Review

Book Review: Jim Harrison’s “Brown Dog” — A Shakespearian Spirit in Michigan

December 8, 2013
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Think of these novellas as variations on a common theme: a complicated world is scrutinized through the elemental viewpoint of one of the most memorable characters in American fiction over the past quarter-century.

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Concert Review: Boston Early Music Festival’s Glorious Highlights

December 7, 2013
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The more I hear performed by the BEMF, especially their operas, the more deeply impressed – and thankful – I am.

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Theater Review: “Becky’s New Car” — A Song of the Open Road

December 7, 2013
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“Becky’s New Car” turns out to be a ride worth taking, especially if we suspend our disbelief long enough to embrace the notion that malice is not necessarily aforethought even though our actions might be construed to suggest otherwise.

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Film Review: Not Enough Joy in Director Chris Marker’s “Le Joli Mai”

December 6, 2013
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“Le Joli Mai” is serious and sober, a bit of a downer, climaxing in a lengthy interview with a dullard union official about why he supports the French Communist Party.

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Book Review: “My Mistake: A Memoir” — Notes from a Reticent Memoirist

December 5, 2013
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There will be readers who appreciate Daniel Menaker’s brevity and lack of emotional engagement, but for me, much of “My Mistake” reads like notes for a memoir.

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Theater Review: “Mies Julie” — Writhing in the Danger Zone

December 5, 2013
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In her compelling deconstruct/rewrite of “Miss Julie,” set in South Africa 18 years after the end of apartheid, director/dramatist Yaël Farber doubles down on the elemental energies of Greek tragedy.

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Theater Review: Fine Performances in a Cut-Rate “Camelot”

December 1, 2013
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Benjamin Evett as Arthur and Erica Spyres as Guenevere turn in solid performances, dependable anchors for a cast that does the best that it can in a drab, bargain basement production.

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Book Review: “Next Big Thing” — The Music Scene and Rock Clubs of 1980s Boston, Revived

November 30, 2013
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In “Next Big Thing,” Terry Kitchen’s prose brings 1980s Boston, its music scene, and its rock clubs—from the long gone Rathskeller to the still standing Paradise—to life.

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Book Review: Fighting the Good Fight for the Press — Publishing the Pentagon Papers

November 29, 2013
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As the individual who quite possibly had the best seats in the house for the monumental legal battle that unfolded over the course of a few weeks in the summer of 1971, James Goodale provers invaluable morsels of insight and information.

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Album Review: Singer/Songwriter Jake Bugg Approaches “Shangri La”

November 27, 2013
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Jake Bugg is hardly a punk, but he’s definitely acquired a bite that he didn’t have on his debut album.

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