Shadows on the Tundra: A Lithuanian Tale of Gulag Survival
I've read gulag memoirs before, but Shadows on the Tundra affected me even more deeply than the others—perhaps because of the age of the…
The Social Life of DNA
We all know about the physical properties of DNA and its contributions to medical and scientific research. But what interests sociologist Alondra…
Dominoes by Phoebe McIntosh
Dominoes by Phobe McIntosh explores important issues of race and identity, while through its heart runs a classic tale of star-crossed lovers.
Borges Marathon, Part 12: Pierre Menard, Author of the Quixote
In “Pierre Menard, Author of the Quixote”, Borges plays with ideas of authorship and originality by inventing a French Symbolist poet who…
Danny Boy by Barry Walsh
My review of Danny Boy by Barry Walsh, a novel of beautifully drawn relationships and the sometimes funny, sometimes painful experience of…
Fire Rush by Jacqueline Crooks
My review of Fire Rush by Jacqueline Crooks, a fast-paced piece of literary fiction set among the Caribbean diaspora in 1970s London.
Manhattan Transfer by John Dos Passos
When I moved to New York City as a 22-year-old, I immediately loved the chaotic, frenetic energy of the place. I’d grown…
November 2022 Reading Roundup
It was an all-fiction month for me in November, involving a 17-year-old sex worker in the US, a novelist seeing her stolen…
Borges Marathon, Part 11: The Approach to Al-Mu’tasim
Only Borges could get away with writing a book review of a book that doesn't exist.