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Nicholas Mancusi's criticism has appeared in The Washington Post, The Miami Herald, NPR, American Arts Quarterly, and elsewhere. He blogs at galleyist.com. Follow him @NicholasMancusi.
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This New York Epic Dazzles Then Fizzles
MehGarth Risk Hallberg’s debut novel about ’70s New York has reaped tons of attention for its scope and ambition, but all the hoopla can’t mask its shortcomings.

A Vietnamese Spy Finds Kafka
ConfessionIn his arresting debut novel, Viet Thanh Nguyen has crafted one of the best pieces of fiction about the Vietnam war—and by a Vietnamese. And he’s just getting started.

When the Hermit Kingdom Turned Ugly
Two TalesBlaine Harden recounts the fractured fairy-tale origins of North Korea through the stories of the Stalinist tyrant Kim Il Sung and fighter pilot No Kum Sok, who fled the kingdom.

This Week’s Hot Reads: January, 2015
This Week’s Hot ReadsA vision quest gone wrong, a poet laurate looks back on life, and an academic reconsidering of Modernism in Nazi Germany. By Nicholas Mancusi

A Novel Nearly Impossible to Review
HumbledThe latest novel from Samantha Harvey is truly superb, but left its reviewer at a loss for how to describe it.

Denis Johnson’s Beautiful Apocalypse
AbsurdityIn his latest novel, the author of ‘Jesus’ Son’ and ‘Tree of Smoke’ discovers the geographical equivalent for his end-of-the-world prose in West Africa.

This Week’s Hot Reads
New & NotableA study in American military control, a haunting sui generis novel, and a playful new short story collection.

This Week’s Hot Reads: October 2014
This Week’s Hot ReadsA ‘Big Explainer’ on human innovation, a warning of the glamour of automation, and a novel set during the great buffalo hunts in the American frontier.

This Week’s Hot Reads: August 26, 2014
In BriefThis week, a biography of the cowboy gangster who created the World Series of Poker, a new collection from a talented young writer, and a 12th novel from a veteran at the height of his powers.

This Week’s Hot Reads
In BriefThis week, a true-life crime drama set in a famous French vineyard, an impressive debut, and a refreshing spin on the supernatural thriller.
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