Reviews Archive | Los Angeles Review of Books

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The Bureaucratic Fantasies of Renee Gladman’s “Houses of Ravicka”
Part of the intelligence of “Houses of Ravicka” is how Renee Gladman shows that the administrative and welfare state can be a site of fantasy and nostalgia.
Aaron WinslowMar 24, 2018
- SF
“Johnny Appleseed” and the Revision of American Masculinity
Ashley Rattner reviews Paul Buhle and Noah Van Sciver's graphic biography "Johnny Appleseed."
Ashley RattnerMar 24, 2018
- Comics
- History
Word and Deed: On Lynn Ellen Patyk’s “Written in Blood: Revolutionary Terrorism and Russian Literary Culture, 1861–1881”
Chelsea C. Gibson on “Written in Blood: Revolutionary Terrorism and Russian Literary Culture, 1861–1881” by Lynn Ellen Patyk.
Chelsea GibsonMar 23, 2018
The Long March of the Corporate Rights Movement
Ryan Azad reviews Adam Winkler's "We the Corporations: How American Businesses Won Their Civil Rights."
Ryan AzadMar 22, 2018
Melancholy Dane: Sigrid Nunez’s “The Friend”
Charles Taylor catches up with "The Friend" by Sigrid Nunez.
Charles TaylorMar 21, 2018
- Fiction
Clown and Metaphysician: On Matei Calinescu’s “The Life and Opinions of Zacharias Lichter”
Thomas Pavel on Matei Calinescu's "The Life and Opinions of Zacharias Lichter," recently rereleased by NYRB Classics.
Thomas PavelMar 20, 2018
- Around the World
- Fiction
“Learn the Use of Explosives!”: On Jacqueline Jones’s “Goddess of Anarchy: The Life and Times of Lucy Parsons, American Radical”
Elaine Elinson praises “Goddess of Anarchy: The Life and Times of Lucy Parsons, American Radical” by Jacqueline Jones.
Elaine ElinsonMar 20, 2018
Banking Against (Black) Capitalism: On “The Color of Money”
Armond Towns and Carolyn Hardin considers Mehrsa Baradaran's recent book.
Armond Towns, Carolyn HardinMar 19, 2018
- Economics and Finance
- History
Literature as Lifeline: The Exile in “Call Me Zebra”
“Call Me Zebra” is a filthy love note to literature unabashedly luxuriating in its bookishness.
Irina DumitrescuMar 18, 2018
- Fiction
Getting to the Middle of Nowhere: On Jon K. Lauck’s “From Warm Center to Ragged Edge”
Stephanie Foote navigates “From Warm Center to Ragged Edge: The Erosion of Midwestern Literary and Historical Regionalism, 1920–1965” by Jon K. Lauck.
Stephanie FooteMar 18, 2018
- Cultural Studies
- Literary Criticism
Marrow in the Bones: Translating Döblin’s “Berlin Alexanderplatz”
Sophie Duvernoy on Alfred Döblin’s “Berlin Alexanderplatz,” a masterpiece of German modernism, and its translations into English.
Sophie DuvernoyMar 18, 2018
- Around the World
- Fiction
The Folly of Fighting Fate in “All the Names They Used for God”
In her debut collection “All the Names They Used for God,” Anjali Sachdeva mixes the delicate and the dangerous.
Michael ValinskyMar 17, 2018
- Fiction
Thus Spake Black Bolt
Saladin Ahmed and Christian Ward's "Black Bolt Vol. 1: Hard Time" speaks to reviewer Jackson Ayres.
Jackson AyresMar 17, 2018
- Comics
Time and Trauma in Anne Raeff’s “Winter Kept Us Warm”
The passage of time is measured by trauma in Anne Raeff’s debut novel “Winter Kept Us Warm.”
Linnie GreeneMar 16, 2018
- Around the World
- Fiction
Time and Freedom in Jason Barker’s “Marx Returns”
Nina Power on time and freedom in “Marx Returns” by Jason Barker.
Nina PowerMar 16, 2018
Framing Our World: On Vanda Krefft’s “The Man Who Made the Movies: The Meteoric Rise and Tragic Fall of William Fox”
Dan Friedman unreels “The Man Who Made the Movies,” a biography of William Fox by Vanda Krefft.
Dan FriedmanMar 15, 2018