Book Reviews

Tokyo teens tag-team on mother-murder in Real World

The Killing Circle hides a lack of thrills

This Land Is Their Land reveals woes of ordinary Americans

Ahmed Rashid guides Descent into Chaos towards volatile future

The Gift of Rain gives enlightened thrills

Love and madness in Atmospheric Disturbances

Following the Curve of Time captures West Coast voyages of risk and discovery

Michael Chabon charts an entertaining trip with Maps and Legends

Farooqi’s Story of a Widow avoids clichés

By David Chau

Much of the Toronto author's latest novel about a woman's self-discovery in the aftermath of loss is predictable and familiar, but its simple and subtle narrative sets it apart from similar stories.

Tokyo teens tag-team on mother-murder in Real World

By Patty Jones

Natsuo Kirino’s devilish suspense novel about five Japanese antiheroes and their mother trouble is not a murder mystery whodunit but a disturbing whydunit.

Murakami sticks to his subject in What I Talk About When I Talk About Running

By Michael Hingston

The good news is that Running is indeed a memoir, where Haruki Murakami himself is firmly under the microscope. But the bad news is that all he wants to talk about is long-distance running.

The Killing Circle hides a lack of thrills

By John Lekich

There’s a surprising lack of suspense here, with the plotting and twists predictable and the pace bogged down by melancholy asides on everything from the death of newspapers to shabby reality TV.

The End comes with surgical precision

By Michael Hingston

The End

Find love, face loneliness, and confront death in The Chinese Knot

By Allan Cho

The Chinese Knot

Catherine O’Flynn delivers mesmerizing debut in What Was Lost

By Patty Jones

What Was Lost

This Land Is Their Land reveals woes of ordinary Americans

By Brian Lynch

This Land Is Their Land

The Prodigal Tongue speaks of language with lighthearted skill

By Michael Hingston

The Prodigal Tongue

Political squabbling obscures the message of Ma Jian's Beijing Coma

By Alexander Varty

This new novel by the Chinese dissident author is a big book, an important book, but in the end not a very good book, because its message is obscured by far too many pages of less-than-scintillating dialogue.

Ahmed Rashid guides Descent into Chaos towards volatile future

By Travis Lupick

Descent Into Chaos is not another professor’s attempt to cash in on the debacle that is George W. Bush's presidency. It is the result of a highly regarded journalist’s dedication to a crucially important, increasingly volatile region of the world.

American Nerd needs to get nerdier

By Michael Hingston

American Nerd

The Gift of Rain gives enlightened thrills

By Alexander Varty

Malaysian author Tan Twan Eng has mastered the Japanese martial art of aikido, and that’s undoubtedly reflected in the sure-footedness and patience he brings to The Gift of Rain.

The Voice reveals Thomas Quasthoff's humorous side

By Jessica Werb

The Voice

James Bond revisits old formula in Devil May Care

By Mat Loup

Devil May Care

Book Reviews

Best of Vancouver 2007