Tag: Book review
-
Bliss Montage, by Ling Ma
The oranges on the cover of “Bliss Montage” by Ling Ma are hidden behind plastic wrap, in full view but behind something that needs to be ripped off. I think this image summarizes the book perfectly. This is a collection of eight stories, and it’s probably best to read them one story a day: they…
-
The Woman in the Library, by Surali Gentill
I love good mysteries – as a genre and as a palate cleanser – so I’m always looking forward to reading more thrillers in the summertime when “the livin’ is easy.” After discovering that “The Woman in the Library” by Surali Gentill was recommended in the New York Times (May 27, 2022, “Murder, Blackmail and…
-
The Long Corner, by Alexander Maksik
What is art? Alexander Maksik’s new novel “The Long Corner” repeatedly asks this age-old question. The answer is usually short: sometimes it sounds like a slogan, sometimes like a statement of fact, sometimes like a provocative association with an inscription on the gate to Auschwitz. A young zealous Jewish journalist, Solomon Fields, moves from Los…
-
Cult Classic, by Sloane Crosley
We probably all experienced the moment when reading a book we suddenly thought – this book should be made into a movie! This is precisely the discovery I made while reading “Cult Classic” by Sloane Crosley. Such a film would be “Inception” meets “When Harry meets Sally” with the exception that in the book, sure,…
-
Yoga, by Emmanuel Carrère
Writers mainly write about themselves, even if their subconscious exhibitionism hides under the cover of fictional characters. Nowadays, candidly describing one’s personal experiences is seen more and more often in literature. Emmanuel Carrere is a writer who writes about himself. As he says, he never lies in his books, writing openly about his searches, fascinations,…
-
All the Lovers in the Night, by Mieko Kawakami
I’ve always had a weakness for misfits and loners in novels. Hence, no wonder, after a few pages of the book “All the Lovers in the Night” by Mieko Kawakami, I realized that I really liked the main character, Fuyoko Irie. She is a 34-year-old woman living alone in Tokyo, whose days are filled with…
-
The Fruit Thief, by Peter Handke
From my old car trips across America, I remember that when I was driving, for example, across Utah or Montana, there was a period, shortly before sunset, when the landscape was becoming indescribably beautiful. In the golden light, the mountains and the road were bathed in the softness. I felt the uniqueness of that moment:…
-
In the Margins: On the Pleasures of Reading and Writing, by Elena Ferrante
I noticed Elena Ferrante’s book In the Margins in a nearby bookstore at the same time when I was watching the HBO series My Brilliant Friend based on Ferrante’s Neapolitan Novels. Beautiful cover, thin book, interesting author, supporting the local bookstore (the order of my motives is random), so soon I was walking down the…
-
The Watchmakers: The Story of Brotherhood, Survival, and Hope Amid the Holocaust, by Harry Lenga and Scott Lenga
I have read several books, both novels, and memoirs on the same subject, however, this one takes a special place. The Watchmakers is a book written in first person, in the form of a diary, the result of hours of Scott Lenga talking to his father, Harry. Harry (Khil) describes his and his two brothers’…
-
The Magician, by Colm Tóibín
I decided to read it when I learned that “The Magician” by Colm Tóibín was included in the New York Times Critics Top Books of 2021. In my youth, I was greatly influenced by “The Magic Mountain“ by Thomas Mann. Now I don’t even know why it happened, but at the time it was a…
Infinite Books 