Reviews Archive | Los Angeles Review of Books

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The Salt of the Earth
Aurelian Craiutu on Steven B. Smith's "Modernity and Its Discontents."
Aurelian CraiutuMay 14, 2017
- History
- Philosophy & Religion
Discipline and Parse: The Politics of Close Reading
Bruce Robbins reviews Joseph North’s “Literary Criticism: A Concise Political History.”
Bruce RobbinsMay 14, 2017
- History
- Literary Criticism
A Space for Pleasures of All Kinds: On “Cruising the Library”
Emily Drabinski explores normativity and the Library of Congress classification system in her review of Melissa Adler’s “Cruising the Library.”
Emily DrabinskiMay 14, 2017
- Cultural Studies
- Gender & Sexuality
This Is Mother Love in Lisa See’s “The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane”
Diana Wagman on Lisa See's "The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane."
Diana WagmanMay 13, 2017
- Fiction
Democracy’s Dark Side
Benjamin Cunningham reviews Jan-Werner Müller’s “What Is Populism?”
Benjamin CunninghamMay 12, 2017
- Around the World
- Politics
Hear, Hear: David McCullough’s Soaring Speeches
David McCullough is not just among America’s foremost historians. He’s also one of the most eloquent champions of the American idea.
Andrew CarrollMay 12, 2017
- Politics
Getting Folks to Come Out to Your Kickball Game: Dennie Wendt’s American Soccer Novel
Dan Friedman plays ball with “Hooper’s Revolution” by Dennie Wendt.
Dan FriedmanMay 12, 2017
- Fiction
On Desire and Disease
Suzanne Koven reviews David B. Morris's "Eros and Illness."
Suzanne KovenMay 11, 2017
- Science & Technology
“I Need You to Check Your Eyes”: Alex Dimitrov Gets Intimate
In “Together and by Ourselves,” Alex Dimitrov explores intimacy and its discontents.
Aaron GoldsmanMay 11, 2017
- Gender & Sexuality
- Poetry
Only Desert in China Lake
Kevin Zambrano on Barret Baumgart's "China Lake: A Journey into the Contradicted Heart of a Global Climate Catastrophe."
Kevin ZambranoMay 10, 2017
- Memoir & Essay
- Science & Technology
The American Sputnik: Van Cliburn Heats Up the Cold War
Tim Riley reviews two new books about pianist Van Cliburn.
Tim RileyMay 10, 2017
- Biography & Autobiography
- Music
Indelible Pasts, Broken Futures
Ilana Teitelbaum on the myriad worlds and monstrous futures of Sofia Samatar's short story collection "Tender."
Ilana TeitelbaumMay 9, 2017
- SF
One Sentence on Top of Another: On László Krasznahorkai’s “The Last Wolf”
Isaac Nowell wades into the “slow lava-flow” of “The Last Wolf” by László Krasznahorkai.
Isaac NowellMay 9, 2017
- Around the World
- Fiction
A Desire for Something to Happen
Jung Yun reviews “A Small Revolution” by Jimin Han.
Jung YunMay 8, 2017
- Noir
Streetwalker
Kate Wolf visits Lauren Elkin's "Flâneuse: Women Walk the City in Paris, New York, Tokyo, Venice, and London."
Kate WolfMay 8, 2017
- Literary Criticism
- Memoir & Essay
Love in the Time of Lotus
Lijia Zhang’s novel “Lotus” describes the life of a prostitute in China.
Sarah MellorsMay 7, 2017
- Around the World
- Fiction