Book Review (Sort Of) at The Millions: The Tutor of History
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30 September 2009
Up at The Millions today, I’ve offered my own Top Five works of fiction since 2000 (none of my selections made The Millions Top 20 Best Fiction of the Millennium list last week). And I’ve sung the praises of my #6, The Tutor of History, by Nepali novelist Manjushree Thapa.
It’s a book review “sort of,” because it’s also something of a compare-contrast exercise, looking also at three other novels I read recently: Ali Smith‘s The Accidental, Rachel Kushner‘s Telex From Cuba, and Lily Tuck‘s The News From Paraguay (all, incidentally, major award-winners).
I seem to have taken up the cause of under-sung novels, particularly ones that have significant readership outside of the U.S. but are little known here. Tutor falls into that category. Later this week, a review I wrote of Australian novelist Carrie Tiffany‘s debut, Everyman’s Rules for Scientific Living, will appear at The Second Pass.
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I think the Book Review Sort Of is a really good format, actually. Nobody’s going to do that kind of compare-and-contrast in the newspaper review sections — it’s not playing by the rules — but in the world of blog reviewing, why not? It’s a good venue for playing a little fast and loose.
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Newspaper review sections? What’s that? (kidding)
Thanks, Lisa. The Millions in particular is a great place for fast and loose, I think.
I really like your new blog, by the way.
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Thank you!
I never thought I’d aspire to being fast or loose, but there ya go. New rules.