Los Angeles Review of Books

A green house in the desert

a black and white photo of a doc running

"The work treats the human figure as a kind of punctuation mark in a landscape that is indifferent, if not actively hostile, to the figure’s presence."

Andrew Witt on John Divola's desert: https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/john-divola-dogs-chasing-my-car-isolated-houses/

Finding Our God-Terms | Los Angeles Review of Books The work of literary critic Mark Edmundson offers a powerful vision for recentering the American university.

"We are word-making creatures, and our words, “at their best”... offer hope and purpose, a way of figuring out who we are, who we have been, and where we might be going." lareviewofbooks.org/article/mark... in @lareviewofbooks.bsky.social

A flier with information on Sierra Crane Murdoch's Writing in Place class

What role should place play in our nonfiction writing? Let Sierra Crane Murdoch be your guide in our upcoming Spring educational workshop. Class is online at 5-7 p.m. PST from April 14 to May 19, 2026. Sign up today: https://lareviewofbooks.org/event/writing-in-place-w-sierra-crane-murdoch/

Time-Wasting, Truth-Wasting Exercises | Los Angeles Review of Books Samuel Cohen’s anthology on book banning diagnoses a recent swell in censorship that’s problematic for more reasons than you’d think.

Wrote about @samcohen.bsky.social’s book banning volume for @lareviewofbooks.bsky.social. The volume invites us to consider why books matter—and it shows the many ways they’re under attack, even here in progressive NYC.

lareviewofbooks.org/article/bann...

Finding Our God-Terms | Los Angeles Review of Books The work of literary critic Mark Edmundson offers a powerful vision for recentering the American university.

"When I see my students scrolling away their formative years on a computer screen, most of them don’t look happy." Joshua Hall on Mark Edmundson the difficult pleasure of finding god-terms: https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/mark-edmundson-literary-criticism-american-university-humanities-essay/

So grateful for this thoughtful, generous review: "Those of us who care about what books can do should consider what these contributors have to tell us."

the cover of Banning Books in America

“Cohen describes books as ‘the oldest and best place where opinions and impressions and whole worlds are captured and recorded.’ He’s right.”

John Downes-Angus on “Banning Books in America.” https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/banning-books-america-samuel-cohen-censorship-libraries-education/

“When you’re writing about mental illness, there’s always a lot of fear around being misunderstood or not being believed.”

Patricia Lockwood discusses her book "Will There Ever Be Another You" with Tess Pollok: https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/patricia-lockwood-will-there-ever-be-another-you/

Nadia Davids on her new novel, "Cape Fever": "My introduction to the uncanny was through women who were powerful, funny, persuasive storytellers talking amongst themselves, so perhaps that was the seed."

https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/nadia-davids-cape-fever-south-africa-novel-pandemic

A still from Sound of Falling of a woman looking at herself in the mirror

"'Sound of Falling' leaves us unsure of the extent to which trauma and strength are intertwined, passed down in equal measure from one generation of women to the next."

Marya Gates on Mascha Schilinski’s "Sound of Falling": https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/perhaps-youre-not-yourself-but-her/

Shelter in Place | Los Angeles Review of Books The battle for Minnesota’s public.

"There were more agents than family physicians in Minnesota—a reminder that this administration, like many previous ones, values enforcement over care."

Kate Collier on resisting ICE: https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/minneapolis-operation-metro-surge-immigration-authoritarian-mutual-aid

Want to keep up with everything LARB? Subscribe to our newsletter to get the latest on all our events, writing, book clubs, and more. https://lareviewofbooks.org/about/newsletter/

A black and white photograph of dogs running in the desert

"What the camera is able to channel is this fact of motion in a raw and feral state."

Andrew Witt on the movement and energy captured in John Divola's newly reissued "Dogs Chasing My Car in the Desert."

https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/john-divola-dogs-chasing-my-car-isolated-houses/

the cover of Long Distance

“There’s a disconnect in these stories, as in life, between the way one would like to be seen and the drudgery of the everyday.”

Angelica Hankins reviews Aysegül Savaş’ “Long Distance”: https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/long-distance-aysegul-savas-short-stories-hankins-review/

Sadism as Psychotherapy | Los Angeles Review of Books Jon Stock’s recent book examines the deplorable career of prominent psychiatrist Willam Sargant and his brand of bio-therapeutics.

"At their deaths, both men were lionized for their contributions to psychiatry. For decades afterward, those who served under them remained silent."

Andrew Scull on Jon Stock’s "The Sleep Room": https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/william-sargant-electroshock-lobotomy-sleep-room-jon-stock/

"Many biographies use a singular life as a kaleidoscope to refract a historical period and view its patterns. Cobb’s biography does something different."

Angela Creager reviews Matthew Cobb’s new book: https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/francis-crick-james-watson-double-helix-dna-biography

"The psychic intrusions experienced by Soraya are as much a way of metabolizing the profound cruelty of colonialism as they are about private loss."

Nadia Davids speaks with Katya Apekina about her new novel: https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/nadia-davids-cape-fever-south-africa-novel-pandemic/

A woman floating in a lake in a still from Sound of Falling

"The women and girls who populate 'Sound of Falling' pull us into their orbit, daring us to see them, even if they cannot see themselves."

Marya Gates on the influence of Francesca Woodman’s photographs on "Sound of Falling": https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/perhaps-youre-not-yourself-but-her/

the cover of Games for Children

Jeffrey Levine reviews Keith S. Wilson’s "Games for Children": "These poems do not ask to be admired for their courage or rigor; they insist on being endured."

https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/games-for-children-keith-wilson-poetry-violence-geometry/

“…to move through the world with eyes open, to never stop looking.”

This wonderful review by @angelicahankins.bsky.social!📚❤️

The cover of Long Distance

"To move through the world with eyes open, to never stop looking is, for Savaş, a kind of redemption."

Angelica Hankins on Aysegül Savaş’ “Long Distance”: https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/long-distance-aysegul-savas-short-stories-hankins-review

A headshot of Vigdis Hjorth with the text "listen now!" on it

On this week's #LARBRadioHour, Vigdis Hjorth joins the podcast to talk about her latest novel, "Repetition." Listen now on our site or wherever you get your podcasts: https://lareviewofbooks.org/av/vigdis-hjorth-repetition-podcast-interview/

Very thoughtful review of CRICK from Angela Creager in @lareviewofbooks.bsky.social lareviewofbooks.org/article/fran...

The cover of Crick

"In Francis Crick, then, we have a rare biological theorist whose models made possible the scientific world of late capitalism, which left him behind."

Angela Creager reviews “Crick: A Mind in Motion”: https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/francis-crick-james-watson-double-helix-dna-biography/

Finding Our God-Terms | Los Angeles Review of Books The work of literary critic Mark Edmundson offers a powerful vision for recentering the American university.

"When I see my students scrolling away their formative years on a computer screen, most of them don’t look happy." Joshua Hall on Mark Edmundson the difficult pleasure of finding god-terms: https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/mark-edmundson-literary-criticism-american-university-humanities-essay/

The cover of The Sleep Room

"In recent years, it has become fashionable among some historians to excuse the excesses of men like these as motivated by therapeutic zeal. I don’t agree."

Andrew Scull on Jon Stock's "The Sleep Room": https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/william-sargant-electroshock-lobotomy-sleep-room-jon-stock

the cover of Long Distance

“There’s a disconnect in these stories, as in life, between the way one would like to be seen and the drudgery of the everyday.”

Angelica Hankins reviews Aysegül Savaş’ “Long Distance”: https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/long-distance-aysegul-savas-short-stories-hankins-review/

the cover of Games for Children

"Wilson’s poems do not ask to be decoded, mastered, or redeemed. They ask us to remain where the rules are already in play."

Jeffrey Levine reviews Keith S. Wilson’s "Games for Children": https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/games-for-children-keith-wilson-poetry-violence-geometry/

the cover of world cup fever

Dan Friedman on Simon Kuper’s "World Cup Fever": "With the occasion for this memoir on the horizon, it’s hard to look at the ‘beautiful game’ without seeing it through Kuper’s complex and loving indictment." https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/world-cup-fever-simon-kuper-soccer-football-corruption

Reading (and Shopping) with Angela McRobbie | Los Angeles Review of Books A reflection on the Birmingham School cultural studies scholar’s vision of girlhood.

"This, I think, is the driver behind much of McRobbie’s research: how, she asks, do we get young women to actively consume and challenge culture?"

https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/angela-mcrobbie-feminism-young-women-cultural-studies-girlhood/