Essays Archive | Los Angeles Review of Books

All Essays

Saying Something: Trans Characters in YA Fiction
Clarence Harlan Orsi surveys the first generation of YA trans and genderqueer literature.
Clarence Harlan OrsiJul 16, 2019
- Gender & Sexuality
- Young Adult & Children’s Literature
Grim Hints and Nervous Portents: On Dennis Etchison
The late horror author’s vivid snapshots of bleak Southern California suburbia.
Rob LathamJul 13, 2019
- SF
Shine a Light: Tom Roberge and Emma Ramadan on Selling Uncommon Books
Nathan Scott McNamara talks to Tom Roberge and Emma Ramadan, co-owners of Riffraff, a bookstore, coffee shop, and bar in Providence, Rhode Island.
Nathan Scott McNamaraJul 11, 2019
- Around the World
- Nonfiction
The Forced Conversion of Varlam Shalamov
Anastasiya Osipova argues that the translators of “Kolyma Stories” by Varlam Shalamov have often obscured the author’s literary and political intent.
Anastasiya OsipovaJul 11, 2019
Oppositional Thinking, Pure Sensation, and a Good Journal: The Artistic Toolkit of Richard Ford
Three Montana State University graduate students analyze the artistic toolkit of Wallace Stegner Chair lecturer Richard Ford.
Debby Greene, Evan Kelly, Jaime JacobsenJul 11, 2019
- Fiction
“I Don’t Really Care. Do You?”: Scientists in the Grey Zone in 1930s Italy
Massimo Mazzotti reflects on how Italian scientists failed as a bulwark against fascist politics in the 1930s.
Massimo MazzottiJul 8, 2019
Text and Texture
Great works of fiction have a consistency, a firmness and density that can be touched.
Lynne Sharon SchwartzJul 7, 2019
- Literary Criticism
Dante’s Psychological Comedy
D. M. Black finds psychological depth in Dante’s “Comedy” and shares excerpts from his translation of “Purgatorio.”
D. M. BlackJul 7, 2019
“A Bullet in the Right Place”: On the 50th Anniversary of Lindsay Anderson’s “if....”
Alex Harvey revisits Lindsay Anderson’s groundbreaking film “if....” 50 years after its premiere.
Alex HarveyJul 2, 2019
- Film
The Problem of the Reparative in the Shadow of Stonewall
Jonathan Alexander on addressing the damage done to the LGBTQ community in the wake of Canada’s recent move to provide reparations for queer people.
Jonathan AlexanderJul 1, 2019
- Gender & Sexuality
- Politics
Literature Versus Utopia: An Ancient Quarrel
Why do we prefer heroic suffering to utopian contentment?
John FarrellJun 30, 2019
Is That All There Is?: Queer Culture and Politics on the 50th Anniversary of Stonewall
Much has changed in the 50 years since the flashpoint of the modern LGBTQ movement, but there is still much more to do.
Eric NewmanJun 29, 2019
Literature in a Time of Collusion: A Conversation Between Jennifer Wilson, Hilah Kohen, Julia Phillips, and Fiona Bell
Jennifer Wilson, Hilah Kohen, Julia Phillips, and Fiona Bell discuss new approaches to writing about Russia.
Fiona Bell, Hilah Kohen, Jennifer Wilson, Julia PhillipsJun 28, 2019
Invisible Europe
Dubravka Ugrešić reflects on today’s Europe and its crises.
Dubravka UgrešićJun 26, 2019
- Around the World
- Cultural Studies
Big Little Lies, "The End of the World"
This week on Dear Television, Phil Maciak asks why the third episode of the second season of Big Little Lies won't follow the money.
Phillip MaciakJun 25, 2019
- Dear Television
Freedom of the Press Under Attack
Stephen Rohde looks at three new reports that detail assaults to freedom of the press and freedom of speech over the past year.
Stephen RohdeJun 23, 2019