Phil Klay's Missionaries

My review of Phil Klay’s novel Missionaries has been published at The Bulwark, a political and cultural journal that emerged out of the ashes of The Weekly Standard. Thanks to them for the chance to write the review! Klay is a former Marine and fiction writer whom I discovered recently through the work of Nick Ripatrazone. (Earlier this year I reviewed Ripatrazone’s Longing for an Absent God in America Magazine, and shared further thoughts about the book on this blog.) Klay’s Redeployment, which won the National Book Award in 2014, is a collection of stories centered on the American wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. The stories are shot through with the spiritual struggle of war, and Klay brings his Catholicism to bear on his fiction in a way that reminds me of Sushaku Endo or Graham Green—bracing, eloquently crafted, and respectful of the irreducible mysteries of our faith. Missionaries does much of the same, tracing these essential spiritual questions in the intertwined lives of several individuals involved in the American conflict in Colombia. Do read the book—it’s excellent.

Casey Schwartz's Attention: A Love Story

 

My review of Casey Schwartz’s thought-provoking memoir Attention: A Love Story is live at Church Life Journal. The review marks a bit of a departure for me in terms of subject—Schwartz’s memoir is neither primarily literary nor religious. Yet, as I explain in the review, I sensed in it fertile ground to explore something I’m interested in: the connection between our social preoccupation with attention in the age of the smartphone, and the Christian tradition of contemplative prayer. Readers of this blog will know of my fascination with Simone Weil, which Schwartz shares; though she isn’t religious herself, her engagement with the French thinker opens her to situating attention beyond the self, an impulse that I argue is fundamentally a religious one. Enjoy!

My Review of Christopher Beha's The Index of Self-Destructive Acts

The American Interest has published my review of Christopher Beha's most recent novel. As readers of this blog might remember, I wrote about Beha's first novel, What Happened to Sophie Wilder, a long while back. Beha occupies an interesting space in the current conversation surrounding Catholic fiction. He seems to be a practicing Catholic, and his cast of characters (which are somewhat continguous throughout his three novels), attended a Catholic prep school in Manhattan and occupy a variety of spots on the practicing/fallen-away spectrum. In my review, I attempt to make the argument that The Index of Self-Destructive Acts is a kind of existentialist-Catholic novel, and to do so I draw upon Beha's recent essay on Soren Kierkegaard in Harper's (which he edits).

Musical Recommendations and Upcoming Writing

I've contributed recently to The American Interest's nightly music recommendations, something the magazine has been doing during COVID-19. I've been playing piano, especially jazz, since I was quite young, and it's been great to have the chance to write about the music I love. Links to the write-ups are below.

Also watch out for some upcoming writing (book reviews and feature articles) at The American Interest and The Hedgehog Review. I will post all links here. Thanks for reading!

On the Jazz Trio:https://us10.campaign-archive.com/?u=f24302ce799fa4d884b86e032&id=03f101253f

On the Grateful Dead: https://mailchi.mp/the-american-interest/tais-musical-offering-harnoncourts-mozart-1285880

On the Left Hand in Jazz Piano: https://us10.campaign-archive.com/?u=f24302ce799fa4d884b86e032&id=4a0104ca3b

On New Orleans Jazz Pianists: https://us10.campaign-archive.com/?u=f24302ce799fa4d884b86e032&id=1973345242

The Jazz Trio

Though I love to read and think about literature, my first love is actually music (I'm a jazz pianist and a dabbler on the guitar). Recently I contributed to an quarantine series of music recommendations that the The American Interest has put out. See my contribution here https://us10.campaign-archive.com/?u=f24302ce799fa4d884b86e032&id=03f101253f.

Further Thoughts on My Review of Nick Ripatrazone's Longing for an Absent God

My review of Nick Ripatrazone’s Longing for an Absent God was published in America Magazine’s Spring 2020 Literary Review. I have a few more thoughts on the book that I’d like to post here.

Review of Ross Douthat's The Decadent Society at The American Interest

My review of Ross Douthat's latest book is live at The American Interest. https://www.the-american-interest.com/2020/03/18/the-limits-of-decadence/

I hope to post some more thoughts on the book soon. Stay healthy!

Some Upcoming Publications

It's been a while since I've posted anything on here, but it doesn't mean I haven't been writing! A few projects I've been working on:

-a movie review of a powerful film featuring two alumni at my current school (article starts on p. 36) https://issuu.com/portsmouthabbeyschool/docs/bulletin_winter_2020_issu

-a review of Nick Ripatrazone's Longing for an Absent God, forthcoming at America Magazine. Ripatrazone is a writer whom I admire and read frequently, and I was thrilled to be able to have the chance to read and share my thoughts on his new book. I will post the link to the review here when it runs.

-a review of Ross Douthat's The Decadent Society, forthcoming in The American Interest. Ross is a Catholic critic with whom I don't always see eye-to-eye, but whom I respect tremendously. I recently saw him speak in Providence and am currently putting my thoughts together on his thought-provoking new book.