What does Trump’s recent anti-trans executive order have in common with the 1915 feminist utopian novel “Herland”? Both explore what it means to be an ideal woman. Reading “Herland,” Vivian Fan PO ’28 examines this ideal and its present-day implications.
Tag: Book Column
Hidden Gems: In Titaua Peu’s “Pina”, Tahiti isn’t paradise
This week, book columnist Natalie Ortiz PO ’25 reviews Pina, the first novel by Tahitian author Titaua Peu to be translated to English. The novel deals with the darker shadows hidden beneath the Tahitian sun.
Queer Asian Reads: Spirits unleashed in Zen Cho’s fantasy masterpiece
Columnist Reia Li PO ‘24 wanted a way to connect to Chinese traditions despite being physically separated from their place of origin. “Spirit Abroad,” a collection of short stories that puts Chinese and Malaysian mythological creatures in more modern contexts, allowed her to do just that.
The biblio-files: Whimsy meets the macabre in ‘Beautiful Darkness’
The graphic novel “Beautiful Darkness” questions whether the greatest horrors are to be found within human nature itself, writes Tomi Oyedeji-Olaniyan CM ’24.
Literary wanderings: A 240-mile cycling trip
After an impromptu 240-mile cycling trip, book columnist Ryan Lillestrand PZ ’23 discovered the inspiring and illuminating “Bike Battles: A History of Sharing the American Road,” a galvanizing read for any cyclist.
Shelf life: Saga #55 is a gloriously familiar fever dream
Despite the fantasy genre of returning novel “Saga”, the sex-drugs-and-aliens packed comic remains deeply human, asserts book columnist Kate Jones PO ’24.
Literary wanderings: Portrait of a novelist on the brink of stardom
Anthony Veasna So’s “Afterparties” showcases the late author’s immense talent and potential, writes book columnist Ryan Lillestrand PZ ’23.
Literary wanderings: The ghost of Ueno Park
Book columnist Ryan Lillestrand PZ ’23 explores how the magical realism in “Tokyo Ueno Station” works to highlight sharp inequalities in Tokyo.
Throw away the junk mail in Sally Rooney’s ‘Beautiful World, Where Are You’
Master of the beach read, Sally Rooney experiments with emails in her new book, “Beautiful World, Where Are You” — but these confusing messages are the novel’s downfall, book columnist Katie Hanson SC ’25 writes.
Literary wanderings: On fiction as environmental activism
Book columnist Ryan Lillestrand PZ ’23 argues that despite its fictional nature, Richard Powers’ “The Overstory” is a powerful vehicle for environmentalism.