Open Letters Review
  • Contact & Submissions
  • About

Open Letters Review

  • Contact & Submissions/
  • About/

Open Letters Review

Open Letters Review

An Arts & Literature Review

Open Letters Review

  • Contact & Submissions/
  • About/
 

June 21, 2019

On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous By Ocean Vuong

June 21, 2019/ Steve Donoghue
On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous By Ocean Vuong

Almost, but not quite, a modern classic of gay fiction.

Read More
June 21, 2019/ Steve Donoghue/
Biography/Memoir
Ocean Vuong, memoir, Penguin Random House
June 20, 2019

Moonbound by Jonathan Fetter-Vorm

June 20, 2019/ Steve Donoghue
Moonbound by Jonathan Fetter-Vorm

The stories of these people have been told before, but this graphic novel format actually enhances the historical record.

Read More
June 20, 2019/ Steve Donoghue/
Science/Technology
Jonathan Fetter-Vorm, Hill and Wang, Apollo 11, spaceflight, space program, MacMillan Publishers, Steve Donoghue
June 19, 2019

The Paper Wasp by Lauren Acampora

June 19, 2019/ Olive Fellows
The Paper Wasp by Lauren Acampora

A disturbing psychological thriller heavy in atmosphere that doubles as a cautionary tale.

Read More
June 19, 2019/ Olive Fellows/
Literary Fiction
Lauren Acampora, Grove Atlantic, literary fiction, Hollywood, Olive Fellows
June 18, 2019

Fall, or, Dodge in Hell By Neal Stephenson

June 18, 2019/ Steve Donoghue
Fall, or, Dodge in Hell By Neal Stephenson

A fascinating fictional exploration of post-Singularity consciousness lumbering around in a foam fat suit.

Read More
June 18, 2019/ Steve Donoghue/
Fiction-Sci-Fi & Fantasy
Neal Stephenson, William Morrow, technology, techno-thriller, science fiction, Steve Donoghue
June 17, 2019

The Origin of Empire by David Potter

June 17, 2019/ Steve Donoghue
The Origin of Empire by David Potter

Built on a careful blending of original sources and secondary sources, both scholarly and popular.

Read More
June 17, 2019/ Steve Donoghue/
History
David Potter, Harvard University Press, Ancient Rome, Roman history, Steve Donoghue
June 14, 2019

Rough Magic by Laura Prior-Palmer

June 14, 2019/ Olive Fellows
Rough Magic by Laura Prior-Palmer

The author chronicles her participation in the Mongol Derby, a race across Mongolia in the hoof prints of Genghis Khan's postal couriers.

Read More
June 14, 2019/ Olive Fellows/
Biography/Memoir
Lara Prior Palmer, biography, memoir, Olive Fellows
June 13, 2019

This Storm by James Ellroy

June 13, 2019/ Steve Donoghue
This Storm by James Ellroy

Totally, barbarously engrossing, and bluntly sure of itself.

Read More
June 13, 2019/ Steve Donoghue/
Fiction-Crime & Thrillers
James Ellroy, crime fiction, Steve Donoghue
June 12, 2019

The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes Edited by Graeme Davis

June 12, 2019/ Steve Donoghue
The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes Edited by Graeme Davis

The biting little irony is that finishing this book will create a near-irresistible urge to read a Holmes story.

Read More
June 12, 2019/ Steve Donoghue/
Fiction-Mystery/Suspense, Anthologies/Short Stories
Graeme Davis, Pegasus Books, anthology, Sherlock Holmes, mystery fiction, Steve Donoghue
June 11, 2019

The British Are Coming by Rick Atkinson

June 11, 2019/ Steve Donoghue
The British Are Coming by Rick Atkinson

A scrupulously researched and warmly, endlessly readable for both Revolution aficionados and newcomers.

Read More
June 11, 2019/ Steve Donoghue/
History
Rick Atkinson, Henry Holt, American History, American Revolution, Steve Donoghue
June 10, 2019

Jerusalem by Merav Mack & Benjamin Balint

June 10, 2019/ Mark Richardson
Jerusalem by Merav Mack & Benjamin Balint

Jerusalem is well portrayed by the authors as they explore the books, the libraries, and the stories of the ancient city.

Read More
June 10, 2019/ Mark Richardson/
History
Merav Mack, Benjamin Balint, Yale University Press, Jerusalem, Israel, Middle East, Mark Richardson
June 07, 2019

The Fourth Reich by Gavriel D. Rosenfeld

June 07, 2019/ Steve Donoghue
The Fourth Reich by Gavriel D. Rosenfeld

The Fourth Reich is the carefully-documented anatomy of a standing threat.

Read More
June 07, 2019/ Steve Donoghue/
History
Gavriel D. Rosenfeld, Cambridge University Press, Third Reich, World War II, Nazi Germany, Adolph Hitler, Steve Donoghue
June 06, 2019

Moneyland by Oliver Bullough

June 06, 2019/ David Murphy
Moneyland by Oliver Bullough

Moneyland is muddled by an unnecessary political context that misplaces criticism and neglects moral ambiguities.

Read More
June 06, 2019/ David Murphy/
Politics & Economics
Oliver Bullough, St. Martin's Press, Economics, David Murphy
June 04, 2019

Darkness By Design by Walter Mattli

June 04, 2019/ David Murphy
Darkness By Design by Walter Mattli

Concepts are clearly and succinctly explained along the way which makes it inviting to new readers.

Read More
June 04, 2019/ David Murphy/
Politics & Economics
Walter Mattli, Princeton University Press, capitalism, expose, New York Stock Exchange, Economics, David Murphy
June 03, 2019

The Unnamable Present by Roberto Calasso

June 03, 2019/ Bailey Trela
The Unnamable Present by Roberto Calasso

A bright book, its insights glyptic and sharp, but obsessed with the obscurities of the past.

Read More
June 03, 2019/ Bailey Trela/
Politics & Economics, Society & Culture
Roberto Calasso, Italian translation, Richard Dixon, Farrar Straus Giroux Books, Bailey Trela, translations
May 30, 2019

Mistress of the Ritz by Melanie Benjamin

May 30, 2019/ Steve Donoghue
Mistress of the Ritz by Melanie Benjamin

A pleasing number of dramatic twists and a central, intriguingly complex marriage.

Read More
May 30, 2019/ Steve Donoghue/
Literary Fiction
literary fiction, Melanie Benjamin, Penguin Random House, Steve Donoghue
May 28, 2019

It’s a Mystery: “Those that know the most must mourn the deepest”

May 28, 2019/ Irma Heldman
It’s a Mystery: “Those that know the most must mourn the deepest”

An exquisitely crafted, stunning novel, set in a strange, ancient, beautiful place.

Read More
May 28, 2019/ Irma Heldman/
Fiction-Crime & Thrillers, Fiction-Mystery/Suspense, It's a Mystery
It's a Mystery, Irma Heldman, Julia Phillips, crime fiction, mystery fiction
May 24, 2019

Matilda: Empress, Queen, Warrior by Catherine Hanley

May 24, 2019/ Steve Donoghue
Matilda: Empress, Queen, Warrior by Catherine Hanley

Hanley’s assessment of the various roles Matilda filled in her life is uniformly thought-provoking.

Read More
May 24, 2019/ Steve Donoghue/
History
Matilda, Catherine Hanley, Yale University Press, English Monarchy, English history, Steve Donoghue
May 22, 2019

Cari Mora by Thomas Harris

May 22, 2019/ Steve Donoghue
Cari Mora by Thomas Harris

The first book to follow a phenomenon, and a conscious attempt to shed that phenomenon.

Read More
May 22, 2019/ Steve Donoghue/
Fiction-Crime & Thrillers
Thomas Harris, crime fiction, thrillers, Grand Central Publishing, mainstream fiction, Steve Donoghue, 21st Century
May 21, 2019

Ernesto: The Untold Story of Hemingway in Revolutionary Cuba by Andrew Feldman

May 21, 2019/ Steve Donoghue
Ernesto: The Untold Story of Hemingway in Revolutionary Cuba by Andrew Feldman

Andrew Feldman has here shaped his sources into a Hemingway who feels like a new acquaintance.

Read More
May 21, 2019/ Steve Donoghue/
Biography/Memoir
Ernest Hemingway, Andrew Feldman, biography, famous authors, Steve Donoghue
May 20, 2019

Alex Rider: Secret Weapon by Anthony Horowitz

May 20, 2019/ Steve Donoghue
Alex Rider: Secret Weapon by Anthony Horowitz

The Alex Rider books have always required a rather hefty suspension of disbelief, and they’ve always rewarded it.

Read More
May 20, 2019/ Steve Donoghue/
Fiction-Young Adult, Fiction-Crime & Thrillers
Anthony Horowitz, Philomel, Alex Rider, spy thriller, Penguin Random House, Young Adult Fiction, Steve Donoghue
  • Previous
  • Next
  • Contact & Submissions/
  • About/

Open Letters Review

An arts and literature review.

Subscribe

Sign up with your email address to receive a monthly recap of new posts.

We respect your privacy.

Thank you!
 

Editors:

Steve Donoghue
Sam Sacks
Britta Böhler
____________________

Eric Karl Anderson
Olive Fellows
Jack Hanson
Jennifer Helinek
Justin Hickey
Hannah Joyner
Zach Rabiroff
Jessica Tvordi

Categories:

  • Animals & Nature
  • Anthologies/Short Stories
  • Art & Music
  • Backlist
  • Biography/Memoir
  • Books & Authors
  • Children's Books
  • Classic Literature
  • Environment/Geology
  • Essays
  • Fiction - Historical
  • Fiction-Action/Adventure
  • Fiction-Crime & Thrillers
  • Fiction-Debut
  • Fiction-Drama
  • Fiction-General
  • Fiction-Horror
  • Fiction-Humor
  • Fiction-LGBTQ
  • Fiction-Legal
  • Fiction-Mystery/Suspense
  • Fiction-Paranormal
  • Fiction-Romance
  • Fiction-Sci-Fi & Fantasy
  • Fiction-Translated
  • Fiction-Young Adult
  • Film & Theatre; Adaptations
  • From the Archives
  • Graphic Novels/Comics
  • Health & Psychology
  • Historical Fiction
  • History
  • It's a Mystery
  • Just for Fun
  • Literary Criticism
  • Literary Fiction
  • Myths & Legends
  • Nonfiction Translations
  • Philosophy
  • Poetry
  • Politics & Economics
  • Reference
  • Religion
  • Science/Technology
  • Society & Culture
  • Sports and Recreation
  • Stevereads
  • Travel
Contact Us
Archive

Open Letters Review Site Policies