Roberta Silman

Best Books: Notable Volumes, For Better or Worse, in 2015

December 12, 2015
Posted in , ,

Our demanding critics supply lists of books that piqued their interest this of the year.

Read More

Book News: “The Old Priest” — A Finalist for the 2014 PEN/Hemingway Award

April 11, 2014
Posted in ,

Arts Fuse writer Anthony Wallace talks about the latest accolade for his short story collection “The Old Priest” — it was a finalist for the 2014 PEN/Hemingway Award.

Read More

Book Review: “Caught” — Running Drugs, Harum-Scarum Style

March 12, 2014
Posted in , ,

Given all the terror and brutality we have lived through just in the thirteen years of this new, 21st century, the story of people running drugs back in the ’70s doesn’t seem to have much urgency.

Read More

Theater Feature: Best Stage Productions of 2013

December 29, 2013
Posted in , ,

Fuse Theater critics pick some of the outstanding shows of the past year.

Read More

Book Review: An Outstanding “List”

November 30, 2011
Posted in , ,

Although he has set himself an ambitious task with all that is happening in “The List,” Martin Fletcher has complete command of this material and has created a complex novel that is also a good thriller.

Read More

Book Review: Classic Coming-of-Age?—The Chester Chronicles

October 24, 2010
Posted in ,

Kermit Moyer’s exquisitely written book, conceived with the greatest care and written with an art that conveys artlessness (the highest art of all), is a welcome addition to the American canon. The Chester Chronicles by Kermit Moyer. Permanent Press, 231 pages, $28. By Roberta Silman. As the epigraph for his first novel, Kermit Moyer quotes…

Read More

World Books Update: Of ‘Denial’ and other matters

August 4, 2010
Posted in , ,

By Bill Marx In my other life, as editor of World Books for The World, BBC/PRI’s national radio program dedicated to international news, I write and edit book reviews as well commentaries and interviews. I also host a monthly podcast dedicated to global literature, which is available through ITunes. The most recent pieces posted on…

Read More

Fuse Flash: Postscript on Wordfest at The Mount

July 31, 2010
Posted in ,

By Roberta Silman Although all the statistical material about the demography of Wordfest has yet to be compiled, the word is out that this newest event at The Mount was an amazing success. About 500 people attended events at the grounds of The Mount and nearby at Seven Hills (the fundraising dinner) over the weekend…

Read More

Fuse Books: Edith Wharton’s The Mount Sponsors the First Annual Berkshire Wordfest

July 16, 2010
Posted in ,

With the establishment of Wordfest, a celebration of writing in America with talks, interviews, panels, and book signings, The Mount seems to be coming into its own in ways that make it more alive than ever before. By Roberta Silman When we first built our home in the Berkshires in the early 70s, I remember…

Read More

Book Review: A Rat’s Tale

May 2, 2010
Posted in ,

Readers should not be put off by the title, for this is a splendid novel, interesting in the risks it takes, in its ambition and scope—a book that deserves to be savored and discussed. Rat by Fernanda Eberstadt, Knopf, 304 pages, $25.95 Reviewed by Roberta Silman They have always been with us, those “casual offspring,”…

Read More

Recent Posts