AltWeeklies Wire
Joshua Ferris’ Second Novel Has Legs and Knows How to Use Themnew
Whereas Illinois native Joshua Ferris, author of the award-winning debut novel Then We Came to the End, voluntarily relocated to New York, the protagonist of his thoughtful and unsettling second novel, The Unnamed, finds that a force beyond his control governs his physical movement.
New York Press |
Rayyan Al-Shawaf |
01-14-2010 |
Fiction
Madison Smartt Bell Brings the Civil War to Your Doorstepnew
Devil's Dream's frontispiece includes a photograph of the small-eyed, dark-bearded Civil War general Nathan Forrest. Prepare to flip back to that single photograph over and over again as you read.
Baltimore City Paper |
John Barry |
12-08-2009 |
Fiction
John Irving is Once Again in Full Control of the Narrative in 'Last Night In Twisted River'new
In his latest book, Irving entertains with the grace of a novelist who knows how to be funny without hitting the reader over the head.
NOW Magazine |
David Silverberg |
11-16-2009 |
Fiction
Barbara Kingsolver Makes a Misstep as She Tries to Make Her Point in 'The Lacuna'new
Kingsolver has created a reserved, unassuming character in Harrison Shepherd. He's so unassuming, in fact, that he becomes a cipher. Kingsolver's trademark nuanced characterization is not well-served by this collaged point of view.
Tucson Weekly |
Christine Wald-Hopkins |
11-11-2009 |
Fiction
Manhattan Goes Meta in Jonathan Lethem's 'Chronic City'new
Unlike Pynchon in The Crying of Lot 49, which this book at first resembles, Lethem keeps his readers (and his narrator) at too critical a distance, and explains far too much, and thus leaves me still waiting for that novel where Lethem finally knocks one all the way into the bleachers.
Willamette Week |
Matthew Korfhage |
10-21-2009 |
Fiction
Josh Bazell Turns His ER Experience into the Year's Best Debut Novelnew
Bazell, who wrote Beat the Reaper while working on his residency at a California hospital, crafted an ingenious, fast-paced thriller that also managed to be a work of art.
New Haven Advocate |
Drew Taylor |
10-20-2009 |
Fiction
'Putrefaction Live' Looks at Paradoxes on the Reznew
Warren Perkins' new novel is worthwhile for its authentic feel, although the plot development is a bit sketchy.
Tucson Weekly |
Christine Wald-Hopkins |
10-15-2009 |
Fiction
Nick Cave's New Novel is All Sex, Drugs and Hand Creamnew
When I interviewed Nick Cave for the Phoenix three years ago and he told me -- drolly, languidly, literarily -- that his next writing project was about "a sexually incontinent hand-cream salesman" on the south coast of England, I assumed he was taking the piss.
Boston Phoenix |
James Parker |
10-08-2009 |
Fiction
'The Wonder' Has a Dancer's Gracenew
The question of passion fuels Diana Evans' lushly imaginative second novel The Wonder.
The Georgia Straight |
Patty Jones |
10-05-2009 |
Fiction
Dan Brown's Latest Saga Thrills Until it Drops the Threadnew
The ending sucked. Sorry to be so abrupt, but I appreciate that this is a long review, and I appreciate that you might not finish it, and unlike some other book reviewers, I can't in good conscience discuss The Lost Symbol without bringing up the ending.
Las Vegas Weekly |
Rick Lax |
09-24-2009 |
Fiction
Douglas Coupland's New Novel 'Generation A' is Funny Yet Disturbingnew
Douglas Coupland caught the spirit of his own time in his breakthrough Generation X. Now he's figured out how to tune into the zeitgeist of the future.
NOW Magazine |
Susan G. Cole |
09-21-2009 |
Fiction
'AM/PM' Gives Us 120 Impeccably Compact Stories of Love, Discomfort & Concert Souvenirsnew
These single-page stories were written, one in the morning and one in the evening, over the course of two months. This timeline, and their brevity, may make it sound like this is a simple little book, but it's not.
Eugene Weekly |
Molly Templeton |
09-11-2009 |
Fiction
In 'Scorch Atlas,' Blake Butler Rains Gravel and Glassnew
Blake Butler aims his telescope at the future, and if what he finds there and shows us in Scorch Atlas even approaches the truth, we can all only hope we won't be around to see it.
Boston Phoenix |
Nina Maclaughlin |
09-10-2009 |
Fiction
'How to Make Friends With Demons' Ranks as One of the Year's Best Novelsnew
Leaping forward and backward through time, Graham Joyce expertly weaves a cohesive novel that essentially chronicles a mid-life crisis.
San Antonio Current |
Rick Klaw |
09-10-2009 |
Fiction
'Big Machine' is a Big, Mean Story by Victor LaVallenew
Far from a standard dry examination of doubt and faith, Lavalle's allegorical approach is sweeping and swashbuckling. Big Machine takes us from Ricky's idyllic childhood -- sweet as saccharine, with a black tar of burn -- to his romantic nadir, dying in a puddle of piss and shit in the basement of a house owned by a man named Murder.
San Francisco Bay Guardian |
D. Scot Miller |
09-02-2009 |
Fiction
