Category Archives: World Issues

Autocracy, Inc.: The Dictators Who Want to Run the World – Anne Applebaum

(Reviewed by JD Jung) “The autocracies want to create a global system that benefits thieves, criminals, dictators, and the perpetrators of mass murder. We can stop them.” Historian and journalist Anne Applebaum, suggests what democracies can do to save their … Continue reading

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From Savagery – Alejandra Banca, Katie Brown (Translator)

(Reviewed by JD Jung) “Being a migrant means feeding yourself on loss, on what could have been, the infinite possible nuances of that history which will forever remain hidden but present.” Seven million Venezuelan’s left their country since the mid-2010s … Continue reading

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The Coin – Yasmin Zaher

(Reviewed by JD Jung) “…in my family, America was both the key and the curse.” Our narrator, who is from a wealthy Palestinian family moved to New York after her parents died. She was left with an inheritance of which … Continue reading

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Wait: A Novel – Gabriella Burnham

(Reviewed by JD Jung)     “They threw me out of the country like I was a nothing.” Wait delves into the intricate layers of family, identity, and the harsh realities faced by undocumented immigrants in the United States. Through … Continue reading

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Down with the Poor! – Shumona Sinha, translated by Teresa Lavender Fagan 

(Reviewed by JD Jung) #CommissionsEarned “…the same stories and the same bodies blended in my head, lost all definition and all form, became a dark and shapeless mass of giant bodies, that growled, shouted, demanded, cried, pleaded. Were they inventing … Continue reading

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Who is bombing Kyiv?! – Marina Alova

(Reviewed by JD Jung) #CommissionsEarned “It was disheartening and revolting to witness the country repeating the same mistakes and going around in circles. Slava believed that after the collapse of the Soviet Union, it would be impossible to make the … Continue reading

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Sweet Undoings – Yanick Lahens (translated by Kaiama L. Glover)

(Reviewed by JD Jung) #CommissionsEarned “Nowadays, in the cities, you’ve got to drink it all in, the honey and the bile. All in the same cup.” Judge Raymond Berthier has just been murdered, and his nineteen-year-old daughter, Brune, is grieving … Continue reading

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The Lord’s Tusks – Jeffery Ulin

(Reviewed by Ann Onymous ) #CommissionsEarned “…Michael nodded, climbing into his car and silently steering back toward camp. He passed by the troop of baboons, still frolicking in the savanna, slowly making their way back home, oblivious to the powers … Continue reading

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Central Places – Delia Cai

(Reviewed by JD Jung) #CommissionsEarned Twenty-seven-year-old Audrey Zhou is leading a life most of us would be envious of. Living in New York City as a sales rep for a newspaper, she has many friends and is engaged to a … Continue reading

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Hotel Splendide – Ludwig Bemelmans

(Reviewed by JD Jung) #CommissionsEarned The comical 1941 out-of-print memoir of author and illustrator Ludwig Bemelmans (1898- 1962) has just been re-released by Puskin Press. Bemelmans would later write the Madeline children’s book series. However, this memoir covers his few … Continue reading

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