Book Reviews

Numéro Cinq Book Reviews

Prose

A-E

José Eduardo Agualusa‘s A General Theory of Oblivion reviewed by Jeff Bursey
Rabih Alameddine‘s The Angel of History reviewed by Frank Richardson
Mai Al-Nakib’s The Hidden Light of Objects reviewed by Natalia Sarkissian
Samuel Archibald’s Arvida reviewed by Mark Sampson
Kjell Askildsen’s Selected Stories reviewed by Adam Segal
Nicholson Baker’s House of Holes reviewed by Steven Axelrod
Svetislav Basara’s The Cyclist Conspiracy reviewed by Taylor Davis-Van Atta
Madison Smartt Bell’s Behind the Moon reviewed by Linda Chown
Tahar Ben Jelloun‘s The Happy Marriage reviewed by Jason DeYoung
Ilhan Berk‘s The Book of Things reviewed by D. M. Spitzer
Thomas Bernhard’s Goethe Dies reviewed by Joseph Schreiber
Max Blecher’s Adventures in Immediate Irreality reviewed by Eric Foley
Jody Bolz‘s Shadow Play reviewed by Jason DeYoung
Jorge Luis Borges Borges at 80: Conversations; Professor Borges; Jorge Luis Borges: The Last Interview reviewed by Tom Faure
Adrián N. Bravi’s The Combover reviewed by Natalie Helberg
Jeff Bursey’s Mirrors on which dust has fallen reviewed by Mark Sampson
Can Xue’s Frontier reviewed by Joseph Shreiber
Mircea Cărtărescu’s Blinding reviewed by Adam Segal
Rafael Chirbes’ On the Edge reviewed by Joseph Schreiber
S. D. Chrostowska‘s Matches: A Light Book reviewed by Jeff Bursey
J. M. Coetzee‘s The Schooldays of Jesus reviewed by Jason DeYoung
Robert Coover’s The Brunist Day of Wrath reviewed by Natalie Helberg
Robert Coover‘s Huck Out West reviewed by Daniel Green
Mia Couto’s Pensativities reviewed by Benjamin Woodard
Lydia Davis’s Can’t and Won’t reviewed by Benjamin Woodard
Di Benedetto, Antonio‘s Zama reviewed by Frank Richardson
Han Dong’s A Tabby-cat’s Tale reviewed by Melissa Armstrong
Eric Dupont’s Life in the Court of Matane reviewed by Joseph Schreiber
Rikki Ducornet‘s The Deep Zoo reviewed by Jason DeYoung
Rikki Ducornet‘s Brightfellow reviewed by Jason DeYoung
Marguerite Duras’ L’Amour reviewed by Natalia Sarkissian
Danielle Dutton and Richard Kraft Here Comes Kitty reviewed by Natalie Helberg
Danielle Dutton‘s Margaret the First reviewed by Natalie Helberg
Geoff Dyer‘s White Sands reviewed by Jason DeYoung
Geoff Dyer’s Zona reviewed by Jason DeYoung
Dave Eggers’ The Circle reviewed by Steven Axelrod
Josh Emmons‘s A Moral Tale and Other Moral Tales reviewed by Michael Carson
Mathias Énard’s Zone reviewed by Mary Stein
Mathias Énard’s Compass reviewed by Frank Richardson
Jenny Erpenbeck‘s The End of Days reviewed by Frank Richardson

F-J

Melissa Febos’ Abandon Me reviewed by Carolyn Ogburn
Melanie Finn‘s The Gloaming reviewed by Mark Sampson
Richard Ford’s Canada reviewed by Benjamin Woodard
Rodrigo Fresán‘s The Invented Part reviewed by Benjamin Woodard
Leonard Gardner‘s Fat City reviewed by Domenic Stansberry
William H. Gass’s Eyes reviewed by Frank Richardson
William H. Gass’s On Being Blue reviewed by Sebastian Ennis
Jim Gauer’s Novel Explosives reviewed by Jeff Bursey
Jen George‘s The Babysitter at Rest reviewed by Ben Woodard
Georgi Gospodinov’s The Physics of Sorrow reviewed by Geeda Searfoorce
R.W. Gray’s Entropic reviewed by Richard Farrell
Daniel Green‘s Beyond the Blurb reviewed by Jeff Bursey
Henry Green‘s Loving reviewed by Dorian Stuber
Hubert Haddad‘s Rochester Knockings reviewed by Benjamin Woodard
Benjamin Hale’s The Fat Artist reviewed by Mark Sampson
Samantha C. Harvey’s Transatlantic Transcendentalism: Coleridge, Emerson, and Nature reviewed by Patrick J. Keane
Steven Heighton’s The Dead Are More Visible reviewed by Richard Farrell
Steven Heighton‘s The Nightingale Won’t Let You Sleep reviewed by Richard Farrell
Marek Hłasko’s The Graveyard reviewed by Adam Segal
Kazushi Hosaka‘s Plainsong reviewed by Brianna Berbenuik
Michel Houellebecq’s Submission reviewed by Frank Richardson
Bohumil Hrabal’s Mr. Kafka and Other Tales from the Time of the Cult reviewed by Joseph Schreiber
Bohumil Hrabal’s Harlequin’s Millions reviewed by Sebastian Ennis
Angel Igov‘s A Short Tale of Shame reviewed by Tom Faure
John Irving’s In One Person reviewed by Jacob Glover
Rabee Jaber’s The Mehlis Report reviewed by Steven Axelrod
Fleur Jaeggy‘s I Am the Brother of XX & These Possible Lives reviewed by Joseph Schreiber
Cynan Jones’ The Long Dry reviewed by Mark Sampson
Shane Jones’ Daniel Fights a Hurricane reviewed by Jason DeYoung
Shane Jones’ Crystal Eaters reviewed by Sebastian Ennis

I-L

Mark Anthony Jarman’s Knife Party at the Hotel Europa reviewed by Lee D. Thompson
John Kaag‘s American Philosophy: A Love Story reviewed by Melissa Considine Beck
Ratika Kapur‘s The Private Life of Mrs. Sharma reviewed by Natalia Sarkissian
Daniel Kehlmann‘s F reviewed by Jason DeYoung
Irmgard Keun’s Gilgi reviewed by Adam Segal
Hans Keilson‘s 1944 Diary reviewed by Dorian Stuber
Anna Kim’s Anatomy of a Night reviewed by Eric Foley
Karl Ove Knausgaard‘s My Struggle: Book Two, A Man In Love reviewed by Eric Foley
Karl Ove Knausgaard’s My Struggle: Book Four reviewed by Jeff Bursey
Richard Kraft and Danielle Dutton Here Comes Kitty reviewed by Natalie Helberg
László Krasznahorkai‘s Seiobo There Below reviewed by Eric Foley
Kyung-sook Shin’s I’ll Be Right There reviewed by Laura K. Warrell
Yahia Lababidi‘s Mystical Attention | Review of The Artist as Mystic: Conversations with Yahia Lababidi reviewed by Jacob Glover
J. Robert Lennon‘s See You In Paradise by J. Robert Lennon reviewed by Jeff Bursey
Edouard Levé‘s Autoportrait reviewed by Jason DeYoung
Edouard Levé‘s Newspaper reviewed by Jason DeYoung
Elise Levine’s Blue Field reviewed by Benjamin Woodard
David Levithan‘s The Lover’s Dictionary reviewed by Darryl Whetter
Samuel Ligon‘s Among the Dead and Dreaming reviewed by Dawn Raffel
Kelly Link’s Get in Trouble reviewed by Benjamin Woodard
Atticus Lish‘s Preparation for the Next Life reviewed by Tom Faure
Jonathan Littell’s The Fata Morgana Books reviewed by Steven Axelrod
Sam Lipsyte‘s The Fun Parts reviewed by Benjamin Woodard
Sam Lipsyte‘s The Ask reviewed by Darryl Whetter
Gary Lutz’s divorcer reviewed by Jason DeYoung
Gary Lutz’s Assisted Living reviewed by Jason Lucarelli

M-P

Micheline Aharonian Marcom’s A Brief History of Yes reviewed by Jason DeYoung
Javier Marias‘ The Infatuations reviewed by Laura K. Warrell
Javier Marias’ Thus Bad Begins reviewed by Frank Richardson
Tom McCarthy’s Satin Island reviewed by Frank Richardson
Scott McClanahan‘s The Sara Book reviewed by Jason Lucarelli
Joseph McElroy‘s Night Soul and Other Stories reviewed by Jason DeYoung
Jon McGregor’s This isn’t the Sort of Thing that Happens to Someone Like You reviewed by Debra Martens
Michel de Montaigne‘s Drawn From Life, Selected Essays of Michel de Montaigne reviewed by Linda E. Chown
Quim Monzo’s A Thousand Morons reviewed by Richard Farrell
Jung Young Moon’s Vaseline Buddha reviewed by Jason DeYoung
Lorrie Moore’s Bark reviewed by Richard Farrell
Steven Moore’s My Back Pages reviewed by Jeff Bursey
Lodovico Pignatti Morano‘s Nicola, Milan reviewed by Charlie Geoghegan-Clements
Sarah Moss‘s Signs for Lost Children reviewed by Rohan Maitzen
Warren Motte’s Mirror Gazing reviewed by Julie Larios
Horacio Castellanos Moya‘s Revulsion: Thomas Bernhard in San Salvador reviewed by Benjamin Woodard
Giulio Mozzi’s This Is The Garden reviewed by Tom Faure
Haruki Murakami’s Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage reviewed by Steven Axelrod
Haruki Murakami’s Absolutely on Music: Conversations with Seiji Ozawa reviewed by Carolyn Ogburn
Jean Luc Nancy with Adèle Reeth‘s Coming: Excerpt reviewed by Melissa Considine Beck
João Gilberto Noll‘s Quiet Creature on the Corner reviewed by Joseph Schreiber
João Gilberto Noll’s Atlantic Hotel reviewed by Joseph Schreiber
Dorthe Nors’ So Much For Winter reviewed by Jeff Bursey
Masande Ntshanga‘s The Reactive reviewed by Benjamin Woodard
Robin Oliveira‘s I Always Loved You reviewed by Laura K. Warrell
Yoko Ogawa‘s Revenge, Eleven Dark Tales reviewed by Steven Axelrod
Matthew Olzmann‘s Contradictions in the Designs reviewed by Patrick O’Reilly
Ondjaki’s Granma Nineteen and the Soviet’s Secrets reviewed by Benjamin Woodard
Helen Oyeyemi’s Boy, Snow, Bird reviewed by Laura K. Warrell
Jeff Parker’s Where Bears Roam the Streets reviewed by Benjamin Woodard
Georges Perec‘s Portrait of a Man Known as Il Condottiere reviewed by Jeff Bursey
Emily Perkins’ The Forrests reviewed by Erin Stagg
Thomas Pynchon’s Bleeding Edge reviewed by Bruce Stone

R-S

Herbert Read’s The Green Child reviewed by Tom Faure
Victoria Redel’s Make Me Do Things reviewed by Richard Farrell
Mary Ruefle’s My Private Property reviewed by Larry Sutin
Lisa Robertson’s Cinema of the Present reviewed by Natalie Helberg
Mercé Rodoreda‘s The Selected Stories of Mercé Rodoreda reviewed by Richard Farrell
Umberto Saba‘s Ernesto reviewed by Melissa Considine Beck
Juan José Saer’s La Grande reviewed by Richard Farrell
Juan José Saer’s The Sixty-Five Years of Washington reviewed by Richard Farrell
Juan José Saer‘s Scars reviewed by Richard Farrell
James Salter‘s All That Is reviewed by Richard Farrell
Stig Sæterbakken’s Self-Control reviewed by Jason DeYoung
Stig Sæterbakken’s Through the Night reviewed by Jason DeYoung
Dušan Šarotar’s Panorama reviewed by Joseph Schreiber
Albertine Sarrazin‘s Astragal reviewed by Benjamin Woodard
Sam Savage‘s It Will End with Us reviewed by Jeff Bursey
Carl Seelig’s Walks with Robert Walser reviewed by Dorian Stuber
Mauricio Segura‘s Eucalyptus reviewed by Benjamin Woodard
David Shields & Shane Salerno Salinger reviewed by Timothy Dugdale
George Singleton’s Stray Decorum reviewed by Jason DeYoung
Kjersti Skomsvold’s The Faster I Walk, The Smaller I Am reviewed by Mary Stein
Muriel Spark’s Memento Mori reviewed by John Stout
Albena Stambolova’s Everything Happens As It Does reviewed by Jacob Glover
Elizabeth Strout‘s The Burgess Boys reviewed by Steven Axelrod
Susan Rubin Suleiman‘s The Némirovsky Question reviewed by Laura Michele Diener

T-Z

Antonio Tabucchi‘s For Isabel: A Mandala reviewed by Natalia Sarkissian
Donna Tartt’s The Goldfinch reviewed by Steven Axelrod
Emili Teixidor‘s Black Bread reviewed by Joseph Schreiber
Georgi Tenev‘s Party Headquarters reviewed by Natalia Sarkissian
Laura Thompson‘s The Six: The Lives of the Mitford Sisters reviwed by Laura Michele Diener
Jean-Philippe Toussaint’s Naked reviewed by Jason Lucarelli
Matthew J. Trafford‘s The Divinity Gene reviewed by Peter Chiykowski
Peter Turchi’s A Muse and a Maze: Writing as Puzzle, Mystery and Magic reviewed by Julie Larios
Brian Van Reet’s Spoils reviewed by Michael Carson
Richard Weiner’s The Game for Real reviewed by Frank Richardson
Diane Williams‘ Fine, Fine, Fine, Fine, Fine reviewed by Jason Lucarelli
Joy Williams‘ The Visiting Privilege reviewed by Jason DeYoung
D. W. Wilson’s Ballistics reviewed by Debra Martens
Josef Winkler‘s Natura Morta and When the Time Comes reviewed by K. Thomas Kahn
Colin Winnette‘s Haints Stay reviewed by Jason DeYoung
Ingrid Winterbach‘s The Book of Happenstance reviewed by Jacob Glover
Ingrid Winterbach’s The Elusive Moth reviewed by Benjamin Woodard
Ror Wolf’s Two or Three Years Later: Forty-Nine Digressions reviewed by Richard Farrell
Lina Wolff‘s Bret Easton Ellis and the Other Dogs reviewed by Mark Sampson
Xu Zechen’s Running Through Beijing reviewed by Steven Axelrod
Oksana Zabuzhko’s Fieldwork in Ukrainian Sex reviewed by Brianna Berbenuik
Nell Zink’s The Wallcreeper reviewed by Benjamin Woodard
Nell Zink‘s Nicotine reviewed by Carolyn Ogburn

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Poetry

Dodie Bellamy’s Cunt Norton reviewed by Natalie Helberg
Gottfried Benn‘s Impromptus reviewed by David Rivard
Paula Bohince’s The Children reviewed by Emily Pulfer-Terino
Fleda Brown’s The Woods Are On Fire reviewed by Julie Larios
Anne Carson’s Red Doc> reviewed by Richard Farrell
Patrizia Cavalli‘s my poems won’t change the world reviewed by David Rivard
Geneva Chao‘s one of us is wave one of us is shore reviewed by A. Anupama
Gillian Conoley‘s Peace reviewed by A. Anupama
Catherine Greenwood‘s The Lost Letters reviewed by Sydney Lea
Sakutarō Hagiwara‘s The Iceland reviewed by Patrick O’Reilly
Donald Hall’s The Selected Poems of Donald Hall reviewed by Allan Cooper
Matthea Harvey‘s If the Tabloids Are True What Are You? reviewed by A. Anupama
Liz Howard’s Infinite Citizen of the Shaking Tent reviewed by Natalie Helberg
Dorianne Laux‘s The Book of Men reviewed by A. Anupama
Robert Lax’s Poems 1962-1997 reviewed by David Wojahn
Marni Ludwig‘s Pinwheel reviewed by A. Anupama
Don McKay’s Angular Unconformity: Collected Poems 1970-2014 reviewed by Sydney Lea
W. S Merwin’s The Moon before Morning reviewed by A. Anupama
W. S. Merwin‘s Garden Time reviewed by Allan Cooper
Harryette Mullen’s Urban Tumbleweed reviewed by A. Anupama
Lorine Niedecker’s Lake Superior reviewed by David Wojahn
Susan Paddon’s Two Tragedies in 429 Breaths reviewed by Patrick O’Reilly
Victoria Redel‘s Woman Without Umbrella reviewed by A. Anupama
Jay Rogoff’s Venera reviewed by Mary Kathryn Jablonski
Sam Savage’s Zero Gravity: Collected Poems (1981-2015) reviewed by David Wojahn
David Seymour‘s For Display Purposes Only reviewed by Sydney Lea
Eleni Sikelianos’ Make Yourself Happy reviewed by Julie Larios
Karen Solie — The Poetry of Karen Solie reviewed by David Wojahn
Frank Stanford‘s What About This, Collected Poems reviewed by Allan Cooper
Russell Thornton‘s Birds, Metals, Stones and Rain reviewed by Sydney Lea
Leslie Ullman‘s Progress on the Subject of Immensity reviewed by Summar West
Dean Young‘s Fall Higher reviewed by A. Anupama

Nonfiction

Renata Adler’s After the Tall Timber: Collected Nonfiction reviewed by Julian Hanna
David Attwell‘s J. M. Coetzee and the Life of Writing reviewed by Jason DeYoung
Ta-Nehisi Coates‘ Between the World and Me reviewed by Tom Faure
J. M. Coetzee and Arabella Kurtz‘s The Good Story reviewed by Jason DeYoung
Charles D’Ambrosio‘s Loitering by Charles D’Ambrosio reviewed by Melissa Matthewson
Bill Hayward’s Chasing Dragons: An Uncommon Memoir in Photographs reviewed by Douglas Glover
Chris Hedges’ Wages of Rebellion reviewed by Tom Faure
Helena Kelly‘s Jane Austen, the Secret Radical reviewed by Laura Michele Diener
Ben Lerner’s The Hatred of Poetry reviewed by Carolyn Ogburn
Edouard Levé’s Autoportrait reviewed by Jason DeYoung
Patrick Madden’s Sublime Physick reviewed by John Proctor
Megan Marshall‘s Elizabeth Bishop: A Miracle for Breakfast reviewed by Julie Larios
Tom McCarthy‘s Typewriters, Bombs, Jellyfish reviewed by Andrew MacDonald
Steven Moore‘s William Gaddis: Expanded Edition reviewed by Jeff Bursey
Robert Musil’s Thought Flights, Translated by Genese Grill reviewed by Mark Jay Mirsky
Christopher Ryan and Cacilda Jethá‘s Sex at Dawn: the Prehistoric Origins of Modern Sexuality reviewed by Darryl Whetter
Viktor Shklovsky‘s Bowstring: On the Dissimilarity of the Similar reviewed by Bruce Stone
Alex Stein‘s The Artist as Mystic: Conversations with Yahia Lababidi reviewed by Jacob Glover
Andrzej Stasiuk‘s Dukla reviewed by Jason DeYoung
Joseph Tabbi‘s Nobody Grew but the Business: On the Life and Work of William Gaddis reviewed by Jeff Bursey
David Winters’ Infinite Fictions: Essays on Literature and Theory reviewed Jeff Bursey
Lucy Worsley‘s Jane Austen at Home reviewed by Laura Michele Diener

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