Reviews Archive | Los Angeles Review of Books

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Empire and Liberalism—a Saidian Reading: On Jeanne Morefield’s “Unsettling the World”
Conor McCarthy reviews Jeanne Morefield’s “Unsettling the World: Edward Said and Political Theory.”
Conor McCarthyJan 17, 2024
- Economics and Finance
- Politics
The Human and the Holy: On Sarah Ghazal Ali’s “Theophanies”
Adedayo Agarau reviews Sarah Ghazal Ali’s “Theophanies.”
Adedayo AgarauJan 16, 2024
Specific Solitudes: On Athena Dixon’s “The Loneliness Files”
Diana Ruzova reviews Athena Dixon’s “The Loneliness Files.”
Diana RuzovaJan 15, 2024
- Memoir & Essay
How Does Forgiveness Heal? On Myisha Cherry’s “Failures of Forgiveness”
Gregory Laski reviews Myisha Cherry’s “Failures of Forgiveness: What We Get Wrong and How to Do Better.”
Gregory LaskiJan 14, 2024
- Philosophy & Religion
- Politics
Ironic Detachment Will No Longer Do: On Sarah Watling’s “Tomorrow Perhaps the Future”
Ian Ellison reviews Sarah Watling’s “Tomorrow Perhaps the Future: Writers, Outsiders, and the Spanish Civil War.”
Ian EllisonJan 14, 2024
- History
- Nonfiction
The Body and Its Denizen: On Kate Manne’s “Unshrinking”
Emmeline Clein reviews Kate Manne’s “Unshrinking: How to Face Fatphobia.”
Emmeline CleinJan 13, 2024
Marjorie Perloff and the Joy of Poetry: On “Circling the Canon” and “Infrathin”
Jan Baetens uses Marjorie Perloff’s two latest books, “Circling the Canon: The Selected Book Reviews of Marjorie Perloff” and “Infrathin: An Experiment in Micropoetics,” to meditate on her long career as an advocate for innovative poetry.
Jan BaetensJan 13, 2024
- Literary Criticism
- Poetry
Missed Opportunities and Underdevelopment: On Ashoka Mody’s “India Is Broken”
Dinyar Patel reviews Ashoka Mody’s “India Is Broken: A People Betrayed, Independence to Today.”
Dinyar PatelJan 11, 2024
- Politics
A Story That We Only Think We Know: On Orisanmi Burton’s “Tip of the Spear”
Jarrod Shanahan reviews Orisanmi Burton’s “Tip of the Spear: Black Radicalism, Prison Repression, and the Long Attica Revolt.”
Jarrod ShanahanJan 11, 2024
- History
- Politics
Instruments of Unknowing: On John Lee Clark’s “How to Communicate” and JJJJJerome Ellis’s “Aster of Ceremonies”
Michael Weinstein reviews “How to Communicate” by John Lee Clark and “Aster of Ceremonies” by JJJJJerome Ellis.
Michael M. WeinsteinJan 10, 2024
- Cultural Studies
- Poetry
Roadside Attractions: On John Keahey’s “Following Caesar”
Mike Rodelli considers John Keahey’s “Following Caesar: From Rome to Constantinople, the Pathways That Planted the Seeds of Empire.”
Mike RodelliJan 10, 2024
- History
A Story of What-Ifs: On Álvaro Enrigue’s “You Dreamed of Empires”
Elizabeth Gonzalez James reviews Álvaro Enrigue’s “You Dreamed of Empires.”
Elizabeth Gonzalez JamesJan 9, 2024
- Fiction
Decadent Masculinity: On Pierre Drieu La Rochelle’s “The Fire Within”
Conor Truax reviews the republication of Pierre Drieu La Rochelle’s 1931 novel “The Fire Within.”
Conor TruaxJan 8, 2024
- Around the World
- Fiction
Screams with a Black Timbre: On Jordan Peele’s “Out There Screaming”
Jason Ray Carney reviews Jordan Peele’s “Out There Screaming: An Anthology of New Black Horror.”
Jason Ray CarneyJan 7, 2024
- SF
Tales of Moral Seriousness: On Nora Gold’s “18”
David Wolpe reviews Nora Gold’s “18: Jewish Stories Translated from 18 Languages.”
David WolpeJan 6, 2024
- Cultural Studies
- Fiction
History as Dissent: On Ian Johnson’s “Sparks” and Tania Branigan’s “Red Memory”
Craig Calhoun reviews two books on history and memory in China: Ian Johnson’s “Sparks: China’s Underground Historians and Their Battle for the Future” and Tania Branigan’s “Red Memory: The Afterlives of China’s Cultural Revolution.”
Craig CalhounJan 6, 2024