Reviews Archive | Los Angeles Review of Books

All Reviews

A Citadel of Fatuousness
Shehryar Fazli considers Scott Anderson’s new account of the United States’ bungling in Iran, a mistake with lasting consequences.
Shehryar FazliNov 25
- History
Holding and Disappearing Traces of the Past
Lara Fresko Madra explores Hande Sever’s recent installation at REDCAT in Los Angeles.
Lara Fresko Madra Nov 25
- Art & Architecture
Herzog in the Jungle of Truth
Sam Shpall ponders the enigma of Werner Herzog and his new book, “The Future of Truth.”
Sam Shpall Nov 24
- Philosophy & Religion
- Film
Chile Yesterday, America Today
Ariel Dorfman revisits acts of brutality in the 1970s and John Dinges’s investigation of who is to blame.
Ariel DorfmanNov 23
- History
- Politics
Is Justice Barrett Listening?
Leah Litman prosecutes Justice Amy Coney Barrett’s new legal memoir, “Listening to the Law: Reflections on the Court and Constitution.”
Leah LitmanNov 22
Cisterns of Multiplicity
Yvonne Kim invests in “The New Economy,” the latest poetry collection from Gabrielle Calvocoressi.
Yvonne KimNov 22
- Poetry
- Gender & Sexuality
When History Hangs Out
Jacob Stern reviews Richard Linklater’s two latest films, “Nouvelle Vague” and “Blue Moon,” as twin hangout movies.
Jacob SternNov 21
- Film
- History
Our Reigning Prophet of Doom
Gideon Leek reviews Joy Williams’s latest story collection, “The Pelican Child.”
Gideon LeekNov 21
- Fiction
- Environment
What We Talk About When We Talk About Cuba
Sara Kozameh offers a rigorous analysis of cultural production during the Cuban Revolution in conversation with Jennifer L. Lambe’s book “The Subject of Revolution: Between Political and Popular Culture in Cuba.”
Sara KozamehNov 20
- History
- Politics
How to Access Art
Pasquale Toscano considers Rob Macaisa Colgate’s debut poetry collection, “Hardly Creatures.”
Pasquale ToscanoNov 20
- Poetry
- Cultural Studies
A Radical Functionalist
Lois Parkinson Zamora explores “Architect Hannes Meyer and Radical Modernism” by Georg Leidenberger.
Lois Parkinson ZamoraNov 19
- Art & Architecture
- Biography & Autobiography
You Can Go Home Again, and Again, and Again
Cory Oldweiler reviews the new translation of Danish author Solvej Balle’s “On the Calculation of Volume (Book III).”
Cory OldweilerNov 18
- Fiction
- SF
The Cult of Orgasm
Helena Aeberli traces Ellen Huet’s investigations in “Empire of Orgasm: Sex, Power, and the Downfall of a Wellness Cult.”
Helena AeberliNov 18
- Gender & Sexuality
- Cultural Studies
In the Shadow of Yesterday
Aurelian Craiutu thinks about Balázs Trencsényi’s “Intellectuals and the Crisis of Politics in the Interwar Period and Beyond: A Transnational History.”
Aurelian CraiutuNov 17
- Philosophy & Religion
- History
Laboring in the Dream Factory
Harry Stecopoulos reviews Olivia Laing’s new novel “The Silver Book.”
Harry StecopoulosNov 16
- Fiction
Sheer Tenderness
Jessica Simmons-Reid visits Noah Davis’s posthumous survey at the Hammer Museum.
Jessica Simmons-ReidNov 15
- Art & Architecture