Books

Book Review: The Leonard Bernstein Correspondence — A Tour of Twentieth Century Cultural History

October 31, 2013
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So is the book worth reading? Depends how interested you are in twentieth century cultural history, in music and creative genius, in marriage and sexuality.

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Book Review: “The Love Affairs of Nathaniel P.” — Brooklyn Fiction That is a Breed Apart

October 30, 2013
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The moral urgency and the humane distribution of Adelle Waldman’s authorial sympathy are evident everywhere in “The Love Affair of Nathaniel P.”

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Book Review: “The Cool School” — What Does it Mean to be Hip?

October 30, 2013
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In a way, this collection of hip writing, a “literary mixtape,” is the ultimate embodiment of the vision of the Hipster-as-Curator.

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Book Review: Julian Assange Trades Hopes and Fears With Cyberpunks

October 25, 2013
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Any book in which the fourth sentence is “The world is not sliding, but galloping into a new transnational dystopia” runs the risk of overstating its case from the get-go.

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Book Review: “The Woman Who Lost Her Soul” — A Lengthy Tale of Innocence Betrayed

October 21, 2013
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Despite his weakness for overwriting, Bob Shacochis has a good and sad story to tell, and he gets through it with a degree of mastery.

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Book Review: “The Old Priest” — Exquisite Stories About Being Human

October 15, 2013
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This small but important book is a collection of stories about being human. It explores, even probes, the inner recesses of its characters without pretense or flamboyance.

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Book Review: Two Volumes of Swiss Horror for Halloween

October 14, 2013
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Interestingly, both of these powerful visions of horror root their avenging vision of mayhem in the brutal mistreatment of children.

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Book Review: In Pitigrilli’s Intoxicating “Cocaine,” Love is the Drug

October 10, 2013
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Cocaine’s bleak and brilliant satire, lush and intoxicating prose, and sadistic playfulness remain as fresh and caustic as they were nine decades ago.

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Fuse Interview: Ian Frazier on the Comic Genius of Ring Lardner

October 6, 2013
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Ring Lardner wrote the funniest stand-alone sentence using the fewest words with which that feat can be done: “‘Shut up,’ he explained.”

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Book Review: “The Stray Bullet” — William S. Burroughs Discovers His Ugly Spirit in Mexico

October 4, 2013
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Between the heroin, booze, and all else that Mexico had to offer, there was little to no time for William S. Burroughs to appreciate the culture of his adopted home.

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