Essays Archive | Los Angeles Review of Books

All Essays

To Forget History
It would be easy to interpret Kundera’s sympathy for those who want to rewrite their pasts as the author’s hidden desire to forget something shameful from his own past.
Johannes LichtmanJul 5, 2015
- Fiction
A Personal Laureate: Reflections on Juan Felipe Herrera’s Appointment as Poet Laureate of the United States
Featuring Rigoberto González, Sandra Cisneros, Eduardo C. Corral, Francisco Aragón, Carmen Gimenez Smith, Tim Z. Hernandez, Brenda Cárdenas
David Tomas MartinezJul 4, 2015
- Poetry
How Vivian Gornick Saved My Life: A True Story
Katherine Taylor writes about her experience with a ruptured spinal disk and Vivian Gornick's new book, "The Odd Woman in the City."
Katherine TaylorJul 2, 2015
- Memoir & Essay
Perspectives on Polish Migration and the Social Cooperative Movement
A new movement of social cooperatives responds to the detritus of free market economics.
David ShawJul 2, 2015
- Around the World
Susan Sontag: Critic and Crusader
Steve Wasserman's opus on Susan Sontag, critic and crusader.
Steve WassermanJul 1, 2015
- Biography & Autobiography
- Philosophy & Religion
True Detective, Season 2: "Night Finds You"
Midnight Dreary
Phillip Maciak, Sarah MesleJun 30, 2015
- Dear Television
- Television
Let It Fly: A Serious Half-Serious Proposal
Until we summon the courage to become something different, let us remember who we are. Let the Confederate battle flag fly.
Ben EhrenreichJun 29, 2015
Sheeps and Dogs: On “Far From the Madding Crowd”
Thomas Vinterberg's recent adaptation of "Far From the Madding Crowd" is a film that is completely dutiful, very attractive, and mostly dull.
Jun 26, 2015
The Afterlife of a Manuscript
“A scholarly whodunit” of Michelangelo, Nazis, and safe-cracking
Emily J. LevineJun 25, 2015
- Art & Architecture
- History
What to Make of Heidegger in 2015?
Can the philosophy be distinguished from the man?
Santiago ZabalaJun 24, 2015
- Philosophy & Religion
Greening Justice: Can Disparate Actors Heed Pope Francis’s Call for Unity?
A new encyclical on climate change from Pope Francis unites spiritual, material, and moral visions of environmental justice.
Rubén MartínezJun 23, 2015
True Detective, Season 2: "The Western Book of the Dead"
Happy Father's Day
Phillip Maciak, Sarah MesleJun 23, 2015
- Dear Television
Between Victimhood and Power: The Female Detectives of Television’s Crime Dramas
Annie Manion discusses the gender contradictions of female detectives in television crime dramas.
Annie ManionJun 22, 2015
The Economics of Mad Max and Star Trek
Our scientific prowess and our destruction of the planet: which will be the first home to roost?
Tom StreithorstJun 21, 2015
- Economics and Finance
- Politics
Lies Like Truth: On Fiction, Reality, and Fictional Reality
Contemporary readers, many brought up on tell-all memoirs, reality shows, and talk shows, now often seem confused about what were once easily discernible borders.
David FreemanJun 21, 2015
- Fiction
- Nonfiction
Kingmakers
True Detective and the HBO Brand
Michelle ChiharaJun 21, 2015
- Television