The realm of storytelling is a sacred one, and not just for authors and readers, but for our culture as a whole. As the novel makes readily apparent, if we neglect or ignore our collective pasts, our stories, then we risk losing the most important part of us forever.
We Are Stories: A Review of Lindsey Drager’s The Archive of Alternate Endings Read More »
Change is something that many of us strive for—changing ourselves, changing others, and, most particularly, changing the world. But too often we expect radical change without having to put in the work to achieve it; we ignore the arduous tasks that precede major transformation and just continue yearning, searching. Enter Mason Hues, the protagonist of
Sickness Bears Honesty; Honesty Bears Change: Thirty-Seven by Peter Stenson Read More »
The novel takes the reader on a tour of a not-too-distant American past, when fear was weaponized and righteous rage boiled over. Smyer’s debut explores themes of the self in chaos; the prose is clean as bone and the anger is focused and piercing.
Rage In America Is Not New: On Adam Smyer’s “Knucklehead” Read More »
Lyrical, brooding, and delightfully dreamlike, the novel is a strange and ruthless journey into the ailing heart of humanity—and a bizarre peek into the mind of a brilliant new novelist.
An Ink Droplet in a Glass of Water: On “The Natashas” by Yelena Moskovich Read More »
The raw energy within the novel is uncontaminated, fierce, and dedicated toward a singular purpose: to peel back the reader’s eyes and force them to bear witness to the plight of America’s original inhabitants, lest we forget that non-natives are but immigrants or the descendants of immigrants to this country.
Unsuspecting Bodies: A Review of Tommy Orange’s “There There” Read More »
The importance of music—specifically, rock and roll—cannot be overstated when considering this novel. From Iggy & the Stooges to the MC5, Beautiful Music is a veritable crash course in Detroit’s lasting legacy on the music scene; the clanging guitars and screaming singers changed the wiring of an entire generation.
Can Music Save Us? A Review of Michael Zadoorian’s “Beautiful Music” Read More »
