Book Review: 'Satin Island' By Tom McCarthy
Alan Cheuse reviews a new experimental novel by Tom McCarthy called Satin Island.
Book Reviews
Please Fill In This Form In Triplicate Before You Read 'Utopia Of Rules'
In The Utopia of Rules, David Graeber argues that we live in an "age of total bureaucratization." Reviewer Tomas Hachard says in places the book is almost as serpentine as modern bureaucracy.
It's All Charm and Wolves In 'The Turnip Princess'
Once upon a time, a historian went hunting for fairy tales. He found hundreds, but his collection was long thought lost. But now they've been found, and several are reprinted in The Turnip Princess.
'Darker Shade' Paints A Fantasy World Rich In Depth And Color
V.E. Schwab devotes a chunk of her new novel to developing a compelling vision of an alternate, magical London. But reviewer Tasha Robinson says it's the multilayered characters that make the book.
The 1970s, Warts (And More Warts) In 'Inner City Romance'
Underground cartoonist Guy Colwell's dyspeptic chronicle of the 1970s captures a decade when idealism was out of style. Reviewer Etelka Lehoczky says Colwell's style is uneven but at times beautiful.
'Lucky Alan' Thumbs Its Nose At Convention
Jonathan Lethem's darkly comic sensibilities are on full display in his slim new story collection, Lucky Alan. Reviewer Michael Schaub says it isn't Lethem's best — but it's still a solid read.
Book Review: Ross Ritchell's 'The Knife'
Alan Cheuse reviews Ross Ritchell's new novel, The Knife.
Victorian Romance Meets 'House Of Cards' In 'Mr. And Mrs. Disraeli'
Daisy Hay's new book is a joint biography of 19th century British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli and his wife, Mary Anne, whose fortune and status as a gentile helped boost her husband's career.
A Former Wunderkind Drifts On In 'Some Other Town'
Elizabeth Collison's debut novel follows a young art star who burned out and is now leading a hazily complacent life in her old university town — but that life is upended by an unexpected fling.
A Lot Of Sound And Fury In 'The Infernal'
Mark Doten's debut novel has some beautiful writing in it, but critic Jason Sheehan says the book suffers from too much verbal and typographical trickery, and not enough actual story.