Author: jecrandall44

The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt

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Purchase a copy for yourself here! Literary criticism in the modern age has been forced to confront the increasing democratization of the art space, as tools like the internet allow greater access to what was previously considered “high art”, reserved for only the most sophisticated intellectuals. As the distinction between highbrow and lowbrow entertainment has… Continue reading The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt

The Female Persuasion by Meg Wolitzer

Purchase a copy for yourself here! The Female Persuasion is Meg Wolitzer’s eleventh novel, and feels in many ways like a response to the #MeToo movement and the reemergence of feminism in the cultural conversation. The novel focuses on women of different generations coming to terms with the ways that the world works, offering and… Continue reading The Female Persuasion by Meg Wolitzer

A Brief History of Seven Killings by Marlon James

Purchase a copy for yourself here! Marlon James’ 2015 Man Booker Prize-winning novel, A Brief History of Seven Killings, is virtually impossible to summarize in any meaningful way. The novel is a sprawling epic said amid a time of political chaos in Jamaica during the 1960s and 70s, featuring fifteen narrators, each with unique dialects… Continue reading A Brief History of Seven Killings by Marlon James

Say Nothing by Patrick Radden Keefe

Purchase a copy for yourself here! In this current era of burgeoning global populist movements, it can feel like democracy is threatened under attack like never before. But for the nations torn apart by colonial occupation, radical populist movements and militaristic governments have been the norm for decades. Occupying governments and local freedom fighting groups… Continue reading Say Nothing by Patrick Radden Keefe

Uncanny Valley by Anna Wiener

Purchase a copy for yourself here! Perhaps no geographic area in the United States holds as much cultural cache as the northern California region, Silicon Valley. The Valley has become more than just a place, but a signifier of the big tech movement, where college dropouts who can’t legally drink can become billionaires overnight. On… Continue reading Uncanny Valley by Anna Wiener

Olive, Again by Elizabeth Strout

Purchase a copy for yourself here! It’s been over a decade since Elizabeth Strout published her Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, Olive Kitteridge. In the intervening years, the novel was adapted as an award winning series for HBO starring Frances McDormand. Strout has returned to her eponymous heroine in Olive, Again, a collection of stories about the… Continue reading Olive, Again by Elizabeth Strout

A Long Petal of the Sea by Isabel Allende

Purchase a copy for yourself here! A Long Petal of the Sea is the twenty-third novel from Isabel Allende, whose prolific career has spanned across decades and continents. The same can be said of her most recent novel, which begins with the Spanish Civil War, and follows the mass exodus of Spanish citizens fleeing from… Continue reading A Long Petal of the Sea by Isabel Allende

Interior Chinatown by Charles Yu

Purchase a copy for yourself here! In his most recent novel, Interior Chinatown, Charles Yu brings his signature wit and inventiveness to a narrative that explores Asian identity, specifically through a popular media lens. The novel is set in a fictional universe where the whole world is a series of scripted television programs, and all… Continue reading Interior Chinatown by Charles Yu

Erosion by Terry Tempest Williams

Purchase a copy for yourself here! Erosion is the recent essay collection from Terry Tempest Williams, an author and activist who has been writing about the environment and humanity’s relationship to it for decades. This collection encapsulates both the private and the public, including fierce calls to defend America’s public lands, as well as Williams’… Continue reading Erosion by Terry Tempest Williams