Reviews Archive | Los Angeles Review of Books

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Queering Dance, at Last
Melissa Templeton on the new anthology “Queer Dance,” which, at long last treats the intersection of gender, sex, and choreography.
Melissa TempletonJan 24, 2018
The Death of the Author: Reflecting on Denis Johnson’s “The Largesse of the Sea Maiden”
Nathan Pensky on the late Denis Johnson's new short story collection.
Nathan PenskyJan 24, 2018
- Fiction
Reluctant Warriors: How the Pentagon Fights the US President
On "The Pentagon’s Wars: The Military’s Undeclared War Against America’s Presidents."
Henrik BeringJan 24, 2018
- History
- Politics
Squaring the Conservative Circle
Conservatives haven’t always worshipped the free market, and Donald Trump’s strange economics actually have historical grounding. Two new books show how.
Jacob HamburgerJan 23, 2018
- History
- Politics
Barbie, Bratz, and a Pulp Fiction Take on the Litigation That Consumed Them Both
Alyson Claire Decker on "You Don’t Own Me: How Mattel v. MGA Entertainment Exposed Barbie’s Dark Side."
Alyson Claire DeckerJan 23, 2018
- Law
The Improbable and Impervious in Barbara Comyns’s “The Juniper Tree”
Anna E. Clark unearths the fairy-tale force of “The Juniper Tree,” a late-career novel by Barbara Comyns.
Anna E. ClarkJan 23, 2018
- Fiction
Darwin on Endless Trial
Morten Høi Jensen weighs two takes on Darwin’s legacy.
Morten Høi JensenJan 22, 2018
- History
- Science & Technology
“The Stamp is Never Neutral”: Vincent Sardon’s “The Stampographer”
Stamps can terrorize because while their materiality exists in time, like that of paintings, it also compacts it.
Mairead CaseJan 21, 2018
- Art & Architecture
- Comics
Reading Bad
Bruce Robbins reads Merve Emre's "Paraliterary: The Making of Bad Readers in Postwar America."
Bruce RobbinsJan 21, 2018
- Cultural Studies
- Literary Criticism
Breaking the Habit of Whiteness
“Race and Popular Fantasy Literature” offers a devastating case against fantasy.
De Witt Douglas KilgoreJan 20, 2018
- Literary Criticism
- SF
The Majesty and the Mystery of Impeachment
Richard Blaustein evaluates “Impeachment: A Citizen’s Guide” by Cass R. Sunstein.
Richard BlausteinJan 20, 2018
Conservatives and Counterrevolutionaries: Corey Robin’s “The Reactionary Mind”
Lily Geismer on the second edition of Corey Robin’s “The Reactionary Mind.”
Lily GeismerJan 19, 2018
- History
- Politics
Hollywood Sleuth
Désirée Zamorano reviews “Hollywood Homicide” by Kellye Garrett.
Désirée ZamoranoJan 19, 2018
- Noir
Narcissist or Voyeur: On Ann Quin’s “The Unmapped Country”
Josie Mitchell surveys “The Unmapped Country: Stories and Fragments” by Ann Quin.
Josie MitchellJan 18, 2018
- Fiction
- Memoir & Essay
The Chains of the Past: On A. M. Bakalar’s “Children of Our Age”
Mary Rodgers reviews A. M. Bakalar’s unflinching yet ultimately compassionate second novel, “Children of Our Age.”
Mary RodgersJan 17, 2018
- Around the World
- Fiction
In the Flow: On Charles J. Rzepka’s “Being Cool: The Work of Elmore Leonard”
William Marling contemplates “Being Cool: The Work of Elmore Leonard” by Charles J. Rzepka.
William MarlingJan 17, 2018
- Literary Criticism
- Noir