Orange County Review of Books
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Orange County Review of Books
@ocreviewofbooks.bsky.social
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Book reviews from Orange County, California, and beyond. https://ocreviewofbooks.org/
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coffeehousepress.bsky.social
"Real fans of poetry deserve such monuments – in this case, the work of a lengthy lifetime: decades of wondering and pondering, deadpan ironizing and making meaning in America, just the kind of work that must never have felt like work at all."
ocreviewofbooks.org/2025/11/25/r...
Very Collected Poems
Very Collected Poems By Ron Padgett Coffee House Press. 2025. Reviewed by Eric Bies Ron Padgett’s been busy. In the dozen years since the publication of his Collected Poems, America’s silliest livi…
ocreviewofbooks.org
November 26, 2025 at 4:14 PM
ocreviewofbooks.bsky.social
"Padgett is, incredibly, 83, and he shows no signs of slowing down. ... Sometime in the back half of the 2030s we’ll have a 'Very, Very Collected Poems' to praise."

Eric Bies reviews Ron Padgett's VERY COLLECTED POEMS from @coffeehousepress.bsky.social.

ocreviewofbooks.org/2025/11/25/r...
Very Collected Poems
Very Collected Poems By Ron Padgett Coffee House Press. 2025. Reviewed by Eric Bies Ron Padgett’s been busy. In the dozen years since the publication of his Collected Poems, America’s silliest livi…
ocreviewofbooks.org
November 26, 2025 at 4:08 AM
Reposted by Orange County Review of Books
somanybooks24.bsky.social
“While the poems tend to favor concrete images (building up tidy cairns of them), his poetry’s simplicity is something of a deception.”
In @ocreviewofbooks.bsky.social‬‬, Eric Bies reviews Jean Follain’s newly translated poetry collection, “Earthly” - ocreviewofbooks.org/2025/11/08/j...
Earthly
Earthly By Jean Follain Translated by Andrew Seguin The Song Cave. 2025. Reviewed by Eric Bies Death is a kind of cleaving; it separates and binds. Case in point: Sylvia Plath left her children beh…
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November 19, 2025 at 1:12 PM
ocreviewofbooks.bsky.social
"Here is a poet whose sympathies toward the peasantry recall the humanism of Montaigne, and whose silent, watchful animals remember Eden."

Eric Bies reviews Andrew Seguin's new translation of the French poet, Jean Follain, from @thesongcave.bsky.social.

ocreviewofbooks.org/2025/11/08/j...
Earthly
Earthly By Jean Follain Translated by Andrew Seguin The Song Cave. 2025. Reviewed by Eric Bies Death is a kind of cleaving; it separates and binds. Case in point: Sylvia Plath left her children beh…
ocreviewofbooks.org
November 8, 2025 at 8:08 PM
ocreviewofbooks.bsky.social
Like Sei Shōnagon’s Pillow-Book, "Abū Zayd’s Rain-Book reads like it could have been written yesterday, its author less a scholar than an accidental poet, which is to say a kind of lightning rod."

Eric Bies reviews David Larsen's translation of THE BOOK OF RAIN.

ocreviewofbooks.org/2025/10/30/a...
The Book of Rain
The Book of Rain By Abū Zayd Al-Anṣāri Translated by David Larsen Wave Books. 2025. Reviewed by Eric Bies David Larsen is an expert translator of premodern Arabic texts. In 2017 Wave Books publishe…
ocreviewofbooks.org
October 30, 2025 at 11:58 PM
ocreviewofbooks.bsky.social
Never before in English translation, Marina Tsvetaeva's THE STORY OF SONECHKA "brings Russianless readers very close to Tsvetaeva in a pivotal season of creation and witness."

Eric Byrd reviews the book from Cherry Orchard Books (Academic Studies Press).

ocreviewofbooks.org/2025/10/20/m...
The Story of Sonechka
The Story of Sonechka By Marina Tsvetaeva Translated by I. B. Fishbeyn and C. D. C. Reeve Cherry Orchard Books. 2025. Reviewed by Eric Byrd In November 1917 Marina Tsvetaeva and her husband Sergei …
ocreviewofbooks.org
October 20, 2025 at 9:54 PM
ocreviewofbooks.bsky.social
In @sebastiancastillo.bsky.social's new novel, FRESH, GREEN LIFE, "the star of the show is the prose."

Lee Klein reviews the book from @catapultbooks.bsky.social.

ocreviewofbooks.org/2025/09/17/s...
Fresh, Green Life
Fresh, Green Life By Sebastian Castillo Soft Skull Press. 2025. Reviewed by Lee Klein I ordered Sebastian Castillo’s Fresh, Green Life after a writer friend whose taste I respect texted me the reco…
ocreviewofbooks.org
September 17, 2025 at 4:01 PM
ocreviewofbooks.bsky.social
"FIFTY POEMS is poetry-in-translation at its best. Nimble and inventive, Lehmann gives us the rare English Rilke worth preserving immediately."

Eric Bies reviews Geoffrey Lehmann’s new translation of Rilke from @nyrb-imprints.bsky.social.

ocreviewofbooks.org/2025/09/14/r...
Fifty Poems
Fifty Poems By Rainer Maria Rilke Translated by Geoffrey Lehmann NYRB/Poets. 2025. Reviewed by Eric Bies “The poet,” William Gass writes in Reading Rilke, “never forgets a metaphor.” And he’s right…
ocreviewofbooks.org
September 14, 2025 at 6:22 PM
ocreviewofbooks.bsky.social
"For fans of Ulysses, Oulipo, Joseph Cornell, and the like, [@tomcomitta.bsky.social's latest novel] PATCHWORK takes textual collage to new heights."

Eric Bies reviews the book from @coffeehousepress.bsky.social.

ocreviewofbooks.org/2025/08/21/t...
Patchwork
Patchwork By Tom Comitta Coffee House Press. 2025. Reviewed by Eric Bies It’s been the trademark of a handful of authors to graft an alien sentence or two among the branches of their own prose. Her…
ocreviewofbooks.org
August 22, 2025 at 12:03 AM
Reposted by Orange County Review of Books
tomcomitta.bsky.social
Really enjoyed this handwritten, snail mail interview with @ericbies.bsky.social for @necessaryfiction.com . Maybe the most personal public conversation I've had yet? Also very grateful for Eric's generous introduction
August 19, 2025 at 8:00 PM
Reposted by Orange County Review of Books
necessaryfiction.com
Tom Comitta (@tomcomitta.bsky.social) discusses their new book PATCHWORK (@coffeehousepress.bsky.social) with Eric Bies necessaryfiction.com/interviews/a...
August 19, 2025 at 1:20 PM
ocreviewofbooks.bsky.social
"To heighten decorum, to ennoble behavior is simply not enough to diminish hate speech online."

Anthony David Vernon reviews a new book by Avinash Awaghade and Ruchika Jain, HATE SPEECH AND FREEDOM OF SPEECH IN AN ONLINE ENVIRONMENT from Eliva Press.

ocreviewofbooks.org/2025/08/13/a...
Hate Speech and Freedom of Speech in an Online Environment
Hate Speech and Freedom of Speech in an Online Environment By Avinash Awaghade and Ruchika Jain Eliva Press. 2025. Reviewed by Anthony David Vernon Freedom of speech is often thought of as a kind o…
ocreviewofbooks.org
August 13, 2025 at 9:00 PM
ocreviewofbooks.bsky.social
“Like Gary Snyder if he could draw, McMillan’s artistry conveys an implicit philosophy of openness—to experience, nature, [and] new ideas.“

Eric Bies reviews Michael McMillan’s TERMINAL EXPOSURE from @nyrb-imprints.bsky.social.

ocreviewofbooks.org/2025/07/22/m...
Terminal Exposure
Terminal Exposure By Michael McMillan New York Review Comics. 2025. Reviewed by Eric Bies The first thing anyone needs to know about a figure like Henry Darger, the Chicago janitor who spent decade…
ocreviewofbooks.org
July 22, 2025 at 10:45 PM
ocreviewofbooks.bsky.social
Peter Brooks' HENRY JAMES COMES HOME "charts a journey, clarifies an itinerary, and identifies the encounters in which a writer’s later reflections are rooted."

Eric Byrd reviews the book from @nyrb-imprints.bsky.social.

ocreviewofbooks.org/2025/06/13/p...
Henry James Comes Home: Rediscovering America in the Gilded Age
Henry James Comes Home: Rediscovering America in the Gilded Age By Peter Brooks New York Review Books. 2025. Reviewed by Eric Byrd In Henry James Comes Home Peter Brooks recreates James’s North Ame…
ocreviewofbooks.org
June 13, 2025 at 6:37 PM
ocreviewofbooks.bsky.social
"Immortal Dark" - which is "set in a supernatural, East African-centric world" - "dramatizes the lengths that grieving people sometimes go in hopes of finding a semblance of relief."

Jana Ford reviews Tigest Girma's IMMORTAL DARK @littlebrownyr.bsky.social.

ocreviewofbooks.org/2025/06/11/t...
Immortal Dark
Immortal Dark By Tigest Girma Little, Brown and Company. 2024. Reviewed by Jana Ford Who knew murder could be the answer to everything? Manipulation at its finest: how to survive Uxlay University? …
ocreviewofbooks.org
June 12, 2025 at 9:33 PM
ocreviewofbooks.bsky.social
"This book breaks boundaries for a paranormal horror novel by being the thought-provoking, society-shaming powerhouse that it is."

Shaylee Geary reviews Kylie Lee Baker's BAT EATER AND OTHER NAMES FOR CORA ZENG from MIRA Books.

ocreviewofbooks.org/2025/06/09/k...
Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng
Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng By Kylie Lee Baker MIRA. 2025. Reviewed by Shaylee Geary Hungry ghosts and an enraged serial killer—either one is enough to satisfy the typical horror plot. …
ocreviewofbooks.org
June 9, 2025 at 11:41 PM
ocreviewofbooks.bsky.social
"This remains true: Collins is more than capable of creating a gut-wrenchingly beautiful narrative that is simultaneously enjoyable and eye-opening."

Baran Bashar reviews Suzanne Collins' SUNRISE ON THE REAPING from Scholastic Press. #suzannecollins #hungergames

ocreviewofbooks.org/2025/06/08/s...
Sunrise on the Reaping
Sunrise on the Reaping By Suzanne Collins Scholastic Press. 2025. Reviewed by Baran Bashar Sixteen years after the release of the global sensation The Hunger Games, critically acclaimed author Suza…
ocreviewofbooks.org
June 8, 2025 at 6:48 PM
ocreviewofbooks.bsky.social
In this "much-anticipated sequel, Painter reminds her fervent fanbase why they fell in love with her storytelling in the first place."

Emily Hackett reviews Lynn Painter's NOTHING LIKE THE MOVIES from @simonandschuster.bsky.social.

ocreviewofbooks.org/2025/06/07/l...
Nothing Like the Movies
Nothing Like the Movies By Lynn Painter Simon & Schuster. 2024. Reviewed by Emily Hackett Nothing Like the Movies is the enthralling sequel to Lynn Painter’s hit novel, Better than the Movies. …
ocreviewofbooks.org
June 7, 2025 at 3:51 PM
ocreviewofbooks.bsky.social
Perspective(s) is "a breezy yet engrossing story of censorship, suspicion, and betrayal" - "a brisk afternoon read of the type to which all historical fiction ought to aspire."

Claire Elliott reviews Laurent Binet's new novel from
@fsgbooks.bsky.social

ocreviewofbooks.org/2025/06/05/l...
Another Perspective on Binet’s New Novel
Perspective(s) By Laurent Binet Farrar, Straus and Giroux. 2025. Reviewed by Claire Elliott Brought together by scandal and tragedy, the multitude of historically significant characters of Perspect…
ocreviewofbooks.org
June 7, 2025 at 6:40 AM
ocreviewofbooks.bsky.social
@johngreensbluesky.bsky.social's new book "centers on the mind-boggling fact that, though we do have a cure for tuberculosis, roughly 150 million people have died of the disease since the cure’s inception."

Claire Vaughan reviews EVERYTHING IS TUBERCULOSIS.

ocreviewofbooks.org/2025/06/06/j...
Everything is Tuberculosis
Everything is Tuberculosis By John Green Crash Course Books. 2025. Reviewed by Claire Vaughan Unbeknownst to most, novelist and YouTuber John Green has taken an intermission from his regularly sche…
ocreviewofbooks.org
June 6, 2025 at 11:18 PM
ocreviewofbooks.bsky.social
Private Rites is "a perfect read for those who enjoy dark fiction and environmental dystopia, a version of our world that still wishes for the sun to stay shining."

Valentine Wollnik reviews Julia Armfield's PRIVATE RITES from @flatironbooks.bsky.social.

ocreviewofbooks.org/2025/06/04/j...
Private Rites
Private Rites By Julia Armfield Fourth Estate. 2024. Reviewed by Valentine Wollnik Most days the rain is rough and heavy, the sun a rare sight, or at least that is the case in Julia Armfield’s new …
ocreviewofbooks.org
June 4, 2025 at 10:47 PM
ocreviewofbooks.bsky.social
"Jeneva Rose’s The Perfect Divorce delivers exactly what the title promises—a swift and amicable separation—and then turns that promise into a violent, high-stakes legal thriller."

Katelyn Richardson reviews Jeneva Rose's latest, from @blackstonepub.bsky.social.

ocreviewofbooks.org/2025/06/03/j...
The Perfect Divorce
The Perfect Divorce By Jeneva Rose Blackstone Publishing. 2025. Reviewed by Katelyn Richardson Jeneva Rose’s The Perfect Divorce delivers exactly what the title promises—a swift and amicable separa…
ocreviewofbooks.org
June 3, 2025 at 10:31 PM
Reposted by Orange County Review of Books
olreview.bsky.social
Steve Donoghue reviews a book about the story behind one of the great biographies of the 20th century, Ellmann's Joyce by Zachary Leader, out from @harvardpress.bsky.social:

openlettersreview.com/posts/ellman...
Ellmann's Joyce by Zachary Leader — Open Letters Review
The story behind one of the great biographies of the 20th century
openlettersreview.com
May 22, 2025 at 6:04 PM
ocreviewofbooks.bsky.social
"Peters [...] portray[s] the unrefined messiness in identity exploration—the same messiness that leads to the beautiful metamorphosis that is a blossoming belief in self-worth."

Milo Spain reviews @torreypeters.bsky.social ‪STAG DANCE from Random House.

ocreviewofbooks.org/2025/06/02/t...
Stag Dance: A Novel & Stories
Stag Dance: A Novel & Stories By Torrey Peters Random House. 2025. Reviewed by Milo Spain People tend to hate what they don’t understand. When it comes to such fiercely disputed topics as sexua…
ocreviewofbooks.org
June 2, 2025 at 9:58 PM
ocreviewofbooks.bsky.social
"Likes collide with dislikes; hope does its dance with dread. Idiosyncrasies occasionally shade toward universal experience, but only occasionally."

Eric Bies reviews Ed Atkins' FLOWER from @fitzcarraldoeds.bsky.social.

ocreviewofbooks.org/2025/05/22/e...
Flower
Flower By Ed Atkins Fitzcarraldo Editions. 2025. Reviewed by Eric Bies For a Rembrandt, a Van Gogh, or a Banksy, Google Images usually does the trick. But for the work of British artist Ed Atkins, …
ocreviewofbooks.org
May 23, 2025 at 6:24 AM