Reviews Archive | Los Angeles Review of Books

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No Easy Answers: Susan Rubin Suleiman on “The Némirovsky Question”
Robert Zaretsky explains that there are no easy answers in “The Némirovsky Question” by Susan Rubin Suleiman.
Robert ZaretskyNov 24, 2016
- Biography & Autobiography
- History
Recasting California Art History
A review of a four-volume reference work on California women artists.
Liz GoldnerNov 23, 2016
- Art & Architecture
- History
Making a Man of the Mad Monk
Douglas Smith’s new biography of “Mad Monk” Rasputin brings him into the human realm.
Boris DralyukNov 23, 2016
- Around the World
- Biography & Autobiography
A Brilliant Mind’s Pauses: The Fiction of Russia’s Greatest Poet
Bob Blaisdell praises the prose of Russia’s greatest poet, Alexander Pushkin.
Bob BlaisdellNov 22, 2016
- Around the World
- Fiction
Interesting Times: Svetlana Alexievich on the Dangers of a Great Idea
Like Trump, Putin was looking for “greatness.” We can learn from Svetlana Alexievich’s account.
Amelia Glaser, Teresa KurucNov 22, 2016
- Around the World
- Nonfiction
Pure Literature: On Herta Müller and Svetlana Alexievich
James Thomas Snyder considers the work of two Nobel laureates from Central and Eastern Europe, Herta Müller and Svetlana Alexievich.
James Thomas SnyderNov 22, 2016
Creepy Futures: Nicholas Carr’s History of the Future
The history of the future is replete with horrible utopias.
Geoff NunbergNov 21, 2016
- Science & Technology
The Dull Roar Becomes a Keening Howl
Seth Blake reviews “All the Ugly and Wonderful Things” by Bryn Greenwood.
Seth BlakeNov 21, 2016
- Noir
Intercultural Influences: On German Literature and Islam
Benjamin Balint reviews Navid Kermani’s “Between Quran and Kafka: West-Eastern Affinities.”
Benjamin BalintNov 21, 2016
- Literary Criticism
- Religion
All That Bad
Shehryar Fazli on Deirdre Bair's new biography of Al Capone.
Shehryar FazliNov 20, 2016
- Biography & Autobiography
Third-Rail Erotica
Laura Frost on Anaïs Nin's recently published "Auletris."
Laura FrostNov 20, 2016
- Fiction
How a Nation Lost Its Mind
P. M. Candler on how Hitler was packaged and sold to the masses.
Pete CandlerNov 20, 2016
- History
- Politics
Kafka: An End or a Beginning?
Morten Høi Jensen revisits the life and work of Franz Kafka.
Morten Høi JensenNov 19, 2016
- Biography & Autobiography
- Fiction
Labors of Hope and Liberation: Nisi Shawl’s Steamfunk Novel “Everfair”
By reimagining the past, Nisi Shawl’s steamfunk novel “Everfair” soars towards a feminist, afrofuturist vision of liberational technology.
Ida Yoshinaga, Lynette JamesNov 19, 2016
- SF
You Are Being Watched: On Patrick Flanery’s “I Am No One”
On Patrick Flanery’s thrilling novel about surveillance and mystery.
Bryan HurtNov 18, 2016
- Fiction
Zadie Smith’s Rhythmic Play in Shadow and Light
Walton Muyumba on Zadie Smith's latest novel.
Walton MuyumbaNov 17, 2016
- Fiction