Book Reviews

Sam Munson has written a weird book that doesn't try to hide its weirdness. It's nominally about a professor of prison architecture visitng a conference in Buenos Aires — but then there are the dogs.

In 2011, Kim Brooks intentionally left her 4-year-old in a car as she ran into a Target. In her new book, she attempts to reckon with the consequences of her decision, and parenting in today's world.

Crowdfunding and comics go well together — in fact, comic artists were doing it before that term existed. This year has been a good one for crowdfunded comics, and we've picked some of the best.

The Shadow President looks like a book, but belongs firmly in the world of partisan TV. There is plenty to uncover about the "real" Mike Pence, but readers won't find it here.

Patrick DeWitt's new novel is a sparkling dark comedy about an Upper East Side society matron and her large adult son (and their cat) who take off for Paris to escape financial and social ruin.

Frances de Pontes Peebles' new novel about two women in Brazil — and later Hollywood — who take the music world by storm can sometimes slip into corniness, but it's a genuinely exciting read.

Antonia Felix's new biography is a flattering portrait of a senator — no doubt by a strong supporter — whom many see as a contender for the 2020 Democratic nomination for president.

Stephen Markley's novel follows four friends, each with their own baggage, who return to their home town on the same night, but for different reasons — leading to an explosive moment of violence.

Lea Carpenter's new novel combines literary sensibility with genre readability, for a dark spy thriller about a young woman finding out all kinds of strange truths about her father's past in the CIA.

Matthew Cutter's entertaining new biography of "Uncle Bob" tells the story of the all-American-boy-turned-alternative-rock-god and the influence he and his band Guided by Voices had on modern rock.