PositiveNew City LitDeeply informed by readings in Spark, her subjects, influences and contemporaries, the book is studded with capsule summaries—not just of Spark’s works, but other books Spark read, appeared in, or paralleled in some way. The connections Wilson makes across all these sources are at once awe-inspiring and mind-numbing ... Doesn’t replace Stannard’s, or Curriculum Vitae, but it has its own rewards for those with a taste for them.
RaveNew City LItThe story of Twain’s rise is well told ... A work that is likely to prove definitive. It is virtually a month-by-month account of Twain’s seventy-four years, with all the advantages and disadvantages that entails. I wished the book captured more of Twain’s humor, but by and large it was not a funny life, nor a funny time in America.
