Colson Whitehead’s “The Nickel Boys”

“The Nickel Boys” is Colson Whitehead’s follow-up novel to his much praised, Pulitzer-prize winning novel “The Underground Railroad”.  Whitehead appears to have studied and researched the histories of African-Americans in this country, and his newest novel is based upon a kind of reformatory school near Tallahassee, Florida, a product of the Jim Crow South and […]

Tea Obreht’s “Inland”

Tea Obreht’s second novel, “Inland” , may be even more phenomenal than her superb debut novel, “The Tiger’s Wife”.  Both have appeared within 18 months or so, which, in and of itself, is amazing enough, both are long, sprawling, adventurous novels.  “Inland” is one of this year’s best novels, as we head into the final […]

Taffy Brodesser-Akner’s “Fleishman Is In Trouble”

The reader’s response to Taffy Brodesser-Akner’s novel “Fleishman Is In Trouble”–which, amazingly, has been nominated for The National Book Award– is going to depend upon his or her age, demographic, education, ideology. There’s no doubt that the novel is exceptionally well written, as it purports to explore a very contemporary marriage, or its demise, told […]