books | David F. Cooper

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Best 2019 debut fiction books (IMHO)

December 3, 2019

As a voting National Book Critics Circle member I cast my ballot (electronically) last week nominating five 2019 first books for the John Leonard Prize. Any eligible 2019 first book that gets 20% of the member votes will become a finalist. My five include two debut short story collections and three debut novels: The two […]

Book review: Muck by Dror Burstein

January 24, 2019

“… readers will enjoy this funny, imaginative, and handsomely crafted novel first and foremost as a memorable work of literature, and as such it deserves to reach a wide audience.” — From my review of Muck by Dror Burstein in New York Journal of Books

Book review: The Mandela Plot by Kenneth Bonert

June 4, 2018

“South African born Jewish-Canadian author Kenneth Bonert’s sophomore effort The Mandela Plot is a sequel to his multiple awards winning debut novel The Lion Seeker (also reviewed on NYJB) that continues the Helger family saga begun in the earlier volume in a rather dark combination coming of age story and political thriller. A concluding epilogue in the final […]

Book review: The Diamond Setter by Moshe Sakal

March 21, 2018

“… well written, masterfully translated by Jessica Cohen, and rewards rereading.” — From my review of The Diamond Setter by Moshe Sakal in New York Journal of Books

Book review: Empty Set by Veronica Gerber Bicecci

March 7, 2018

“Veronica Gerber Bicecci’s debut novel, second book and her first translated into English, Empty Set (Conjunto vacío), has multiple dualities—the verbal and the visual, the analytic and the emotional, autobiography and fiction—that aspire to convey ineffable sums greater than their constituent parts.” — From my review of Empty Set by Veronica Gerber Bicecci in New York Journal of Books

Book review: The Ruined House by Ruby Namdar

February 4, 2018

“One of the lessons this complicated book conveys is how difficult it is to achieve the golden mean, balancing a serious writer’s need for solitude to reduce distractions with the need to stay connected and involved with one’s family and loved ones on the one hand, and integrating knowledge and appreciation for global culture with […]

Book review: North Station by Bae Suah

December 22, 2017

“One way to view these stories is as philosophical essays in fictional form that address some of the same philosophical, psychological, spiritual, aesthetic, cultural, and societal topics and concerns that are found in Bae’s longer fiction. But by devoting each story to only two or three of those topics and freed from a longer work’s […]