Las Vegas Review of Books

Check out Issue #10 of LaVeRB: lasvegasreviewofbooks.com/current-issue/

"The poems often seem on the verge of leaping into song." A review of "Rodeo," by Sunni Brown Wilkinson: lasvegasreviewofbooks.com/poetry-20/

"Rutherford is at his best when, like Melville before him, he channels the feeling that a legendary epoch is about to give way to a bleak and depressing future." A review of "North Sun; or, The Voyage of the Whaleship 'Esther'": lasvegasreviewofbooks.com/fiction-28/

"If 'Gatsby' stays with us one hundred years later, it is perhaps this musical quality more than any other that explains its staying power." On the centenary of "The Great Gatsby": lasvegasreviewofbooks.com/happy-annivers…

"There's something very 'Utah' about this book." A review of "Rodeo" (@AutumnHousePrs), Sunni Brown Wilkinson's new collection of poetry: lasvegasreviewofbooks.com/poetry-20/

"Lalami offers a harrowing and cerebral meditation on state control, surveillance, and the unreliability of intention in a world where the unconscious mind is no longer private." A review of Laila Lalami's "The Dream Hotel" (@PantheonBooks): lasvegasreviewofbooks.com/fiction-27/

Nice piece on Nevada ("The Mirage") for @thenation by @o_rinocoflow: thenation.com/article/societ…

"Vegas becomes a symbol not just of excess and reinvention but of the deep tensions between human ambition and environmental limitations." A review of Kyle Paoletta's "American Oasis: Finding the Future in the Cities of the Southwest" (@PantheonBooks): lasvegasreviewofbooks.com/nonfiction-3/

"While she is well aware of water issues, Eloise is continually impressed by the 'fearsome and optimistic' outlook that drives development in the region." A review of Madeleine Watts's new novel, "Elegy, Southwest" (@SimonBooks): lasvegasreviewofbooks.com/fiction-29/

"The desert beyond Gabriela's backyard becomes a surreal landscape—a place of furtive movements and jarring sounds, where time is irregular and the cacti are closing in." A review of José Rivera's "References to Salvador Dalí Make Me Hot" (@APublicFit): lasvegasreviewofbooks.com/theatre-3/

"A prominent vein of esoteric knowledge winds through the poems in 'The Rose,' evoking classical mythology, medieval theology, modern astrology, and—maybe—witchcraft." A review of Ariana Reines's new work of poetry (@GraywolfPress): lasvegasreviewofbooks.com/poetry-19/

"'The ice renders time and distance meaningless,' and experience can no longer be distinguished from hallucination." A review of Ethan Rutherford's new novel, "North Sun; or, The Voyage of the Whaleship Esther" (@DeepVellum): lasvegasreviewofbooks.com/fiction-28/

"What is striking about Baker’s book is how it frames the entrepreneurial work ethic as a kind of religious movement." A review of Erik Baker's "Make Your Own Job" (@Harvard_Press): lasvegasreviewofbooks.com/history-5/

"Durbin’s novel is a darkly fun trip through the moral gloam of nineteenth-century America." A review of Frederic S. Durbin's "The Country Under Heaven" (@melvillehouse): lasvegasreviewofbooks.com/fiction-25/

"The smoke in the collection gains power not by analogically suggesting but by thematically abutting the book’s focus on motherhood." A review of "Smother" (@wwnorton), Rachel Richardson's new book of poetry: lasvegasreviewofbooks.com/poetry-18/

"'Big Chief' is a remarkable debut—gritty, gorgeously written, politically astute, and emotionally resonant." A review of Jon Hickey's new novel (@SimonBooks): lasvegasreviewofbooks.com/fiction-26/

Our current issue features reviews of books published by @SimonBooks, @wwnorton, @melvillehouse, @Harvard_Press, @DeepVellum, @GraywolfPress, @PantheonBooks, and @AutumnHousePrs (and a play produced by @APublicFit). lasvegasreviewofbooks.com/current-issue/

"It’s not hard to imagine Jay Gatsby building a lavish (if gaudy) hotel-casino and throwing beautiful parties in Las Vegas." On One Hundred Years of "The Great Gatsby": lasvegasreviewofbooks.com/happy-annivers…

"What if your unconscious thoughts were read algorithmically, stripped of nuance and context, and weaponized into proof of your deviance?" A review of "The Dream Hotel," by Laila Lalami: lasvegasreviewofbooks.com/fiction-27/

"Paoletta argues that the Southwest serves as both a preview of America’s future and a model for how cities might adapt to climate and resource challenges." A review of "American Oasis," by Kyle Paoletta: lasvegasreviewofbooks.com/nonfiction-3/

"The novel captures a desert spirit that often proves elusive to writers." A review of "Elegy, Southwest," by Madeleine Watts: lasvegasreviewofbooks.com/fiction-29/