Los Angeles Times book reviews
42 of the 48 Los Angeles Times reviews here with a stated verdict were positive.
Verdict not statedThe Last Kings of Hollywood · Paul Fischer“Auteurs or accidental icons? The luck and ego that saved Coppola, Lucas and Spielberg”PositiveBaldwin · Nicholas Boggs“lively and vigorously researched biography”PositiveBook of Lives · Margaret Atwood“shares life lessons in ‘Book of Lives.’”RaveCool Machine · Colson Whitehead“dazzling, humor-infused masterpiece”Verdict not statedLong Island · Colm TóibínPositiveThe Disappearers · Marlon James“captures a community fighting to exist despite relentless persecution”PositiveThe Eleventh Hour · Salman Rushdie“It's a moving work from a writer embracing his 'second-chance life.'”Verdict not statedMark Twain · Ron ChernowMixedNotes to John · Joan Didion“I wish her the privacy she relished”MixedDead and Alive · Zadie Smith“her fiction better captures the messiness of public and private selves”Verdict not statedMurderland · Caroline FraserVerdict not statedRevenge of the Tipping Point · Malcolm GladwellPositiveSonny Boy: A Memoir · Al Pacino“goes all in with swagger, sorrow”PositiveTheory & Practice · Michelle de Kretser“beautifully sly writer”RaveContrapposto · Dave Eggers“his triumphant new novel”Verdict not statedDidion & Babitz · Lili AnolikPositiveGirl on Girl · Sophie Gilbert“serve as bulwarks against today's anti-feminist movement”PositiveHomework · Geoff Dyer“bursts with working-class pride”PositiveMy Good Bright Wolf · Sarah Moss“extraordinary memoirs chronicle the ways mental illness carves chasms in a life”Verdict not statedThe Emperor of Gladness · Ocean Vuong“happiness is elusive and the American Dream out of reach”PositiveThe Land of Sweet Forever · Harper Lee“Harper Lee’s wry humor is on ample display”PositiveVulture · Phoebe Greenwood“a provocative satire about a clueless scoop seeker in Gaza”Verdict not statedWe Did OK, Kid: A Memoir · Anthony HopkinsPositiveWhistler · Ann Patchett“her most intimate novel yet”PanAmerican Canto · Olivia Nuzzi“rife with arrogance and thin on sourcing”PositiveBring the House Down · Charlotte Runcie“entertaining”RaveCall Me Ishmaelle · Xiaolu Guo“it's a triumph”PositiveFreedom · Angela Merkel“punches back, in understated Merkel style”PositiveGood Girl · Aria Aber“is all too timely”PositiveHum · Helen Phillips“glimmers of humanity and hope”PositiveIs a River Alive? · Robert Macfarlane“prose that flows like the water he so admires”PositiveLazarus Man · Richard Price“grit, hustle and even hope”PositiveThe Antidote · Karen Russell“even more ambitious than 'Swamplandia!'”PositiveThe Book of Records · Madeleine Thien“voyagers embrace humanity”PositiveThe CIA Book Club · Charlie English“reminds how revolutionary reading can be”RaveThe Dream Hotel · Laila Lalami“'The Dream Hotel' is astounding, elegantly constructed, character-driven fiction”PositiveFlashlight · Susan Choi“brings her impressive literary skills to bear”Verdict not statedMothers and Sons · Adam HaslettPositiveShow Don’t Tell · Curtis Sittenfeld“A radiant contentment pervades Curtis Sittenfeld's stories”PositiveThe South · Tash Aw“gets off to strong start”Verdict not statedVera, or Faith · Gary ShteyngartPositiveChildren of Radium · Joe Dunthorne“doggedly researched his Jewish ancestor's scientific work benefiting the Nazis”PositiveColored Television · Danzy Senna“a funny Hollywood takedown”RaveEndling · Maria Reva“heart-stopping 'Endling'”PositiveLetters · Oliver Sacks“a restless intellect roving far beyond what we saw in his books”Verdict not statedLiars · Sarah MangusoMixedStranger than Fiction: Lives of the Twentieth-Century Novel · Edwin Frank“There is some hubris in daring to define the key features”PositiveThe Mighty Red · Louise Erdrich“author Louise Erdrich finds hope in the landscape as well”Verdict not statedThe Odd Woman and the City · Vivian GornickRaveThe Vaster Wilds · Lauren Groff“Lauren Groff just reinvented the adventure novel”PositiveYou Won’t Get Free of It · Rachel Aviv“stunning new essay collection”PositiveA New New Me · Helen Oyeyemi“confident eighth novel”MixedAbsolution · Jeff VanderMeer“asks more questions than it answers”Verdict not statedBad Bad Girl · Gish JenPositiveCrux · Gabriel Tallent“a gripping read”PositiveKatabasis · R. F. Kuang“a very smart descent into academic hell”PositiveStephen Sondheim · Daniel Okrent“reveals some shockers — and the dark side of genius”MixedThat Librarian · Amanda Jones“a troubling portrait of America's culture war over censorship and book banning”PositiveA Sunny Place for Shady People · Mariana Enriquez“delivers more delightfully twisted stories”Verdict not statedHip-hop Is History · Questlove“wields an often-pointed pen”Verdict not statedOn Freedom · Timothy Snyder“trace why the U.S. is susceptible to fascist appeals from politicians like Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis”PositiveUp All Night · Imogen Willetts“proving L.A.'s 2000s party era was a serious cultural force”Verdict not statedWho Could Ever Love You · Mary TrumpPositiveLovers XXX · Allie Rowbottom“a thrilling new examination of the 1980s adult film industry”