Books
Roth’s ‘Nemesis’ Explores the Ideals of Boyhood
Childhood may always be a time for epic battles of heroism; for fights between cops and robbers, between superheroes and supervillains, between best friends and playground bullies.
Krauss Details Grieving Psyches in ‘Great House’
The most effective aspect of Krauss’s “Great House” is the unusual structure of her first person narrative, which shifts between the perspectives of her five protagonists.
Mengestu Maps the Immigrant Experience
The Nigerian-American writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie once warned about the danger of telling “a single story of Africa.”
Free Stuff at Oktoberfest
It's Oktoberfest, which means it's time for outdoor music, arts-and-crafts browsing, general carousing, and, of course, free (and almost free) stuff.
Dreaming in Chinese
Linguist Deborah Fallows '71, speaks at the Harvard Bookstore last night about her new book, "Dreaming in Chinese: Mandarin Lessons in Life, Love, and Language." Fallows discussed the cultural and linguistic differences she encountered while living in Shanghai. "My first experience with the language [Chinese] was nothing less than overwhelming," she said. "I could not even open my mouth."
Today in Photos (10/07/10)
Slow Food Movement founder Carlo Petrini greets audience members and signs copies of his book "Terra Madre" at the Science Center yesterday.
Literary Gimmicks Clutter McCarthy’s ‘C’
Incest, masturbation, constipation, and the letter “C” are the main subjects at hand in Tom McCarthy’s latest novel, “C.”
Donoghue Takes on the Voice of a Child in ‘Room’
The drawings of children are often populated with figures of family members, friends, and pets. For Jack, the five-year-old protagonist of “Room” by Emma Donoghue, this would be a difficult affair...
Sedaris Satirizes Nutty Animals in ‘Squirrel’
“I said that you were not conceived of mutual orgasm and that it probably affected your ability to empathize, remember?”
Today in Photos (10/01/10)
Economic Policy Institute President Lawrence Mishel (right) speaks yesterday at a panel discussion on methods to spur innovation, growth, and job creation in the American economy.
Stephen Breyer
Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer, author of “Making Democracy Work: A Judge’s View,” spoke last night at the First Parish Church about the relationship between the Court and the American public.
Posthumously Collected Works Display Baldwin’s Virtuousity
If there’s one main idea pulsing throughout the newly collected reviews and essays in “The Cross of Redemption: Uncollected Writings,” it’s that the country’s transformation can only happen with words.
Mankiw Comes Out with New Textbook
Economics professor Gregory Mankiw has written yet another textbook on intermediate macroeconomics. Slightly different from his previous macroeconomics book, the ...
Rare Bookstore Closing
Want to shop cheap books? Always on the lookout for a deal? Rodney’s Bookstore, holding rare, used, and out-of-print books ...
Chang’s ‘All Is Forgotten’ Lacks Polish and Dimensions
An important subplot in Lan Samantha Chang’s “All Is Forgotten, Nothing Is Lost” involves a mysterious poem that is never properly finished.
Art Without Depth in Cunningham’s Latest Novel
“By Nightfall” intends a penetrating examination of middle-aged life and its crumbling foundations, but it lacks focus and convulses with histrionics, rendering the book simply teenage angst for grown-ups.