Don't Kill the Birthday Girl Few writers are more qualified than Sandra Beasley to pen a memoir about living with food allergies. The Washington native is allergic to “dairy, egg, soy, beef, shrimp, pine nuts, cucumbers, cantaloupe, honeydew, mango, macadamias, pistachios, cashews, swordfish, and mustard.” Even fewer could navigate the nuances of this problem with such humor, pathos, and flair. Read a full review of Don't Kill the Birthday Girl.
The Good and the Ghastly James Boice’s trigger-happy third novel is a graffiti-rough mural of America in the 3300s, a thousand years after a nuclear holocaust has reduced the US Capitol and the Declaration of Independence to ash, rendered Ikea side tables and Target rugs as priceless treasures, elevated Oprah Winfrey and Stephen King to the ranks of the Founding Fathers, and turned the country into a wasteland operated by executives from Visa. Read the full review of The Good and the Ghastly.
The Big Fight “What’s most beautiful about boxing,” novelist Colum McCann wrote, “are the lives behind it. They’re so goddamn literary.” That could be jacket copy for The Big Fight, boxer Sugar Ray Leonard’s cursory yet deeply confessional autobiography (written with Michael Arkush). Replete with episodes of childhood abuse, adultery, violence, drugs, and second chances, it lends vulnerability to a fighter whose footwork and head fakes, not to mention his patented bolo punch, made smoother, stronger opponents look clumsy and dazed.
Book Reviews: Don’t Kill the Birthday Girl, The Good and the Ghastly, and the Big Fight
July's Washington Reads tackle food allergies, boxing champ Sugar Ray Leonard, and post-apocalyptic Northern Virgina
Don't Kill the Birthday Girl
Few writers are more qualified than Sandra Beasley to pen a memoir about living with food allergies. The Washington native is allergic to “dairy, egg, soy, beef, shrimp, pine nuts, cucumbers, cantaloupe, honeydew, mango, macadamias, pistachios, cashews, swordfish, and mustard.” Even fewer could navigate the nuances of this problem with such humor, pathos, and flair.
Read a full review of Don't Kill the Birthday Girl.
The Good and the Ghastly
James Boice’s trigger-happy third novel is a graffiti-rough mural of America in the 3300s, a thousand years after a nuclear holocaust has reduced the US Capitol and the Declaration of Independence to ash, rendered Ikea side tables and Target rugs as priceless treasures, elevated Oprah Winfrey and Stephen King to the ranks of the Founding Fathers, and turned the country into a wasteland operated by executives from Visa.
Read the full review of The Good and the Ghastly.
The Big Fight
“What’s most beautiful about boxing,” novelist Colum McCann wrote, “are the lives behind it. They’re so goddamn literary.” That could be jacket copy for The Big Fight, boxer Sugar Ray Leonard’s cursory yet deeply confessional autobiography (written with Michael Arkush). Replete with episodes of childhood abuse, adultery, violence, drugs, and second chances, it lends vulnerability to a fighter whose footwork and head fakes, not to mention his patented bolo punch, made smoother, stronger opponents look clumsy and dazed.
Read the full review of The Big Fight.
These reviews appear in the July 2011 issue of The Washingtonian.
Subscribe to Washingtonian
Follow Washingtonian on Twitter
More>> Capital Comment Blog | News & Politics | Party Photos
Don’t Miss Another Big Story—Get Our Weekend Newsletter
Our most popular stories of the week, sent every Saturday.
Most Popular in News & Politics
It’s Really Happening: Donald Trump to Leave DC on Wednesday Morning
The New York Energy Mogul Who’s Remaking an Eastern Shore Town
Here’s a Map of the “Capitol Green Zone” (AKA Inauguration Street Closures)
White House Staff Packs for Move Behind Trump’s Back
DC Inauguration Shutdowns: Everything You Need to Know About Metro, Roads, and Other Closures
Washingtonian Magazine
January 2021: Joe Town!
View IssueSubscribe
Get Us on Social
Get Us on Social
Related
Video From Fall Real Estate Market Update With Local Leaders
Washingtonian Real Estate Virtual Happy Hour
Videos from Washingtonian’s Wellness Day
Washingtonian Real Estate Virtual Happy Hour
More from News & Politics
The NRA Declares Bankruptcy, Will Keep Offices in Fairfax for Now
Former Congressional Staffers Are Saying Thank You to Current Workers
“Stop the Steal” Protesters Could Be in DC by Early Saturday
How to Talk to Kids About the Attack on the Capitol (and Everything Else)
Looks Like There’s Only One Pro-Trump Rally Officially Planned for DC During Inauguration
DC Inauguration Shutdowns: Everything You Need to Know About Metro, Roads, and Other Closures
It’s Really Happening: Donald Trump to Leave DC on Wednesday Morning
Politico Announces Its New Playbook Team