Book reviews and more!

You are browsing the archive for December2012

CAVEAT EMPTOR, by Ken Perenyi

December 31, 2012

WILD, ROUGH AND TUMBLE memoir by a high-end art forger of his checkered career and jet set life.  Unruly fun!

Grade: SOLID B

CAVEAT EMPTOR: THE SECRET LIFE OF AN AMERICAN ART FORGER
Pegasus
2012

Tags: , , , , ,

LITTLE STAR, by John Ajvide Lindqvist

December 30, 2012

BLEAK, TERRIFYING NOVEL from Swedish horror superstar John Ajvide Lindqvist wields the power of a nightmare.

Grade: B PLUS

LITTLE STAR
St. Martin's/Thomas Dunne Books
2012

Tags: , ,

ISLAND OF BONES, by Imogen Robertson

December 29, 2012

COMPLEX, THOUGHTFUL HISTORICAL mystery features vivid characterization and a wealth of 1780s English detail.

Grade: SOLID B

ISLAND OF BONES
Penguin/Pamela Dorman Books
2012

Tags: , , ,

THE PSEUDOSCIENCE WARS, by Michael D. Gordin

December 28, 2012

FASCINATING SOCIAL HISTORY of “pseudoscience” debates focuses on Velikovsky’s “worlds in collision” theory.

Grade: B PLUS

THE PSEUDOSCIENCE WARS: IMMANUEL VELIKOVSKY AND THE BIRTH OF THE MODERN FRINGE
University of Chicago Press
2012

Tags: , , , ,

THE MAP OF THE SKY, by Félix J. Palma

December 27, 2012

GRAND STEAMPUNKY COLLAGE of science fiction and historical fact revolves around H. G. Wells’s WAR OF THE WORLDS.

Grade: B PLUS

THE MAP OF THE SKY
Atria
2012

Tags: , , ,

BELUGA, by Rick Gavin

December 26, 2012

RAMSHACKLE DELTA PICARESQUE finds two tough repo men trying to help the world’s most no-account thieves.

Grade: B PLUS

BELUGA
St. Martin's Press
2012

Tags: , , ,

MONKEY MIND, by Daniel Smith

December 25, 2012

SURPRISINGLY ENTERTAINING MEMOIR details a writer’s multi-decade struggle with a serious anxiety disorder.

Grade: SOLID B

MONKEY MIND: A MEMOIR OF ANXIETY
Simon & Schuster
2012

Tags: , , ,

TOBY’S ROOM, by Pat Barker

December 24, 2012

THE SHATTERING IMPACT of World War I is vividly depicted here; the portrayal of family conflict is less strong.

Grade: SOLID B

TOBY'S ROOM
Knopf Doubleday
2012

Tags: , , ,

THE COLLECTED POEMS OF LUCILLE CLIFTON, 1965-2010

December 23, 2012

I don’t review poetry here, but I cannot help taking a minute to rave about the new collection of poems by the late, great Lucille Clifton.  The poems are beautifully curated, the book design is clear and readable, and the foreword by Toni Morrison was touching in its recognition of Clifton’s gifts.  Do think about buying this if you’re a poetry fan—or maybe even if you aren’t!  Clifton was a strong and distinctive voice, and the power of her work cannot be denied.

THE COLLECTED POEMS OF LUCILLE CLIFTON, 1965-2010
BOA Editions
2012

Tags: , , ,

RIDING FURY HOME, by Chana Wilson

A MOTHER/DAUGHTER relationship, fractured by addiction and depression, is healed by feminism and by coming out.

Grade: SOLID B

RIDING FURY HOME: A MEMOIR
Seal Press
2012

Tags: , , , , , ,