David Cooper's Blog, page 11
June 7, 2014
Book review: A Replacement Life by Boris Fishman
Slava Gelman, the protagonist of Boris Fishman's debut novel A Replacement Life, fabricates Holocaust narratives for elderly Russian immigrants' reparations claims applications. In my NYJB review I write, "Slava knows that to make his stories convincing he has to get the details right, and despite the leaps of faith Fishman demands he provides more than enough correct details and well crafted figurative turns of phrase to convince most readers to go along with him—and those who do will be amply rewarded by this multidimensional and handsomely written debut novel." For additional remarks about A Replacement Life see my examiner article.
Boris Fishman
Book review: A Replacement Life by Boris Fishman
Slava Gelman, the protagonist of Boris Fishman‘s debut novel A Replacement Life, fabricates Holocaust narratives for elderly Russian immigrants’ reparations claims applications. In my NYJB review I write, “Slava knows that to make his stories convincing he has to get the details right, and despite the leaps of faith Fishman demands he provides more than enough correct details and well crafted figurative turns of phrase to convince most readers to go along with him—and those who do will be amply rewarded by this multidimensional and handsomely written debut novel.” For additional remarks about A Replacement Life see my examiner article.
Boris Fishman
Filed under: book reviews, examiner articles Tagged: american, authors, book reviews, books, Boris Fishman, debut novels, fiction, immigrant, immigrant literature, jewish, Jewish-American, Jewish-American literature, literature, novels, Russian, russian-american
May 7, 2014
Book review: “Suddenly, Love” Aharon Appelfeld’s tale of emotional healing
“Though not Appelfeld’s best work, Suddenly, Love despite its deceptive simplicity offers much food for thought and would be a good choice for book groups.” —From my NYJB review. For a shorter synopsis of the novel see my examiner article.
Aharon Appelfeld
Filed under: book reviews, examiner articles Tagged: Aharon Appelfeld, book reviews, books, fiction, Holocaust survivors, Israeli literature, novels
April 18, 2014
Books: poet C.K. Williams turns to prose in All at Once
“It is probably not fair to compare C. K. Williams’ prose in All at Once with his award winning verse poetry books, but it does offer poetry averse readers an opportunity to engage with a perceptive and empathic wordsmith whose work they otherwise would not encounter.” —From my NYJB book review. Also see my examiner article.
Books: poet C.K. Williams turns to prose in All at Once
“It is probably not fair to compare C. K. Williams’ prose in All at Once with his award winning verse poetry books, but it does offer poetry averse readers an opportunity to engage with a perceptive and empathic wordsmith whose work they otherwise would not encounter.” —From my NYJB book review. Also see my examiner article.
C.K. Williams
Filed under: book reviews, examiner articles Tagged: authors, book reviews, books, C.K. Williams, literature, prose, prose poetry, writers
April 7, 2014
Books: in David Grand's Mount Terminus both protagonist and Los Angeles come of age
"David Grand’s third novel, Mount Terminus, is written in luscious, erudite prose so dense his readers have no choice but to read it slowly."
-- from my review of Mount Terminus by David Grand on New York Journal of Books. Also see my examiner article.
Mount Terminus
Books: in David Grand’s Mount Terminus both protagonist and Los Angeles come of age
”David Grand’s third novel, Mount Terminus, is written in luscious, erudite prose so dense his readers have no choice but to read it slowly.”
– from my review of Mount Terminus by David Grand on New York Journal of Books. Also see my examiner article.
David Grand
Filed under: book reviews, examiner articles Tagged: American literature, authors, book review, books, David Grand, historical fiction, novels, writers
March 25, 2014
David Grossman conveys parental bereavement in Falling Out of Time
“As moving as are each of these expressions of grief the cumulative effect of Falling Out of Time‘s nearly 200 pages is even more powerful. It certainly conveys bereaved parents’ pain to readers who have not suffered that loss and may help some mourning parents work through their grief, though others may feel it reopens emotional wounds.” -- from my New York Journal of Books review of David Grossman's new multi-genre book.
Also see my examiner article.
David Grossman
David Grossman conveys parental bereavement in Falling Out of Time
“As moving as are each of these expressions of grief the cumulative effect of Falling Out of Time‘s nearly 200 pages is even more powerful. It certainly conveys bereaved parents’ pain to readers who have not suffered that loss and may help some mourning parents work through their grief, though others may feel it reopens emotional wounds.” — from my New York Journal of Books review of David Grossman’s new multi-genre book.
Also see my examiner article.
David Grossman
Filed under: book reviews, examiner articles Tagged: bereavement, book reviews, books, David Grossman, grief, israeli, literature, plays, poetry, prose
February 27, 2014
Jewish books: Ellen Litman’s Mannequin Girl describes childhood in 1980s Moscow
In my New York Journal of Books review I describe Ellen Litman‘s second novel Mannequin Girl as “a welcome addition to the coming of age genre that will appeal both to adult readers and to precocious teenagers.” Also see my examiner article about this novel set in 1980s Moscow.
Ellen Litman
Filed under: book reviews, examiner articles Tagged: authors, book reviews, books, fiction, jewish, literature, Moscow, novels, Russian, Soviet Union, USSR
