A haunting new novel by Patricia Lockwood, No One Is Talking About This goes deep into themes about the internet, real life, where they bleed into each other and what really matters. It’s a powerful…
Book Review: "Lockdown In Hell World" by Luke O'Neil
March 6, 2021
It’s March and the snow is starting to melt and the Covid-19 death total has crossed a half-million; sitting on my bedside table is a new collection of reportage and essays that’s chronicled this pandemic…
Deconstruction, Deconstructed - An Event, Perhaps: A Biography of Jacques Derrida by Peter Salmon
December 19, 2020
A concise look at a complex legacy, An Event, Perhaps traces Jacques Derrida’s life and career, providing a clear and fascinating look at the French philosopher and his theories of Deconstruction. Born and raised in…
Voices on the wire: JR – William Gaddis (NYRB Classics, 2020)
November 25, 2020
A wild ride through financial markets, big business and middle school, JR remains Gaddis’ most experimental novel, and perhaps his best. Told almost entirely through dialogue, most of it one-sided telephone conversations, JR follows a…
A Towering look at A Complex Legacy: "Wagnerism" – Alex Ross
October 20, 2020
A towering work of cultural history and criticism, Alex Ross’ new book Wagnerism takes a deep look at the always-controversial composer and his many legacies. Born in 1813, Wagner had his first operas appear before…
Lucy Ellmann – Ducks, Newburyport (Biblioasis, 2019) A thousand-page long story about an Ohio housewife, Ducks, Newburyport isn’t like anything you’ve read before. Told in a running monologue, it’s a breathtaking display of writing and…
The Catcher in the Rye is one of the world-famous bestsellers. It was criticized and even forbidden, which only made this book more desirable for many. It became a symbol of nonconformism and riot against…
Last spring, filmmaker and activist Joshua M. Ferguson made headlines around Canada when they received Ontario’s first non-binary birth certificate, the climax of a lengthy struggle with the Ontario government. In their new memoir, Me,…
“Women Talking” by Miriam Toews (Knoph Canada)
March 27, 2019
In recent years, few concepts have resonated as much as toxic masculinity. From how it plays in personal relationships to how people engage with culture, it’s gone from the specialized world of academics to everyday…