Reviews Archive | Los Angeles Review of Books

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Moving Through the World with Eyes Open
In her latest short story collection, Ayşegül Savaş considers lives lived apart.
Angelica HankinsMar 5
- Fiction
Open Rehearsal
Keith S. Wilson’s visually experimental poetry examines the ‘asymmetries of risk’ and repetition to expose ‘how violence enters the body as habit.’
Jeffrey LevineMar 5
- Poetry
Sadism as Psychotherapy
Jon Stock’s recent book examines the deplorable career of prominent psychiatrist Willam Sargant and his brand of bio-therapeutics.
Andrew ScullMar 4
- Science & Technology
- History
Let Down by Understatement
Scott Broker’s debut novel is like ‘Scenes from a (Gay) Marriage’ with undertones of Stephen King.
Gideon LeekMar 3
- Fiction
World Cup Nausea
With the World Cup looming in North America this summer, Simon Kuper offers a compelling—and depressing—history of this unique tournament.
Dan FriedmanMar 3
- Sports
- Politics
Can the Internet Be Saved?
After troubleshooting Tim Berners-Lee’s memoir, it becomes clear that the internet’s flaws were there from the start.
Nicholas CarrFeb 28
- Science & Technology
- History
Davos Mann
A new book on ‘The Magic Mountain’ grapples with the contradictions of history.
Anthony Curtis AdlerFeb 26
- Philosophy & Religion
- Literary Criticism
Bill Callahan’s Vita Nuova
On his latest album, the singer-songwriter explores themes of fatherhood, time, and forgiveness.
Sebastian LangdellFeb 26
- Music
Après Bowie, le déluge
On the 10th anniversary of David Bowie’s death, three books consider the rock star from new angles.
Colin MarshallFeb 24
- Music
- Biography & Autobiography
Assaults and Batteries
Nicolas Niarchos digs up the hidden costs behind your rechargeables.
Tim Hirschel-BurnsFeb 24
- Politics
- Economics and Finance
It’s Bad Out There
Park Chan-wook’s ‘No Other Choice’ takes an ax to the job-search grind.
Zosha MillmanFeb 23
- Film
- Economics and Finance
Sustaining the Rule of Law
Jessica Greenberg offers a compelling, though at times jargon-ridden, analysis of the history of the European Court of Human Rights.
Mark EllisFeb 21
The Artist Is Present (Online)
Sophie Bishop’s new book tracks the pressures artists face to conform their ‘brands’ to the demands of the algorithmic boss.
Sarah BrouilletteFeb 20
- Art & Architecture
- Economics and Finance
You Say You Want a Revolution
Should historians look at violent revolutions with rose-colored glasses while vindicating the terror that carried them forth?
Jack JacobsFeb 19
- History
- Politics
A Fiction of Global Terror
Timothy Rideout’s new book shows how precarity among the middle and working classes powers the fears at the heart of 21st-century gothic literature.
Tracy Fernandez RysavyFeb 19
God and the Unconscious
Joan Copjec’s new book charts the conceptual affinities and historical convergences between psychoanalysis and Islamic philosophy.
Henry ClementsFeb 17
- Philosophy & Religion
- Film