Reviews | Los Angeles Review of Books

Reviews

Rebel Without a Clue

Elizabeth Alsop picks up the trail of Kelly Reichardt’s alienated art thief in “The Mastermind.”

When History Hangs Out
Jacob Stern reviews Richard Linklater’s two latest films, “Nouvelle Vague” and “Blue Moon,” as twin hangout movies.
Jacob SternNov 21
- Film
- History
Our Reigning Prophet of Doom
Gideon Leek reviews Joy Williams’s latest story collection, “The Pelican Child.”
Gideon LeekNov 21
- Fiction
- Environment
What We Talk About When We Talk About Cuba
Sara Kozameh offers a rigorous analysis of cultural production during the Cuban Revolution in conversation with Jennifer L. Lambe’s book “The Subject of Revolution: Between Political and Popular Culture in Cuba.”
Sara KozamehNov 20
- History
- Politics
How to Access Art
Pasquale Toscano considers Rob Macaisa Colgate’s debut poetry collection, “Hardly Creatures.”
Pasquale ToscanoNov 20
- Poetry
- Cultural Studies

Laurie L. Levenson cross-examines Leah Litman’s “Lawless: How the Supreme Court Runs on Conservative Grievance, Fringe Theories, and Bad Vibes.”

A Radical Functionalist
Lois Parkinson Zamora explores “Architect Hannes Meyer and Radical Modernism” by Georg Leidenberger.
Lois Parkinson ZamoraNov 19
- Art & Architecture
- Biography & Autobiography
You Can Go Home Again, and Again, and Again
Cory Oldweiler reviews the new translation of Danish author Solvej Balle’s “On the Calculation of Volume (Book III).”
Cory OldweilerNov 18
- Fiction
- SF
The Cult of Orgasm
Helena Aeberli traces Ellen Huet’s investigations in “Empire of Orgasm: Sex, Power, and the Downfall of a Wellness Cult.”
Helena AeberliNov 18
- Gender & Sexuality
- Cultural Studies
In the Shadow of Yesterday
Aurelian Craiutu thinks about Balázs Trencsényi’s “Intellectuals and the Crisis of Politics in the Interwar Period and Beyond: A Transnational History.”
Aurelian CraiutuNov 17
- Philosophy & Religion
- History
Laboring in the Dream Factory
Harry Stecopoulos reviews Olivia Laing’s new novel “The Silver Book.”
Harry StecopoulosNov 16
- Fiction
Sheer Tenderness
Jessica Simmons-Reid visits Noah Davis’s posthumous survey at the Hammer Museum.
Jessica Simmons-ReidNov 15
- Art & Architecture
Bones, Roses, and Ruins
Janet Sarbanes encounters Nancy Buchanan’s career retrospective at the Brick in Los Angeles.
Janet SarbanesNov 14
- Art & Architecture
A Mole in MAGA’s Midst
Alexandre Lefebvre reads “Furious Minds: The Making of the MAGA New Right” by Laura K. Field.
Alexandre LefebvreNov 14
- Politics
- Philosophy & Religion