Book Reviews

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30 Seconds That Echo Through History In 'Epitaph'

1:58pm March 07, 2015

by Jason Sheehan

Forget whatever you thought you knew about the famous gunfight at the O.K. Corral. Mary Doria Russell's new novel is an epic investigation into all the things that made the bloodshed inevitable.

Kazuo Ishiguro is also the author of The Remains of the Day and Never Let Me Go.

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Arts

Ishiguro's 'Buried Giant' Gets Lost In Its Own Fog

6:55pm March 05, 2015

by Meg Wolitzer

Kazuo Ishiguro's latest novel is set in a mythical Arthurian England. Though the premise was promising, the book is too vague to make much of an impact.

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In 'The Buried Giant,' Exhausted Medieval Travelers 'Can't Go On,' But So 'Go On'

2:09pm March 05, 2015

by Maureen Corrigan

Kazuo Ishiguro's latest recalls the plays and novels of Samuel Beckett. It's a masterful blend of fantasy, Arthurian romance, myth, legend and postmodern absurdity — and it's unforgettable.

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Montana's Almost Crowded Now, Thanks To The Colorful Characters Of 'Crow Fair'

7:03am March 05, 2015

by Alan Cheuse

Thomas McGuane's new story collection gives us a large cast of Big Sky dreamers, schemers and down-and-outs. Reviewer Alan Cheuse says it's a fascinating portrait of the state — with bonus bears.

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A Vivid Portrait Of Tudor Turmoil In 'Lamentation'

10:03am March 04, 2015

by Nishant Dahiya

The sixth volume of C.J. Sansom's Shardlake mysteries is set during the last days of England's King Henry VIII, as a potentially explosive religious manuscript written by his queen has gone missing.

Books
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A Life Examined — And Examined And Examined In 'Ongoingness'

8:09pm March 03, 2015

by Heller McAlpin

Writer Sarah Manguso has been a compulsive diarist since childhood; her new memoir documents the ways motherhood has changed her writing. Critic Heller McAlpin says it's full of lovely observations.

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'The Devil's Detective' Is A Grim Tour Through A Noirish Hell

7:38pm March 03, 2015

by Jason Heller

Hell is actually a bureaucracy in Simon Kurt Unsworth's debut novel. Reviewer Jason Heller says the tale of a demonic murder investigation starts strong but gets mired in the details of infernal life.

Books
Arts

'Welcome To Braggsville' Isn't Quite 'Invisible Man,' But It's Close

2:19pm March 03, 2015

by Maureen Corrigan

T. Geronimo Johnson's latest follows four Berkeley students who take an American history class that leads to disaster. It's an ambitious book about race that wants to say something big about America.

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'Beholder' Has An Eye For The Absurd, And A Smirk Beneath Its Beard

4:18pm March 02, 2015

by Colin Dwyer

Francis Falbo, sad sack hero of Know Your Beholder, hasn't shaved in weeks. His wife's left him, his mom's died, his band's fallen apart. Good thing his author, Adam Rapp, has kept his sense of humor.

Books
Arts

'The Sellout' Is A Scorchingly Funny Satire On 'Post-Racial' America

7:03am March 02, 2015

by Michael Schaub

Paul Beatty takes no prisoners in this tale of two men trying to save their dying town through provocative moves like reinstituting segregation. Critic Michael Schaub calls it a comic masterpiece.