Translation Tuesdays: Arvida, by Samuel Archibald @ NYJB
The small town of Arvida, Quebec, becomes the focal point for Samuel Archibald’s haunting short story collection. Continue reading Translation Tuesdays: Arvida, by Samuel Archibald @ NYJB
Category: history
CCLaP Fridays: Selected Letters of Norman Mailer, edited by J. Michael Lennon
This week I review Norman Mailer’s selected letters, giving a new perspective on an iconic and controversial author. Continue reading CCLaP Fridays: Selected Letters of Norman Mailer, edited by J. Michael Lennon
On Being Human Redux: Frankenstein Underground, by Mike Mignola and Ben Stenbeck
When I wrote “On Being Human,” I wrote an essay on Mike Mignola’s “Hellboy.” “Frankenstein Underground” expands on Mignola’s pulpy universe, giving us a fun graphic novel about Frankenstein’s monster. Continue reading On Being Human Redux: Frankenstein Underground, by Mike Mignola and Ben Stenbeck
Translation Tuesdays: Murder Most Serene, by Gabrielle Wittkop @ NYJB
Venice, renown the world over for its beauty and riches, becomes the setting for Gabrielle Wittkop’s Murder Most Serene. The slim novella opens in the latter days of the Serene Republic of Venice, in 1796. Corruption, both moral and physical, run rampant, creating a fetid atmosphere of gorgeous decay and depravity. Events center around the unfortunate household of Count Alvise Lanzi, an elderly bookish aristocrat whose wives mysteriously end up dying. The mysterious deaths are not investigated Agatha Christie-style, but create a curdled and festering air of conspiracy and rumor. This isn’t Venice with beautiful sunsets and romance on the … Continue reading Translation Tuesdays: Murder Most Serene, by Gabrielle Wittkop @ NYJB
2 books on Germany @ NYJB
I review books on Hitler’s domestic spaces and how Germany deals with 4 centuries of history over at the New York Journal of Books. Continue reading 2 books on Germany @ NYJB
The Devil’s Chessboard: Allen Dulles, the CIA, and the Rise of America’s Secret Government, by David Talbot @ NYJB
“The Devil’s Chessboard: Allen Dulles, the CIA, and the Rise of America’s Secret Government” by David Talbot is a book chronicling the collision of two powerful dynasties, the Dulles family and the Kennedy family. Continue reading The Devil’s Chessboard: Allen Dulles, the CIA, and the Rise of America’s Secret Government, by David Talbot @ NYJB
Liberation, Edited and Introduced by Mark Ludwig
“Liberation,” edited and with an introduction by Mark Ludwig, casts a global net to find out what poets think about the concept of freedom. Continue reading Liberation, Edited and Introduced by Mark Ludwig
American Odd: California Crazy and Beyond: Roadside Vernacular Architecture, by Jim Heimann
I continue my essay series, American Odd, with a look at the history of the American roadside attraction in Jim Heimann’s classic California Crazy and Beyond: Roadside Vernacular Architecture. Continue reading American Odd: California Crazy and Beyond: Roadside Vernacular Architecture, by Jim Heimann
The Driftless Area Review 