Books

Poetry Review: “Come Closer and Listen” — Is Brusque and Amusing Enough?

July 26, 2019
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In his new book, poet Charles Simic employs his customary strategies, but he seldom achieves the intensity he once did.

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Book Review: “The Ministry of Truth” — Writing a Blueprint for Disaster

July 20, 2019
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Words from George Orwell to live by:  “To see what is in front of one’s nose needs a constant struggle.”

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Poetry Review: “Frozen Charlotte” — Plenty of Pleasure

July 17, 2019
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In Frozen Charlotte, Susan de Sola provides readers with enough aesthetic pleasure and thoughtful commentary about today’s world to remind us of just how good — and necessary — poetry can be.

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Book Review: Unburied

July 16, 2019
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David Treuer’s expansive new history of native America from 1890 to the present looks with skeptical, Indian eyes from inside simplistic American symbols and narratives.

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Book Review: “In Extremis” — A Flawed Heroine

July 5, 2019
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In Extremis is required reading not only for anyone interested in war, but for anyone interested in how an unusual woman makes her way in the world.

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Book Review: “The Earth Dies Streaming” — Insistent Originality

July 4, 2019
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I happily read The Earth Dies Streaming through, all 433 pages of acute, often brilliant writing. And also often funny as hell.

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Book Review: Female Sexuality — From a Woman’s Point of View

June 29, 2019
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Neither narrative proffers an uplifting tale of female empowerment, but that is precisely their strength.

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Book Review: A Critical Look at Barbra Streisand’s Career

June 29, 2019
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Ethan Mordden’s exhaustive take on Barbra Streisand may not be what diehard fans are looking for.

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Book Review: “Five Cities” — Urban Meditations on Turkish History and Culture

June 27, 2019
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Five Cities is a species of psychogeography, a deep map, that weighs the effects of topography, urban environments, and monuments of the past on mood and perspective.

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Book Review: “El Norte” — Recovering a Greater America at the Southern Border

June 24, 2019
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Rather than focusing on Mexicans in the United States, historian Carrie Gibson posits an expansive transnational history.

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