Books

Arts Commentary: A Call to (Proper) Arms — Why a Science Fiction/Fantasy Fight Over Sexism Matters

July 27, 2013
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Call it dueling futures. Because the battle for the soul of the science fiction and fantasy community is about nothing less, and even if we in the mystery community never considered the impact of a chainmail bikini, you may want to sharpen your broadsword.

Book Review: “In the Land of the Living” — A Coming-of-Age Yarn Mixed With Grief

July 18, 2013
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Austin Ratner’s follow up to “The Jump Artist” is an an exuberant, terrific novel — for its weaknesses, as well as its strengths.

Book Review: From France with “L’Amour” — A Neglected Volume by Marguerite Duras

July 9, 2013
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For those of you who have never read Marguerite Duras, “L’Amour” is an invigorating place to start.

Book/Theater Review: Vladimir Nabokov Does That Shakespeherian Rag

July 8, 2013
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Nabokov will become much more seriously playful about extinction and the nature of love in the increasingly complex fables to come. “The Tragedy of Mr. Morn” is his initial earnest fairy tale.

Short Fuse Book Review: A Fascinating Tale of “Strange Rebels”

July 3, 2013
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Author Christian Caryl ends “Strange Rebels” with the idea that “if the experiences of 1979 suggest one conclusion, it is that we should never underestimate the powers of reaction.”

Book Review: “Left of the Dial” — Punk As Music and Philosophy

June 29, 2013
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In these interviews, David Ensminger goes beyond questions of biography and discography to explore some of these artists’ more unlikely influences and their philosophies on not just punk, but life.

Book Review: Building “The Wired City” — Journalism’s Future?

June 26, 2013
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Dan Kennedy could have written a book that extols the “Huffington Post,” WGBH, or Patch as the future of serious community journalism. He doesn’t, which means that he is on the side of the angels rather than the corner-cutting devils.

Poetry Review: A Spanish Metaphysical Poet Searching for Songs of Truth

June 25, 2013
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Poet José Ángel Valente deeply considered what kind of lyricism remains legitimate; that is, truthful, not deceptive; a song that moves us to truth, not a Siren’s song.

Poetry Review: “No Hurry” — Aging Well, In Various Ways

June 10, 2013
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“No Hurry” is a book about aging: the conscious pang of the loss of past intensities, the treasuring of the quieter now, the achingly slow death of sex.

Book Review: “In Times of Fading Light” — A Rich Story of Divided Hearts

June 8, 2013
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Though its central events are in the past, conveyed by characters by means of often ambiguous shreds of memory and musing, “In Times of Fading Light” is a work of quiet power and beauty, dense with sorrow, telling detail, and suspense.

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