Month: August 2022

This is more of a eulogy than a review. I went to see LeCarre give a talk at the University of Warsaw in the early 1990s. He had recently stopped feuding with Salman Rushdie over The Satanic Verses, and he had a reputation as a …

The true story of Mokhtar Alkhanshalia, a young Yemeni-American who works as a doorman in San Francisco but dreams of bigger things. Mokhtar sets off for his ancestral homeland to revive the coffee-making traditions of the past. This may not seem wise when Yemen is …

The sequel to the 1988 novel that became the famous Robert Altman film. Studio exec Griffin Mill is back, and he’s still Gordon Gekko with an introspective streak. For him, greed is not only good; it’s the yardstick by which all good things are measured. …

A young woman loses her home. An Iranian immigrant buys the place for a song. She wants it back. He wants to restore his dignity and provide for his family. These people are hanging on to the last thread of the American dream. It might …

The movie is brilliant. The novel on which it’s based is even better. First published in 1971, this horror masterpiece ages well despite its melodramatic flourishes. While the premise—a demon takes up residence in an 11-year-old girl’s body—might make some discerning readers roll their eyes, …

If you believe the human being is a fundamentally good and moral creature, then this true story might be one of the hardest things you can read: a stark view of humankind’s special ability to both inflict evil and ignore it. As a courier for …

Remember when this one came out? The Donald was halfway through his term and rattling sabers with North Korea’s “Little Kim” Jong-un. Wolff’s portrayal of intrigue and dysfunction within Trump’s inner circle was accepted as generally accurate but perhaps lurid with the details. Fly-on-the-wall snapshots …

In honor of last week’s Amazon Prime release of Borat Subsequent Moviefilm, we present the literary accompaniment to the first Borat flick from back in 2006. This book is a bathroom read of the highest order, with outrageous stereotypes, X-rated gags and a sometimes-insightful zest …

The end of humanity might be nigh. People are turning into automaton “sleepwalkers” drawn by a need to walk the highways toward some mysterious destination. They’re still human, but they no longer need food or sleep. How does the rest of the world respond? Fans …

This play is a fast and nourishing read. It will comfort you if you’re afflicted and make you want to be kinder if you aren’t. The story follows Margie Walsh, a down-and-nearly-out dollar-store worker in South Boston who seeks salvation through an old boyfriend who …