Here it is, your weekly book review round-up:
Eating, Jason Epstein
The New York Times
The book is delicious, in its minimalist, essayistic way. But it sends you out the door a bit hungry, and stone sober.
The Hidden, Tobias Hill
The New York Times
"The Hidden" is Hill's fourth novel -- in addition to a story collection and three volumes of poetry -- and like his previous novels, it's an unusual, exhilarating hybrid of high-stakes, propulsive narrative; erudite yet breezy summations of specialized historical data; and strikingly evocative language.
Imperial, William T. Vollman
The LA Times
The book, which came out in August, is perhaps the clearest expression of Vollmann's career-long commitment to immerse himself in complexities.
Shoptimism, Lee Eisenberg
The Wall Street Journal
Much of this information has been written about before--Paco Underhill, the author of "Why We Buy" (who makes an appearance in "Shoptimism"), has explored shopping habits for some time now, and Martin Lindstrom's "Buyology" tackled the neuroscience of shopping last year. But it's entertaining to have it compiled in one big box store of a book, packaged in Mr. Eisenberg's genial prose.
Worse Than War, Daniel Goldhagen
San Francisco Chronicle
At the end of his book, Goldhagen arrives at the empty conclusion that if we had a moral president of the United States, we could really tame the beast of eliminationist politics that he just spent almost 600 pages explaining were so prevalent. He seems to think that this a political conclusion, but it's merely the wish that a strong sheriff could defeat the intractable problem of mass murder.
And Another Thing..., Eoin Colfer
The Onion A.V. Club
Another Thing isn't the novel fans may have wanted, but it's the best that could be hoped for under the circumstances: fast-moving, respectful, and in the end, mostly harmless.
Angel Time, Anne Rice
The Dallas Morning News
With [Anne Rice's] latest novel, Angel Time, she's come full circle, performing literary alchemy by simultaneously sticking to her self-imposed "writing for Christ" edict while also returning to the fast-paced, eerily supernatural and deliciously creepy style that her fans adore.
My Paper Chase, Harold Evans
Christian Science Monitor
My Paper Chase, a refreshing memoir by the venerated editor of London's Sunday Times and champion of pre-Thatcher British investigative journalism, jettisons hand-wringing over the "vanished times" of its melancholy subtitle for one man's unquenchable enthusiasm for his life's work.