Books

Book Reviews: Joan Acocella and Andrea Marcolongo — Writers Who Think Fearlessly

September 19, 2024
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Joan Acocella is more than a critic. She is a thinker, writing at a time when thinkers are not valued much, when exegesis in places other than scholarly journals sometimes seems like a lost art.

Book Review: “We Solve Murders” — A Slight Whodunit

September 19, 2024
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This novel is a fun, light read. But best-selling author Richard Osman needs to take more time to delve into his characters if he wants to equal his previous cozy mysteries.

Book Review: “Prison Life: Pain, Resistance, and Purpose” — No Man Should be an Island

September 18, 2024
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What Ian O’Donnell underlines so powerfully in “Prison Life” is the necessity of positive human interaction anywhere, including among incarcerated citizens.

Book Review: “The Wildes” — Oscar Wilde’s Family Values

September 17, 2024
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If you want to tell people the truth,” quipped Oscar Wilde, “make them laugh, otherwise they’ll kill you.” Louis Bayard’s novel offers a compelling vision of what happened to Oscar and his family when the laughter stopped.

Book Review: “Women and Children First” — Keeping Their Heads Above Water

September 16, 2024
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In her debut novel, Alina Grabowski taps into today’s zeitgeist — this is a story of compelling women who must deal with men who disappear or let them down.

Book Review: Moon Unit’s “Earth to Moon” –A New Age Quest for Healing

September 16, 2024
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Moon Unit devotes less than a quarter of her book to the three decades since her father’s death. Despite his failings as a parent, she wants to respect Frank Zappa’s stature as an artist.

Book Review: “The Letters of Seamus Heaney” – The Burden of Good Fortune

September 10, 2024
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In his letters, Irish poet Seamus Heaney’s tone, and the expanse of his openness, varies according to the addressee — but his approach to all is inevitably marked by seriousness and elegance.

Book Review: A Good Russian

September 6, 2024
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“Displaced” views life during wartime as seen by both sides.

Children’s Book Reviews: Just in Time for Fall — Multicultural Perspectives

September 1, 2024
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 A round-up of new children’s books that celebrate diverse cultures.

Book Review: “America and Other Myths” — Sucking “a Sad Poem Right out of America onto Film.”

August 28, 2024
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In her fine book, Lisa Volpe examines mid-’50s picture-making expeditions taken across the U.S. by photographers Robert Frank and Todd Webb.

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