Reviews Archive | Los Angeles Review of Books

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Cosplay and Clotted Cream: The Lasting Appeal of Jane Austen
A tour through the fannish wonders of Austenworld.
Leah AngstmanApr 29, 2018
- Memoir & Essay
Thinking with Martin Luther King Jr.
Shivani Radakrishnan reviews by “To Shape a New World,” a collection of essays edited by Tommie Shelby and Brandon Terry.
Shivani RadhakrishnanApr 29, 2018
- Philosophy & Religion
- Politics
MacArthur Park but in New York: On Andrew Durbin’s “MacArthur Park”
"MacArthur Park," Andrew Durbin’s debut fiction, exploits the novel’s capacity to connect and bridge without necessarily establishing complete contact.
Evan KleekampApr 28, 2018
- Fiction
The After of Disaster in “The Great Quake”
Henry Fountain’s scientific interests are wide-ranging and resolutely anchored in the human.
Sally McGraneApr 28, 2018
- History
- Science & Technology
World Split Open: The Poetry of Adolescent Girlhood
In "The Poet X," a teenage Dominican girl in Harlem discovers herself through slam poetry.
Sadie Shorr-ParksApr 27, 2018
- Poetry
- Young Adult & Children’s Literature
The Hard-Boiled and the Mundane
On “Signal Loss” and the works of Garry Disher.
Glenn HarperApr 27, 2018
- Around the World
- Noir
Nobody Is Safe: Disordered Eating in the Age of Foodies
On "Feast: True Love in and out of the Kitchen," Hannah Howard’s book about coming of age in the New York food scene with an eating disorder.
Susan PaganiApr 26, 2018
- Food & Drink
- Memoir & Essay
Reverberations
Désirée Zamorano reviews “These Violent Delights” by Victoria Namkung.
Désirée ZamoranoApr 26, 2018
- Noir
Marginalia
Jessica Gross marks the margins of Sloane Crosley's "Look Alive Out There."
Jessica GrossApr 26, 2018
- Memoir & Essay
Thinking About Believing: On Marilynne Robinson’s “What Are We Doing Here?”
Robinson's ideas are beautiful, but are they always persuasive? Nicholas Cannariato on "What Are We Doing Here?"
Nicholas CannariatoApr 25, 2018
- Memoir & Essay
- Religion
When Rumor Becomes Truth
Sarah M. Chen reviews “If I Die Tonight” by Alison Gaylin.
Sarah M. ChenApr 25, 2018
- Noir
Delete Your Account: On the Theory of Platform Capitalism
The platform confuses capital-flow and social form, rearranging the relationship of profit to community and intelligence to organization.
Leif WeatherbyApr 24, 2018
- Economics and Finance
- Science & Technology
Serious Laughing Matter: Bassem Youssef on Comedy and the Arab Spring
Orly Minazad speaks to newly LA-based Egyptian comedian Bassem Youssef, author of “Revolution for Dummies: Laughing Through the Arab Spring.”
Orly MinazadApr 24, 2018
- Around the World
- Politics
Sex Ed for Christians
A pair of new books challenge conventional assumptions about sex and Christianity.
John ComptonApr 23, 2018
Responding to an Emergency: On Lynn Hunt’s “History: Why it Matters”
Robert Zaretsky appreciates “History: Why it Matters,” a rallying cry for the discipline by Lynn Hunt.
Robert ZaretskyApr 23, 2018
- History
Where Will You Take Me?
“'Time Pieces' comes across as a vexingly undecided little book.” Sven Birkerts on John Banville's Dublin memoir.
Sven BirkertsApr 23, 2018