RaveNew York Journal of Books... a deeply disturbing, yet crucial reckoning from this brave survivor of egregious child sexual abuse ... It’s astonishing to read such a lucid, straightforward account of the widespread collusion of Springora’s mother, as well as friends and acquaintances, and the many contemporaries of G, who did nothing to stop a pedophile, who had the audacity to brag about his conquests in widely lauded personal journals ... Springora has managed to exact some revenge by capturing G, and all of his terrible behavior, forever in these erudite, incriminating pages.
Marilynne Robinson
PositiveThe New York Journal of BooksThe relationship is beautifully developed, and Robinson carefully unpacks the particular struggles of interracial relationships in mid 20th century America, but she stops short of confronting the very real threat of physical violence that would have challenged them both, especially Della. For the most part, the threats in this novel remain theoretical; uttered, but benign ... Robinson makes it clear that neither Della nor Jack think highly of these appalling societal restrictions, but the truth is only one of them is in mortal danger. For that reason, Jack’s ruminations about his own \'troubled\' nature sometimes fall flat. Love alone would not have conquered the racial problems in St. Louis in the 1940s, and though Robinson is one of our greatest contemporary prose writers, Jack’s story feels inconsequential compared to Della’s plight ... Racism provides Robinson with fertile ground for a discussion of predestination and grace, but grace has yet to save Black people from discrimination, nor their neighborhoods from white developers. Grace may have saved Jack, but one also ends up questioning, vis a vis the obvious contrast between being born white versus Black during that period (and even today), who is conveying grace and who is denying it, and who is the one doling it out in such inadequate, arbitrary thimblefuls? ... The book ends with the notion that loyalty and love are a type of grace—a small one perhaps, but one that does offer some comfort from the storm.
Ilana Masad
PositiveNew York Journal of BooksThough the novel is told mostly through Maggie’s perspective, several chapters are devoted to Iris’s viewpoint, and they provide a much-needed counterpoint to Maggie’s bewildered conjecturing. Iris’s sexual desire and pursuit of sexual fulfillment despite various obstacles is a unique and gratifying aspect of the story. At its heart, this is a novel about a child scrambling to understand a recently deceased parent. Maggie’s frustration and longing feel universal in this engrossing coming-of-age story about a young woman who has a lot to learn—and knows it.
Stewart O'Nan
MixedThe New York Journal of BooksIt takes a deft hand to do justice to the ordinary ... Any homeowner who grapples with dogs peeing on carpets and critters who creep into attics will relate to Henry’s daily household chores, but does one really want to spend 300+ pages wrestling with the same dilemmas that hound us in real life? ... On the other hand, the real joy in this novel is the seemingly endless moments that felt like they could have been plucked out of a regular life ... Domestic fiction has largely centered on women, and kudos to O’Nan for stepping into the fray, but there were moments when one might long for more self-actualization from Henry. The excessive, cloying civility and attention to detail—ironed napkins and tablecloth—can be maddening when one is longing for real connection ... This novel is a portrait of daily life one can imagine including in a time capsule and launching into space, assuring that a certain generation is preserved into perpetuity. Just don’t read this book with the expectation that anything will happen except for the everyday struggle, which, if you are lucky, you are attending to right now.
Andrea Kleine
MixedThe New York Journal of BooksAs a novel about post-traumatic stress, Eden is both fascinating and maddening. Hope often seems to be disassociating even as she reports on the facts of the kidnapping ... Her restricted range of emotions is problematic, but it may have been the author’s intention. Eden is not a novel about PTSD, it’s a chronicle of firsthand experience. Hope’s robotic point of view might evoke a range of emotions in readers who long for a connection with the hero, but Hope is suffering ... The grown-up part of Hope’s life as a lovelorn, struggling playwright living in New York City is riveting. A novel about how Hope navigated that world would have been enough to seduce any reader, but the fact that the chapters alternate back and forth from childhood trauma to angst-driven New York living was hard to navigate especially when chapters in New York detailing performance art followed closely on the heels of chapters about childhood abuse. Hard not to skip right over New York mishmash to find out how the protagonist will outsmart the kidnapper.
John Ashbery
RaveThe New York Journal of BooksThis beautifully rendered collection They Knew What They Wanted provides the first comprehensive overview of Ashbery’s art and poetry and offers a rich, kaleidoscopic glimpse into his life and artistic process ... Though some consider Ashbery’s work challenging, the poetry and collage within this collection highlight his playfulness and how he cultivated his own lively imagination above all else. The 70 full-color reproductions included here are surrealistic and absurdist and underscore the influence of the abstract expressionist movement on his body of work ... Though collage is sometimes derided as an art form, Ashbery’s work is an assemblage fashioned by a genius, and They Knew What They Wanted is a great tribute, an absolute treasure.
