PositiveThe Ottawa Review of Books... comes across as a series of loosely connected vignettes. Time progresses erratically. Weeks and months pass when nothing happens apart from the numbing routines of war, death, and funerals ... Hage is nothing if not a very intriguing, articulate writer who is not afraid of taking risks. His Beirut comes across as something out of a Hieronymus Bosch painting of Hell—wild and disturbing, containing a wide variety of tortured souls and any number ways to make them suffer. Pavlov’s meandering thoughts are complex and fascinating. In Beirut Hellfire Society, Hage has produced a unique, thought-provoking, and compelling novel ... As often happens, there are some errors in the book. Most are very minor, but there is one major howler that many readers will immediately pick up on ... Luckily this error is quickly forgotten as the pace picks up and Pavlov’s world becomes more compelling. But it is still very disappointing, especially coming from someone who claims to revere ancient Greece so much.
Samanta Schweblin, Trans. by Megan McDowell
RaveNew York Journal of Books\"... nothing short of breathtaking ... Schweblin’s writing is spare and direct. Each word is clear and crisp ... Schweblin delivers an unadulterated emotional impact—she succeeds, time and time again. And when you finally collect yourself from the emotional bruising, you begin to reflect on what she is really trying to say ... Some of the stories are intimate glimpses into facets of love, between father and son, between spouses, siblings. Little observations with deep echoes. Other stories seem to be there just to roil emotions, push buttons—to upset the reader without explaining why. To make the reader more emotionally aware ... You want to challenge yourself? Read Samanta Schweblin. But be forewarned: You won’t emerge unscathed.\
