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'The Devil Takes You Home' invites readers to consider the depths of darkness

Mulholland Books

Review

Book Reviews

'The Devil Takes You Home' invites readers to consider the depths of darkness

August 6, 2022 • Gabino Iglesias' barrio noir may not be a cheerful book, but it still allows glimpses of love, moments of connection, and glimmers of beauty to exist.

'The Premonitions Bureau' considers whether some can sense future events

Penguin Press

Review

Book Reviews

'The Premonitions Bureau' considers whether some can sense future events

May 3, 2022 • Though winding at times, Sam Knight's book is thought-provoking and deeply researched, presenting the oddity of realized premonitions while allowing readers to come to their own conclusions.

'Body Work' argues for the power of personal narratives

Catapult

Review

Book Reviews

'Body Work' argues for the power of personal narratives

March 14, 2022 • Melissa Febos' book in itself is an example of the strength of personal narrative; it's also an argument for how such narratives inevitably create space for community as well as a freer self.

'Glory' nods to Orwell as animals explore survival under a corrupt government

Viking

Review

Book Reviews

'Glory' nods to Orwell as animals explore survival under a corrupt government

March 10, 2022 • NoViolet Bulawayo's book expresses a people's frustration, terror, resilience, uprising and hope in a way that can be applied to a multitude of nations and political realities around the globe.

'Scoundrel' examines how and why a convicted killer went free

Ecco

Review

Book Reviews

'Scoundrel' examines how and why a convicted killer went free

February 22, 2022 • Sarah Weinman's book excels as an in-depth exploration of how outside influence and support can affect the criminal justice system — and as the narrative of a con artist who hurt a lot of people.

'The Family Chao' is a riveting story of identity and belonging

W. W. Norton & Company

Review

Book Reviews

'The Family Chao' is a riveting story of identity and belonging

February 2, 2022 • There are notable parallels to The Brothers Karamazov in Lan Samantha Chang's new novel about three brothers and the contentious relationship between them and their domineering father.

'Open' explores polyamorous relationships through personal experience

Harmony

Review

Book Reviews

'Open' explores polyamorous relationships through personal experience

January 29, 2022 • Bustle editor Rachel Krantz's memoir is a sincere and curious reckoning with the cultural messaging we all receive about gendered expectations and power dynamics in romantic and sexual relationships.

'Anatomy' is a gothic love story stirring up mystery and medicine

Wednesday Books

Review

Book Reviews

'Anatomy' is a gothic love story stirring up mystery and medicine

January 27, 2022 • In Dana Schwartz's novel, it's 1817 and Lady Hazel, set to marry a cousin, just wants to study medicine. She meets a boy who helps her — and the journey is an adventure from there.

'Fiona and Jane' is a life-sized story of true friendship

Fiona and Jane, by Jean Chen Ho Viking hide caption

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Viking

Review

Book Reviews

'Fiona and Jane' is a life-sized story of true friendship

January 4, 2022 • Jean Chen Ho's debut work of fiction focuses on a long-standing friendship that rings, sometimes terribly, true, as the girls-turned-women face the trials and tribulations of life.

Granddaughter of cult leader tells her story of escape in 'Sex Cult Nun'

Sex Cult Nun: Breaking Away from the Children of God, a Wild, Radical Religious Cult, by Faith Jones William Morrow hide caption

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William Morrow

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Book Reviews

Granddaughter of cult leader tells her story of escape in 'Sex Cult Nun'

December 5, 2021 • Faith Jones, a successful lawyer, is the granddaughter of David Berg, founder of The Family. She tells of how she was raised in the cult from infancy until managing to leave it in her early 20s.

'Orwell's Roses' centers on the tensions between beauty and labor, joy and suffering

Orwell's Roses, by Rebecca Solnit Viking hide caption

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Viking

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Book Reviews

'Orwell's Roses' centers on the tensions between beauty and labor, joy and suffering

October 21, 2021 • Rebecca Solnit's latest is a deeply political collection of interlinked essays, of which George Orwell is a part but not the whole; one of its joys is its unexpected turns from one topic to the next.

'Unsettled Ground' Lets Its Oddballs Stay Defiantly Odd

Tin House

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Book Reviews

'Unsettled Ground' Lets Its Oddballs Stay Defiantly Odd

May 20, 2021 • Claire Fuller's beautifully written new novel follows 51-year-old twins who never left home, forced finally to cope with the outside world and some unpleasant family secrets after their mother dies.

'The Haunting Of Alma Fielding' Is A Ghost Story — And A Tale Of Power And Fear

The Haunting of Alma Fielding: A True Ghost Story, by Kate Summerscale Penguin Press hide caption

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Penguin Press

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'The Haunting Of Alma Fielding' Is A Ghost Story — And A Tale Of Power And Fear

April 28, 2021 • In 1938, a housewife went to the press complaining of a poltergeist in her home — and a ghost hunter investigated. Kate Summerscale's true tale is about women and power, anxiety, and choices.

'Leaving Isn't The Hardest Thing' Isn't Just A Cult Memoir

Leaving Isn't the Hardest Thing: Essays, Lauren Hough Vintage hide caption

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Vintage

Review

Book Reviews

'Leaving Isn't The Hardest Thing' Isn't Just A Cult Memoir

April 15, 2021 • Essay after essay, it becomes clear that writer Lauren Hough is drawing parallels between the Family and good ol' fashioned American Exceptionalism in all its various facets.

Ambition, Alchemy And Searching For Way To Fit In 'Gold Diggers'

Penguin Press

Review

Book Reviews

Ambition, Alchemy And Searching For Way To Fit In 'Gold Diggers'

April 8, 2021 • Sanjena Sathian's novel follows a Georgia teenager, son of Indian immigrants, as he struggles with balancing his own ambitions and those of his parents, and finding his own way to be brown in America.

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