Book Review

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  Book Review Philip Pullman: Fairy Tales From The Brothers Grimm

  The author of the His Dark Materials trilogy brings his interest in folklore to re-telling Grimm’s fairy tales, but they could use more of a personal touch.

  December 31, 2012 | 12:00am -

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  Book Review Nick Tosches: Me And The Devil

  The infamous music biographer may expose too many of his own prejudices in this novel about a man addicted to his young lovers’ blood.

  December 26, 2012 | 12:00am -

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  Book Review Ian McEwan: Sweet Tooth

  Atonement’s author returns to the structure of his best-known novel, but with frustratingly lowered stakes.

  December 24, 2012 | 12:01am -

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  Book Review Mark Atherton: There And Back Again: J.R.R. Tolkien And The Origins Of The Hobbit

  An academic look at Tolkien’s influences doesn’t reveal much, except the possible origins of the word “hobbit.”

  December 17, 2012 | 12:02am -

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  Book Review José Saramago: Raised From The Ground

  A fantastic 1980 novel from a Nobel Prize winner finally gets an English translation.

  December 17, 2012 | 12:01am -

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  Book Review Magnus Flyte: City Of Dark Magic

  This overstuffed murder mystery has more ideas than room for execution, from drug-induced time travel to an affair with a prince.

  December 17, 2012 | 12:00am -

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  Book Review Ken Jennings: Because I Said So!

  The Jeopardy mega-winner takes on a new type of trivia, dissecting the myths of parental warnings and received wisdom.

  December 10, 2012 | 12:02am -

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  Book Review Felix Gilman: The Rise Of Ransom City

  The sequel to Felix Gilman’s stellar 2010 Western fantasy, The Half-Made World, further develops and populates an intriguing setting.

  December 10, 2012 | 12:01am -

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  Book Review Bill Roorbach: Life Among Giants

  An NFL quarterback turned chef struggles to come to terms with his parents’ murder and his wealthy neighbors in this John Irving-esque novel. 

  December 10, 2012 | 12:00am -

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  Book Review Roberto Bolaño: Woes Of The True Policeman

  The latest posthumous work from the Chilean author is a long-in-the-works companion to 2666, and reads like a deleted-scenes collection.

  December 3, 2012 | 12:02am -

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  Book Review Joe Abercrombie: Red Country

  The epic-fantasy author who writes anti-epic-fantasy continues to update his gritty imaginary world and undermine his genre’s usual tropes.

  December 3, 2012 | 12:01am -

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  Book Review Jami Attenberg: The Middlesteins

  The author of The Melting Season returns with a Jonathan Franzen-esque sprawling family about a woman whose eating disorder leads her to abandon her family.

  December 3, 2012 | 12:00am -

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  Book Review Penn Jillette: Every Day Is An Atheist Holiday!

  The loud half of Penn & Teller has more opinions than he needs to share in his new essay collection.

  November 26, 2012 | 12:02am -

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  Book Review Laina Dawes: What Are You Doing Here? A Black Woman’s Life And Liberation In Heavy Metal

  A black journalist documents her own experiences in a traditionally white musical subculture in this smart, ambitious book.

  November 26, 2012 | 12:01am -

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  Book Review Brandon Sanderson: The Emperor’s Soul

  The author of Elantris, Warbreaker, and the post-Robert Jordan Wheel Of Time series takes a break for a slight but satisfying story.

  November 26, 2012 | 12:00am -

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  Book Review Kevin Pollak, Alan Goldsher: How I Slept My Way To The Middle

  A minor star passes on stories about the major stars he’s met and worked with.

  November 19, 2012 | 12:03am -

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  Book Review Sean Howe: Marvel Comics: The Untold Story

  A snappy, smart history follows the comics publisher from its shoestring origins to its billion-dollar movie business.

  November 19, 2012 | 12:02am -

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  Book Review Robin Sloan: Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore

  This striking debut novel reads like a Dan Brown mystery with brains, a soul, and a deep interest in books.

  November 19, 2012 | 12:01am -

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  Book Review A.M. Homes: May We Be Forgiven

  Arrested Development is a familiar touchstone in this tragicomic novel about a patriarch who gets put away and the reluctant relative who replaces him as family figurehead.

  November 19, 2012 | 12:00am -

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  Book Review David Foster Wallace: Both Flesh And Not: Essays

  The posthumous collections from the Infinite Jest author continue, but this essay collection does helpfully background his longer fiction work.

  November 12, 2012 | 12:03am -

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  Book Review Dennis Lehane: Live By Night

  The author of Mystic River follows up The Given Day with another enjoyable crime novel set in Prohibition-era Boston.

  November 12, 2012 | 12:02am -

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  Book Review Bettye LaVette, David Ritz: A Woman Like Me

  “No one has enjoyed sex more than I have,” the Motown artist and Broadway singer claims in this frank, salacious memoir.

  November 12, 2012 | 12:01am -

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  Book Review Hampton Fancher: The Shape Of The Final Dog And Other Stories

  The 74-year-old screenwriter behind Blade Runner makes his fiction debut with this weird, wild collection of short stories.

  November 12, 2012 | 12:00am -

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  Book Review Kurt Vonnegut: Letters

  This collection of correspondence spans seven decades and offers a warm, human look into the life of an icon.

  November 5, 2012 | 12:03am -

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  Book Review Stephen Colbert: America Again: Re-Becoming the Greatness We Never Weren’t

  The latest cash-grab book parodying other pundits’ cash-grab books is funny, but necessarily lacks the timeliness that boosts The Colbert Report.

  November 5, 2012 | 12:02am -

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  Book Review Pete Townshend: Who I Am

  The Who’s guitarist looks back with humility, arrogance, and a pleasant amount of fanboy reference for his idols.

  November 5, 2012 | 12:01am -

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  Book Review T.C. Boyle: San Miguel

  The latest from the author of Drop City once again focuses on isolated communities and insular relationships.

  November 5, 2012 | 12:00am -

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  Book Review Justin Cronin: The Twelve 

  The author of the bestselling thriller The Passage continues his literary post-apocalyptic vampire-novel experimentation.

  October 29, 2012 | 12:05am -

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  Book Review John Avide Lindqvist: Little Star

  The Swedish author of Let The Right One In temporarily sets aside the ghosts and vampires, but he’s still writing unsettling horror. 

  October 29, 2012 | 12:00am -

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  Book Review R.L. Stine: Red Rain 

  The Goosebumps author has extended his reach into adult horror, but his latest book for grown-ups shows much of the simplicity of his kids’ books.

  October 29, 2012 | 12:00am -