In a Strange Room
Today, in Book Review, John Wilwol reviews Damon Galgut’s latest novel, In a Strange Room.
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M. Rebekah Otto
67 posts
M. Rebekah Otto lives in Berkeley, CA. She grew up in Chicago. Her current interests include her new nine-to-five, vintage wallpaper, and Evan S. Connell. Also, she's the former Books Editor of the Rumpus.
A MODERN READER #6: In the Stacks
I spent $90, and now I have 39 books stacked on my table. That’s $2.31 each!
Opening Lines
Opening Lines discusses the origins and first trys of now-famous writers and other figures. Their tag line reads: “How the famous and infamous got their start.” Some of my favorite’s…
Litquake & the CLA All-Stars
The Center for Literary Arts and Litquake present an all-star reading this Sunday night at 6:30. Hosted by Rumpus Books Editor Andrew Altschul, the event features past and future CLA…
The Man Who Guarded the Bomb
Today, in Book Review, Matt McGregor reviews George Orfalea’s debut collection, The Man Who Guarded the Bomb.
A MODERN READER #5: Fetishizing the Pastoral
Is it possible to pinpoint when a trend begins? When a seminal book, or movie, or article penetrates the mainstream? Really it never is a single specimen, but rather a…
The Boy Who Couldn’t Sleep and Never Had To
D. C. Pierson’s adolescent heroes hope for a future in which “‘existence engineer’ and ‘clone wrangler’ will be viable career paths.”
Modern Reader #4: Without Style
I often wonder if reviews can be great. Can a book (or an essay) that is essentially “about” another book compare to an original work?
Ten Walks/Two Talks
Over at HTMLGIANT Adam Robinson interviewed Jon Cotner and Andy Fitch about their genre-defying book, Ten Walks/Two Talks: “It manages to combine a generalized, dog-like happiness with an adult awareness…
A MODERN READER #3: Extreme Solitude
I have largely avoided The New Yorker’s Fiction section. The stories were about aging women who lived on Cape Cod, or they were set in developing countries. I don’t want…
A MODERN READER #2: And That’s It, More or Less
When I was in college, I had a crush on Ugly Duckling Presse the way 17 year-olds in 1958 had a crush on Jack Kerouac.