Skip to Main Content

ADVERTISEMENT

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.

ADVERTISEMENT

This New York Epic Dazzles Then Fizzles

Meh

Garth 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.

Nicholas Mancusi | Published Nov 01, 2015

A Vietnamese Spy Finds Kafka

Confession

In 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.

Nicholas Mancusi | Published May 01, 2015

When the Hermit Kingdom Turned Ugly

Two Tales

Blaine 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.

Nicholas Mancusi | Published Mar 25, 2015

This Week’s Hot Reads: January, 2015

This Week’s Hot Reads

A vision quest gone wrong, a poet laurate looks back on life, and an academic reconsidering of Modernism in Nazi Germany. By Nicholas Mancusi

Nicholas Mancusi | Published Jan 26, 2015

A Novel Nearly Impossible to Review

Humbled

The latest novel from Samantha Harvey is truly superb, but left its reviewer at a loss for how to describe it.

Nicholas Mancusi | Published Dec 28, 2014

Denis Johnson’s Beautiful Apocalypse

Absurdity

In 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.

Nicholas Mancusi | Published Nov 13, 2014

This Week’s Hot Reads

New & Notable

A study in American military control, a haunting sui generis novel, and a playful new short story collection.

Nicholas Mancusi | Published Nov 03, 2014

This Week’s Hot Reads: October 2014

This Week’s Hot Reads

A ‘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.

Nicholas Mancusi | Published Oct 03, 2014

This Week’s Hot Reads: August 26, 2014

In Brief

This 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.

Nicholas Mancusi | Published Aug 26, 2014

This Week’s Hot Reads

In Brief

This week, a true-life crime drama set in a famous French vineyard, an impressive debut, and a refreshing spin on the supernatural thriller.

Nicholas Mancusi | Published Jul 21, 2014

ADVERTISEMENT