PositiveThe New York Journal of Books... a collection of tales of the universal dilemmas in being human. We are prisoners of our own subjective experience and that leads to having blind spots we didn\'t even know we had. The Partition may help us get out of our defensive crouch and enjoy the ride.
Chris Bohjalian
RaveThe New York Journal of Books... brutal and timely ... Bohjalian climbs inside the head of the fervent believer in witchcraft as well as inside the minds of those who simultaneously doubt the existence of witches, yet cling to the belief in the devil. The author accomplishes an extraordinary feat, quietly devastating: in its grasp of the cult, the innocent, the abused, and those who are raised to doubt themselves ... In a page-turning vicious and psychological death spiral, Hour of the Witch will surprise with plot twists and character arcs stunning in their visual details. The psychologically logical motives of cult followers are a gut-punch to those who cannot grasp the power of group-think ... Applause is due for plumbing the depths of historical research (including studying preserved documents of an accused witch who threw her diary into an outhouse before being executed in the 1660s), and most of all, for interweaving the madness of witch hunts, past and present! ... One of the truly memorable novels this year!
Chang-Rae Lee
MixedNew York Journal of Books... riveting and sublime ... but the characters and the relationships become convoluted and not richly developed ... Tiller is lost, mostly from parental abandonment, but the angst and rudderless nature of his quest for meaning in life is not developed during the first half of this narrative. Yes, early on we discover his unfortunate family circumstances, but the secrets and lies—the things unsaid—are not adequately touched upon until the second half. His biracial identity also seems vaguely developed although his trip to Asia and Pong\'s immigrant experience intertwine. What results is a little too much going on within each plot without the essential \'why\' being answered, or at least suggested ... A few parallel scenes from his past—much more unspooled than the shadows given to the reader—are sorely needed. One can truly appreciate the skill with which Lee writes, but the story doesn’t capture its audience until the last 100 pages (of over 600). Lee\'s vivid prose is lyrical, bordering on Shakespearean, and a wonder to behold at times ... Unfortunately, the prose does not reach that climax neatly—lean and clean—and seems like there was no discrete beginning or end, but endless sentences with little momentum moving the action forward until the last section.
Ashley Audrain
RaveNew York Journal of BooksIn this jaw-dropping psychological thriller we witness the laceration of motherhood ... an unexpected, very brave, and brutally honest view of motherhood that is deeply disturbing. The beauty, pain, and disappointments stemming from the demands of motherhood are a shock as well as a surprise for most new mothers. The experiences of childbirth, nursing, rejection by the baby are often only whispered in real life by young mothers. But in The Push, the main character\'s struggle with motherhood has, most likely, never been revealed with such brutal, raw honesty anywhere else ... a deeply astute analysis of the myths behind motherhood, of the aftermath of the trauma inflicted because of those beliefs, and the fragility of truth for the most vulnerable and unprotected.
