Reviews Archive | Los Angeles Review of Books

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Not Raging Against the Dying of the Light
A sharp critique of the anti-aging industry from a keen observer of American flim-flam.
Wendy ParisJun 7, 2018
- Politics
- Science & Technology
Reasonableness Without Reasons: Yascha Mounk’s “The People vs. Democracy”
Is populism a reaction against oligarchy, or is it part of the oligarchic plan?
Jonny ThakkarJun 6, 2018
- Law
- Politics
Totalitarian Politics Are Local
A flawed but spirited attempt to develop a grand theory of the 21st-century autocratic revival.
Benjamin CunninghamJun 6, 2018
- Law
- Politics
Fiction of Dystopian Times: Ahmed Saadawi’s “Frankenstein in Baghdad”
Rather than dystopian fiction, it’s more apt to call Ahmed Saadawi’s “Frankenstein in Baghdad” fiction of dystopian times.
Sam MetzJun 5, 2018
- Around the World
- Fiction
James Wood’s Subtle Subversions
Alexander C. Kafka finds James Wood’s “Upstate” a stirring novel of quiet, careful craftsmanship.
Alexander C. KafkaJun 5, 2018
- Fiction
Either Reason or a Rope: On Jennifer Summit and Blakey Vermeule’s “Action versus Contemplation: Why an Ancient Debate Still Matters”
Kieran Setiya contemplates “Action versus Contemplation: Why an Ancient Debate Still Matters,” an engaging new book by Jennifer Summit and Blakey Vermeule.
Kieran SetiyaJun 4, 2018
- Philosophy & Religion
What Will You Let Yourself Know?: Alexander Chee and Jenny Boully Write About Writing
True stories about writing replace lessons in new books on craft by Alexander Chee and Jenny Boully.
Holly WillisJun 4, 2018
- Memoir & Essay
Awaiting the Prophet: On Jonah Goldberg’s “Suicide of the West”
David Wolpe critiques “Suicide of the West,” a jeremiad by Jonah Goldberg.
David WolpeJun 3, 2018
- Politics
Eleanor Davis Asks a Radical Question, Modestly
“Why Art?” is physically delightful: it just feels good to hold in your hands and flip through.
Etelka LehoczkyJun 2, 2018
- Art & Architecture
- Comics
Making It in L.A.: A Review of “L.A. Man”
Emily Beaver on a collection of interviews and profiles of various Los Angeles characters by a longtime local journalist.
Emily BeaverJun 1, 2018
- Memoir & Essay
Is Your Job a Bunch of B.S.?
Most corporate jobs exist not to create anything meaningful but to go through expected rituals. And most people know this instinctually.
John SchneiderMay 31, 2018
- Economics and Finance
- Politics
The Void Behind the Face of Order: Robert Aickman’s Strange Stories
A new collection of rare ghost stories by a British master of the form.
Gregory MorrisonMay 29, 2018
- SF
Odds and Ends: Fictive Probability in Helen DeWitt’s “Some Trick”
In DeWitt’s new collection “Some Trick,” keen insights give a distinctive glimpse at how moments of creation blossom.
Adam FalesMay 29, 2018
- Fiction
Multiple Exposures: On “Double Vision: The Photography of George Rodriguez”
Geoff Nicholson focuses on “Double Vision: The Photography of George Rodriguez,” edited and introduced by Josh Kun.
Geoff NicholsonMay 27, 2018
- Art & Architecture
Recruitment, Ridicule, and Revolution in “The Rise and Fall of D.O.D.O.”
Electrifying and entertaining, "The Rise and Fall of D.O.D.O." uses rich characters and a gripping plot to make a well-researched, time-traveling adventure.
David ShipkoMay 26, 2018
- SF
Against Ecological Triage
"'The Plant Messiah' aims to ignite a movement." Jeremy B. Yoder on Carlos Magdalena's new book.
Jeremy B. YoderMay 25, 2018
- Science & Technology