For The Book Obsessed
[ad_1] The posthumous publication of a beloved author can be a dicey proposition. Unless the writer managed to finish the manuscript before she passed, the resulting book is often a work of assemblage and hearsay, incomplete and speculative by nature and thus rarely conventionally satisfying. And if it’s a book that was hidden away in … Read more
[ad_1] Near the beginning of the novel, a man comes across dead bodies that have been dead for a while. He knows there’s more to the scene than he can see. And for seeing what he sees, he will be pursued by a force he does not understand. The novel is The Passenger, Cormac McCarthy’s … Read more
[ad_1] As a queer ex-Catholic from New England now living in the Midwest, reading Jeanna Kadlec’s memoir, Heretic, felt like staring at a reversed image. She’s a lesbian ex-Evangelical Christian that moved from the Midwest to Boston, and her debut explores the ways Evangelicalism–especially white American Evangelicalism–shaped her early life, sense of self, and ultimately … Read more
[ad_1] As the holiday season approaches and many families and friends begin to gather, it’s the perfect time to begin planning what books you’re going to take with you on your travels. This November is a cornucopia of literary delights, full of heralded new releases from acclaimed authors and debuts from exciting emerging voices. Whether … Read more
[ad_1] Kaoru Takamura has won most of the prestigious mystery and literary awards in her native Japan, including the Mystery Writers of Japan Award, the Japan Adventure Fiction Association Prize (twice), the Naoki Prize, the Shinran Prize, the Yomiuri Prize, the Noma Literary Prize, the Jiro Osagari Prize, and the Mainichi Arts Award. She’s been … Read more
[ad_1] Fatimah Asghar’s debut novel, When We Were Sisters, reads exactly like you want your poems to. It’s vivid, lyrical and taut. A poet, screenwriter and, now, a novelist, Asghar weaves personal history and the struggle for identity in a coming of age story. Much like Asghar, the protagonist, Kausar is femme, queer, Muslim, South … Read more
[ad_1] Ross Gay’s eloquence as a poet is matched by his fluency as an essayist, and over the last half dozen years his focus on the human condition has resulted in a number of justly praised books, including Catalog of Unabashed Gratitude, The Book of Delights and Be Holding. The newest addition to that rich … Read more
[ad_1] Each of the seven stories in Samanta Schweblin’s collection Seven Empty Houses engages with the subject of significant absence in ways that are distinct, while fitting easily beneath the same thematic umbrella. Characters search for missing people, objects, and pieces of themselves. Certain losses documented in these stories can never be recouped, yet each … Read more
[ad_1] John Irving has declared that his new book, an irresistible and deeply affecting family saga titled The Last Chairlift, will be the last long novel of his long career. And it is, indeed, the longest. The Last Chairlift teems with the raucous situational humor, memorable and resonant characters, righteous rage, instructive social commentary, and … Read more
[ad_1] It will surprise few readers of contemporary fiction to learn that George Saunders’ new collection of short stories, Liberation Day, is very good indeed. At this stage, reviews can only confirm his talent, not reveal it, and should consequently focus on other issues. Once one has established that Liberation Day is as good as … Read more