Book Reviews

Considered responses to books I have finished. 271 reviews so far.

2026 58 reviews

The Devil Aspect Craig Russell ★★★★☆
Behind the Gate Amparo Dávila ★★★★☆
Nausea Jean-Paul Sartre ★★★★☆
The Trial Franz Kafka ★★★★☆
The Pole J.M. Coetzee ★★★☆☆
Transcription Ben Lerner ★★★☆☆
Grendel John Gardner ★★★☆☆
The Unconsoled Kazuo Ishiguro ★★★★☆
My Struggle: Book 1 Karl Ove Knausgård ★★★★☆
Wittgenstein’s Mistress David Markson ★★★★★
Lost Lambs Madeline Cash ★★★☆☆
Glyph Ali Smith ★★★★☆
The Hearing Trumpet Leonora Carrington ★★★★☆
The Plague Albert Camus ★★★★★
Whistler Ann Patchett ★★★★☆
Under the Falls Richard Russo ★★★☆☆
Evil Genius Claire Oshetsky ★★★☆☆
Ice Anna Kavan ★★★☆☆
Glengarry Glen Ross David Mamet ★★★☆☆
A Guardian and a Thief Megha Majumdar ★★★★☆
Sisters in Yellow Mieko Kawakami ★★★★☆
Collected Fictions Jorge Luis Borges ★★★☆☆
84, Charing Cross Road Helene Hanff ★★★☆☆
Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage Haruki Murakami ★★★★☆
Woodcutters Thomas Bernhard ★★★★★
A Wild Sheep Chase Haruki Murakami ★★☆☆☆
Paradise Logic Sophie Kemp ★★★☆☆
The Remains of the Day Kazuo Ishiguro ★★★★☆
The Idiot Elif Batuman ★★☆☆☆
Departure[s] Julian Barnes ★★★★☆
Concrete Thomas Bernhard ★★★★☆
The Sorrows of Young Werther Johann Wolfgang von Goethe ★★★★★
Novelist as a Vocation Haruki Murakami ★★★★★
Carl's Doomsday Scenario Matt Dinniman ★★☆☆☆
Wise Blood Flannery O'Connor ★★★★☆
Atonement Ian McEwan ★★☆☆☆
A Season in Hell and The Drunken Boat Arthur Rimbaud ★★★☆☆
Post Office Charles Bukowski ★★★★☆
Strange Pictures Uketsu ★★★☆☆
Death in Venice Thomas Mann ★★★☆☆
One Aladdin Two Lamps Jeanette Winterson ★★★★☆
Cat’s Cradle Kurt Vonnegut Jr. ★★★★☆
The Correspondent Virginia Evans ★★★★★
Dungeon Crawler Carl Matt Dinniman ★★★★☆
The House on Mango Street Sandra Cisneros ★★★★☆
Vigil George Saunders ★★★★☆
Ham on Rye Charles Bukowski ★★★★★
Mona's Eyes Thomas Schlesser ★★★☆☆
Old School Tobias Wolff ★★★★☆
Natural Beauty Ling Ling Huang ★★★☆☆
The Last of Earth Deepa Anappara ★★★☆☆
Lightbreakers Aja Gabel ★★★★☆
Hot Wax M.L. Rio ★★★☆☆
The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny Kiran Desai ★★★☆☆
The Bridge of San Luis Rey Thornton Wilder ★★★☆☆
Crux Gabriel Tallent ★★★★★
A Single Man Christopher Isherwood ★★★★☆
House Made of Dawn N. Scott Momaday ★★★☆☆

2025 116 reviews

The Dharma Bums Jack Kerouac ★★★★★
A Canticle for Leibowitz Walter M. Miller Jr. ★★☆☆☆
The Stranger in the Woods: The Extraordinary Story of the Last True Hermit Michael Finkel ★★★★★
Ceremony Leslie Marmon Silko ★★★★☆
An Old Soul M. Kevin Hayden ★★★☆☆
Seascraper Benjamin Wood ★★★★☆
The Art Thief: A True Story of Love, Crime, and a Dangerous Obsession Michael Finkel ★★★★☆
Play It As It Lays Joan Didion ★★★★☆
Down and Out in Paris and London George Orwell ★★★☆☆
The Mad Wife Meagan Church ★★★★☆
Perfection Vincenzo Latronico ★★☆☆☆
On the Calculation of Volume II Solvej Balle ★★★★☆
Big Chief Jon Hickey ★★★★☆
The Night Watchman Louise Erdrich ★★★☆☆
The Elements John Boyne ★★★★☆
Small Boat Vincent Delecroix ★★★★★
Old School Indian Aaron John Curtis ★★★☆☆
Ruins Amy Taylor ★★★★☆
Atlas of Unknowable Things McCormick Templeman ★★★☆☆
The Devil Is a Southpaw Brandon Hobson ★★★★☆
Immaculate Conception Ling Ling Huang ★★★★☆
Shadow Ticket Thomas Pynchon ★★★★☆
Culpability Bruce Holsinger ★★☆☆☆
Flesh David Szalay ★★★☆☆
A Hunger Artist (Short Prose of Franz Kafka) Franz Kafka ★★★☆☆
Hungerstone Kat Dunn ★★★★☆
The Ship of Theseus Garry Harper ★★★★☆
On the Calculation of Volume I Solvej Balle ★★★★★
The Unworthy Agustina Bazterrica ★★★★☆
Chess Story Stefan Zweig ★★★★☆
A Month in the Country J.L. Carr ★★★★☆
Buckeye Patrick Ryan ★★★★☆
Vineland Thomas Pynchon ★★★☆☆
Things in Nature Merely Grow Yiyun Li ★★★★★
Letters to a Young Poet Rainer Maria Rilke ★★★★★
Katabasis R.F. Kuang ★★★☆☆
Life, and Death, and Giants Ron Rindo ★★★★☆
A Splintering Dur e Aziz Amna ★★★★☆
Butcher's Crossing John Williams ★★★★★
Too Loud a Solitude Bohumil Hrabal ★★★★☆
The Friend Sigrid Nunez ★★★★★
Homesick for Another World Ottessa Moshfegh ★★★★☆
Sunrise on the Reaping (The Hunger Games) Suzanne Collins ★★★☆☆
Now Is Not the Time to Panic Kevin Wilson ★★★★☆
Hurricane Season Fernanda Melchor ★★★★☆
The Goldfinch Donna Tartt ★★★☆☆
Narrow the Road James Wade ★★★★☆
Run for the Hills Kevin Wilson ★★★★☆
The Neon Bible John Kennedy Toole ★★★★★
We Are Always Tender With Our Dead Eric LaRocca ★★★☆☆
Atmosphere Taylor Jenkins Reid ★★★★☆
The Posthumous Memoirs of Brás Cubas Machado de Assis ★★★★☆
Madonna in a Fur Coat Sabahattin Ali ★★★★☆
Heartwood Amity Gaige ★★★★☆
The Passion According to G.H. Clarice Lispector ★★★★☆
The Twilight Zone Nona Fernández ★★☆☆☆
A Confederacy of Dunces John Kennedy Toole ★★★★★
Questions About Angels Billy Collins ★★★★★
Água Viva Clarice Lispector ★★★☆☆
The Passion Jeanette Winterson ★★★★★
The Hour of the Star Clarice Lispector ★★★★☆
Flush Virginia Woolf ★★★★★
Victorian Psycho Virginia Feito ★★★☆☆
Human Acts Han Kang ★★☆☆☆
Notes on Infinity Austin Taylor ★★★☆☆
Wonder Chris Emery ★★★☆☆
The Vegetarian Han Kang ★★★☆☆
Bees, and After (Volume 119) (Yale Series of Younger Poets) John Liles ★★☆☆☆
We Do Not Part Han Kang ★★★☆☆
The Left Hand of Darkness Ursula K. Le Guin ★★★☆☆
Death Comes for the Archbishop Willa Cather ★★★★☆
A Farewell to Arms Ernest Hemingway ★★★☆☆
The Safekeep Yael van der Wouden ★★☆☆☆
Fox Joyce Carol Oates ★★★★☆
The Emperor of Gladness Ocean Vuong ★★★☆☆
The Lowlife Alexander Baron ★★★★★
Invisible Cities Italo Calvino ★★★☆☆
Clear Carys Davies ★★★☆☆
We Have Always Lived in the Castle Shirley Jackson ★★★★★
Malagash Joey Comeau ★★★★☆
Mrs. Caliban Rachel Ingalls ★★★★☆
Broken Country Clare Leslie Hall ★★★☆☆
If on a Winter's Night a Traveller Italo Calvino ★★★★★
Monstrilio Gerardo Sámano Córdova ★★★★★
Between Two Fires Christopher Buehlman ★★☆☆☆
A Sea of Unspoken Things Adrienne Young ★☆☆☆☆
Cleave the Sparrow Jonathan Katz ★★★☆☆
Flashlight Susan Choi ★★☆☆☆
The Outer Darkness Dominic Peloso ★★★☆☆
Wild Dark Shore Charlotte McConaghy ★★★★☆
The Phoenix Pencil Company Allison King ★★★☆☆
Window and Mirror Ted Virts ★★★☆☆
The Great Gatsby F. Scott Fitzgerald ★★★☆☆
Source Code: My Beginnings Bill Gates ★★☆☆☆
Invisible Man Ralph Ellison ★★★★☆
Julie Chan Is Dead Liann Zhang ★★★★☆
My Friends Hisham Matar ★★★★★
Water Moon Samantha Sotto Yambao ★★☆☆☆
Audition Katie Kitamura ★★☆☆☆
Geek Love Katherine Dunn ★★★☆☆
Perspective(s) Laurent Binet ★★★★☆
Dracula Bram Stoker ★★☆☆☆
The Martian Chronicles Ray Bradbury ★★★★☆
The Wall Marlen Haushofer ★★★★☆
Glorious Exploits Ferdia Lennon ★★★★☆
All the Pretty Horses Cormac McCarthy ★★★★☆
Gliff Ali Smith ★★★★☆
Real Americans Rachel Khong ★☆☆☆☆
Homegoing Yaa Gyasi ★★☆☆☆
Tree of Smoke Denis Johnson ★★☆☆☆
Old Soul Susan Barker ★★★☆☆
The Book of Disquiet Fernando Pessoa ★★☆☆☆
What I Talk About When I Talk About Running Haruki Murakami ★★★★★
The Eyes Are the Best Part Monika Kim ★★★★☆
Hyperion Dan Simmons ★★★☆☆
Prophet Song Paul Lynch ★★★★☆

2024 34 reviews

The Bee Sting Paul Murray ★★★★★
Playground Richard Powers ★★★☆☆
Nightbitch Rachel Yoder ★★★★☆
Graveyard Shift M.L. Rio ★★☆☆☆
Masters of Death Olivie Blake ★☆☆☆☆
Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life Anne Lamott ★★★★★
Intermezzo Sally Rooney ★★★★☆
Parade Rachel Cusk ★★★☆☆
Severance Ling Ma ★★★★★
Beautyland Marie-Helene Bertino ★★★★☆
Brutes Dizz Tate ★★☆☆☆
The God of the Woods Liz Moore ★★★★☆
White Teeth Zadie Smith ★★★☆☆
Death Valley Melissa Broder ★★★☆☆
Autobiography of a Corpse Sigizmund Krzhizhanovsky ★★★☆☆
In Our Likeness Bryan VanDyke ★★★★☆
The Shithead: A Novel in Fifty Songs Tim Grahl ★★★☆☆
Martyr! Kaveh Akbar ★★★★★
Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions Edwin A. Abbott ★★★☆☆
To the Lighthouse Virginia Woolf ★★★★★
Ghost Town Living: Mining for Purpose and Chasing Dreams at the Edge of Death Valley Brent Underwood ★★★★★
A Little Life Hanya Yanagihara ★★☆☆☆
Tender Is the Flesh Agustina Bazterrica ★★★☆☆
Knife: Meditations After an Attempted Murder Salman Rushdie ★★★★★
Butcher Joyce Carol Oates ★★★★★
The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry Gabrielle Zevin ★★★★☆
I Have No Mouth & I Must Scream Harlan Ellison ★★☆☆☆
Remarkably Bright Creatures Shelby Van Pelt ★★★★☆
We Are Legion (We Are Bob) Dennis E. Taylor ★★★☆☆
The Crying of Lot 49 Thomas Pynchon ★★★★☆
The Art of War Sun Tzu ★★☆☆☆
Grief Is for People Sloane Crosley ★★★☆☆
The Order of Chaos: A Black Comedy Henry Hinder ★★★★☆
Twelve Angry Men Reginald Rose ★★★★★

2023 23 reviews

Perfume: The Story of a Murderer Patrick Süskind ★★★★☆
The Maniac Benjamín Labatut ★★★★★
This Is How You Lose the Time War Amal El-Mohtar ★★★★☆
Wellness Nathan Hill ★★★★☆
Demon Copperhead Barbara Kingsolver ★★★☆☆
The Haunting of Hill House Shirley Jackson ★★☆☆☆
When We Cease to Understand the World Benjamín Labatut ★★★☆☆
Bluets Maggie Nelson ★★★★☆
The Past Is Red Catherynne M. Valente ★★★☆☆
The Unbearable Lightness of Being Milan Kundera ★★☆☆☆
The Dutch House Ann Patchett ★★☆☆☆
Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell Susanna Clarke ★★☆☆☆
Artemis Andy Weir ★★☆☆☆
A Short Stay in Hell Steven L. Peck ★★★★★
Kafka on the Shore Haruki Murakami ★★☆☆☆
The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter Carson McCullers ★★★★☆
The Setting Sun Osamu Dazai ★★★★★
The Picture of Dorian Gray Oscar Wilde ★★★★☆
Obsidio Amie Kaufman ★★★☆☆
Piranesi Susanna Clarke ★★★★★
Hell Bent Leigh Bardugo ★★★★★
Night Film Marisha Pessl ★★★★☆
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and Other Tales of Terror Robert Louis Stevenson ★★★☆☆

2022 30 reviews

Book of Night Holly Black ★★☆☆☆
Lincoln in the Bardo George Saunders ★☆☆☆☆
Bunny Mona Awad ★★★★☆
Illuminae Amie Kaufman ★★★★☆
Upgrade Blake Crouch ★★★☆☆
The Mountain Between Us Charles Martin ★★☆☆☆
The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue V.E. Schwab ★★★☆☆
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow Gabrielle Zevin ★★★★★
Starry Messenger: Cosmic Perspectives on Civilization Neil deGrasse Tyson ★★★★☆
Sleepwalk Dan Chaon ★★★☆☆
This Time Tomorrow Emma Straub ★★★★☆
A Prayer for the Crown-Shy Becky Chambers ★★★★★
The Cartographers Peng Shepherd ★★★★★
The Bee-Loud Glade Steve Himmer ★★★★☆
Earthlings Sayaka Murata ★★☆☆☆
Never Let Me Go Kazuo Ishiguro ★☆☆☆☆
How High We Go in the Dark Sequoia Nagamatsu ★★★☆☆
Notes on an Execution Danya Kukafka ★★★★★
House of Leaves Mark Z. Danielewski ★★★★☆
Slaughterhouse-Five Kurt Vonnegut Jr. ★★☆☆☆
A Psalm for the Wild-Built Becky Chambers ★★★★★
Astrophysics for People in a Hurry Neil deGrasse Tyson ★★★★☆
The Prospect of Immortality Robert C.W. Ettinger ★★★☆☆
The Metamorphosis Franz Kafka ★★☆☆☆
Caffeine: How Caffeine Created the Modern World Michael Pollan ★★★★☆
Beartown Fredrik Backman ★★☆☆☆
Quidditch Through the Ages J.K. Rowling ★★★★☆
The Stranger Albert Camus ★★★★★
The Tales of Beedle the Bard J.K. Rowling ★★★☆☆
Fahrenheit 451 Ray Bradbury ★★★★★

2021 9 reviews

Under the Whispering Door T.J. Klune ★★★☆☆
A Man Called Ove Fredrik Backman ★★★★☆
Ninth House Leigh Bardugo
Anxious People Fredrik Backman ★★★☆☆
The Maidens Alex Michaelides ★★★☆☆
The Silent Patient Alex Michaelides ★★★★☆
Ready Player Two Ernest Cline ★★★★☆
1Q84 Haruki Murakami ★★★★☆
Ready Player One Ernest Cline ★★★★☆

Undated 1 reviews

Partita Barbara Kingsolver