Books

Book Review: “Walter Benjamin: A Critical Life” — Intimations of a Seminal Thinker’s Aura

August 20, 2014
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The authors have used their research well. Beyond applying an abundance of detail to trace his intellectual growth as well as the trajectory of his emotions, Eiland and Jennings have managed to intimate—though perhaps not to capture—something more elusive: a sense of Benjamin’s aura.

Fuse Book Review: “The Silkworm” — The Beasts Arrive in a Lather

August 19, 2014
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In this whodunit by Robert Galbraith — the pen name of J.K. Rowling, better known for her Harry Potter books — editors, literary agents and writers play the part of monsters on the loose.

Book Review: “Do Not Sell at Any Price” — A Delightful Book on Those Who Collect Vintage 78 rpm Records

August 15, 2014
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I like to believe that I’m not loony, that, unlike certain 78 collectors profiled by Amanda Petrusich, I have a perspective on all this.

Book Review: The Absurdity of Living in the Space Between — “Elsewhere” by Doron Rabinovici

August 7, 2014
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Elsewhere is a tragicomic work, its plethora of absurd coincidences an attempt to portray the senseless plight of the post-postmodern man.

Book Review: An Evocative Biography of Zionist Agitator and Writer Vladmir Jabotinsky

July 27, 2014
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There’s room to wonder if Vladmir Jabotinsky would have accepted Menachem Begin, Ariel Sharon and Benjamin Netanyahu as his legitimate Zionist heirs.

Book Review: Know When to Fold ’em — Colson Whitehead Explores “The Noble Hustle”

July 24, 2014
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The Noble Hustle gives talented novelist Colson Whitehead an opportunity to spelunk in some of the gnarlier corners of the American dream, in this case the Tropicana in Atlantic City.

Book Review: “The Shelf”‘s Splendid Ambition — to Burst Open the Literary Canon

July 23, 2014
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Like me, Phyllis Rose frets about the zillion fine books out there that nobody bothers with. Why their neglect? She reasons that it’s because no one pedigreed has championed them.

Book Review: “A Replacement Life” — Russian Immigrants in America, Depicted with Exuberance

July 18, 2014
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A Replacement Life explores what America means to Russian immigrants whose cunning and sophistication often lead them into trouble.

Book Review: “The Truth About the Harry Quebert Affair” — Beware the Hype

July 15, 2014
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The Truth About the Harry Quebert Affair is a long but fast-paced book that walks the line between airport novel and true work of literary fiction.

Book Review: “Little Failure” — Gary Shteyngart’s Memoir is Amusing But Thin

July 14, 2014
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Gary Shteyngart’s memoir proffers the rhetorical zest and caustic wit of his novels, but it lacks their satiric edge.

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