Reviews Archive | Los Angeles Review of Books

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After Strange Gods: Modernist Blasphemy Revisited
A new study of blasphemy in modernist literature.
Imogen WoodberryOct 5, 2017
- Literary Criticism
- Religion
What a Punderful Word: On Joanna Walsh’s “Worlds from the Word’s End”
Adam Fales reviews Joanna Walsh's short story collection, "Worlds from the Word’s End."
Adam FalesOct 4, 2017
- Fiction
Grown-Up Desires
Susan Barr-Toman considers the essays in Andrea Jarrell's "I’m the One Who Got Away."
Susan Barr-TomanOct 4, 2017
- Memoir & Essay
Home Is a Hymn: “Sing, Unburied, Sing” by Jesmyn Ward
Jesmyn Ward’s “Sing, Unburied, Sing” reflects the different ways people live through trauma.
Mike BroidaOct 4, 2017
- Fiction
African Science Fiction
A comradely incitement to our own peripheralization.
Oct 2, 2017
- Around the World
- SF
Darwinian Sexual Selection and the Politics of Beauty
Ethan Linck reviews Richard O. Prum's "The Evolution of Beauty: How Darwin’s Forgotten Theory of Mate Choice Shapes the Animal World — and Us."
Ethan LinckOct 2, 2017
- Gender & Sexuality
- Science & Technology
Beyond the Good and (Almost) Evil: Nietzsche and Fleur Jaeggy’s “I Am the Brother of XX”
What would we be without the veneer of social convention: petty, destructive, deeply alone?
Jessi Jezewska StevensOct 1, 2017
- Fiction
Gambler-in-Chief: The Declining Value of Strategy in Trump’s World
A new book argues that chess or dice is not the right metaphor for war. The right game is poker.
Adin DobkinOct 1, 2017
- Politics
The Southern Curtain: Kapka Kassabova’s “Border”
Jacob Mikanowski on Kapka Kassabova’s travel memoir “Border: A Journey to the Edge of Europe.”
Jacob MikanowskiOct 1, 2017
Tough-Love Urbanism: On Jeremiah Moss’s “Vanishing New York: How a Great City Lost Its Soul”
Sam Hall Kaplan commiserates with Jeremiah Moss, author of “Vanishing New York: How a Great City Lost Its Soul.”
Sam Hall KaplanSep 30, 2017
- Art & Architecture
- History
Lawyers as Pillars of Justice
Dorothy Wolpert considers Owen Fiss's "Pillars of Justice: Lawyers and the Liberal Tradition."
Dorothy WolpertSep 29, 2017
- History
- Law
Santiago Gamboa’s Present Age: “Return to the Dark Valley” and the Modern Day
Amir Soleimanpour reviews Santiago Gamboa's "Return to the Dark Valley."
Amir SoleimanpourSep 28, 2017
- Around the World
- Fiction
Elegy for a Cousin
Cinque Henderson on Danielle Allen’s memoir “Cuz: The Life and Times of Michael A.”
Cinque HendersonSep 28, 2017
- Memoir & Essay
An Interview With Myself, After Reading This Book: “Black Rock White City” by A. S. Patrić
Ben Paynter reviews A. S. Patrić's "Black Rock White City."
Ben PaynterSep 28, 2017
- Around the World
- Fiction
The Light in Black America: “Five-Carat Soul” by James McBride
Donnell Alexander reviews James McBride's short story collection "Five-Carat Soul."
Donnell AlexanderSep 26, 2017
- Fiction
Swaying Between
Edwidge Danticat’s "The Art of Death" offers counterpoint, consolation, and a means of creation to readers and writers alike.
Tiffany BriereSep 25, 2017
- Memoir & Essay