Within months of the invasion of Iraq, the Pentagon held a special screening of the film Battle of Algiers, supposedly to show how and why France failed in its struggle against Algerian urban guerilla warfare and terrorism. Later, others wondered about the film’s depiction of torture and its impact on American policy in light of […]
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The thought of a John Updike novel pondering America’s post-9/11 angst may lead to a belief that the world is beginning to see the 9/11 literary canon so many people seem to desire. While post-9/11 America sets the stage for Updike’s 22nd novel, Terrorist, let’s hope it is a step along the way to that […] If conflict is what drives a novel, Gautam Malkani’s debut, Londonstani, has plenty of fuel. Throw in a narrator who tells the story with perception and humor in an argot comprised of English, Punjabi and urban slang and you’re in for an intriguing ride, even if the payoff might leave you skeptical. Londonstani addresses a […] Alternate history can be a challenging subgenre for any writer. Setting the story in near-future America and extrapolating from recent history to express what the mainstream may consider radical political concepts raises the bar that much higher. While John Miglio’s Sunshine Assassins proceeds from an interesting and colorable premise, its execution prevents it from clearing […] I’ll admit it. My predisposition (okay, bias) was that I wouldn’t like Annette Gilson’s novel, New Light. First, she is professor of creative writing and “contemporary literature.” It may be unfair, but I tend to think such authors write with more flourish and exposition than necessary, as if demonstrating their “expertise” to their students. Then, […] |
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