What the critics thought of Howard Jacobson’s Pussy, Lisa McInerney’s The Blood Miracles and Bill Hayes’s Insomniac CityTwo eagerly anticipated and very different novels divided critics this month. Howard Jacobson’s Pussy was written in two months in “a fury of disbelief” after Donald Trump’s US election victory, and is set in a fictionalised world in which spoiled Prince Fracassus rules. “Flawed but fascinating” wrote Anita Sethi in the i, summing up many critics’ feelings. “At its best, the book brilliantly portrays a world in which language and the complexity of ideas that it can convey have been devalued … ” The Observer’s Andrew Anthony also accentuated the positives, finding “many aesthetic pleasures to be had in Pussy. If Trump’s presidency is a source of continuing anxiety, then among its very few benefits is that it is has moved one of our finest comic writers to write an elegantly savage satire of a man who defies satire.” But this satirising of the unsatirisable vexed some. “The more you share its premises, the more you wish this satire had sharper edge. Fracassus’s unsavoury grotesqueness never trumps Trump’s,” wrote Peter Kemp in the Sunday Times, while the Independent’s Lucy Scholes felt “inclined to wonder what [Jacobson’s] hurry was. From a novelist of his pedigree ... I wanted something more considered.”Lisa McInerney’s The Blood Miracles is the follow-up to her Baileys women’s fiction prize-winning debut The Glorious Heresies and focuses on that novel’s... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2017-04-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
Oksana Vasyakina’s first novel is a family history and a reflection on womanhood. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2023-09-05 09:00:20 UTC ]
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After several critics complained of being quoted out of context on the covers of Jordan Peterson’s new book, the industry body has spoken out against the practiceThe Society of Authors (SoA) has spoken out against publishers misrepresenting negative reviews on book covers and the UK publisher... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2023-09-01 06:02:22 UTC ]
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Naomi Duguid’s The Miracle of Salt is a magnificent single-ingredient trip around the world. Continue reading at Wired
[ Wired | 2023-08-22 13:00:00 UTC ]
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Are you a fantasy mega-fan? Well, let's put it to the test: Can you guess these fantasy books based only on their 1-star reviews? Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2023-08-21 10:35:00 UTC ]
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The Oscar-nominated actor’s new memoir is at once a Hollywood air kiss and a moving tribute to a happy marriage that ended too soon. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2023-08-01 09:01:10 UTC ]
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Rioters share the best books they read last quarter, from historical fiction featuring badass lady pirates to essays by disabled parents. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2023-07-26 10:37:00 UTC ]
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Henry Bean’s first novel, reissued as “The Nenoquich,” follows a young writer in Berkeley through a transformative affair. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2023-07-20 09:00:24 UTC ]
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Kate Flannery’s “Strip Tees” is a racy, thoughtful memoir of her tenure during the rise and fall of the controversial retail company. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2023-07-14 09:00:33 UTC ]
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In her memoir “Thunderclap,” the British art critic Laura Cumming explores her passion for the virtuosic images of everyday life by painters from Dutch art’s golden age. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2023-07-09 09:00:19 UTC ]
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The pseudonymous South Korean author’s first novel to be translated into English pits a multinational conglomerate against life on earth. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2023-07-09 09:00:12 UTC ]
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Beth Nguyen left Vietnam and her biological mother when she was a baby. Her memoir “Owner of a Lonely Heart” examines the ripple effect of those departures. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2023-07-01 09:03:10 UTC ]
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Jenny Erpenbeck’s Kairos, Deborah Levy’s August Blue, and Frieda Hughes’ George: A Magpie Memoir all feature among the Best Reviewed Books of the Week. Brought to you by Book Marks, Lit Hub’s “Rotten Tomatoes for books.” * Fiction 1. Kairos by Jenny Erpenbeck (New Directions) 10 Rave • 3... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2023-06-09 08:53:52 UTC ]
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Gilbert Cruz, the new editor of the 'Review,' plans to keep experimenting to find the perfect formula for books coverage at the paper of record. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-06-09 04:00:00 UTC ]
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In the “brutally honest” memoir “Pageboy,” the actor recounts the fears and obstacles to gender transition, and the hard-won happiness that’s followed. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2023-06-06 09:00:19 UTC ]
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Decades after “Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret,” an anthology and a novel let readers see periods through the eyes of diverse protagonists. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2023-06-02 09:00:39 UTC ]
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At a lunch-hour keynote on May 24, National Book Award winner and former National Ambassador for Young People's Literature Jacqueline Woodson sat down with bookseller Miwa Messer. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-05-25 04:00:00 UTC ]
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From the 19th century to the present, the photos collected in Todd Brewster’s latest book offer glimpses into the lives of our nation’s youngest members. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2023-05-19 09:00:43 UTC ]
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Henry Threadgill’s memoir unfolds from his maddening wartime experience to his boundary-pushing musical career. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2023-05-19 02:17:52 UTC ]
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In “Yellowface,” R.F. Kuang satirizes the publishing industry with a tale of a struggling writer who passes off her recently deceased friend’s book as her own. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2023-05-16 09:00:23 UTC ]
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In 'Yellowface,' R. F. Kuang has traded in fantasy fiction for a wild satire on literary scandals over appropriation and plagiarism. How and why she did it. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2023-05-15 13:00:29 UTC ]
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