Reviews Archive | Los Angeles Review of Books

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How to Swim in the Black Atlantic
Skewering Jamaican piety, Colin Channer writes in a grand tradition.
Stephen NarainJun 23, 2016
- Poetry
Life as a Verb: Applying Buckminster Fuller to the 21st Century
Jonathon Keats’s new book “You Belong to the Universe” is rooted in two orthogonal pictures of Buckminster Fuller.
W. Patrick McCrayJun 21, 2016
- Science & Technology
Red Roots
The history of Native American pop music, from jazz to raggae to hip-hop.
Josh Garrett-DavisJun 20, 2016
- Music
A Fan’s Notes
Juan Villoro's "God Is Round" looks at the highs and lows of soccer.
Michael J. AgovinoJun 20, 2016
- Memoir & Essay
- Nonfiction
Intersecting Catastrophes
Being a woman in Pakistan, from Partition until today.
Rozina AliJun 20, 2016
- Nonfiction
- Religion
Irony: Truth’s Disguise
Irony states the opposite of what it intends to mean. But what if no one spots it and takes the ironic statement literally?
Brian FinneyJun 20, 2016
- Fiction
The Internet-y Novel
A cautionary tale of love and internet celebrity.
Houman BarekatJun 19, 2016
- Fiction
The Course of Love: A Crash Course in the Long-Term Relationship
In "The Course of Love", Alain de Botton debunks the myth of “happily ever after”.
Yoona LeeJun 19, 2016
- Fiction
The Wonder of Sorrow
Dana Walrath and Tom Hart defy the medical profession’s perspective on what story is. In this way, they make art.
Lynda MontgomeryJun 18, 2016
- Comics
Knowing Things
Youval Shimoni’s “A Room” — a dense, stubborn, daunting, exhilarating masterpiece.
Nick OwcharJun 18, 2016
- Noir
Life and Death at the Existentialist Café
An accessible and highly readable account of the philosophical achievements of Europe’s major existentialist thinkers.
Richard GolsanJun 17, 2016
- Philosophy & Religion
Accounts and Accountability
Transcending hate and hope in China Miéville's "This Census-Taker".
Sherryl VintJun 16, 2016
- SF
How Should a Farm Be?
Farmer Joel Salatin brings us the word.
Wyatt WilliamsJun 16, 2016
- Food & Drink
- Religion
A Source of Spectacle
Mario Bellatin reveals all and (almost) nothing at all.
Alex EspinozaJun 15, 2016
- Memoir & Essay
Keeping the Wolf At Bay: The Hunger for a Better Food System
Kate Christensen attempts to follow in the tradition of M. F. K. Fisher’s classic “How to Cook a Wolf” for her “culinary memoir.”
Simran SethiJun 15, 2016
- Food & Drink
Fail, Fail Again, Fail Better
Dan Fox on why pretentiousness matters.
Jun 15, 2016
- Cultural Studies