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
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
Editors' Picks
Is DC Being Too Mean to Louise Linton?
Which Washington-Area Neighborhoods Will Boom Next?
Why This Is the Golden Age of DC Grocery Shopping
The Ultimate Guide to DC’s Cherry Blossoms
Most Popular
Toast Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s Nuptials at DC’s Royal Wedding-Themed Pop-Up Bar
The 100 Very Best Restaurants in Washington
Urban Hot Pot Is Our New Favorite Chinese Feast
Has Mike Isabella’s Requin Brasserie in the Mosaic District Closed?
May 2018: Jeff Bezos in D.C.
Subscribe
Related Posts
There Are Still Six Confederate Memorials Around DC. How’s That Possible?
“Investment Layoff” Is a Masterpiece of Corporate Euphemism
Secret Service: Man Claimed to Be Jesus and Plotted to Kidnap One of the Obamas’ Dogs
The New York Times Thinks Its Readers Should Visit CityCenterDC. We Agree!
More from News
Are Those Electric Scooters Actually Allowed on the Sidewalk? Here Are the Rules
Scott Pruitt Is the Most Baller Trump Appointee
Farewell to The Hill’s Gloriously Ridiculous “50 Most Beautiful” List
Why Did We Put Funny Hats on Trump, RBG, and Bryce Harper?