Books
‘Human Matter’ Dredges up the Dark History of the Guatemalan Civil War
Rodrigo Rey Rosa’s novel has plenty of intrigue, but bumps up against the limits of the autofiction genre.
An explosion in an army depot storing weapons leftover from a brutal civil war unearths a vast archive of secret police documents, whose discovery threatens to ...Read More
With Sprawl and Serial Killers, Houston Noir Packs a Mean Punch
As characters flit from one unzoned neighborhood to another, this new short story collection explores the city’s identity through crime.
Houston has long been in search of an identity, as opposed to a nickname (Space/Bayou/Magnolia City). The separate elements of the South, the West, the oil indu...Read More
When Crossing Over Becomes a Deadly Game
Oscar Casares has written a powerful novel about the emotional traumas of migration, implicating all social classes.
Each time Oscar Casares comes out with a book, it seems he must have written 10 others in the meantime. The progress in rhythmic flow, plot concision and charac...Read More
Beasts of the Border
Fernando A. Flores’ debut novel paints a vivid, if cynical, portrait of life on the U.S.-Mexico border.
It’s the near future in South Texas, and things haven’t gotten any better. A global food shortage has killed 20 percent of the world’s population and spaw...Read More
Invasive Species Have Reshaped Texas. Now What?
From parakeets to fire ants, nilgai to tamarisk trees, invasives have integrated into the state's ecosystems — and managing them means asking hard questions.
In March, I drove down to the Sabal Palm Sanctuary on the southernmost border of Texas, where Brazilian bougainvillea shimmers over the seasonal marshes. I was ...Read More
A New Crime Novel Asks Tough Questions About Revenge and Redemption
Texas Innocence Network founder David Dow’s first foray into fiction explores the trauma of a wrongful conviction.
Prison may be society’s most blatant example of a backfire mission — achieving the opposite of its rehabilitative intent. Very few who are incarcerated come...Read More
A New Book on the American Political Divide Calls, Unconvincingly, for Civility
The authors of Polarized are thoughtful exemplars of a lost ethic who care more about commonality than victory.
Let’s say you wanted to host a public conversation that would demonstrate civil disagreement and the search for common ground between two people with seemingl...Read More
Swamp City Serenade
Bryan Washington’s remarkable debut book, "Lot," captures Houston in meticulous, tenderhearted detail.
The wonder of Houston can sometimes be difficult to explain to those not born and bred in the Bayou City. Yes, it is indeed sprawling, as so many have said pejo...Read More
A Sweeping History of Texas Blues Celebrates Little-Known Musicians
More than 50 years in the making, The Blues Come to Texas is an encyclopedic tome stuffed with surprising trivia.
I have a faded copy of the July|August 1965 issue of the magazine Blues Unlimited, which includes an essay, “Working on the Project – T for Texas; T for Toi...Read More
