Cory Oldweiler
@coryoldweiler.bsky.social
Book critic. Translated lit evangelist. Runner. Cinephile. Disillusioned vagabond.
“For I, you see, dwelling upon the rim of life, see everyone in the arena as acting blindly.”
“For I, you see, dwelling upon the rim of life, see everyone in the arena as acting blindly.”
Pinned
Fear and Love Are like Two Fires | Brenda Lozano’s Mothers
By Cory Oldweiler
southwestreview.com
New piece from me @southwestreview.bsky.social on Brenda Lozano’s MOTHERS, trans. by Heather Cleary. Loved this novel, particularly the way it explores how “Fear and love are not separate things; on the contrary, they’re like two fires. One doubles the other.”
Despite it coming out when I was in high school, I just watched MOONSTRUCK for the first time this evening. What. A. Banger of a film. Haven’t heard a theater laugh that much in a long time. Delightful.
November 15, 2025 at 2:24 AM
Despite it coming out when I was in high school, I just watched MOONSTRUCK for the first time this evening. What. A. Banger of a film. Haven’t heard a theater laugh that much in a long time. Delightful.
If you’re in NYC, esp. Brooklyn, go to Community Bookstore tonight to hear Megan McDowell & Jazmina Barrera discuss their new translation & biography, respectively, of phenomenal Mexican author Elena Garro. I have a piece about both books/Garro in general in the next @southwestreview.bsky.social
November 14, 2025 at 6:22 PM
If you’re in NYC, esp. Brooklyn, go to Community Bookstore tonight to hear Megan McDowell & Jazmina Barrera discuss their new translation & biography, respectively, of phenomenal Mexican author Elena Garro. I have a piece about both books/Garro in general in the next @southwestreview.bsky.social
When I filed my review of TOO GREAT A SKY last year, I originally had a line saying something to the effect that Monica Cure should win every award for her translation. Haven’t read all of these shortlisted titles yet but glad to see Corobca’s novel on here as hopefully more people will read it.
November 13, 2025 at 7:18 PM
When I filed my review of TOO GREAT A SKY last year, I originally had a line saying something to the effect that Monica Cure should win every award for her translation. Haven’t read all of these shortlisted titles yet but glad to see Corobca’s novel on here as hopefully more people will read it.
I’ve written monthly for the Star Trib since 2020, when then editor @lhertzel.bsky.social took a chance on me. The Strib has now stopped assigning freelance reviews so this piece on Joy Williams’ PELICAN CHILD is my final review for them. Here’s to the next gig, which hopefully exists.
www.startribune.com
November 13, 2025 at 2:26 PM
I’ve written monthly for the Star Trib since 2020, when then editor @lhertzel.bsky.social took a chance on me. The Strib has now stopped assigning freelance reviews so this piece on Joy Williams’ PELICAN CHILD is my final review for them. Here’s to the next gig, which hopefully exists.
Reposted by Cory Oldweiler
The "stories of untethered lives" in Álvarez’s novel are "broken apart, admixed, and rearranged," writes critic Cory Oldweiler. Read Oldweiler’s review “'An Inexpressible Void': Exile and Longing in Carlos Manuel Álvarez’s FALSE WAR":
“An Inexpressible Void”: Exile and Longing in Carlos Manuel Álvarez’s False War - Words Without Borders
The "stories of untethered lives" in Álvarez’s novel are "broken apart, admixed, and rearranged," writes critic Cory Oldweiler.
buff.ly
November 13, 2025 at 1:28 PM
The "stories of untethered lives" in Álvarez’s novel are "broken apart, admixed, and rearranged," writes critic Cory Oldweiler. Read Oldweiler’s review “'An Inexpressible Void': Exile and Longing in Carlos Manuel Álvarez’s FALSE WAR":
Great choice in David Szalay’s FLESH. I called the novel his best work to date in my March review for the @bostonglobe.com and seems like the Booker judges agreed.
In David Szalay’s ‘Flesh,’ a reminder of the body’s betrayals - The Boston Globe
The new novel proves the author is a master at probing the insecurities and regrets of men.
www.bostonglobe.com
November 10, 2025 at 10:43 PM
Great choice in David Szalay’s FLESH. I called the novel his best work to date in my March review for the @bostonglobe.com and seems like the Booker judges agreed.
@john-self.bsky.social thanks for including Iris Wolff’s BLURRED in your roundup from August. Just finished reading it, what a beautiful little gem of a novel. Hope it gets released in the US at some point.
November 9, 2025 at 10:49 PM
@john-self.bsky.social thanks for including Iris Wolff’s BLURRED in your roundup from August. Just finished reading it, what a beautiful little gem of a novel. Hope it gets released in the US at some point.
Reposted by Cory Oldweiler
"We spoke with nine C-level U.S. airline executives and senior officials across six U.S. carriers for this story. They expressed varying degrees of skepticism, but none felt the cuts were without some level of political interference."
With little recourse, U.S. airline leaders skeptical of DOT flight cut justification theaircurrent.com/airlines/air... (via @willguisbond.com & @jonostrower.com) #staycurrent
With little recourse, U.S. airline leaders skeptical of DOT flight cut justification
Concern about political motivation fills the void left by lack of FAA data
theaircurrent.com
November 7, 2025 at 10:08 PM
"We spoke with nine C-level U.S. airline executives and senior officials across six U.S. carriers for this story. They expressed varying degrees of skepticism, but none felt the cuts were without some level of political interference."
What it means is that lots of people won’t be filing taxes.
The Trump administration has decided not to offer the IRS' electronic tax filing system for free next year, and its future is unclear.
IRS Direct File won't be available next year. Here's what that means for taxpayers
The Trump administration has decided not to offer the IRS' electronic tax filing system for free next year, and its future is unclear.
bit.ly
November 6, 2025 at 4:04 PM
What it means is that lots of people won’t be filing taxes.
Reposted by Cory Oldweiler
Sex and art and politics and glamor -- welcome to Italian cinema! Olivia Laing's new novel THE SILVER BOOK is out and our @coryoldweiler.bsky.social gave it a read for us. In print on Sunday in the @bostonglobe.com but you can read it here now. www.bostonglobe.com/2025/11/04/a...
Love, sex, and politics amid Italy’s cinema scene in the 1970s - The Boston Globe
Moviemaking holds a storied place in Italy’s cultural life, an alluring combination that has played a supporting part in plenty of novels set in the Bel Paese.
www.bostonglobe.com
November 6, 2025 at 3:53 PM
Sex and art and politics and glamor -- welcome to Italian cinema! Olivia Laing's new novel THE SILVER BOOK is out and our @coryoldweiler.bsky.social gave it a read for us. In print on Sunday in the @bostonglobe.com but you can read it here now. www.bostonglobe.com/2025/11/04/a...
New piece from me @southwestreview.bsky.social on Brenda Lozano’s MOTHERS, trans. by Heather Cleary. Loved this novel, particularly the way it explores how “Fear and love are not separate things; on the contrary, they’re like two fires. One doubles the other.”
Fear and Love Are like Two Fires | Brenda Lozano’s Mothers
By Cory Oldweiler
southwestreview.com
November 6, 2025 at 2:00 PM
New piece from me @southwestreview.bsky.social on Brenda Lozano’s MOTHERS, trans. by Heather Cleary. Loved this novel, particularly the way it explores how “Fear and love are not separate things; on the contrary, they’re like two fires. One doubles the other.”
Ah, the Union Sq farmers market, where you can purchase a $7 cabbage or an $8 cauliflower. New mayor has his work cut out for him.
November 5, 2025 at 7:26 PM
Ah, the Union Sq farmers market, where you can purchase a $7 cabbage or an $8 cauliflower. New mayor has his work cut out for him.
Reposted by Cory Oldweiler
"Anglophones at last have an opportunity to engage with this intriguing and intellectually stimulating novel for the first time." @coryoldweiler.bsky.social in On the Seawall about A FICTIONAL INQUIRY by Daniele Del Giudice.
www.ronslate.com/on-a-fiction...
www.ronslate.com/on-a-fiction...
November 5, 2025 at 3:57 PM
"Anglophones at last have an opportunity to engage with this intriguing and intellectually stimulating novel for the first time." @coryoldweiler.bsky.social in On the Seawall about A FICTIONAL INQUIRY by Daniele Del Giudice.
www.ronslate.com/on-a-fiction...
www.ronslate.com/on-a-fiction...
Thanks to @wwborders.bsky.social for letting me write about FALSE WAR, by Cuban author Carlos Manuel Álvarez, trans. by Natasha Wimmer, a novel that stylistically and narratively looks at the fragmentation of exile. (And it gave me an always-welcomed opportunity to cram Dante into the lede.)
“An Inexpressible Void”: Exile and Longing in Carlos Manuel Álvarez’s False War - Words Without Borders
The "stories of untethered lives" in Álvarez’s novel are "broken apart, admixed, and rearranged," writes critic Cory Oldweiler.
wordswithoutborders.org
November 5, 2025 at 2:35 PM
Thanks to @wwborders.bsky.social for letting me write about FALSE WAR, by Cuban author Carlos Manuel Álvarez, trans. by Natasha Wimmer, a novel that stylistically and narratively looks at the fragmentation of exile. (And it gave me an always-welcomed opportunity to cram Dante into the lede.)
For @bostonglobe.com, I reviewed Olivia Laing’s THE SILVER BOOK, a novel about a passionate, messy love affair in Italy and the passionate, messy world of Italian cinema. Pasolini, Fellini, Donati, amore, omicidio! Thanks to Kate Tuttle for the opportunity to write about it.
Love, sex, and politics amid Italy’s cinema scene in the 1970s - The Boston Globe
Moviemaking holds a storied place in Italy’s cultural life, an alluring combination that has played a supporting part in plenty of novels set in the Bel Paese.
www.bostonglobe.com
November 5, 2025 at 1:38 PM
For @bostonglobe.com, I reviewed Olivia Laing’s THE SILVER BOOK, a novel about a passionate, messy love affair in Italy and the passionate, messy world of Italian cinema. Pasolini, Fellini, Donati, amore, omicidio! Thanks to Kate Tuttle for the opportunity to write about it.
This weekend is going to be so great with a million fewer assholes in the city.
November 5, 2025 at 2:24 AM
This weekend is going to be so great with a million fewer assholes in the city.
My thanks to @ronslate.bsky.social for the chance to write about Anne Milano Appel’s English-language translation of Daniele Del Giudice’s 1983 debut, A Fictional Inquiry. It’s the first time English-speakers have had a chance to read the late Italian writer’s exploration of the writing life.
on A Fictional Inquiry, a novel by Daniele Del Guidice, translated from the Italian by Anne Milano Appel – On the Seawall
www.ronslate.com
November 4, 2025 at 6:03 PM
My thanks to @ronslate.bsky.social for the chance to write about Anne Milano Appel’s English-language translation of Daniele Del Giudice’s 1983 debut, A Fictional Inquiry. It’s the first time English-speakers have had a chance to read the late Italian writer’s exploration of the writing life.
Fantastic novel that I wrote about and contextualized in terms of DSP’s career. My @southwestreview.bsky.social piece from this past summer is here:
November 4, 2025 at 12:34 PM
Fantastic novel that I wrote about and contextualized in terms of DSP’s career. My @southwestreview.bsky.social piece from this past summer is here:
How has no one asked why he perpetually has no idea wtf is happening in the country and with the leader of his party? Is there not a single journalist with a spine or shred of pride left in this country? Helen Thomas would have ridiculed this clown.
RAJU: Last week you were very critical of Biden's use of the autopen. But Trump admitted on 60 Minutes to not knowing he pardoned a crypto billionaire who pleaded guilty to money laundering. Does that also concern you?
MIKE JOHNSON: I don't know anything about that. I didn't see it. I'm not sure.
MIKE JOHNSON: I don't know anything about that. I didn't see it. I'm not sure.
November 3, 2025 at 4:16 PM
How has no one asked why he perpetually has no idea wtf is happening in the country and with the leader of his party? Is there not a single journalist with a spine or shred of pride left in this country? Helen Thomas would have ridiculed this clown.
Go off, Dame Emma! Brava!
"I DON'T NEED YOU TO FUCKING REWRITE WHAT I'VE JUST WRITTEN!"
October 28, 2025 at 12:42 PM
Go off, Dame Emma! Brava!
Truly, though that would require the current Congressional Democrats to have a single clue about how to function as an opposition party outside of the rote steps of an election cycle.
Democrats could be standing in front of the White House rubble every day as the site for daily government shutdown updates or they could 🤷♀️
Only 24% approve, and less than half of Republicans, of demolition at White House
October 24, 2025 at 2:15 PM
Truly, though that would require the current Congressional Democrats to have a single clue about how to function as an opposition party outside of the rote steps of an election cycle.
Reposted by Cory Oldweiler
approximately seven million people were out in the streets protesting last week. these people need to grow a spine. www.ft.com/content/1377...
Ed Luce watching democracy die in the United States of America
October 24, 2025 at 1:47 PM
approximately seven million people were out in the streets protesting last week. these people need to grow a spine. www.ft.com/content/1377...
Reposted by Cory Oldweiler
Congress is letting damn near everything happen
The president is establishing the principle that he can order the murder of anyone he deems a threat.
And Congress is letting it happen.
And Congress is letting it happen.
@radiofreetom.bsky.social
What we have here, in addition to Trump's gaudy, vacuous bric-a-brac he has glued to wall in the Cabinet Room, is our monumentally incompetent SecDef telling the most unhinged president in history about an attack on another civilian small boat, this time in the Pacific.
What we have here, in addition to Trump's gaudy, vacuous bric-a-brac he has glued to wall in the Cabinet Room, is our monumentally incompetent SecDef telling the most unhinged president in history about an attack on another civilian small boat, this time in the Pacific.
October 22, 2025 at 7:37 PM
Congress is letting damn near everything happen
You know who has not uttered any “cries”? The Republican Congress, who are enabling this petty, hateful clown and are equally culpable for the irreparable damage his administration is doing multiple times a day.
The White House heard the complaints
Dismissed them as “manufactured outrage”
And kept demolishing the East Wing on Tuesday
New photo and update with @jonathanreports.bsky.social
Dismissed them as “manufactured outrage”
And kept demolishing the East Wing on Tuesday
New photo and update with @jonathanreports.bsky.social
White House continues East Wing demolition amid cries of Trump overreach
More of the structure was torn down Tuesday to make way for President Donald Trump’s planned ballroom, despite complaints about the project’s lack of transparency,
www.washingtonpost.com
October 21, 2025 at 11:41 PM
You know who has not uttered any “cries”? The Republican Congress, who are enabling this petty, hateful clown and are equally culpable for the irreparable damage his administration is doing multiple times a day.
Looking forward to reading the NYer piece about motherhood in the novels of Ariana Harwicz since I pitched that same piece to them in May and was told they weren’t interested.
October 20, 2025 at 1:13 PM
Looking forward to reading the NYer piece about motherhood in the novels of Ariana Harwicz since I pitched that same piece to them in May and was told they weren’t interested.