Vol.1 Brooklyn’s 2017 Favorites: Fiction

Certain themes keep popping up in the fiction that impressed us most this year: the potential horrors of ambiguity, the nature of immigration, the threat of state violence, mysteries that can’t be solved, and the malleability of memory. That’s not too surprising, given the year we’ve had. Here’s a look at some of our favorite fiction from the year that was.

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Vol.1 Brooklyn’s Best Books of 2017 (Mid-Year Edition)

Right about now, the days are long and air conditioners are cranked up high. It’s the middle of the year: the colder months are in sight, and we’re over halfway to whatever surprises 2018 might have in store. It’s also a great time for taking stock of the first six months of 2017 — in our case, that means a look back at some recent books we’ve enjoyed. Thus, here’s a look at ten of the books that most impressed […]

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A Fear Both Allegorical and Real: Notes on “The Twenty Days of Turin”

Giorgio De Maria’s The Twenty Days of Turin is more than a book; it is a literary event. For starters, the novel has a track record of decades spent on the mouths of its fans as they excitedly pass around used copies because the novel has been out of print, and that certifies it as a cult classic. Second, the almost palpable paranoia, strange happenings, eerie atmosphere, bizarre elements/characters, and superb writing make comparisons to Jorge Luis Borges and H.P. […]

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