Book Review Round-Up

A lot of the New York Times reviews were repeats this week, but, nonetheless, we bring you the weekend book review round-up.

The Lost Symbol, Dan Brown
The New York Times

Brown should stop worrying about unfinished pyramids and worry about unfinished novels. At least Spielberg and Lucas gave us an Ark and swirling, dissolving humans. We don't get any ancient wisdom that "will profoundly change the world as you know it" -- just a lot of New Agey piffle about how we are the gods we've been waiting for.

The Good Soldiers, David Finkel
The New York Times

Finkel has made art out of a defining moment in history. You will be able to take this book down from the shelf years from now and say: This is what happened. This is what it felt like.

In Cheap We Trust, Lauren Weber
The New York Times

The best parts of Weber's book are her personal stories of living cheap. She recounts childhood winters spent doing homework near the oven as it cooled, because her father insisted on keeping the house at 50 degrees.

The Greatest Show on Earth, Richard Dawkins
The LA Times

Dawkins is very keen to establish that his new book is not "The God Delusion." He wants, as much as possible, to distance it from conversations about God. "I have a strong feeling that the subject of evolution is beautiful without the excuse of creationists needing to be bashed," he says.

The Book of Genesis Illustrated, R. Crumb
The LA Times

Indeed, the power of "The Book of Genesis Illustrated" resides in Crumb's decision to play it straight, to frame this ancient creation myth on its own enduring terms.

Little Bird of Heaven, Joyce Carol Oates

The Onion A.V. Club

Little Bird Of Heaven, the latest from the always hyper-productive Joyce Carol Oates, is so obviously a novel written to get to its last 10 pages that it sometimes suffers along the way.

Await Your Reply, Dan Chaon
The Seattle Times

Chaon creates a world that is riveting in its distance from the ordinary, though it's one that most of us would prefer to enter only through the pages of a book.

The Dogs and the Wolves, Irène Némirovsky
The Guardian

Némirovsky was incapable of producing anything less than an enchanting novel. She has an irresistible talent for creating character and incident which makes this story as much a page-turner as anything she has written.