Reviews Archive | Los Angeles Review of Books

All Reviews

A Tale of Two States
Is the United States’s future going to be more like Wisconsin or California?
Darryl HolterAug 13, 2018
- Politics
Past Progressive: Dan Kaufman’s “The Fall of Wisconsin”
A smart analysis of how foundations and outside money helped turn a left-leaning state to Trump.
Jake WertzAug 13, 2018
- Politics
Black Magic Realism: John Rechy’s First Novel
A witches’ brew of magic, legend, and tortured faith.
Marilyn MacronAug 12, 2018
- Fiction
- Gender & Sexuality
Beyond Physical Coexistence: Aminatta Forna’s “Happiness”
Aminatta Forna's "Happiness" shows us why we must embrace coexistence and how this works in practice.
Mariatu SantiagoAug 12, 2018
- Around the World
- Fiction
Let Us Rejoice While We Are Young
Maria Rybakova reviews Mircea Eliade's early novel "Gaudeamus," recently translated by Christopher Bartholomew and released by Istros Books.
Maria RybakovaAug 11, 2018
Platform Moderation and Its Discontents
Will moderation save us? Robert Gorwa reviews Tarleton Gillespie's "Custodians of the Internet."
Robert GorwaAug 10, 2018
The Bitchified Decade We’re Still Paying For
Allison Yarrow’s “90s Bitch” explores how pre-2000s culture both celebrated and constrained autonomous femininity.
Randle BrowningAug 9, 2018
- Cultural Studies
- Gender & Sexuality
The Repackaging of Stoicism in the 21st Century
What does Stoicism mean today? On Massimo Pigliucci's "How to Be a Stoic."
Temma EhrenfeldAug 9, 2018
- Philosophy & Religion
- Science & Technology
Leaving Rosé Season for a Ragged Happiness
Sonya Lea reviews Kristi Coulter's new essay collection, "Nothing Good Can Come from This."
Sonya LeaAug 8, 2018
- Memoir & Essay
Extra! Extra!
A ringing defense of old-time newspapering from a Los Angeles legend.
Evelyn McDonnellAug 8, 2018
- Politics
Call Sign “Chaos”
A new biography of General James “Mad Dog” Mattis.
Henrik BeringAug 7, 2018
- Biography & Autobiography
The Lone and Level Sands
A lively history of an underappreciated resource.
David AstrofskyAug 7, 2018
Revisions of Resistance in Beatriz Bracher’s “I Didn’t Talk”
Bracher’s slim, dense novel lingers in the eddies of personal memory and historical reckoning.
Victoria BaenaAug 7, 2018
- Around the World
- Fiction
Encountering Weegee: On Christopher Bonanos’s “Flash: The Making of Weegee the Famous”
Geoff Nicholson exposes himself to “Flash: The Making of Weegee the Famous” by Christopher Bonanos.
Geoff NicholsonAug 6, 2018
- Art & Architecture
Homer for Scalawags: Emily Wilson’s “Odyssey”
Richard H. Armstrong journeys through Emily Wilson’s new translation of Homer’s “Odyssey.”
Richard H. ArmstrongAug 5, 2018
- Poetry
Working Girl
Tausif Noor reviews Ottessa Moshfegh’s new novel of monotony, addiction, and loss, “My Year of Rest and Relaxation.”
Tausif NoorAug 5, 2018
- Fiction