Reviews Archive | Los Angeles Review of Books

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Street Fighting Men: Antifa’s Origins in the ’60s and ’70s
Mark Bray misses opportunities to convincingly rebut antifa skeptics.
Luca ProvenzanoOct 21, 2017
- History
- Politics
The Real and the Imagined in Douglas Rushkoff’s “Aleister & Adolf”
"Aleister & Adolf" emphasizes the importance of understanding how messages are created, how they are used, and how they persist over time.
Chris YogerstOct 21, 2017
- Comics
Our National Scream: On Jared Yates Sexton’s “The People Are Going to Rise Like Waters Upon Your Shore”
Jared Yates Sexton’s new book on the Trump phenomena is keenly observed — but without the necessary questions.
Blake MorlockOct 20, 2017
- Politics
Nights of the Mu-Tron III: On Peter Conners’s “Cornell ’77” and the Mystique of the Grateful Dead
Eric Gudas on “Cornell ’77” by Peter Conners and the Grateful Dead’s live acts and recorded legacy.
Eric GudasOct 20, 2017
- History
- Music
A Magnetic and Complicated Personality
A review of Harvey Sachs’s new biography of Arturo Toscanini.
Simon WilliamsOct 19, 2017
- Biography & Autobiography
- Music
How Do We Proceed with Our Own Internal Conflict?: On the Translation of Mihail Sebastian’s “For Two Thousand Years”
Julia Elsky reviews Mihail Sebastian's 1934 novel "For Two Thousand Years."
Julia ElskyOct 18, 2017
- Around the World
- Fiction
Paving Paradise: The Beauty and Terror of Nicola Lagioia’s “Ferocity”
Deborah E. Kennedy reviews Nicola Lagioia's Strega Prize–winning novel "Ferocity."
Deborah E. KennedyOct 18, 2017
- Around the World
- Fiction
The Mind Plays Tricks: Memory Loss and Nostalgia in Rachel Khong’s “Goodbye, Vitamin”
Sophie Browner reviews Rachel Khong’s cheerfully absurd debut “Goodbye, Vitamin.”
Sophie BrownerOct 18, 2017
- Fiction
The Adventure of the Immobile Journey: On the Eduardo Lalo Novels “Uselessness” and “Simone”
Christina Soto van der Plas on two recent novels by Puerto Rican writer Eduardo Lalo, "Uselessness" and "Simone."
Christina Soto van der PlasOct 17, 2017
- Around the World
- Fiction
The Ins and Outs of Europe’s Deep Establishment
Stan Persky looks at Yanis Varoufakis's "Adults in the Room," the memoir of Varoufakis's brief tenure as Greece’s minister of finance in 2015.
Stan PerskyOct 17, 2017
An Unflinching Take on Love and War: Charmaine Craig’s “Miss Burma”
Rosalie Metro reviews Charmaine Craig's "Miss Burma."
Rosalie MetroOct 16, 2017
- Fiction
Breathing New Life into Ancient Stories
Scott Lankford reviews Greg Sarris’s new collection of folktales.
Scott LankfordOct 16, 2017
- Fiction
- Young Adult & Children’s Literature
“Still No Master Plan”: The Justified Ancients of Mu Mu’s “2023: A Trilogy”
Ron Hogan on The Justified Ancients of Mu Mu’s long-awaited, heavily collaged novel “2023: A Trilogy.”
Ron HoganOct 15, 2017
- Music
- SF
“A Beautiful Space That Slips Away”: Philippe Soupault and the French Avant-Garde
A review of French Surrealist Philippe Soupault’s memoirs.
Paul MaziarOct 15, 2017
- Memoir & Essay
Mister Kurt, He Posthumous: Vonnegut’s “Complete Stories”
Geoff Nicholson on the collected short stories of Kurt Vonnegut.
Geoff NicholsonOct 15, 2017
- Fiction
Cogs of War: “Lazarus” and the Limits of Dystopia
Evan McGarvey reviews the fifth volume of Greg Rucka and Michael Lark's "Lazarus."
Evan McGarveyOct 14, 2017
- Comics