People Are Hard in “Big Shadow” – Chicago Review of Books

People Are Hard in “Big Shadow” – Chicago Review of Books

[ad_1] Reading Marta Balcewicz’s debut novel, Big Shadow, I couldn’t deny my subjectivity. In 1998, I was the same age as Judy, the novel’s inexperienced 17-year-old narrator. And like her, I desperately wished to make a living as an artist. I haunted NYC’s East Village, near my home; I held court with some unusual characters … Read more

Reflection and Refraction in “The Hard Crowd” – Chicago Review of Books

Reflection and Refraction in “The Hard Crowd” – Chicago Review of Books

[ad_1] From the first time I read Rachel Kushner’s novels, I thought about nonfiction. The biting yet elegant voices of her narrators reminded me of literary criticism, and the detailed renderings of people and places I thought resembled journalism. I was evidently not alone in this response: James Woods praised her fiction as possessing “the … Read more

Hearts in the Hard Ground

Hearts in the Hard Ground

[ad_1] Following the death of her mother, Fiona buys a new house in order to start a new chapter of her life, one with fewer reminders of painful memories. Unbeknownst to Fiona, this house has a melancholy history, and slightly more ghosts than she anticipated. In learning to live with her unexpected companions and their … Read more