Reviews Archive | Los Angeles Review of Books

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The Author Is Not as Dead as Claimed
Robert Dasaler reviews “The Varieties of Authorial Intention: Literary Theory Beyond the Intentional Fallacy” by John Farrell.
Robert DaselerJul 17, 2018
- Literary Criticism
A Holocaust in Slow Motion: On Kelly Lytle Hernández’s “City of Inmates: Conquest, Rebellion, And The Rise Of Human Caging In Los Angeles, 1771-1965”
Mary F. Corey reviews “City of Inmates” by Kelly Lytle Hernández, a historical account of mass incarceration and genocide in Los Angeles.
Mary F. CoreyJul 16, 2018
- History
On Feeling One’s Way: David Russell’s “Tact”
Tanya Agathocleous reviews “Tact: Aesthetic Liberalism and the Essay Form in Nineteenth-Century” by David Russell.
Tanya AgathocleousJul 15, 2018
- Literary Criticism
Cheerful Contrarian: Freeman Dyson’s Letters
Sara Lippincott parses theoretical physicist Freeman Dyson's "Maker of Patterns: An Autobiography Through Letters."
Sara LippincottJul 14, 2018
A Humane Remove: Nick Drnaso’s “Sabrina”
Nick Drnaso makes comics of acute psychological realism that approach their subjects from an almost anthropological remove.
Greg HunterJul 14, 2018
- Comics
Fear of the Deeps: On Alain Guiraudie’s “Now the Night Begins”
Alain Guiraudie’s novel is perhaps more disturbing than his films, but Alex Wermer-Colan finds the queer cross-generational love story at its center.
Alex Wermer-ColanJul 13, 2018
Delight and Disgust: On the Contradictions and Complicities of Soccer
A new book on the poetics of soccer as lived experience.
Jul 13, 2018
- Around the World
- Philosophy & Religion
Self-Centered or Savior?: Transracial Adoption in “That Kind of Mother”
Alice Stephens finds Rumaan Alam’s “That Kind of Mother” a thoughtful look at the good, the bad, and the ugly of transracial adoption.
Alice StephensJul 12, 2018
- Fiction
Writing an Outpost of the British Empire: Caryl Phillips and Jean Rhys
What Phillips really captures in “A View of the Empire at Sunset” is not so much Jean Rhys’s voice, but her eerie way of being in the world.
Erica JohnsonJul 12, 2018
- Fiction
Frankenstein Turns 200 and Becomes Required Reading for Scientists
"Frankenstein: Annotated for Scientists, Engineers, and Creators of All Kinds" can remind scientists and engineers to proceed with caution.
Sidney PerkowitzJul 9, 2018
Groping Towards Each Other in a Common Mist
In his new translation, David Bentley Hart presents the New Testament as a choir, rather than the work of a soloist.
Burke Gerstenschlager, Ed SimonJul 8, 2018
- Religion
The Second City of Black America
Greg Barnhisel reviews “Smoketown: The Untold Story of the Other Great Black Renaissance.”
Greg BarnhiselJul 8, 2018
- History
- Music
It’s in There Somewhere
Have we been here before? Bryan Wisch reviews Jon Meacham's "The Soul of America: The Battle for Our Better Angels."
Bryan WischJul 7, 2018
- History
- Politics
Maria Hummel Dissects Violence in Art with “Still Lives”
Despite its missteps, Hummel’s art-world thriller “Still Lives” is a compelling read.
Bradley BabendirJul 7, 2018
- Fiction
The Jokes on Us: Examining the Hard Truths For Women in Television
Achieving equity in TV isn’t just about being fair — it’s about accessing new and better stories to elevate television for everyone.
Eric DeggansJul 6, 2018
Killing Democracy to Save It
How an idealistic defense intellectual concluded that democracy is often its own worst enemy.
John GanzJul 6, 2018
- History
- Politics