About Book Marks
Recent Reviews
Nell Stevens
Positive New York Journal of Books Overall, the novel is an engaging re-imagining of the Mallorca episode of Sand and Chopin’s affair. It is also an examination of the different forms that love may take ... It’s a ghost story, yes, but there’s a good deal more to it than that.
Mesha Maren
Positive New York Journal of Books Criticism of historical American expansionism is a subtext of Mesha Maren’s new novel, Perpetual West, which opens with a literal westward movement ... Perpetual West is an engaging tapestry of ideas. It illuminates the flaws of American imperialism as reflected in the manifest destiny doctrine and at the same time sheds light on violence and corruption in Mexico, a problem that the U.S. has in some ways created through our arrogance and insatiable appetite.
Kwon Yeo-Son, tr. Janet Hong
Mixed New York Journal of Books Readers will be forgiven for their extreme frustration at having to determine which narrator belongs to which chapter, as the voices are not readily distinguishable and the relationships among the characters are slow to emerge. Similarly, although the chapters are dated by year, they include flashbacks creating a jumbled timeline that may be difficult to straighten out ... It is in death that we become meaningless, the book seems to say, but the living will continue to seek their destinies.
Richard Powers
Positive New York Journal of Books While lacking some of the depth of Overstory, Bewilderment is another important and timely entry in the growing genre of environmental literature ... Based on actual science, at times Bewilderment reads like the science fiction that Byrne favored as a child. Scattered throughout the book, in fact, are episodes where Byrne and Robin seem to be visiting other planets ... Ultimately, Bewilderment is a clarion call.
Randall Kenan
Rave Southern Review of Books Kenan’s work not only establishes a rich fictional landscape that gives life to a vibrant cast of characters—many descendants of freed slaves who settled the area—but also colorful language ... If I Had Two Wings cements Kenan’s reputation as one of America’s finest writers, and the language of the traditional hymn from which the title is taken provides an appropriate epitaph for a writer taken from us too soon[.]
Nam-Nyong Paek, Trans. by Immanuel Kim
Positive New York Journal of Books Friend suggests that North Korea is, on its face, more egalitarian than the South, with men and women striving side by side for the betterment of the country. And yet there is still an expectation that women bear the traditional burdens of homemaking and child-rearing. Despite being dated, Friend offers a fascinating glimpse into the realities of North Korean life. It reminds us that the people of that country may face hardships, but they also experience the same domestic challenges that afflict humans everywhere.
Paul Tremblay
Positive The Washington Independent Review of Books ... on view are the author’s quirky sense of humor and coy, self-referential style — some of the most interesting stories feature a horror-writer protagonist who resembles Tremblay ... includes notes in which Tremblay offers \'odds, ends, anecdotes, and rants\' that provide fascinating insight into the author’s process and style ... The lack of explanation for the sources of the horror in these stories may be frustrating for some readers, but the ambiguity serves to enhance the fear and dread. And that, after all, is why we read horror in the first place.
Téa Obreht
Mixed The New York Journal of Books While each of the two narratives is engaging in its own way, the link between them is tenuous. In fact, that link seems merely coincidence, a bit too cute, and that is a serious flaw. Furthermore, Lurie’s story is a picaresque tale, full of entertaining adventure and displays of imagination, but one without plot. The more compelling story is Nora’s, but it leaves the reader with far more unanswered questions. Although the whole is an entertaining read, ultimately it isn’t fully satisfying.
Michael Knight
Rave The Washington Independent Review of Books ...if the South is disintegrating, some characters in these stories show great strength in the face of that decline, and a reader who looks for characters who grow and change during the course of a story won’t be disappointed ... Author Tom Franklin has called Michael Knight a 'master of the short story.' I will add that Knight is a master of the short story title. The titles of the stories in this volume are marvelous double and triple entendres ... A thought-provoking and deeply satisfying reading experience, Eveningland evokes the Old South without sentimentalizing its loss.