Jess Walter

HAIKU REVIEWS

My apologies
to the many geniuses
who thought of this first

N--SUPER SAD TRUE LOVE STORY, Gary Shteyngart
Title of the great
Super Sad True Love Story
works in a haiku

N--THE FROZEN RABBI, Steve Stern
Kid finds iced rabbi
in basement rec-room freezer
and the world goes nuts

N--THE ASK, Sam Lipsyte
Fevered funny this
cultural criticism's
stunning sentences

SS--WHAT HE'S POISED TO DO, Ben Greenman
Forthcoming story
collection hums with regret
longing and great prose

NF--KRAKATOA, Simon Winchester
Sometimes I just want
to read about volcanos
and stuff so sue me

NF--CHANGING MY MIND, Zadie Smith
Invigorating
to see the synapses fire
in these sharp essays

N-DAY OF THE LOCUST, Nathanael West
There is be something
darker, sharper than satire
here, something brutal

NF-REALITY HUNGER, David Shields
Polemical and
often infuriating
just as it should be

N-36 ARGUMENTS FOR THE EXISTENCE OF GOD, Rebecca Goldstein
A screwball romance
with brilliant philosophy
and canny satire

N-THE MANY DEATHS OF THE FIREFLY BROTHERS, Thomas Mullen
Gangster gunplay and
speculative history
make modern comment

SS-CHILDHOOD AND OTHER NEIGHBORHOODS, Stuart Dybek
Some intuitive
sense of place is at work here
in precise stories

-------------------------
(N-Novel; SS-Short Stories; NF-Nonfiction; P-Poetry)

GREAT '09 BOOKS
N-AWAIT YOUR REPLY, Dan Chaon.
N-JULIET, NAKED, Nick Hornby.
P-TIME AND MATERIALS, Robert Hass.
SS-WAR DANCES, Sherman Alexie.
N-A GENEROSITY, Richard Powers.
N-GIVE + TAKE, Stona Fitch.
NF-THE BIG BURN, Tim Egan.
N-HOMER AND LANGLEY, E. L. Doctorow.
N-THAT OLD CAPE MAGIC, Richard Russo.
N-FAMILY MAN, Elinor Lipman.
N-TWISTED TREE, Kent Meyers.
N-BORDER SONGS, Jim Lynch.
NF-CREATIONISTS, E.L. Doctorow.
SS-THE LITTLEST HITLER, Ryan Boudinot.
SS-JESUS' SON, Denis Johnson.
N--NOBODY MOVE, Denis Johnson.
N--TREE OF SMOKE, Denis Johnson.
P--THE TANGLED LINE, Tod Marshall.
N--BILLY BATHGATE, E.L. Doctorow.
N--THE ASSASSINATION OF JESSE JAMES BY THE COWARD ROBERT FORD, Ron Hansen.
SS--THE RED CONVERTIBLE, Louise Erdrich.
SS--DRIFT AND SWERVE, Samuel Ligon.
NF--HIDING MAN, Tracy Daugherty.
N--THE RUSSIAN DEBUTANTE'S HANDBOOK, Gary Shteyngart.
N--REMAINDER, Tom McCarthy.

GREAT '08 READS
N--THE END, Salvatore Scibona
N--HOME, Marilynn Robinson
N-!-SHADOW COUNTRY, Peter Matthiessen
N--THE LAZARUS PROJECT, Aleksandar Hemon
N--TELEX FROM CUBA, Rachel Kushner
SS-!-OUR STORY BEGINS, Tobias Wolff
SS--OLIVE KITTERIDGE, Elizabeth Strout
SS-!-UNACCUSTOMED EARTH, Jhumpa Lahiri
N-!-LUSH LIFE, Richard Price
N-!-A MERCY, Toni Morrison
N--THE PLAGUE OF DOVES, Louise Erdrich
N--PEACE, Richard Bausch
SS--A BETTER ANGEL, Chris Adrian
SS--THE NIGHTENGALES OF TROY, Alice Fulton
SS--ALL THE SAD YOUNG LITERARY MEN, Keith Gessen
SS--TWO MARRIAGES, Phillip Lopate (novellas)
SS--ONE MORE YEAR, Sana Krasikov
SS--DANGEROUS LAUGHTER, Steven Millhauser
SS--FINE JUST THE WAY IT IS, Annie Proulx
N--INDIGNATION, Philip Roth
N--THE SOUL THIEF, Charles Baxter
N--HOW THE DEAD DREAM, Lydia Millet
N--NETHERLAND, Joseph O'Neill
N--THE HOUR I FIRST BELIEVED, Wally Lamb
N--A PERSON OF INTEREST, Susan Choi
N--PERSONAL DAYS, Ed Park
N--ATMOSPHERIC DISTURBANCES, Rivka Galchen
P--THE RADIUM WATCH DIAL PAINTERS, Dan Butterworth
N--GONE TOMORROW, P.F. Kluge
N--TESTIMONY, Anita Shreeve
N--THE GOD OF WAR, Marissa Silver
N--A COUNTRY CALLED HOME, Kim Barnes
N--SONG YET SUNG, James McBride
N--THE STORY OF A MARRIAGE, Andrew Sean Greer
N--THE ENGLISH MAJOR, Jim Harrison
N--THE 19TH WIFE, David Ebershoff
N--SONGS FOR THE MISSING, Stewart O'Nan
N--GOLDENGROVE, Francine Prose
N--COVENTRY, Joseph Bathanti
N--VACATION, Deb Olin Unferth
N--MORE THAN IT HURTS YOU, Darin Strauss
N--THE GIVEN DAY, Dennis Lehane
N--EXILES, Ron Hansen
N--CITY OF THIEVES, David Benioff
N--GO WITH ME, Castle Freeman Jr.
N--MUDBOUND, Hillary Jordan
N--THE END OF THE JEWS, Adam Mansbach
N--DEAR AMERICAN AIRLINES, Jonathan Miles
N--HARRY, REVISITED, Mark Sarvas
N--THE GOOD THIEF, Hannah Tinti
N--CRUST, Lawrence Shainberg
N--THE CONDITION, Jennifer Haigh
N--MONSTER, 1959, David Maine
N--MAN IN THE DARK, Paul Auster
N--CITY OF REFUGE, Tom Piazza
N--GUERNICA, Dave Boling

GREAT '07 READS
N--THE BEAUTIFUL MISCELLANEOUS,Dominic Smith
SS--DISTURBANCE-LOVING SPECIES, Peter Chilson
SS--THE MOTHER GARDEN, Robin Romm
SS--HUMAN RESOURCES, Josh Goldfarb
N--THE LAST TOWN ON EARTH, Thomas Mullen
SS--THE GATEWAY, T.M. McNalley
SS--YES, YES, CHERRY, Mary Otis
N-!-SACRED GAMES by Vikram Chandra
NF-!-THIS BOY'S LIFE, Tobias Wolff
N-!-VERONICA, Mary Gaitskill
SS--OUR FORMER LIVES IN ART, Jennifer Davis
SS--NO ONE BELONGS HERE MORE THAN YOU, Miranda July
N--THE PINBALL THEORY OF APOCALYPSE, Jonathan Selwood
N--A PUSH AND A SHOVE, Chrisotpher Kelly
N--THE WATER CURE, Percival Everett.
N--LET THE NORTHERN LIGHTS ERASE YOUR NAME, Vendela Vida
N--THE BABY LOTTERY, Kathryn Trueblood
SS--THE MIDDLEMAN AND OTHER STORIES, Bharati Mukherjee
N-!-REVOLUTIONARY ROAD, Richard Yates
NF--A SUPPOSEDLY FUN THING I'LL NEVER DO AGAIN, David Foster Wallace
N-!-ABSURDISTAN, Gary Shteyngart
N-!-THEN WE CAME TO THE END, Joshua Ferris
N--HOMELAND, Sam Lipsyte
NF--IMPERIAL LIFE IN THE EMERALD CITY, Rajiv Chandrasekaran
N--BRIDGE OF SIGHS, Richard Russo
N--HOLDER OF THE WORLD, Bharati Mukherjee
N--EAT THE DOCUMENT, Dana Spiotta
SS--PU-239 AND OTHER STORIES, Ken Kalfus
NF--KILLING YOURSELF TO LIVE, Chuck Klosterman
SS--THE KING OF LIMBO, Adrianne Harun
N--BRIGHTON ROCK, Graham Greene
SS--SHORT SHORTS, An Anthology of the Shortest Stories, edited by Irving Howe
NF--THE ART AND CRAFT OF THE SHORT STORY, Rick DeMarinis
N--BELOVED, Toni Morrison
N-!-BLINDNESS, Jose Saramago
NF--MYSTERY AND MANNERS, Flannery O'Connor
P--BOOK OF SKELETONS, Rachel Vigier
NF--LIVING BY FICTION, Annie Dillard
N--KOCKROACH, Tyler Knox
P--DELIGHTS & SHADOWS, Ted Kooser
N--YOU DON'T LOVE ME YET, Jonathan Lethem
NF--THE COLONY, John Tayman
F--THE INTERLOPER, Antoine Wilson
NF--THE WORST HARD TIME, Timothy Egan
F-!-THE BEAUTIFUL THINGS THAT HEAVEN BEARS, Dinaw Mengestu
F--FALLING MAN, Don DeLillo
F--FLIGHT, Sherman Alexie
NF-!-THE DISAPPOINTMENT ARTIST, Jonathan Lethem
NF--MAN WITHOUT A COUNTRY, Kurt Vonnegut
SS--DEAD BOYS, Richard Lange
N--HOUSE OF MEETINGS, Martin Amis
N--THE YIDDISH POLICEMEN'S UNION, Michael Chabon
NF--THE KID STAYS IN THE PICTURE, Robert Evans

GREAT '06 READS
NF--20 JULY, Constantine FitzGibbon
N-!-BLACK SWAN GREEN, David Mitchell
NF--READING LIKE A WRITER, Francine Prose
N-!-THE ECHO MAKER, Richard Powers
N--A DISORDER PECULIAR TO THE COUNTRY, Ken Kalfus
N--THE FLANDERS PANEL, Aturo Perez-Reverte
N-!-LOST CITY RADIO, Daniel Alarcon
N--NOBODY'S ANGEL, Tom McGuane
NF--HOUSEKEEPING VS. THE DIRT, Nick Hornby
SS--PASTORALIA, George Saunders
SS-!-THE TURNING, Tim Winton
N--SATURDAY, Ian McEwan
N--THE NEW YORK TRILOGY, Paul Auster
N--THE LAY OF THE LAND, Richard Ford
SS--THE DOG OF THE MARRIAGE, Amy Hempel
SS--TUMBLE HOME, Amy Hempel
N--THE DRAMATIST, Ken Bruen
SS-!-I SAILED WITH MAGELLAN, Stuart Dybek
N--THE BROOKLYN FOLLIES, Paul Auster
N--ON THE ROAD, Jack Kerouac
NF--LUCKIEST MAN, Jonathan Eig
N--TISHOMINGO BLUES, Elmore Leonard
N-!-THE KNOWN WORLD, Edward P. Jones
N--CONCRETE ISLAND, J.G. Ballard
N--LUNAR PARK, Bret Easton Ellis
N--THE LAST DAYS OF IL DUCE, Domenic Stansberry
NF--ORPHANS, Charles d'Ambrosio
N--THE SEA, John Banville
N--THE LINCOLN LAWYER, Michael Connelly
N--DRAMA CITY, George Pelecanos
N--THE CONSTANT GARDNER, John LeCarre
N--SPECIMEN DAYS, Michael Cunningham
N--THE PLOT AGAINST AMERICA, Philip Roth
SS-!-JESUS' SON, Denis Johnson
N--NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN, Cormac McCarthy
SS--THE BRIGADIER AND THE GOLF WIDOW, John Cheever
NF--BURY MY HEART AT WOUNDED KNEE, Dee Brown
NF--DEVIL IN THE WHITE CITY, Erik Larson
SS--THE EARLY STORIES, John Updike
SS--LOST IN THE CITY, Edward P. Jones

GREAT '05 READS
SS--THE STORIES OF JOHN CHEEVER
NF--CHRONICLES (VOL. 1), Bob Dylan
NF--THE YEAR OF MAGICAL THINKING, Joan Didion
N--SHOPGIRL, Steve Martin
N-!-GILEAD, Marilynne Robinson
N--THE DIAGNOSIS, Alan Lightman
NF--A MOVEABLE FEAST, Ernest Hemingway
N--PLEASE DON'T COME BACK FROM THE MOON, Dean Bakopoulos
NF-!-JOE GOULD'S SECRET, Joseph Mitchell.
N--THE HIGHEST TIDE, Jim Lynch
N-!-JOURNEY TO THE END OF THE NIGHT, Celine
N--HENDERSON THE RAIN KING, Saul Bellow
NF--RAYMOND CARVER, AN ORAL BIOGRAPHY, Sam Halpert
N--THE HONEYMOONERS, Chuck Kinder
N-!-CLOUD ATLAS, David Mitchell
N--HARRY POTTER II and III, J.K. Rowling
N--A LONG WAY DOWN, Nick Hornby
N--TRUE HISTORY OF THE KELLY GANG, Peter Carey
N--THE MUSIC OF CHANCE, Paul Auster
NF--JOE DIMAGGIO, Richard Ben Cramer
N-!-THE HOURS, Michael Cunningham
N-!-RABBIT, RUN, John Updike
NF--THE BELIEVER (magazine) and THE POLYSYLLABIC SPREE, Nick Hornby
N--HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERER'S STONE, J.K. Rowling
N--BEING DEAD, Jim Crace
N-!-TIME'S ARROW, Martin Amis
N--THE CONFESSIONS OF MAX TIVOLI, Andrew Sean Greer
N-!-HERZOG, Saul Bellow
N-!-THE ADVENTURES OF AUGIE MARCH, Saul Bellow
NF--THE SMARTEST GUYS IN THE ROOM, Bethany McLean and Peter Elkind
NF--CONSPIRACY OF FOOLS, Kurt Eichenwald
P--FIRST HAND, Linda Bierds
N-!-MIDNIGHT'S CHILDREN, Salman Rushdie
NF--STEP ACROSS THIS LINE, Salman Rushdie
N--MEMOIR FROM ANT-PROOF CASE, Mark Helprin
N--SAFE IN HEAVEN DEAD, Sam Ligon
N--THE WILT ALTERNATIVE, Tom Sharpe
N--THE BLITZ, Ken Bruen
P-!-MAKING CERTAIN IT GOES ON, collected poems of Richard Hugo
NF--HIGH BROW LOW BROW, Lawrence Levine
NF--102 MINUTES, by Kevin Flynn and Jim Dwyer.

GREAT '04 READS
NF--DISNEYWAR, James Stewart
N--RABBIT REDUX, John Updike
P--LIGHT'S LADDER, Christopher Howell
P--MEMOIR OF THE HAWK, James Tate
N--A CHANGED MAN, Francine Prose
NF--AN INTIMATE HISTORY OF HUMANITY, Theodore Zeldin
N-!-FOOL'S CROW, James Welch
P--RIDING THE EARTHBOY 20, James Welch
N--THE HEARTSONG OF CHARGING ELK, James Welch
SS--THE GARDEN OF NORTH AMERICAN MARTYRS, Tobias Wolff
N--HOUSE OF LEAVES, Mark Danielewski
N--BLUE ANGEL, Francine Prose
N--WILT, Tom Sharpe
N--BILLY PHELAN'S GREATEST GAME, William Kennedy
N-!-IRONWEED, William Kennedy
N-!-THE UNIVERSAL BASEBALL ASSOCIATION, J. HENRY WAUGH PROPRIETOR, Robert Coover
N--THE FLAMING CORSAGE, William Kennedy
N--ROSCOE, William Kennedy
NF--LIVING TO TELL THE TALE, Gabriel Garcia Marquez
N--FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, Jonathan Lethem
N--GUN WITH OCCASIONAL MUSIC, Jonathan Lethem
N-!-ERASURE, Percival Everett
N-!-THREE FARMERS ON THEIR WAY TO A DANCE, Richard Powers
N-!-MOTHERLESS BROOKLYN, Jonathan Lethem