Reviews Archive | Los Angeles Review of Books

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The Thin White Dunc: A Jaded Dandy in 1970s New York
A portrait of punk-era New York’s art and music scenes.
Anthony MostromJul 25, 2018
Sugar and Spice and Steel
Karen Brissette is haunted by “Give Me Your Hand,” the latest novel by Megan Abbott.
Karen BrissetteJul 25, 2018
- Noir
Almost Dying for the Story: On Michael Scott Moore’s “The Desert and the Sea: 977 Days Captive on the Somali Pirate Coast”
A harrowing true account from a journalist held hostage for 977 days by Somali pirates.
Tristan McConnellJul 24, 2018
- Around the World
- Politics
The Black Girl Looks at Other Black Girls: On “This Will Be My Undoing” by Morgan Jerkins
The themes in "This Will Be My Undoing" are the safe, plodding kind expected from so-called diverse writers.
Khanya Khondlo MtshaliJul 24, 2018
- Memoir & Essay
Kick, Push, Fatherhood: On Neal Thompson’s “Kickflip Boys”
What do fatherhood and skateboarding have in common?
Tim HillegondsJul 23, 2018
- Memoir & Essay
A New Voice of the Southwest
When the going gets weird in Southern New Mexico.
William DeverellJul 23, 2018
- Memoir & Essay
A Guide for Psychedelic Virgins and Skeptics?
The publication of "How to Change Your Mind" in 2018 is one of many indications that we are witnessing a cultural sea change with regard to psychedelics.
James PennerJul 23, 2018
- Science & Technology
America the Dysfunctional
A gloomy take on the American future by journalist, lawyer, and entrepreneur Steven Brill.
Alexander C. KafkaJul 22, 2018
- Politics
David Lynch’s Sacred Clay
Does David Lynch and Kristine McKenna's hybrid biography-memoir "Room to Dream" offer the key to unlocking Lynch's film work?
Shehryar FazliJul 22, 2018
Funks of Ambivalence: On Flarf
Andrew Epstein reviews “Flarf: An Anthology of Flarf.”
Andrew EpsteinJul 22, 2018
- Poetry
Charts of Childhood, Maps of Family
Birger Vanwesenbeeck on a new collection of essays that charts and maps the patterns of family life.
Birger VanwesenbeeckJul 21, 2018
- Memoir & Essay
A Hope Manifesto for Times of Resistance
Keli Goff is inspired by “The Prison Letters of Nelson Mandela.”
Keli GoffJul 21, 2018
Seeing Both Sides of the Shield: On Rebecca Harding Davis
"When we look for meaning in the lives of historical figures, what we’re often looking for is the reflected image of our own ideas and beliefs."
Arielle ZibrakJul 21, 2018
An Intensity Leavened by Gentleness
A new biography of the seminal French literary and cultural theorist René Girard.
Christopher ShinnJul 20, 2018
Irrational Authoritarianism: Ismail Kadare’s “The Traitor’s Niche”
Ani Kokobobo on an allegory of modern authoritarianism set in the Ottoman Empire.
Ani KokoboboJul 19, 2018
Braving Every Storm: Lauren Groff’s “Florida”
Joseph Peschel finds the stories in Lauren Groff’s “Florida” as beautifully crafted as any fiction she has written.
Joseph PeschelJul 19, 2018
- Fiction