Book Reviews

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Arts

A Biography Of Your Cubicle: How This Became The Modern Workplace

11:33am April 25, 2014

by Rosecrans Baldwin

The office has long been seen as a symbol of boredom: It's a killer of spirits, a destroyer of spontaneity. But reviewer Rosecrans Baldwin says a new book brings out its entertaining side.

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detail from cover of ballad of a small player

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Arts

The Tawdry Ballad Of A Man, A Casino And A Game Of Chance

7:26pm April 21, 2014

by Tash Aw

The Ballad of a Small Player is set in the murky underworld of Macau's casinos. Reviewer Tash Aw calls the novel a masterful and thrilling collision of old Asia and 21st century glamour.

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Writer Gabriel Garcia Marquez, who won the Nobel Prize in 1982, died Thursday at 87.

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A Love Letter To Literature: Reading Gabo In 'The Paris Review'

7:13pm April 18, 2014

by Gustavo Arellano

Gabriel Garcia Marquez died Thursday. It would be hard to overstate the importance of his novels, but author Gustavo Arellano recommends getting to know him in a different medium.

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'Bintel Brief' And 'Hellfighters': American Stories, Powerfully Illustrated

4:57pm April 17, 2014

by Maureen Corrigan

Critic Maureen Corrigan recommends two graphic novels — one about a Yiddish advice column in the early 1900s and another about a regiment of African-American soldiers who fought during World War I.

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Kinder Than Solitude is Yiyun Li's sixth book.

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Book Review: 'Kinder Than Solitude'

8:20pm April 16, 2014

by Ellah Allfrey

Ellah Allfrey reviews Kinder Than Solitude, by Yiyun Li.

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Crime writer Giorgio Scerbanenco was born in Kiev in 1911, grew up in Rome and worked for decades as a journalist in Milan.

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Exploring Life's Incurable Soiledness With The Father Of Italian Noir

3:33pm April 16, 2014

by John Powers

A crackling new translation of Giorgio Scerbanenco's crime novel Private Venus has just been released. Critic John Powers read it in a single sitting.

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Poisoned Cigars And A Painful Chapter In Our History

11:54am April 12, 2014

This week saw celebrations of the anniversary of the 1964 Civil Rights Act and revelation of the ZunZuneo scandal. Paul Reyes and Ralph Eubanks recommend The Cultural Cold War and We Are Not Afraid.

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After A Disaster In 'Family Life,' Relief Never Comes

8:12pm April 10, 2014

by Meg Wolitzer

Akhil Sharma took over a decade to write his novel, Family Life, a mostly autobiographical account of an immigrant family and an accident that shatters their dreams for the future.

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WASHINGTON, DC - SEPTEMBER 17: Dinaw Mengestu poses for a portrait on Monday, September 17, 2012 at Georgetown University in Washington, DC. (Photo by Eli Meir Kaplan/Getty Images for Home Front Communications)

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Dinaw Mengestu Embraces The Vastness Of Love And War

7:34pm April 03, 2014

by Meg Wolitzer

Meg Wolitzer says All Our Names, told in the alternating voices of two lovers, is a subtle masterpiece. It tackles huge themes — relationships, violence, identity, racism — but never overreaches.

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This Tightly Choreographed Tale Of Ambition And Ballet Will 'Astonish'

2:08pm April 01, 2014

by Maureen Corrigan

Maggie Shipstead tells the story of a disciplined dancer who can't make it into the spotlight. Critic Maureen Corrigan says Shipstead is "Edith Wharton with a millennial generation edge."

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