Category: News

Yiyun Li’s Story of Giving Up Her Mother Tongue Evokes the Value of the Personal

December 31, 2016

Language. Culture. Origins. These are known quantities. They’re obvious as money, healthy as kale. Aren’t they? In our pseudo-psychological society, outright rejecting any of the concepts above may be seen as grounds for pity. The vague and largely unexamined public value placed on these concepts is predicated on the idea that anything linked to one’s … More Yiyun Li’s Story of Giving Up Her Mother Tongue Evokes the Value of the Personal

What Does Kakutani’s Hitler-Trump Buzz Say About Book Reviews in General?

September 29, 2016

So. There’s already been quite a to-do surrounding Michiko Kakutani’s so-called thinly-veiled attack on Trump in her recent New York Times review of historian Volker Ullrich’s Hitler: Ascent, 1889-1939.  While her review definitely gives a nod to the significance of Ullrich’s work and delves quite thoroughly into parts of it, her examination of the book comes … More What Does Kakutani’s Hitler-Trump Buzz Say About Book Reviews in General?

New Huge Paul Auster Novel Coming in 4 3 2 1…

July 9, 2016

Whatever your opinion of Paul Auster, he’s an interesting guy. His translations, his autobiographical writings (like the endearingly funny Hand to Mouth: A Chronicle of Early Failure) and his novels (including The New York Trilogy, a surrealistic take on noir thrillers) all offer different pieces of what may not even be a single puzzle. While I … More New Huge Paul Auster Novel Coming in 4 3 2 1…