Tag: hannah pearl utt

  • 2025 Tournament of Books: James vs. Martyr! (again)

    2025 Tournament of Books: James vs. Martyr! (again)

    OK, there’s not much point rehashing what I said the last time these two faced off. I still think James is the better book. My judgment on the judgment This is a vote by all the judges, and since last year I did a handy little table, I figured I’d repeat that again this year. I…

  • 2025 Tournament of Books: Liars/The Wedding People vs. The Book of George

    2025 Tournament of Books: Liars/The Wedding People vs. The Book of George

    Today brings the first of the counterfactual matchups in my commentary since Hannah Pearl Utt inexplicably chose Liars to advance from the play-in round. So let me talk about The Book of George. This book hits a lot of the same sort of notes that Liars does from a hapless man failing at relationships. But unlike Liars, the focus…

  • 2025 Tournament of Books: The Play-In Round

    2025 Tournament of Books: The Play-In Round

    This year, I was faced with a number of familiar names in the play-in round. I’d read Alison Espach’s previous book, Notes on Your Sudden Disappearance at the end of 2023, which I might have enjoyed more if I wasn’t reading it in the wake of my brother’s premature death. Miranda July was a guest at…