Book Reviews | Tarpaulin Sky Magazine
TELLING YOU WHAT TO THINK SINCE 2003 | IMAGE: NOAH SATERSTROM
Book Reviews | Tarpaulin Sky Magazine
TELLING YOU WHAT TO THINK SINCE 2003 | IMAGE: NOAH SATERSTROM
Craig Dworkin’s “Alkali” reviewed by Martin Corless-Smith
"Alkali is a magisterial kunstkammer, a new periodic tableau planted in a crystal garden of arcane knowledge and preposterous invention, a glockenspiel orchestration of aural augury that dances an irresistible instance of our geo-lyrical world."
Renee Gladman’s “Calamities” reviewed by Aisha Sabatini Sloan
"Each essay in Calamities has about it the quality of Ikea instructions. Instead of a bookcase, though, these are directions for a cardboard device that makes the world look different than it was, like what Michel Gondry might try— a pinhole camera or chakra lenses or Google Glass. The thing she is telling you how to make is pure imagination, it is not something you would or could bring to life—but you can wear it by reading her essays."
Katie Manning's "A Door with a Voice" reviewed by Noh Anothai
Noh Anothai reviews Katie Manning's A Door with a Voice (Agape Editions / Sundress, 2016): "Manning shatters the world's most widely read religious text and creates sixteen miniature mosaics out of the broken pieces."
Jason Snyder’s "Family Album" reviewed by Eireene Nealand
Eireene Nealand examines post-postmodern counterpoint in Jason Snyder’s hybrid novel Family Album (Jaded Ibis Press, 2015), a work that is "remarkably immersive, more like watching a film than reading a difficult piece of experimental literature."
Lissa Wolsak's "Of Beings Alone" Reviewed by Katie Hibner
Katie Hibner reviews Of Beings Alone (Tinfish Press, 2016): "With the ability to technologically manicure and customize every element of our existence, from our profile pictures to our potential lovers, to maybe even our children in the near future, I fear that Wolsak’s dystopia will expand outside of her text and into reality. Of Beings Alone is a jolting reminder to surrender to imperfection: appreciate the bruises on your 'windfall pears.'"
Kim Hyesoon’s “Sorrowtoothpaste Mirrorcream” reviewed by Lisa A. Flowers
Lisa A. Flowers reviews Sorrowtoothpaste Mirrorcream by Kim Hyesoon, translated by Don Mee Choi (Action Books): "A collection that intelligent children and adults alike will trip on and all-up-into. It’s the kind of book that’s as suited for DMT/LSD as it is for a vividly imagination-stimulating preschool storytime; and, of course, it’s a must for any occult-obsessee."
Craig Dworkin’s “Alkali” reviewed by Martin Corless-Smith
"Alkali is a magisterial kunstkammer, a new periodic tableau planted in a crystal garden of arcane knowledge and preposterous invention, a glockenspiel orchestration of aural augury that dances an irresistible instance of our geo-lyrical world."
Renee Gladman’s “Calamities” reviewed by Aisha Sabatini Sloan
"Each essay in Calamities has about it the quality of Ikea instructions. Instead of a bookcase, though, these are directions for a cardboard device that makes the world look different than it was, like what Michel Gondry might try— a pinhole camera or chakra lenses or Google Glass. The thing she is telling you how to make is pure imagination, it is not something you would or could bring to life—but you can wear it by reading her essays."
Katie Manning's "A Door with a Voice" reviewed by Noh Anothai
Noh Anothai reviews Katie Manning's A Door with a Voice (Agape Editions / Sundress, 2016): "Manning shatters the world's most widely read religious text and creates sixteen miniature mosaics out of the broken pieces."
Jason Snyder’s "Family Album" reviewed by Eireene Nealand
Eireene Nealand examines post-postmodern counterpoint in Jason Snyder’s hybrid novel Family Album (Jaded Ibis Press, 2015), a work that is "remarkably immersive, more like watching a film than reading a difficult piece of experimental literature."
Lissa Wolsak's "Of Beings Alone" Reviewed by Katie Hibner
Katie Hibner reviews Of Beings Alone (Tinfish Press, 2016): "With the ability to technologically manicure and customize every element of our existence, from our profile pictures to our potential lovers, to maybe even our children in the near future, I fear that Wolsak’s dystopia will expand outside of her text and into reality. Of Beings Alone is a jolting reminder to surrender to imperfection: appreciate the bruises on your 'windfall pears.'"
Kim Hyesoon’s “Sorrowtoothpaste Mirrorcream” reviewed by Lisa A. Flowers
Lisa A. Flowers reviews Sorrowtoothpaste Mirrorcream by Kim Hyesoon, translated by Don Mee Choi (Action Books): "A collection that intelligent children and adults alike will trip on and all-up-into. It’s the kind of book that’s as suited for DMT/LSD as it is for a vividly imagination-stimulating preschool storytime; and, of course, it’s a must for any occult-obsessee."