The Strangeness of Life vs. Fiction in “Be Here to Love Me at the End of the World” – Chicago Review of Books

The Strangeness of Life vs. Fiction in “Be Here to Love Me at the End of the World” – Chicago Review of Books

[ad_1] Sasha Fletcher is a poet who has catapulted himself onto the fiction scene with his first novel, Be Here to Love Me at the End of the World. An unpolished description of the text could be the following: an absurdist, historical fiction love story set in the near future. Sam and Eleanor are an … Read more

Exploring a Man’s World in “Sea State” – Chicago Review of Books

Exploring a Man’s World in “Sea State” – Chicago Review of Books

[ad_1] Tabitha Lasley’s new memoir is built upon a flawed premise. When she explains her plan to travel to Aberdeen and talk with offshore workers to discover “what men are like with no women around,” her editor points out “you’ll be around.” One of the men Lasley interviews responds to the same explanation of the … Read more

A Vast Journey Through Literary History in “Around the World in 80 Books” – Chicago Review of Books

A Vast Journey Through Literary History in “Around the World in 80 Books” – Chicago Review of Books

[ad_1] If there is an academic in America most committed to the idea of literature as a vast, human project, an artistic process of knowing and revealing that spans across social and political boundaries—even historical epochs—it is Harvard University’s David Damrosch. In his latest offering, Around the World in 80 Books, the founder and director … Read more

Saving the World One Gun at a Time in “Termination Shock” – Chicago Review of Books

Saving the World One Gun at a Time in “Termination Shock” – Chicago Review of Books

[ad_1] Neal Stephenson’s new novel Termination Shock is an effective ecological thriller, which looks to foment meaningful change for humanity as we face the greatest threat to our existence since the unleashing of the atomic bomb. In his essay, ‘Innovation Starvation’ published in Project Hieroglyph, Stephenson posits that “Good SF supplies a plausible, fully thought-out … Read more

The Porous Borders Between this World and the Next in “Slipping” – Chicago Review of Books

The Porous Borders Between this World and the Next in “Slipping” – Chicago Review of Books

[ad_1] Western audiences may not have first-hand experience cramming into Tahrir Square with two million other souls in protest, but we are more than ready to believe in ghosts. The hauntings in Slipping, Mohamed Kheir’s fourth novel (translated by Robin Moger—the first time Kheir’s work has appeared in English), take place in a post-Arab Spring … Read more

Meditations on Collective Guilt, Culpability, and the Natural World in “The Impossible Resurrection of Grief” – Chicago Review of Books

Meditations on Collective Guilt, Culpability, and the Natural World in “The Impossible Resurrection of Grief” – Chicago Review of Books

[ad_1] The world is dying and it is all humanity’s fault—an on the nose observation, but one that encapsulates Octavia Cade’s novella, The Impossible Resurrection of Grief. We meet marine biologist Ruby in a near-future Australia, immersed in her study of jellyfish while dealing with the fallout of a colleague and friend drowning in the … Read more

Saving Our Water, Our World in “Future Sea” – Chicago Review of Books

Our review of "Future Sea," by Deborah Rowan Wright.

[ad_1] Future Sea: How to Rescue and Protect the World’s Oceans delivers not only the promised “how” but also the reasons why we should safeguard the ocean from human activities. Advocate and researcher Deborah Rowan Wright outlines the critical link between the ocean’s health and our ability to mitigate global warming, the tremendous potential of … Read more

The Anxiety of the Unknown in “Leave the World Behind” – Chicago Review of Books

The Anxiety of the Unknown in “Leave the World Behind” – Chicago Review of Books

[ad_1] In our overly connected world, it is a rare moment to not have all the information. We feel more secure with the constant feed of data, even when that information foretells doom and gloom. Rumaan Alam plays on our anxiety of the unknown in his third novel Leave The World Behind, a fast-paced and … Read more