Mohsin Hamid’s much-anticipated fourth novel Exit Westmakes deft use of a single fantastical element to create a magical realist novel of tremendous effect. Often, magical realism is an… Read more “A Review of Exit West by Mohsin Hamid”
Category: Books
Jeff Vandermeer’s Wonderbook
Confession: I’ve never read any of Jeff Vandermeer’s fiction. Which makes it a little odd that I decided to read his book about writing, but in some… Read more “Jeff Vandermeer’s Wonderbook”
Susan Kinsolving’s Dailies & Rushes: Poems
When I was a child, Moving scared me; every time I located my life, it wandered away once more. These words from Susan Kinsolving’s poem “In Preparation”… Read more “Susan Kinsolving’s Dailies & Rushes: Poems”
Sarah Gailey’s River of Teeth
About a hundred years ago, the U.S. government very nearly gave the green light to a plan that would have brought hippopotamuses to the American South as… Read more “Sarah Gailey’s River of Teeth”
My Cousin Rachel by Daphne du Maurier
I was introduced to Daphne du Maurier the way most people were introduced to Daphne du Maurier: someone told me I absolutely had to read Rebecca, and so… Read more “My Cousin Rachel by Daphne du Maurier”
A review of Beating the Graves by Tsitsi Ella Jaji
The African Poetry Book Series published each year by the University of Nebraska Press is always worth looking forward to. Having thoroughly enjoyed Mahtem Shiferraw’s Fuchsia last summer,… Read more “A review of Beating the Graves by Tsitsi Ella Jaji”
National Poetry Month
I wouldn’t have the slightest clue who I am if it weren’t for poetry. I wrote my first poetry in sixth grade, started plagiarizing my sister’s better… Read more “National Poetry Month”
A Review of Franki Elliot’s Piano Rats
On one of my many trips to Quimby’s bookstore in Chicago (my favorite bookshop in the world), I took a chance on Franki Elliot’s Piano Rats, a poetry… Read more “A Review of Franki Elliot’s Piano Rats”
A review of Emmy Perez’s With the River On Our Face
Emmy Pérez’s collection With the River on Our Face is intimately tied to the territory of its origin. Taking as its muse the land, wildlife, and people in… Read more “A review of Emmy Perez’s With the River On Our Face”
A Review of Rachel Hadas’s Questions in the Vestibule
As you might be able to deduce from the title of Rachel Hadas’s 2016 poetry collection, Questions in the Vestibule is about the transitions, the in-between spaces, being… Read more “A Review of Rachel Hadas’s Questions in the Vestibule”
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