For The Book Obsessed
[ad_1] Edward Carey’s latest book, The Swallowed Man, is a retelling of the classic Pinocchio fairy tale from Gepetto’s perspective. Gepetto is left alone for much of Carlo Collodi’s original story, so Carey saw an opportunity to both write his version of events and create a visual art exhibition of the weird and wild creations … Read more
[ad_1] Annabel Lyon, an award-winning writer first hailed for her short stories, and later for her work in both YA fiction and historical fiction, continues to find new ways to broaden her reach in her latest novel Consent, which draws from both literary fiction as well as the thriller. Consent might be closest to Lyon’s … Read more
[ad_1] Georges Seurat’s painting A Sunday on La Grande Jatte is a marquee visitor attraction at the Art Institute of Chicago. This painting of mid-19th century Parisians picnicking on the banks of the Seine is large, but the figures within it are made up of millions of tiny colored dots. To view the painting, visitors … 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
[ad_1] “The Artist’s Bookshelf” is a column about books that inspire the CHIRB staff’s favorite artists. Chicago indie powerhouse Tim Kinsella has eclectic taste to match his eclectic artistic output. On top of the musical acts for which he is most known, including Joan of Arc and Owls, he is also the author of three … Read more
[ad_1] Lauded Argentine journalist and author of Things We Lost in the Fire, Mariana Enríquez again delivers intrigue and brutality in her latest story collection, The Dangers of Smoking in Bed, translated from the Spanish by Megan McDowell. Stories of spirits and disappearances collectively address the mystery of loss through narratives that are as gripping … Read more
[ad_1] Sarah Moss’s seventh novel, Summerwater, follows her acclaimed Ghost Wall (2018), and takes its cue from 19th century English poet Sir William Watson’s “The Ballad of Semerwater.” The poem tells an old legend about a mysterious traveling beggar who arrives in the prosperous town of Semerwater in northern England’s Yorkshire Dales. In response to … Read more
[ad_1] Editor’s Note: This book and this review were written before the insurrection against the United States Capitol on January 6th, 2021 1. Two events in recent history: In April and May of 2020, a series of demonstrations took place inside and around the state Capitol in Lansing, Michigan. Demonstrators gathered in protest of recent … Read more
[ad_1] Sankofa is the adopted daughter of Death. With a glowing green light that comes from within her, she can take the lives of those around her. Nnedi Okorafor’s newest novella, Remote Control, introduces Sankofa through the stories many people tell about her—she is Death’s own remote control, they say. When she touches technology, it … Read more
[ad_1] Our civilization has always had a precarious grasp on existence, although between the pandemic and the climate-induced natural disasters of the past year, collapse feels a bit more imminent. Claire Holroyde would like to add another fear to our anxiety: dark comets. In her debut novel, The Effort, a comet large enough to extinguish … Read more