Book Reviews

Most of the stories in Dublin Tales show off Irish literature at its best: overflowing with feeling, humor and insight.

An imaginative examination of the art of novel writing that is thought-provoking and invigorating in equal measure.

A playful grab-bag of moods, genres, and plain impressive writing, with much to appreciate.

Tales of the haves, the have-nots, and the never-wills — at its best when writers burrow into specific neighborhoods.

A loving paean to a halcyon time in hard-rock history — and a strong argument for the music's importance.

Pride and Prejudice relocated to New York's Chinatown — a frothy concoction that gets there in diverting fashion.

Fleet, funny and perceptive — entertains even as it contemplates what people actually mean to each other, and what it all means.

A clever confection that isn't shy about revealing the humanity behind its fantastical loop-de-loop narrative trickery.

Sprightly tales written and translated by Chinese female and nonbinary authors — charm and freshness cut through translation barriers.

Oft-perplexing, oft-illuminating — short stories that dare to disorient, drawing near-subconscious connections between everyday happenings and emotional turmoil.

Lacks the wild ambition and gravity of Bolaño's best work, but a tasty summation of his talents, presented in miniature.

Rollicking fun — its reclamation of Asian-American history, with all its attendant sorrows and hopes, holds out the promise of a new, true story ahead.

Encyclopedic in detail and fit to bursting with invention — a kaleidoscopic novel imagining Dietrich, Wong, and Riefenstahl across a turbulent century.

Candid but affectionate portraits of rock's most famous names — from Dylan to Waits — and the wizardry that captured their sounds.

Expect a few cultural grace notes and agreeable potboiler antics — just don't expect something truly original.

An appealing compendium of fifteen tales that range all over the city, with welcome doses of local color and atmosphere.

A simple, potent tale of young Chinese outcasts struggling to survive amid an unforgiving landscape of industrial and rural squalor.

An engrossing account of Walsh, Parcells, and Gibbs — three coaches who dominated the NFL and transformed the sport in the process.

Focusing on the art of sport rather than the noise surrounding it — a meditative, literate account of the 2017 men's tennis tour.

An appealing survey of NFL history — and a reminder of how many unsung deep thinkers have shaped the modern game.

A quiet, introspective novel about immigrants who return to the homeland they left behind — and the gulf between expectations and reality.