the submission circuit to be “too short,” “too experimental,” or … Read more