Clea Simon

Book Review: “Clete” — A Whodunit in Masquerade

June 10, 2024
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James Lee Burke’s “Clete” is Beat poetry, suffused with sadness and longing for all those sunsets now gone.

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Author Interview: Caroline Leavitt on her Novel “Days of Wonder”

May 9, 2024
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“I wanted to explore the real nature of guilt and innocence, and why it isn’t easy for society to forgive.”

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Music Commentary: New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Fest versus French Quarter Fest

April 25, 2024
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Which is the best fest? It’s up for grabs.

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Book Review: “A Grave Robbery” — Adventures of a Kick-Ass Victorian Feminist

March 9, 2024
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As in her previous thrillers, Donna Raybourn’s dry wit serves double duty: defining our erudite heroine and presenting her view of a world that does not know what to make of her.

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Book Review: “The Scandalous Confessions of Lydia Bennet, Witch” — Jane Austen, Bedeviled

November 9, 2023
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Melinda Taub’s thoroughly enjoyable new novel joins other notable pastiches of Jane Austen’s classic story.

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Book Review: “The Secret Hours” — A Masterful New Book from Today’s Premier Espionage Author

September 9, 2023
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When “The Secret Hours” flares up ­­– notably on two separate, devastating occasions ­­­– the story delivers more emotional heft than Mick Herron’s previous books.

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Book Review: “Milk Fed” — The Glory of the Zaftig

December 1, 2021
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For all the sensual lushness of Melissa Broder’s writing, that hard center remains, one where appetite invites awareness, bringing with it pain as well as satiety.

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Book Review: It’s a Cat’s Life — “Penny”

April 27, 2021
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Penny, whose many moods are sensitively drawn in this softly colored volume, is, perhaps like all cats, a philosopher.

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Concert Review: Marcia Ball and Sonny Landreth at ONCE — Plenty Rousing

February 26, 2020
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At 70, Marcia Ball is a non-stop pro, particularly at pacing. Early barn burners gave way to the slow blues of “Just Kiss Me.”

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Music Commentary: Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra — Gender Diversity?

June 12, 2018
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By taking the stage with 15 musicians, none of whom is female, the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra presents the music as segregated and outdated.

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