Shipwreck by Louis Begley, reviewed by Russell Brandom
Peter Ibbetson
Shipwreck by Louis Begley Knopf, 256 pp, $23.00 reviewed by Russell Brandom Shipwreck is a deceptively simple novel, and it relishes in the fact that it is telling a very…
2013
Profs’ Picks
Dudley Andrew Professor of Comparative Literature, Co-Chair & DGS of the Film Studies Program I’m such a follower when it comes to “free range reading.” It was Dick Brodhead– as…
Living to Tell the Tale book by Gabriel Garcia Marquez reviewed by Meredith Garagiola
Review provided by Soccer ABC. Over lunch with his father, a twenty something Gabriel García Márquez was discussing the difficulty many writers have in writing their memoirs when they can…
Party of the People book by Jules Whitcover Grand Old Party book by Lewis L. Gould reviewed by David Noyola
When the tenor of politics is inflamed, partisan bickering precludes historical perspective. As attacks and recriminations pile up, politicians and pundits focus on the contests at hand and resort to…
The Crazed book by Ha Jin reviewed by Sophie Pinkham
Ha Jin’s new book, The Crazed, addresses a wide range of philosophical, moral, political, and historical issues, while maintaining a tight plot, lyrical style, and convincing, engaging characters. Jin uses…
The Autograph Man book by Zadie Smith reviewed by Benita Singh
In her second novel, The Autograph Man, Zadie Smith tells the story of a man infatuated with fame. Alex-Li Tandem is a collector of autographs, the timeless signatures of individuals…
Good Faith book by Jane Smiley reviewed by Tom Isler
You can learn a lot about the gay gene discourse from the title of Robert Alan Brookey’s new book. Specifically, two things deserve note: “invention” as the recurring process by…
Baudolino book by Umberto Eco reviewed by Jennifer Stock
In a time of disaster one can always revert to storytelling. At least that’s the tradition that Boccaccio hands down to us, and Umberto Eco, ever mindful of the past,…
Natasha’s Dance: A Cultural History of Russia book by Orlando Figes reviewed by Katherine Poltorak
An exhibit at the Russian Museum in St. Petersburg is called Dvoe, or “Twosome.” It pairs paintings and sculptures to suggest dualities in Russian art: East vs. West, peasant vs.…
Letter to an Undergraduate from Toni Dorfman
This issue’s contributor, Toni Dorfman, is a playwright and an associate professor of Theater Studies at Yale. Her plays include Family Wolf and Rounding Cassiopiea. Dear Student, Your heart is…