My review of Roth’s new novel on Identity Theory

My review of Philip Roth’s new novel The Humbling has been posted over at Identity Theory. Roth has written several of the best books I’ve ever read, and I revere him for his mastery of the art of fiction. But unfortunately, The Humbling leaves a lot to be desired.

My review of William T. Vollmann’s Imperial on PopMatters

PopMatters has published my review of Imperial by William T. Vollmann.

My review of Calvo’s Wonderful World in The Quarterly Conversation

My review of the Spanish writer Javier Calvo’s novel Wonderful World appears in the new issue of The Quarterly Conversation.

Summer book reviews

My recent return to full time work has made it more difficult for me to continue to update this blog regularly. (For the past several months, I’ve been dedicating all of my writing time to working on material intended for publication elsewhere.) But, I’ve missed posting here terribly, and I intend to get back to it soon. In the meantime, here’s a list of the book reviews I’ve published since the last time I made a post. Check back soon for links to my reviews forthcoming in Identity Theory, ForeWord, PopMatters and other publications.

• Review of Of Song and Water by Joseph Coulson. Identity Theory, August 3, 2009.
• Review of Digging: The Afro-American Soul of American Classical Music by Amiri Baraka. ForeWord, July/August 2009.
• Review of Death in Spring by Mercè Rodoreda. Rain Taxi, Summer 2009 (#54). Reprinted by Powell’s Books, July 20, 2009.
• Review of Ghosts by César Aira. Rain Taxi, Summer 2009 (#54).
• Review of The Bridge of the Golden Horn by Emine Sevgi Özdamar. ForeWord, May/June 2009.

My new review on PopMatters: Potato by John Reader

PopMatters has published my review of the journalist John Reader’s history of the potato, titled (surprisingly enough) Potato. If you’re going to read just one history of the potato, this probably shouldn’t be it.

My review of Nothomb’s Tokyo Fiancée in Rain Taxi

Rain Taxi has published my review of Amélie Nothomb’s Tokyo Fiancée as a part of its Spring 2009 Online Edition.

My review of Amina Cain’s I Go To Some Hollow on PopMatters

PopMatters is now running my review of Amina Cain’s I Go To Some Hollow, a collection of unconventional and fleetingly lyrical short stories.

I Go To Some Hollow

My review of Roche’s Wetlands on PopMatters

My review of Charlotte Roche’s controversial novel Wetlands has been posted on PopMatters.

Wetlands by Charlotte Roche

My review of two new books by J. Robert Lennon on PopMatters

New on PopMatters today: my dual review of Pieces for the Left Hand and Castle by J. Robert Lennon, out simultaneously from Graywolf.

Lennon's Pieces for the Left Hand

A side note: I also recently read an earlier novel of Lennon’s called The Funnies, which I’d thoroughly recommend. It’s a bittersweet family comedy about a young artist coming to terms with the fact that his true talent isn’t for avant-garde sculpture, but instead for following his father’s trade in the daily comic strip business. When his father dies, he inherits his strip—which bears an unmistakable resemblance to The Family Circus—on the condition that he demonstrate to the people of the syndicate that he’s capable of handling it. This proves to be a much more difficult task than the protagonist expects, and Lennon treats his struggles with empathy, humor, and a fascinating attention to detail about the art of drawing and writing for the funny pages. I think it’s Lennon’s best novel, and it’s well worth seeking out.

Lennon's Castle

My review of Waberi’s In the United States of Africa on PopMatters

My review of Abdourahman A. Waberi’s In the United States of Africa appears today on PopMatters. In Waberi’s novel, Africa is the center of the world’s economic, political, and cultural power, while Paris is impoverished and Swiss refugees flee their war-torn land. It’s a clever premise—and one that might have quickly worn thin if Waberi weren’t such a gifted stylist. His writing is lush and beautiful, as well as very funny, and that’s what makes In the United States of Africa a success.

My review of Stewart O’Nan’s Songs for the Missing on PopMatters

My review of Stewart O’Nan’s fine new novel Songs for the Missing runs today on PopMatters. I wrote about O’Nan’s previous book, Last Night at the Lobster, here on the blog a little while back. On O’Nan’s website, you can browse his expansive recommended reading list or read a timeline of his life as a writer

New review on PopMatters

My review of Doctor Olaf van Schuler’s Brain by Kirsten Menger-Anderson appears today on PopMatters. It’s a story collection with an intriguing and appealing premise, though unfortunately it fails to live up to its promise.

My review of Bolaño’s 2666 on PopMatters

My review of Roberto Bolaño’s 2666 runs today on PopMatters.

My review of The Last Fish Tale on PopMatters

Today PopMatters is running my review of The Last Fish Tale by Mark Kurlansky—a book that explores the ways in which the economics, environment, and culture of Gloucester, MA are inextricably interlinked. It also includes many recipes.

My review of Tycoon’s War on PopMatters

PopMatters has now published my review of Tycoon’s War by Stephen Dando-Collins.

My Joyce Carol Oates review on PopMatters

This morning PopMatters is running another review of mine, this time on Joyce Carol Oates’s novel My Sister, My Love.

(I’ll be writing more substantive blog entries again soon–it’s been a busy couple of weeks, and most of my writing time has been dedicated to working on an essay for the Virginia Quarterly Review‘s Young Reviewers Contest, which I’ve now completed and submitted.)

My Coltrane/Davis book review on PopMatters

This morning PopMatters is running my review of Farah Jasmine Griffin and Salim Washington’s book Clawing at the Limits of Cool: Miles Davis, John Coltrane, and the Greatest Jazz Collaboration Ever.

And coming soon on the same site: my review of Joyce Carol Oates’s new novel My Sister, My Love.