A Motley Crew of Eccentric Characters Lurk in Sandi Tan’s ‘Lurkers’
A sprawling portrait of life in Los Angeles’ suburbs, Sandi Tan’s LURKERS is fascinating, funny and sometimes horrifying.
book review
‘Lost Maya Cities’ Digs into the Nitty-Gritty of Archaeology
Slovenian archeologist Ivan Sprajc's memoir, Lost Maya Cities, is a pleasant read but it could have dug deeper.
‘The Green Book’-Inspired ‘A Parallel Road’ and American Apartheid
Amani Willett's A parallel Road shows how controlling people's right to travel is central to the racist mindset.
Giacomo Sartori’s ‘Bug’ Melds Whimsy and Substance
Sartori's Bug is a study in quirkiness, but it is founded upon a serious and complex substratum.
Hilma af Klint’s Art Gives Shape to the Things We Cannot See
Swedish artist Hilma af Klint embraced theosophy and its intent of exploring occult phenomena by uniting spirituality and science.
‘Odd Woman Out’ Is a Comedy Sketch-Like Memoir About What’s-Her-Name
We can never have too many Jewish Atheists from Brooklyn publishing essays about life as they see it. Actress Melanie Chartoff's 'Odd Woman Out' has me wanting more.
Vuillard’s ‘The War of the Poor’ and Historical Storytelling
Éric Vuillard's engaging The War of the Poor takes a literary approach that is more art than history, but that is a wonderful way to convey important historical events and their long reach into our troubled times.
Visual Culture’s Power Over You
Visual culture is not just ubiquitous, it's also a potent force.
Elvis Presley’s Unlikely Comeback
Elvis historian Eric Wolfson's 33 1/3 book, Elvis Presley's From Elvis in Memphis, examines perhaps the greatest artistic accomplishment of Elvis' career: a comeback album that reinstated his relevance.
‘Clutter’ Gets in Your Head
In Jennifer Howard's social history, Clutter, the emotional relationship to the material world is critical in trying to understand her mother's hoarding behaviors.