This Week's Noteworthy Book Reviews

Andrew Martin remarks on the range of genres embraced by Patrick deWitt, from realist addiction narratives to westerns and class satire. He highlights deWitt's distinctive dialogue and picaresque style, describing **Dodge City** as presenting a gentler account of self-destructive behavior compared to deWitt’s earlier work, **Ablutions**. The story follows Lee, who navigates family crises across various locations, echoing themes of personal conflict and moral choices in the backdrop of the Vietnam War.

Zito Madu explores Klosterman's assertion that American football, despite its current popularity, is fragile and destined for decline. He critiques Klosterman’s defense of the sport as contradictory, noting that while Klosterman acknowledges football's violent nature, he still promotes it as the ideal sport. Madu challenges Klosterman’s take on American socialism through the lens of NFL economics, suggesting it overlooks the inequities faced by players in favor of a shallow celebration of the sport.

A.O. Scott delves into **The Radiance**, suggesting that the blending of genres in Akhtar's work reflects its vitality rather than posing a challenge to its categorization. The novel examines the dynamics between students and instructors within a college setting, tapping into contemporary themes of identity and ambition. Scott conveys that Akhtar skillfully dismantles certainties from both liberal and conservative perspectives, grounding his narrative in both satire and serious contemplation.

Emma Hager critiques Defoe’s **Burnside**, describing it as a chaotic depiction of California's societal issues through allegory. Hager notes the novel's humor amid its portrayal of violence, while also arguing that it ultimately fails to devise a coherent understanding of its characters' struggles. She observes that the story hints at deeper ecological and social turmoil but falls short of meaningful engagement with these themes.

Melissa Harrison analyzes **May We Feed the King**, a novel that juxtaposes a medieval king’s burdens with a modern curator’s struggles. She highlights how the book's structure plays with reader expectations, offering fragmented insights into both the past and present. Harrison appreciates the text's exploration of power dynamics, raising questions about knowledge and history while immersing the reader in a uniquely crafted narrative.