Book Reviews Archive
Bad People and Bad Dreams in A Door Behind a Door
Yelena Moskovich’s novel is loose, dreamy, and symbol-packed. Characters morph and become nightmarish versions of themselves, and it is unclear if the transformation is real or only a bad dream.
Collecting Art and Grief in Letters to Camondo
De Waal pays homage to delicate, restrained elegance of good style, a kind of style that requires keen perception, artisanal knowledge, and sensitivity.
The Purpose of Art in Rachel Cusk’s Second Place
Cusk's new novel is worth reading for its sharp descriptions and powerful story alone, but it’s the in-depth exploration of the purpose of art that makes the story meaningful.
Crossing Boundaries in Whereabouts
Jhumpa Lahiri’s new novel beautifully showcases the way we experience life: the moments that are most important—the turning points—are often only realized in retrospect.
Curb’s Exploration of American Othering
Divya Victor’s new collection is a moving critique of the South Asian immigrant experience within post 9/11 America.
Open Water by Caleb Azumah Nelson
Caleb Azumah Nelson’s highly anticipated debut celebrates Black art and explores generational trauma.
The Wild Fox of Yemen by Threa Almontaser
Almontaser’s collection espouses neither sentimental nostalgia nor doomed isolation . . . these poems are poignant and melancholic, sometimes tragic, sometimes hilarious, and always filled with beauty.
All the Roads Are Open by Annemarie Schwarzenbach
For Schwarzenbach, travel is more than geographical—it’s a psychological and introspective undertaking, as well as an intimate metaphor of living and becoming, especially for an androgynous woman who breaks boundaries and social taboos.
Eat the Mouth That Feeds You by Carribean Fragoza
In her debut collection, Fragoza imagines a world where patriarchy can be eradicated and finds beauty in how Chicanx women come together.
The Twilight Zone by Nona Fernandez
In her new novel, Nona Fernandez delves into the fluctuations of memory, highlighting the media and society’s role in what we remember.