Celebrating Community
Review of The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store, by James McBride (Riverhead Books; 2023; 386 pages; $28) Reviewed by Michael Quinn Two kinds of people live in Chicken Hill, Pennsylvania: immigrant Jews and Blacks. These two groups eye each other warily, thinking they have nothing in common. Neither is especially thrilled to be there. It’s a rundown place, cut off […]
Review of “Kappa,” by Ryunosuke Akutagawa, translated from the Japanese by Allison Markin Powell and Lisa Hofmann-Kuroda Did you go on any trips this summer? Traveling has many benefits. You might interact with different people, learn a new language, and discover things about another culture’s values. Whenever you go someplace new, you see the world with fresh eyes—and sometimes the […]
Review of “J.C. Leyendecker: American Imagist,” by Laurence S. Cutler and Judy Goffman Cutler Review by Michael Quinn What are you wearing as you read this? A shirt from Under Armour? Leggings from Lululemon? Sneakers? Flip-flops? A hundred years ago, the world was different, and we dressed differently. But it was around this time that advertising first started to get […]
Review of Maud Martha, by Gwendolyn Brooks Gwendolyn Brooks (1917–2000) was an American poet and the first Black person to win the Pulitzer Prize in 1950. Her award-winning book of poems, Annie Allen, focused on the life of an ordinary Black girl living in Chicago’s South Side. Brooks returned to this subject in the only novel she ever published, Maud […]
Review of Mel Brooks: Disobedient Jew, by Jeremy Dauber Review by Michael Quinn Born in Brooklyn in 1926, Melvin Kaminsky was the youngest of four boys whom the fatherless family doted on. “Until I was six, my feet didn’t touch the ground,” he remembers. He was quick with a smile, a natural mimic, and good at making people laugh. He […]
An Interview with Bookseller and Novelist Emma Straub, by Michael Quinn Once a bookseller at the legendary BookCourt, today Emma Straub has a bookstore of her own — with two locations. Six years ago, she and her husband Michael Fusco-Straub opened Books Are Magic on Smith Street in Cobble Hill. Last fall, they opened a second store on Montague Street […]
Review of War Diary, by Yevgenia Belorusets, translated by Greg Nissan Right now, as you read this, there’s a war going on. Maybe you know every detail. Maybe you’ve skimmed the headlines. Maybe it feels like it has nothing to do with you. But what if the war was happening where you lived? You might think, This can’t be happening. […]
Review of Forgotten No More: The Restoration of Untermyer Gardens, by the Untermyer Gardens Conservancy Review by Michael Quinn Who’s up for a day trip? It’s helpful if you have a car, but not necessary. You can get to Yonkers from Grand Central Station in less than an hour. Now, I know what you’re thinking: Yonkers? What do I want […]
Review of Lunch with Lizabeth, by Todd Hughes Review by Michael Quinn Falling in love happens differently for everyone. Cupid picks up his bow and sometimes shoots an arrow where you’d never expect it to land. In the 1980s, gay filmmaker Todd Hughes fell head over heels for a femme fatale. She had him from hello—a sultry one spoken on […]
Review of No Filter: The Good, the Bad, and the Beautiful, by Paulina Porizkova Review by Michael Quinn Books by authors whose first language isn’t English are always interesting to read. You often “hear” something unusual in the rhythm of the sentences. It has nothing to do with the writer’s command of the language. My guess is it’s a kind […]
