Reviews Archive | Los Angeles Review of Books

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Songs of Innocence and Experience: Mark Greif’s “Against Everything”
Timothy Aubry on Mark Greif's "Against Everything."
Timothy AubrySep 5, 2016
- Nonfiction
The Wishes That We Harbor: The Poems of Max Ritvo and Heather Hartley
Stephanie Burt considers “Four Reincarnations” by Max Ritvo and “Adult Swim” by Heather Hartley.
Stephanie BurtSep 5, 2016
- Poetry
A Happy Monster
Charles Hatfield ventures into "Hellboy's World" by Scott Bukatman
Charles HatfieldSep 4, 2016
- Comics
Writing Like a State: Wendy Griswold’s “American Guides”
Donal Harris reviews Wendy Griswold’s “American Guides: The Federal Writers’ Project and the Casting of American Culture.”
Donal HarrisSep 4, 2016
- History
- Literary Criticism
Finding Silence: Indra Das’s “The Devourers”
The experience of reading Indra Das’s “The Devourers” novel is like watching a surrealist film: it is poetic, playful, and at times miraculous.
Malisa KurtzSep 3, 2016
- SF
Like Glimpses Through a Window: Fredric Jameson on Raymond Chandler
Angela Woodward investigates “Raymond Chandler: The Detections of Totality” by Fredric Jameson.
Angela WoodwardSep 3, 2016
Red Clowns of the Avant-Garde: On Owen Hatherley’s “The Chaplin Machine”
Tom Kohut appreciates “The Chaplin Machine” by Owen Hatherley, which offers a reevaluation of the Soviet avant-garde.
Tom KohutSep 3, 2016
Sacred Fires and Living Flames
Antonio Cerella sheds light on "Pyropolitics" by Michael Marder.
Antonio CerellaSep 2, 2016
- Philosophy & Religion
Reading in a World of Wonderlands
Have you really read "Alice in Wonderland" until you've read it in Esperanto? Rebecca L. Walkowitz finds out in her review of "Alice in a World of Wonders."
Rebecca L. WalkowitzAug 31, 2016
Sil Lai Abrams Blooms in Blackness
Brooke Obie reviews Sil Lai Abrams’s new memoir “Black Lotus: A Woman’s Search for Racial Identity.”
Brooke ObieAug 31, 2016
- Memoir & Essay
Was the Black Prince Black? And Other Historical Questions
What can a biographer do when their subject is elusive? John T. Scott finds out in his review of Catherine Fletcher's "The Black Prince of Florence."
John T. ScottAug 31, 2016
- Biography & Autobiography
- History
What Makes a Memory
Angela Morales shows Alex Espinoza the light.
Alex EspinozaAug 30, 2016
- Memoir & Essay
Outside the Tent: Ludmila Ulitskaya’s Latest Novel and the End of an Era
Marijeta Bozovic examines “The Big Green Tent,” a sprawling elegiac novel by Ludmila Ulitskaya, and finds hope in the younger generation of Russian poets.
Marijeta BozovicAug 30, 2016
- Fiction
The Odor of Mortality: On John Sutherland’s “Orwell’s Nose”
In "Orwell's Nose," John Sutherland captures Orwell's essence in a brief 240 pages better than most biographers do in 600. But is it enough?
Andrew FedorovAug 29, 2016
- Biography & Autobiography
Let’s Go Fly a Kite
How should you write a novel? David Francis looks to Alice Mattison's "The Kite and the String" to find out.
David FrancisAug 28, 2016
- Nonfiction
Helping Us Get Ready
Peggy Orenstein’s new book "Girls & Sex: Navigating the Complicated New Landscape" realistically describes teenage sexuality in America today.
Ava PennerAug 27, 2016
- Gender & Sexuality