by Philip Rafferty | Jan 1, 2019 | Archived Reviews (pre-April 2020), Philosophy
The late Alan Watts is an important figure in the intellectual and spiritual development of twentieth century American thought. Watt is best known as an interpreter and practitioner of Zen Buddhism during a time where this practice was not very accessible to westerns....
by Philip Rafferty | Dec 7, 2018 | Archived Reviews (pre-April 2020), General Fiction
Julian Barnes short new novel, The Only Story, is reminiscent of his previous Man Book Prize winning novel The Sense of Ending in that it is a novel in which an older man looks back on his life. In the case of this book the narrator, Paul, is recalling the story of a...
by Philip Rafferty | Nov 21, 2018 | Archived Reviews (pre-April 2020), General Fiction
Tommy Orange’s debut There There is one of the most lauded books of 2018 and for good reason. Orange, a creative writing teacher at the Institute of American Indian Arts, opens this novel with an essay on Native American culture that is fresh, innovative, and sets up...
by Philip Rafferty | Nov 9, 2018 | Archived Reviews (pre-April 2020), General Fiction, Portland Authors
Portland based writer Willy Vlautin’s latest book, Don’t Skip Out on Me, moves away from the Pacific Northwest and plants us in Nevada. Horace Hopper is a young man who has spent his entire life on a Nevada Sheep Ranch. Adopted by a kind couple, Mr. and Mrs....
by Philip Rafferty | Oct 26, 2018 | Archived Reviews (pre-April 2020), Children's, Comics & Graphic Novels, NW Setting, Portland Authors
Mr. Wolf’s Class, the new graphic novel by Aron Nels Steinke, is a colorful and well-drawn book aimed at elementary aged students. As the book opens, Mr. Wolf enters a new classroom at Hazelwood Elementary school set to start his tenure as a 4th-grade teacher. The...
