Book Reviews

Jodi Kantor's The Obamas explores the splendid misery of the White House

Jodi Kantor's The Obamas explores the splendid misery of the White House

By Doug Sarti | February 8, 2012
The first lady comes off more sympathetically than she’s frequently portrayed. The president, on the other hand, doesn’t fare so well.
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Rights Gone Wrong delves into a subtle side of discrimination

Rights Gone Wrong delves into a subtle side of discrimination

By Daniel Tseghay | February 8, 2012
Richard Thompson Ford argues that sometimes civil-rights thinking can distract attention from the real problems.
Stan Douglas: Abbott & Cordova, 7 August 1971 restages conflict that shaped our city

Stan Douglas: Abbott & Cordova, 7 August 1971 restages conflict that shaped our city

By Robin Laurence | February 8, 2012
This slender but amply illustrated book addresses a monumental photomural, Abbott & Cordova, 7 August 1971, located in the atrium of the recent Woodward’s development in the Downtown Eastside.
John Huston: Courage and Art adds colour to a filmmaker's legacy

John Huston: Courage and Art adds colour to a filmmaker's legacy

By John Lekich | January 18, 2012
Writer-director John Huston made 40 movies between 1941 and 1987. The two films that bookend his long career say a great deal about what Huston could accomplish at his best.
The undead weave through Colson Whitehead's Zone One

The undead weave through Colson Whitehead's Zone One

By Michael Hingston | January 18, 2012
Its vision of a postapocalyptic New York City, where teams of amateur soldiers roam the streets in search of any stray remaining undead, is foreboding and appropriately caked with ash and grime.
John Jeremiah Sullivan's Pulphead is a perfect balance of wit and gravitas

John Jeremiah Sullivan's Pulphead is a perfect balance of wit and gravitas

By Jennifer Croll | January 4, 2012
This collection of stories written between 1999 and 2011 covers a wide range of topics, but the author's distinct voice is constant.
James Wolcott pens a love letter to 1970s New York in Lucking Out

James Wolcott pens a love letter to 1970s New York in Lucking Out

By Adrian Mack | January 4, 2012
The charmed if not charming career of one of the last razzle-dazzle cultural critics still standing is brought to life in this disarmingly warm autobiography.
Book review: When the Gods Changed, by Peter C. Newman

Book review: When the Gods Changed, by Peter C. Newman

By Charlie Smith | January 1, 2012
The former Maclean's editor's new book chronicles the rise and fall of the Liberal Party of Canada, paying special attention to the leadership of Michael Ignatieff.
Stephen King's 11/22/63 rewinds time to the JFK assassination

Stephen King's 11/22/63 rewinds time to the JFK assassination

By Doug Sarti | December 30, 2011
It’s a great story, and one that King has obviously poured a lot of himself into. The big payoff, however, is in his carefully nuanced re-creation of the past.
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Yu Hua's China in Ten Words surveys a complex nation

Yu Hua's China in Ten Words surveys a complex nation

By David Chau | December 28, 2011
"My task here," writes Yu Hua in the introduction, "is to reverse normal procedure...whatever discomfort that may entail."
Charlotte Gill illuminates the tree-planting lifestyle in Eating Dirt

Charlotte Gill illuminates the tree-planting lifestyle in Eating Dirt

By Alexander Varty | December 28, 2011
There are so few really great books about life in the Pacific Northwest that it seems churlish to quibble with a pretty good one.
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Derrick OâKeefe offers telling insights about former Liberal leader in Michael Ignatieff: The Lesser Evil?

Derrick O’Keefe offers telling insights about former Liberal leader in Michael Ignatieff: The Lesser Evil?

By Charlie Smith | November 9, 2011
During the 2011 election campaign, Ignatieff presented himself as a lesser evil than Prime Minister Stephen Harper, but in this highly readable book, O’Keefe makes the case that there is little to distinguish the two.
Helen Oyeyemi's Mr. Fox tells shimmering fables

Helen Oyeyemi's Mr. Fox tells shimmering fables

By David Chau | November 9, 2011
The British author’s fourth book, Mr. Fox, draws inspiration from the legend of Bluebeard, and grafts it to the uncanny geometry of a very peculiar love triangle.
A.S. Byatt's Ragnarok may spark night terrors

A.S. Byatt's Ragnarok may spark night terrors

By Alexander Varty | November 2, 2011
The English author best known for novels such as Possession and The Children's Book explores the darkness with a retelling of the Norse creation myth.
Haruki Murakami's 1Q84 is a mind-bending vision of parallel worlds

Haruki Murakami's 1Q84 is a mind-bending vision of parallel worlds

By Michael Hingston | October 27, 2011
If this much-hyped novel is a dream, it’s an eerily lucid one.
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