All tagged midwest

Beneath the Bonfire – Nickolas Butler

While the author primarily focuses on the experiences of straight white men, his narratives transcend the typical masculine tropes. With raw emotional honesty, he taps into the inner workings of the male psyche, examining the impact of toxic masculinity, friendship, fatherhood, trauma, loss, identity and nature on the common man. 

My Friend Dahmer – Derf Backderf

While the graphic novel was initially intriguing, it felt a bit lacking in depth, particularly considering its length. I also began to question the necessity of Backderf telling this story. He was only a passing acquaintance of Dahmer, so the armchair psychology and hindsight observations felt a tad inflated.

Stoner – John Williams

Named “the greatest American novel you’ve never heard of” by The New Yorker, John Williams’ “Stoner'' certainly earns that distinction with a simple, beautifully woven story about a Midwestern English professor living a remarkably unremarkable life.

Dearborn – Ghassan Zeineddine

Expectation: A “city as the sole connection” collection that reads more like a wannabe novel.

Reality: A sometimes funny, sometimes heartbreak collection about the new American experience that succeeds thanks to its subtlety. There are no bad apples in the bunch.

The Overstory – Richard Powers

Expectation: A powerful story about the human/nature connection and how an ever-accelerating eco-calamity will destroy us all.

Reality: Bloated and boring, there was far too much happening and very little of it was interesting. I’m struggling to see how this won the Pulitzer Prize. 

A Fever in the Heartland – Timothy Egan

Paced like a thriller – there’s short chapters and each has a clear focus – Egan stays rooted in basics and not minutiae. There’s detail on the inner workings of the KKK, state and national politics, “Roaring 20s” culture and immigration panic to provide a contextual foundation, but the author keeps everything aligned to his thesis: how Indiana served as a microcosm for a growing wave of racism in northern states, and the resisters who fought it. 


Holly – Stephen King

Expectation: The author’s best character in recent years tackles another supernatural mystery. 

Reality: Somewhat sidelined by an infusion of current events, it still represents a satisfying entry into King’s recent forays into crime procedurals. 

Tom Lake – Ann Patchett

Expectation: The lauded writer swapping complex family dramas for a gauzy faux-Hollywood story.

Reality: Sentimental and affecting, it felt like a warm hug every time I revisited Lara’s past, even though not every memory is rose-colored. 

Anoka – Shane Hawk

Expectation: An anthology of loosely connected stories all set in the Halloween Capital of the World.

Reality: The setting isn’t leveraged as much as anticipated (although there are a few nice winks for locals) but Shane Hawk showed promise with this somewhat even horror collection.