Roberta Silman

Book Review: Anthony Powell — Among the Most Modern of 20th Century English Writers

February 8, 2019
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Although Anthony Powell’s stock has gone down since he died in 2000, I hope that this new biography will spark interest in A Dance to the Music of Time.

Book Review: Edith Wharton and Michelle Obama — Breaking New Ground for Women

January 2, 2019
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What impressed me most about these two different women is they were both products of an America which values determination and wit and intelligence, as well as opportunity.

Book Review: “Washington Black” — Grappling with the Meanings of Liberty

November 8, 2018
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In Washington Black novelist Esi Edugyan has defied the cliché of the escaped slave discovering freedom.

Book Review: “Your Duck Is My Duck” — Not Enough Tingles

September 25, 2018
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Deborah Eisenberg’s stories pull you in and imitate life in an uncanny way.

Theater Review: “Morning After Grace” — A Cause for Celebration

June 25, 2018
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It is heart-warming that, in these “worst of times,” playwrights like Carey Crim are working quietly to give us a look at new beginnings with humor and tenderness and hope.

Book Commentary: Philip Roth — American Warnings

June 13, 2018
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In the end, Philip Roth produced the greatest body of work in the 20th century since William Faulkner and Saul Bellow and I.B. Singer.

Book Review: Tale of Two Short Story Collections, Schutt and Ortese

May 9, 2018
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Schutt’s is an example of the kind of fiction that is being taken seriously in too many quarters in this new century, but that is not nearly good enough.

Theater Review: “Anna Christie” — A Memorable Look at Life on the Margins

April 17, 2018
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The Lyric Stage production of Anna Christie does right by Eugene O’Neill’s brilliance.

Theater Review: “Orlando” — Asking What Gender Really Means

March 13, 2018
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There is much to love in this Lyric Stage Company production and I recommend it highly.

Book Review: Charlotte Salomon — A Magnificent Act of Faith

March 7, 2018
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To mark the hundredth birthday of Charlotte Salomon, who is emerging as one of the 20th century’s great artists, come two fabulous volumes dedicated to her work.

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