Book Reviews

'Aftershocks' Tells Of A Reckoning With The Self — And With Memory

7:07am January 13, 2021

by Ilana Masad

Writer Nadia Owusu has lived many lives. Her nonlinear memoir, centered on the idea of physical and metaphorical earthquakes, is about all of the parts of what is her single, complex life.

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Arts

There's Not A Single Off Note In 'That Old Country Music'

7:00am January 12, 2021

by Michael Schaub

In his new story collection, Kevin Barry proves to be a master at evoking the landscapes of both western Ireland and the human heart; he seems to have an innate sense of why people do what they do.

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Arts

Glimmers Of Hope: A 2021 Poetry Preview, Part 1

2:09pm January 11, 2021

This year, critic Craig Morgan Teicher says American poetry has become too big for just one person to cover, so he's invited five colleagues to bring their own perspectives to our 2021 poetry preview.

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Arts

'The Liar's Dictionary' Is A Clever Delight For Language Lovers

1:40pm January 11, 2021

by John Powers

Eley Williams tells the story of two word-mad characters who work for the same dictionary publisher 120 years apart. This novel is perfect for anyone who loves puns, crosswords and witty writing.

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After the Rain, by Nnedi Okorafor, adapted by John Jennings and David Brame

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Arts

To Adapt 'After The Rain,' Artists Cross All Kinds Of Boundaries

7:00am January 10, 2021

by Etelka Lehoczky

A new graphic novel adaptation of Nnedi Okorafor's story "After the Rain" sets straightforward art against scattered, skewed panels to produce a sense of primal struggle between order and chaos.

Former FBI Director James Comey speaks at Harvard Kennedy School with Harvard's Eric Rosenbach on Feb. 24, 2020 in Boston, Mass.

There Will Be Books: James Comey Sequel Signals New Wave Of Memoirs In Post-Trump Era

2:37pm January 08, 2021

by Ron Elving

In former FBI Director James Comey's view, his obligation is not to the person or party who appointed him or even to the Department of Justice, but to justice itself.

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Arts

'Persephone Station' Aims For The Stars — And Almost Makes It

10:00am January 07, 2021

by Jason Sheehan

Stina Leicht's new sci-fi novel has a lot of moving parts: Space opera, rough-and-tumble mercenaries, corporate intrigue, alien first contact — and to her credit, she almost pulls it all off.

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Arts

'Outlawed' Frontiers Of Gender And Sexuality Beckon In This Sly Western

10:16am January 06, 2021

by Maureen Corrigan

Critic Maureen Corrigan has been describing Anna North's new novel to friends as "The Handmaid's Tale meets Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid." It's a glib tagline, but not without justification.

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Arts

'The Liar's Dictionary' Is A Delight From A To Z

10:16am January 06, 2021

by Heller McAlpin

Eley Williamsdid her doctoral dissertation on "mountweazels," fake words inserted into dictionaries as copyright traps — and she builds on that in her charming debut novel, about an epic dictionary.

Exercised: Why Something We Never Evolved to Do Is Healthy and Rewarding, by Daniel E. Lieberman

'Exercised' Explains Why It Can Be Hard To Commit To Working Out — And Why We Should

10:29am January 05, 2021

by Barbara J. King

Harvard University's Daniel Lieberman looks at exercise from an evolutionary point of view, concluding that we evolved to limit our physical activity where possible, saving it for survival activities.