Archive for the ‘Book Reviews’ Category
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- John Irving’s “A Son of the Circus” • October 3, 1994
"A Son of the Circus" definitely qualifies as one of John Irving's oddest creations, but for most of the way it's among his most satisfying. Like most Irving novels, it's a sprawling book that swoops around the globe and through multiple generations of history. And it includes a grab bag of typical Irving topics: perverse sexuality, Christianity, unusual families, and untimely death. - Bret Easton Ellis’ “The Informers” • August 28, 1994
A collage of drug deals, infidelities, and occasional slayings, Bret Easton Ellis' new novel "The Informers" harks back to his highly overrated debut, "Less Than Zero," both in style and theme. But it merely drifts unimpressively from one scene to the next, resounding themes of moral decay that just don't seem all that urgent or true to life. - Banana Yoshimoto’s “Lizard” • June 28, 1994
"Bananamania" seems to be winding down as a cultural phenomenon, and judging by the vapid contents of Banana Yoshimoto's latest short story collection, "Lizard," that's a good thing. - E.L. Doctorow’s “The Waterworks” • June 27, 1994
"The Waterworks," more than an historical fiction in the city which also provided Doctorow the setting for his acclaimed novels "Ragtime" and "Billy Bathgate," is a suspenseful mystery and a sweeping philosophical analysis of humanity's relation to science and religion as well. - Karel Čapek’s “Tales from Two Pockets” • June 20, 1994
To call the forty-eight short stories of Karel Čapek collected and newly translated in "Tales from Two Pockets" among the greatest the mystery genre has ever produced only begins to tell the tale. - T. Coraghessan Boyle’s “Without a Hero” • June 1, 1994
T. Coraghessan Boyle is a good novel writer who's certainly proven that he can work wonders when he sets his mind to it, but his short stories are a completely hit-or-miss affair. "Without a Hero" sits alongside Boyle's other works as an exercise in unkempt imagination desperately in need of discipline. - Michael Connelly’s “The Concrete Blonde” • May 22, 1994
In "The Concrete Blonde," Edgar Award-winning novelist Michael Connelly has a sharp eye for plotting and a perceptive ear for dialogue. Unfortunately, he doesn't possess much of a sense for originality. - Haruki Murakami’s Dance Dance Dance and Ryu Murakami’s Sixty-Nine • May 11, 1994
This book review was originally published in the Baltimore City Paper on May 11, 1994. In Jay McInerney’s underrated 1985 novel Ransom, Christopher Ransom flees from the materialistic excess of life in Hollywood to search for moral purity in the city of Kyoto, Japan. He abandons his drug and drinking habits, he tries to remain [...] - Douglas Adams’ “Mostly Harmless” • May 9, 1994
Douglas Adams' fifteen minutes of fame as the author of "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" series came to a close years ago. Why, then, should he suddenly add another installment to the humor/sci-fi story when he's moved on to more ambitious projects? After reading "Mostly Harmless," the series' fifth book, it seems plausible that Adams simply needs the money. - John Updike’s “Brazil” • May 2, 1994
This book review was originally published in the Baltimore Evening Sun on May 2, 1994. Write a score of enthusiastically received novels, break sexual and racial taboos, and successfully subvert literary conventions, and you might think you can do anything. Only a writer with as many accolades under his belt as John Updike could write [...]