Category Archives: book reviews

THE PEOPLE IN OUR LIVES, WHERE DO THEY GO?

Posted on January 20, 2019 by Gary Garth McCann

I met pre-med Samuel in an experimental psychology class. He thought he needed my help studying, and probably he did.  As much as help, he seemed to need a buddy, something he was accustomed to from his years as a … Continue reading →

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“If you don’t push against the mirror, how do you know you’re standing in front of it?”

Posted on October 20, 2017 by Gary Garth McCann

The quote above is from my interview with Martin Pousson, whose PEN award-winning novel Black Sheep Boy, also an L.A. Times Pick of the Week, inspired Susan Larson (NPR The Reading Life) to say: “An unforgettable novel-in-stories about growing up gay in French Acadiana, so vivid and almost … Continue reading →

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A NUDE HORSEBACK RIDER WHILE I’M COOKING?

Posted on July 6, 2017 by Gary Garth McCann

As I made a large batch of peanut curry one morning, Liz Taylor laughed and talked on the kitchen TV in Reflections in a Golden Eye. I wasn’t paying much attention, although her screen presence drew me to glance at the picture … Continue reading →

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LATE LAST NIGHT BOOKS ONLINE MAGAZINE WELCOMES FIVE NEW COLUMNISTS

Posted on July 2, 2017 by Gary Garth McCann

As managing editor of Late Last Night Books online magazine, soon to begin its fifth year, I’m honored to welcome five new columnists: Ron Cooper, author of The Gospel of the Twin, Purple Jesus, Hume’s Fork and philosophy professor, University … Continue reading →

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An interesting review of THE MAN WHO ASKED TO BE KILLED

Posted on February 9, 2017 by Gary Garth McCann

  Normally I wouldn’t reproduce Amazon reviews here, but I found this recent one especially interesting. Others have talked about the plot of this story and I’m not sure if I could recap all the connections if I tried, but … Continue reading →

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A Modest Inheritance by Carol Bird

Posted on November 12, 2016 by Gary Garth McCann

  A MODEST INHERITANCE, BY CAROL BIRD, takes us to West Virginia in a tightly drawn, subtle mystery in which much is behind the scenes and the apparent monetary stakes aren’t as high as the spiritual and emotional ones. I enjoyed … Continue reading →

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MURIEL SPARK NOVELS

Posted on August 20, 2016 by Gary Garth McCann

On Goodreads I posted the question, “Who writes like Barbara Pym, one of my favorite authors?” A friend replied that I should try Muriel Spark’s A Far Cry from Kensington. There began my reading of Spark, an author who had … Continue reading →

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A TASTE OF NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FINALIST AND NYT BESTSELLER BILLY LYNN’S LONG HALFTIME WALK BY BEN FOUNTAIN

Posted on July 12, 2016 by Gary Garth McCann

“…[G]iven the masculine standard America has set for itself it is interesting how few actually qualify. Why we fight, yo, who is this we? Here in the chicken hawk nation of blowhards and bluffers, Bravo always has the ace of … Continue reading →

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James Purdy, Elizabeth Bowen, Muriel Spark: Memorial Day Reading

Posted on May 30, 2016 by Gary Garth McCann

I often re-read The Nephew around or over Memorial Day weekend and have been responsible for friends reading it then. One scene has a sweater-clad character crossing the yards between houses on a gray, chilly Ohio Memorial Day, as so … Continue reading →

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Michael J. Tucker novels Capricorn’s Collapse and Aquarius Falling

Posted on February 18, 2016 by Gary Garth McCann

A fun story of mayhem with a sophisticated accountant protagonist enticed into dealing cocaine and laundering money. Think in terms of the ’twenties and alcohol prohibition, only this is the ’seventies and cleverly begins with a little break-in at the … Continue reading →

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