Book Reviews Archive
Quotients by Tracy O’Neill
Does information protect or imprison us? Tracy O’Neill’s highly-anticipated second novel—part suspense story, part relationship drama and part commentary on the perils of our interconnected epoch—explores a world in which the truth is hard to determine, and even harder to prove.
Cockfight by María Fernanda Ampuero
Ampuero enters into critical dialogue with form and substance. Combining structures reminiscent of fairy tales and horror films, Ampuero upends these conventions by reversing tropes and decentering the male gaze.
Obit by Victoria Chang
The emotional power of Chang’s new collection comes from the grace and honesty with which she turns this familiar form inside out to show us the private side of family, the knotting together of generations, the bewilderment of grief.
How Much of These Hills Is Gold by C Pam Zhang
Zhang’s novel is a treasure-trove of questions that devastate even as they beckon readers on.
Hurricane Season by Fernanda Melchor
Its comfort in the grotesque, the casual nature of it, is the most disturbing yet captivating aspect of the novel. Melchor’s debut drowns the reader in ominous truth, accentuating real life through fiction.
The Glass Hotel by Emily St. John Mandel
Emily St. John Mandel’s new novel continues her project of examining the immeasurable possibilities available in a single life.
Whiteout Conditions by Tariq Shah
In Tariq Shah’s debut novel, the protagonists finds a sliver of life in a world of death and, with that, a tiny bit of grace.
New Waves by Kevin Nguyen
In a world that seems increasingly chaotic and divided, Nguyen’s debut novel offers a refuge with his humble, distinct take on race relations in America, and smart analysis of the
ways technology shapes our personal and public lives.
Postcolonial Love Poem by Natalie Diaz
Natalie Diaz’s new collection is a withering critique of conditions faced by Native peoples past and present.
Real Life by Brandon Taylor
Brandon Taylor’s new novel explores the anxiety of being alive, the exhaustion of being black in America, and the cruelty that is embedded in human interaction.