Going Through A Midlife Crisis? 'Summerlong' Is No Escape
Dean Bakopoulos' darkly humorous novel Summerlong features a cast of Midwestern suburbanites suffocating from adulthood.
Book Reviews
'Keepers' Isn't One: A Critic's Highlight Reel Lacks Spark
Longtime film writer Richard Schickel's unsatisfying collection of movie musings deems pleasure and intellectualism mutually exclusive.
Like A Velvet Glove Cast In Iron, 'Eightball' Will Knock You Out
Daniel Clowes is one of the greatest artists in modern comics, and now his seminal '90s work is out in a deluxe box set — not just Ghost World but his fascinatingly autobiographical gripe sessions.
'The Cartel' Is A True Crime Adventure With A Killer Protagonist
With the "pace and feel of an exploded documentary," says review Alan Cheuse, Don Winslow recounts a 10-year odyssey of revenge set in Mexico against the stark history of the drug wars.
'Death' Uncovers The Secret History Of Mr. Pickwick
Stephen Jarvis's debut novel explores the creation of Charles Dickens' classic serial, back when he was an unknown writer going by the name of "Boz," and the real star was illustrator Robert Seymour.
Algerian Writer Kamel Daoud Stands Camus' 'The Stranger' On Its Head
In his first novel, The Meursault Investigation, Kamel Daoud retells The Stranger from an Arab perspective. John Powers says Daoud's retelling will forever change the way you read the Camus classic.
Carnivals, Curses And Mermaids Fall Slightly Flat In 'Speculation'
Erika Swyler's generous yet somewhat disappointing debut follows a young man and a mysterious book — but despite rich language and observations, it suffers from going in too many directions at once.
Morally Messy Stories, Exquisitely Told, In Mia Alvar's 'In The Country'
The author was born in Manila and grew up in Bahrain and New York City. Her back story is shared by many of her Filipino characters in her debut short story collection.
'Seven Good Years' Remembers Tiny Moments Writ Exquisitely Large
In his new collection Etgar Keret recounts bittersweet and often humorous vignettes of life in the seven years between the birth of his son and the death of his father.
Too Much 'Word,' Not Enough 'Nerd' In This Scrabble Story
Professional Scrabble fan John D. Williams' new memoir is chock full of interesting tidbits (like lists of important words with Q, X and J) but gets bogged down in tedious biographical detail.