December 2019

Review of There, There by Tommy OrangeNew York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2018 It is interesting, refreshing, and heart-gripping to hear the voices of contemporary urban Native Americans groping for threads of identity in the challenging environment of Oakland, California. Tommy Orange handles multiple first-person narrative voices beautifully. The characters have...

Review: Falter: Has the Human Game Begun to Play Itself Out?By Bill McKibbenNew York: Henry Holt, 2019: 256 pp. This is not a particularly ground-breaking or distinguished book, but it is a thoughtful and clearly-written summary of some of the pressing moral and technological problems we face in 2020. Primarily,...

Review of The Dutch House by Ann PatchettNew York: Harper Collins, 2019, 337 pgs. I am a devoted fan of Ann Patchett. Her writing is rich and smooth, and I have found all her main characters fully developed and credible. Until I encountered the Conroy family of her most recent...