it book review reddit

By Stephen King

'It' is a book that fits the phrase, "the horror you see is the expression of the horror deep within you."

About the Book

Article written by Joshua Ehiosun

C2 certified writer.

‘It’  tells a story of seven eleven-year-olds who face an ancient evil entity they call ‘It.’   Along with their daily social and family problems, the Losers club defeats It sending him to sleep. Twenty-seven years later, It awakens, and the group of once children fight the monster in one last attempt to kill it for good. Stephen King’s  ‘It’  showed that there is always a triumph of good over evil.

The Loss of Childhood Innocence

In my view, many parts of Stephen King’s  ‘It’  showed the transcendence of each member of the Losers as they left childhood into adulthood. For most people, the depiction of the members of the Losers club having an orgy marked the point they lost their innocence.

However, other events come to life that showed each member losing the elements of childhood in a specific way. For one, each member had a different fear as an adult. This, in itself, showed that they had gone beyond the point of being scared as little children. Another worthy event that marked members of the Losers club losing their innocence was their thinking. Bill felt the selfish thoughts of him using the rest of the club to get revenge was something only adults thought. One could say Bill had lost his innocence at that point.

The Triumph of Good Over Evil

Another feature noticed in the book is the victory of good over evil. One may think that the only problems the Losers club faced were ‘It’ and the Bowers gang, but the fact stands that the members of the Losers club had family and personal problems.

Throughout the story, each member of the Losers club faced hardship, and those hardships made them stronger. For Bill, him having to watch his parents become a shadow of themselves after they lost George was a cross he had to bear. For Beverly, it was having to withstand being abused by her father and husband. For Ben, being mocked for his obesity was a burden on him. For Eddie, it was facing his controlling mother, who didn’t want him to have anything to do with his friends. In the end, the suffering and hardships each member of the Losers club faced gave them the strength to triumph over evil.

It  as a Historical Document

‘It’  is a book that has a heavy impact on its reader. The book shows a town in a post-WWII era where bleakness and death reign . The horror of Derry is synonymous with the problems of society today. According to Christopher Lehman-Haupt of The New York Times.

It concerns the evil that has haunted America from time to time in the forms of crime, racial and religious bigotry, economic hardship, labor strife, and industrial pollution.

Though  ‘It’  is a lengthy book with over a thousand pages, reading the book ignites curiosity to know what happens next. Stephen King’s innate detailed writing and events expression makes a reader engrossed in the book. It becomes as if one were in the same place at the same time with each character, one can feel the fear of the characters as each action is detailed. In my opinion  ‘It’  is an excellent book worth the time.

It: A Horror to be Imagined

It Review: The Good, The Bad, and The Predator

‘It’ is a book that sticks to your mind as a reader. Readers will find themselves entangled in the fictional world Stephen King created, and one will experience the emanating horror from a personal perspective. In all honest opinion, though the book is lengthy, reading It is worth all the pages.

• Intricate story, setting, and action details.
• Fluid alternating storyline.
• Excellent sentence structure and dialogues.
• Not for young aged teens and children.
• Book is lengthy.

About Joshua Ehiosun

Joshua is an undying lover of literary works. With a keen sense of humor and passion for coining vague ideas into state-of-the-art worded content, he ensures he puts everything he's got into making his work stand out. With his expertise in writing, Joshua works to scrutinize pieces of literature.

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Breaking it all Down

Dissecting everything since 2008, it: book review.

Almost a year after the film adaptation finished, and almost 35 years after the book came out, I have read IT. Time to give my thoughts.

Review of 20th Century Boys (referenced in the video)

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Things I Fear

What Do You Fear?

IT Book Review

Stephen King’s It is one of those classic horror novels that everyone knows. That’s why I wanted to write this It Book Review. Clown? The book’s got it. Red balloon? Oh yeah. Sewers? You know it! But how many of us have actually sat down and read this beast? I personally, while being a big fan of horror books, have avoided this one for years. Clocking in at over 1,150 pages, it’s certainly not a casual read. To be honest, I feel like a lot of this book could have been condensed. But at its core, It is a great story about friendship, childhood, and facing our fears. After all, the true monster of It is not the clown. It’s each character’s own deepest fear.

The actual story switches between present-day (the adults) and 25 years ago (the children). It focuses on Bill Denbrough whose brother was killed on a particularly rainy day by a killer clown who seems to live in the sewers of Derry, Maine. Since that day, he and his friends have all had frightening encounters with the clown. Each time It appears as different people or things. The group of children eventually disbands and they go their separate ways. But they must reunite as adults to destroy It once and for all by revisiting the horrors that happened to them so many years ago. Horrors that they had long forgotten about. 

Trust me when I say that while this book is (in my opinion) not nearly as scary as The Shining or ‘Salem’s Lot, I definitely didn’t want to read this after dark. And overall, while there are better horror novels by Stephen King, this book is truly a classic. There were points where I wondered how King’s mind could concoct such sick, twisted parts of the story. But I think that despite these parts, it was a great tale about the strength of friendship and love. So if you’re ready for a long, long, looong tale, give it a go! And remember that the only thing to fear is fear itself.

Rating: 4/5

Editors Note: Thank you, Alex, for this IT Book Review! It’s always great to see new content from the Things I Fear Community! Alex has previously written “Fear of Scary Movies” as well. I recommend checking that post out too! You can see the complete collection of Community-submitted posts by clicking here!  

Do you want to be featured on Things I Fear? If you have your own idea for a Review, or a new Fear post, let me know! You can contact me from this handy page or through one of our social media channels like the ever-reliable Facebook . That is unless you have a Fear of Social Media . I get that. 

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You Should Quit Reddit Kindle Edition

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A book review of Stephen King’s “IT”

Welcome to Derry

When the opening chapter of a Stephen King book starts with a six-year-old talking to a clown who lives in a sewer, chances are things are going to take a turn for the worst.

Sadly, in Derry, Maine, if things could get worse, they absolutely do. Jumping between 1958 and 1985, King charts the lives of the ‘Losers Club’, a group of seven bullied twelve-year-olds who face down the clown Pennywise, a terrifying demon from an alternate dimension, who starts a murder spree throughout town. Delivering an ambitious and wide scope of storytelling, Stephen King’s ‘IT’ is rife with the complex and controversial.

In retrospect, I am grateful I avoided reading any reviews of ‘IT’ before taking the 1000+ paged book on (it’s quite a time investment). It turns out, according to reviews on sites like Goodreads , the feedback about ‘IT’ is polarized—either one decides to embrace the novel whole-heartedly or condemn the entire story as the bane of their existence.

Needless to say, going in as a reader without expectations was probably the right idea. As someone who is relatively familiar with King’s work, I have arrived at the realization that ‘IT’ displays both the strengths and weaknesses of his writing. He excels at crafting the unforgettable friendship between the seven children, all of whom are memorable and wonderful characters, with sharp attention paid to depicting the realities of childhood. The time of the Losers Club in 1958 was by far my favorite part of the book. It reminded me why Stephen King is one of my favorite writers.

Not surprisingly, King also delivers on the fear scale—if clowns weren’t already frightening enough, Pennywise takes the cake for Worst Clown Ever, demonic or otherwise. The depiction of violence was particularly disturbing, especially considering a huge bulk of the novel had a homicidal Ronald McDonald terrorizing a bunch of 12 year olds. King grabs the crazy dial and turns it all the way up, taking readers on a roller coaster of a ride. But, like all roller coasters, with its ups, come its downs.

Where ‘IT’ thrives in the shadows of the creepy and disturbing, a major pitfall I found within the novel is keeping up with King’s narrative threads. The book deals with multiple timelines, varying character perspectives, and a concept that literally stretches the confines of time and space. Fair enough, there are bound to be some lines that are either left hanging or come to unsatisfying conclusions. This is a disappointing aspect to the book because, in previous King-related pursuits of mine, I find he is quite consistent about tying up loose ends. Here, not so—the mere expanse of the book, both in content and page number, makes King meander somewhat in his writing. I found myself skipping chunks just to get back to the main storyline which was unfortunate since King has so clearly crafted such a detailed universe, much of which I had to overlook simply out of necessity of keeping up with the original train of thought.

There is also a scene within the book that caused much outcry within the community of King readers. At the risk of running spoilers, I’ll only note that this particular scene was also disturbing to me and I found it completely unnecessary and under-serving the otherwise intriguing character of Beverley Marsh. One reviewer, from the website Nightmarish Conjurings that post reviews and articles on horror literature and media, actually felt that this one scene ruined the entire book for them.

As a note of general interest, there is a mini-series version that was filmed in the nineties, for those who are interested in a visual adaptation of the book. A Sept. 2017 release for a film adaptation is also on the approach with a trailer already available for viewing.

The core of ‘IT’ is almost unbearably dark and violent and disturbing—King is not afraid to take a good, hard look at what goes bump in the night. But with the horror, and the sometimes problematic plot points, King also delivers hope in the form of the Losers’ friendship. And this delicate balance is what makes books like ‘IT’ worth the long and terrifying read through. So while King may give us violent bullies and demonic clowns and a town full of unsolved murders, he also gives us the Losers Club: he shows us that even the parts of ourselves we would rather forget, when we saw ourselves as weird or out of place or alone in the world, are capable of fighting back, even against demons from alternate dimensions—that, at the end of the day, the Losers Club can win.

By Meagan Gove

Please note that opinions expressed are the author’s own. They do not necessarily reflect the views and values of The Blank Page.

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The Best Books According to Reddit

Neha is an editor living in Dallas, TX who reads a little more than her optometrist would like. She works fulltime as a medical editor but also loves proofreading and copyediting all types of fiction on the side as well as conducting sensitivity/authenticity reads for Indian characters and Hinduism. When she's not reading or editing, she's writing her fantasy novel, bookstagramming at @bookishdesi , or collecting records. More at neha-patel.com

View All posts by Neha Patel

It’s always a challenge to find new books that’ll not only pique your interest, but also to make you fall in love with them. Most readers rely on recommendations from friends or good old-fashioned Google. Now over the past decade, social media has really showed up for readers. Personally, I love surfing through Goodreads or StoryGraph for new releases or books that are similar to those I’ve enjoyed in the past.

But sometimes I need a breath of fresh air and to see what people from other corners of the internet are reading. So here comes Reddit, which I can’t decide is my savior or nemesis, but goodness can I kill an afternoon going down a thread. I love seeing what sort of niche books people are reading and sometimes get a great Reddit book recommendation out of it (which I’ll get to reading…eventually).

Surfing through Reddit, I noticed that the site is particularly good at diving deeper into social trends and the books associated with them. Unlike TikTok, which only gives you a short video explanation, recommendations from Reddit come with conversations between users about what they liked and disliked about the book. Now, Goodreads is great for this as well, but I’ve found the conversations from Reddit to be more in depth and wide ranging because folks tend to have full conversations and debates with one another.

I will also say that the lack of a star system is helpful. The format of Reddit forces you to at least surf through a thread to get the gist of a book and why you should read it. For example, if you’re curious about reading the social media famous A Court of Thorns and Roses series , just checkout a Reddit thread . To be honest, when I’m on Goodreads, I don’t even bother sometimes to rate a book based on its cover (shocker) but rather how many stars it has. This means that I go into the comments section with preconceived notions about a book. In fact, it’s standard operating procedure for me to filter reviews by star rating first. And because I thrive in chaos, I always, without fail, check out the one-star reviews first. I like to be disappointed.

However, because Reddit doesn’t give me preconceived notions, I’m able to read threads with a clear head and enjoy the repartee between users debating their likes and dislikes about a book as well as debating really specific questions. I mean, if Reddit doesn’t have an answer for me, then I doubt anyone else will.

So I consulted Reddit Reads to figure out any trends in what everyone is interested in. From my research, it seems that the following genres/sub-genres of books are recommended at the highest frequencies:

• Self-help and professional development books
• Beginner software engineering books
• Space operas
• High fantasy
• Books on finding love
• Human behavior and psychology
• Niche nonfiction

Below I’ll break down the best books Reddit recommends for each.

1. Self-Help and Professional Development Books

• How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie
• Feeling Good by David Burns
• The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg
• The Design of Everyday Things by Don Norman

For self-help books I noticed the likes of How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie and Feeling Good by David Burns claiming top spots. This makes sense. It’s not only the beginning of the year (for the most part), but the pandemic made everyone revaluate how they want to live their lives. Reclaiming their lifestyle, mental health, and work/life balance are things that everyone spoke about passingly, but even in my own circles, I’ve noticed friends and family taking serious steps to rectify how they live their lives.

As such, it makes sense that books such as The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg are being consistently discussed on Reddit. Now I will say that books such as these are predominantly written by white men, but I have an entire post with recommendations on leadership books by women , so believe me, there are more options out there. That said, I will warn you that controversial books such as No More Mr. Nice Guy by Robert Glover are regularly recommended on Reddit, so be sure to conduct your own research as well.

2. Beginner Software Engineering Books

• Introduction to Algorithms by Thomas H. Cormen
• Clean Code by Robert Martin
• Cracking the Coding Interview by Gayle Laakmann McDowell
• Code: The Hidden Language of Computer Hardware and Software by Charles Petzold

Another interesting trend I noted was that coding books were also rather popular. I have to wonder that the popularization and normalization of working from home has played a role here. It’s pretty common for tech companies to allow their employees to work from home or for various other companies to allow their contract or in-house developers to work from home. Considering that the pay is enviable and a successful software engineer doesn’t have to rack up thousands of dollars in student debt, it makes sense that those interested are turning to books.

3. Space Operas

• Dune by Frank Herbert
• Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card
• The Martian by Andy Weir
• The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams

Science fiction is such a diverse genre, increasingly so in recent years. But it’s classic space operas such as Dune that seem to get a lot of attention on Reddit . I sometimes wonder if a desire to read the “classics” first is what prevents some folks from branching out. I did notice though that Dune , Ender’s Game , and The Martian were all adapted into pretty big movies, so I’m sure that helped them being upvoted.

4. High Fantasy

• The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien
• The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch
• The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss
• The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson

If space operas are popular on Reddit, then it makes perfect sense that high fantasy is right behind it. I imagine that the release of The Rings of Power and The Wheel of Time have played a hand in this. That said, I have to say that the books that are most popular are already popular outside of Reddit. Let’s be honest, how many of us need to be told by Reddit to read The Fellowship of the Ring ? But if you need that extra nudge, here it is!

5. Books on Relationships

• Come as You Are: The Surprising New Science that Will Transform Your Sex Life by Emily Nagasaki
• The Five Love Languages: The Secret to Love that Lasts by Gary Chapman
• Attached: The New Science of Adult Attachment and How It Can Help YouFind – and Keep – Love by Amir Levine
• She Comes First: The Thinking Man’s Guide to Pleasuring a Woman by Ian Kerner

I generally rely on TikTok for my relationship advice (mature, I know). But the pandemic really did make a lot of folks rethink their own relationships and how they want to treat their partners, as evidenced by the most popular relationship books on Reddit. Now I didn’t do a deep dive into Reddit threads about relationships, but I can only imagine that a few of these books popped up here and there.

6. Human Behavior and Psychology

• The Mind Illuminated: A Complete Meditation Guide Integrating Buddhist Wisdom and Brain Science for Greater Mindfulness by John Yates, Matthew Immergut, and Jeremy Graves
• Stop Walking on Eggshells: Taking Your Life Back When Someone You Care About Has Borderline Personality Disorder by Paul T. T. Mason MS and Randi Kreger
• Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman
• Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion by Robert B. Cialdini PhD

Subreddits are perfect for diving into topics that interest you. Some books that are popular on the psychology subreddit have also appeared on the list of most mentioned books on Reddit , which is fascinating. I suppose that while we’ve been socially distancing from each other, we’ve also been trying to learn more about one another?

7. Niche Nonfiction

• Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers by Mary Roach
• The Food Lab: Better Home Cooking Through Science by J. Kenji López-Alt
• The Dictator’s Handbook: Why Bad Behavior is Almost Always Good Politics by Bruce Bueno de Mesquita and Alastair Smith
• Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari

I was rather surprised to find such niche nonfiction books being recommended on Reddit. But then again, because Reddit is good for those niche recommendations, this does track. However, it is fascinating that books about dictators and human cadavers are so popular. These books do have excellent ratings and are well regarded by their own niche communities, so perhaps quality speaks for itself?

While these trends are overarching, I do recommend perusing Reddit to see which sort of books people are talking about. Goodreads is great to see what bookish people are talking about, and while those conversations are great, I think it’s important to see what sort of books the rest of world is finding interesting and/or useful. That said, if you’re looking for more tailored book recommendations, check out our TBR service, where our hardworking Bibliologists (including yours truly) tailor book recommendations that get you out of comfort zone (or keep you in it).

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Shōgun episode 9’s major moment made the showrunners question everything they thought they knew

‘At first you’re shocked, and then you’re challenged, and then you’re inspired’

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Share All sharing options for: Shōgun episode 9’s major moment made the showrunners question everything they thought they knew

The penultimate episode of Shōgun is a big one, in the way only great TV can build to. It binds together everything the past eight hours of the show has built, then punctures the plotlines like daisy chains. And the result is explosive, even before the final moments blow up everything we understand about where this story might be headed. Episode 9, “Crimson Sky,” brings the whole conflict to a fiery head — so it’s no wonder it prominently features the plotline the show’s creators , by their own admission, struggled with the most.

[ Ed. note: This post will now get into explicit spoiler territory for “Crimson Sky.”]

When trying to nail down all the details of Shōgun ’s period world, showrunners Rachel Kondo and Justin Marks brought in producer Mako Kamitsuna as a cultural consultant. When seeking notes, they — like anyone undergoing an edit — were hopeful they had shot the moon.

“We thought, OK, she’s gonna be like, How did you guys do this? You captured the Japanese essence ,” Kondo told Polygon. “And she very politely said, ‘I’m sorry, I’m not able to give you notes about this, because a Japanese person wouldn’t even have this thought.’”

As Marks and Kondo saw it, it was a classic case of not knowing what they didn’t know. “[It] really challenged us to break it down from the beginning and start over. At first you’re shocked, and then you’re challenged, and then you’re inspired — and I think that’s what happened at almost every level,” Kondo says.

One particular note stood out to them: “The meaning of seppuku and a true understanding of why it was used,” Marks says. “Even after the writers room with our Japanese producers and actors, there were a lot of conversations about us trying to reach for: What does seppuku mean?”

The answer to that question is weighed across “Crimson Sky,” particularly as various people try to talk or maneuver Mariko (Anna Sawai) out of her resolve to commit seppuku. Though, as we saw in last week’s episode, it is some sort of ploy on behalf of her lord, Toranaga (Hiroyuki Sanada), no one is exactly sure what or why.

Perhaps nowhere is this clearer than in her conflict with Blackthorne. Part of their connection has been based in his similar thoughts on death; while her husband (Shinnosuke Abe) is left stiff and distant as he struggles to understand Mariko’s desire to commit seppuku, Blackthorne relates to the idea that death is a part of everyday life. And that ease of understanding has underpinned much of their feelings toward each other as the season progressed. But Shōgun is a smart show, and knows their understanding is founded off totally different circumstances, cultural contexts, and conceptions of death. It’s something Marks and Kondo say they can relate to.

“We, I think, as Westerners, for a long time were interpreting [seppuku] almost as a pathos, as like a fixation on death,” Marks says. “[But] seppuku, as an act — I believe as it was put to us by Mako Kamitsuna — is more an expression of life. And that was a really potent conversation that opened our eyes to our misunderstanding as we engaged it through the text originally. To exert this act on a chaotic situation is a chance to exert control over chaos; to take one’s life into their own hands and say that I can have some agency over it.”

It’s just as we saw last week, with Toranaga’s friend and ally Toda Hiromatsu (Tokuma Nishioka) also committing seppuku. That scene is similarly charged, with the layers of understanding — between Toranaga and Hiromatsu, first and foremost, but also for the crowd around them to interpret their performance of ritual — and the weight of the act comes through completely. Though Mariko’s seppuku doesn’t happen exactly (more on that later), both she and Hiromatsu demonstrate their willingness to commit to Toranaga’s cause, to register their very real purpose with an act. And Shōgun treats both of these moments as sacrifices that are respected but mourned: Nishioka and Sanada both look on the verge of tears throughout their scene, both desperate to aid the other, yet unable to do more than they can muster here. Even Mariko’s declaration is met with a bowed head from Toranaga’s wife and the other ladies at court.

Through that lens, Kondo and Marks came along a similar journey to Blackthorne’s: He originally sees Mariko’s choices purely as Toranaga’s manipulation, having observed her somewhat performative attempt at an exit and generally fearing for her life. He even seeks to exploit his connection with her, begging, “Would you consider living for me?” She takes his hand and looks at him with pity and sadness, breaking him when she walks away. Ultimately he listens to her, and accepts that he may not understand her choices, but he can support her in the only ways he knows how: following her lead (and seconding her, so as to save her mortal soul from Christian hell). Without knowing, he has done the thing her husband never could: giving her the freedom of a life beyond anyone else’s understanding, logic, or control.

In an episode all about pawns and the people that move them, Mariko’s steadfastness is remarkable, and even those who can’t understand have no choice but to stare. It’s her journey that defines “Crimson Sky,” even just in the way the camera meets her gaze. After declaring directly to the camera that she was “ready” for her part in Toranaga’s plan, “Crimson Sky” holds Mariko in the center of the frame and the story, ferociously asserting herself as she stares right back into it. Even when she glides past it after failing to battle through Ishido’s men, there’s a sense that she’s seeing further down the line than we are. With her final sacrifice, she is, in her own way, exerting her control over history as best she can. It may be Toranaga’s master plan, and Ishido’s kidnapping attempt, but it’s Mariko who sends the final blow.

Shōgun ’s series finale drops next Tuesday.

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Movie Review: In Alex Garland’s potent ‘Civil War,’ journalists are America’s last hope

This image released by A24 shows Kirsten Dunst in a scene from “Civil War.” (A24 via AP)

This image released by A24 shows Kirsten Dunst in a scene from “Civil War.” (Murray Close/A24 via AP)

This image released by A24 shows a scene from “Civil War.” (A24 via AP)

This image released by A24 shows a scene from “Civil War.” (Murray Close/A24 via AP)

This image released by A24 shows Cailee Spaeny, left, and Kirsten Dunst in a scene from “Civil War.” (A24 via AP)

This image released by A24 shows Wagner Moura in a scene from “Civil War.” (A24 via AP)

This image released by A24 shows Wagner Moura, left, and Kirsten Dunst in a scene from “Civil War.” (Murray Close/A24 via AP)

This image released by A24 shows Cailee Spaeny, left, and Wagner Moura in a scene from “Civil War.” (Murray Close/A24 via AP)

This image released by A24 shows Cailee Spaeny in a scene from “Civil War.” (Murray Close/A24 via AP)

This image released by A24 shows Nick Offerman in a scene from “Civil War.” (Murray Close/A24 via AP)

This image released by A24 shows Stephen McKinley Henderson in a scene from “Civil War.” (Murray Close/A24 via AP)

This image released by A24 shows promotional art for “Civil War.” (A24 via AP)

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The United States is crumbling in Alex Garland’s sharp new film “ Civil War, ” a bellowing and haunting big screen experience. The country has been at war with itself for years by the time we’re invited in, through the gaze of a few journalists documenting the chaos on the front lines and chasing an impossible interview with the president.

Garland, the writer-director of films like “Annihilation” and “Ex Machina,” as well as the series “Devs,” always seems to have an eye on the ugliest sides of humanity and our capacity for self-destruction. His themes are profound and his exploration of them sincere in films that are imbued with strange and haunting images that rattle around in your subconscious for far too long. Whatever you think of “ Men ,” his most divisive film to date, it’s unlikely anyone will forget Rory Kinnear giving birth to himself.

In “Civil War,” starring Kirsten Dunst as a veteran war photographer named Lee, Garland is challenging his audience once again by not making the film about what everyone thinks it will, or should, be about. Yes, it’s a politically divided country. Yes, the President (Nick Offerman) is a blustery, rising despot who has given himself a third term, taken to attacking his citizens and shut himself off from the press. Yes, there is one terrifying character played by Jesse Plemons who has some pretty hard lines about who is and isn’t a real American.

But that trailer that had everyone talking is not the story. Garland is not so dull or narratively conservative to make the film about red and blue ideologies. All we really know is that the so-called Western Forces of Texas and California have seceded from the country and are closing in to overthrow the government. We don’t know what they want or why, or what the other side wants or why and you start to realize that many of the characters don’t seem to really know, or care, either.

This choice might be frustrating to some audiences, but it’s also the only one that makes sense in a film focused on the kinds of journalists who put themselves in harm’s way to tell the story of violent conflicts and unrest. As Lee explains to Cailee Spaeny’s Jessie, a young, aspiring photographer who has elbowed her way onto their dangerous journey to Washington, questions are not for her to ask: She takes truthful, impartial pictures so that everyone else can.

“Civil War” a film that is more about war reporters than anything else — the trauma of the beat, the vital importance of bearing witness and the moral and ethical dilemmas of impartiality. Dunst’s Lee is having a bit of an existential crisis, having shot so many horrors and feeling as though she hasn’t made any difference — violence and death are still everywhere. She’s also a pro: Hardened and committed to the story and the image. Her colleague Joel (Wagner Moura) is more of an adrenaline junkie, chasing the gunfire and drinking himself into a stupor every night. There’s Jessie (Spaeny), the wide-eyed but ambitious newbie who is in over her head, and the aging editor Sammy (the great Stephen McKinley Henderson), wise and buttoned up in Brooks Brothers and suspenders, who can’t imagine a life outside of news even as his body is failing him. All are self-motivated and none of them have a life outside of the job, which might be a criticism for some movie characters but not here (trigger warning for any journo audiences out there).

The group must drive an indirect route to get from New York to Washington as safely as possible, through Pittsburgh and West Virginia. The roads and towns are set-dressed a little bit, but anyone who knows the area will recognize familiar sights of dead malls, creaky off-brand gas stations on two lane roads, boarded up shops and overgrown parking lots that all work to provide an unsettlingly effective backdrop for the bleak world of “Civil War.”

Dunst and Spaeny are both exceedingly good in their roles, effectively embodying the veteran and the novice — a well-written, nuanced and evolving dynamic that should inspire post-credits debates and discussion (among other topics).

Dread permeates every frame, whether it’s a quiet moment of smart conversation, a white-knuckle standoff or a deafening shootout on 17th street. And as with all Garland films it comes with a great, thoughtful soundtrack and a Sonoya Mizuno cameo.

Smart, compelling and challenging blockbusters don’t come along that often, though this past year has had a relative embarrassment of riches with the likes of “Dune: Part Two” and “Oppenheimer.” “Civil War” should be part of that conversation too. It’s a full body theatrical experience that deserves a chance.

“Civil War,” an A24 release in theaters Friday, is rated R by the Motion Picture Association for “strong, violent content, bloody/disturbing images and language throughout.” Running time: 119 minutes. Three stars out of four.

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realme Book review: Compelling, but not complete

Published on September 7, 2021

Realme Book

What we like, what we don't like.

The realme Book is the first laptop from the house of BBK Electronics . The conglomerate’s most tenacious brand has been releasing a ton of phones since its inception, but this product marks realme’s debut in the laptop space. The realme Book is a productivity-focused laptop that enters a crowded market segment and comes with some solid specifications for the price.

The question is, is it worth your money? Let’s dive into Android Authority ’s realme Book review to find out.

What you need to know about the realme Book

• realme Book Slim (Intel Core i3/8GB RAM/256GB SSD): Rs. 46,999 (~$644)
• realme Book Slim (Intel Core i5/8GB RAM/512GB SSD): Rs. 59,999 (~$822)

realme has three versions of the realme Book. The base model comes with an Intel Core i3-1115G4 CPU, 8GB of RAM, and a 256GB SSD. The second version comes with an Intel Core i5-1135G7 CPU and 8GB of RAM. These are the two versions that realme is bringing to global markets, including India, where it’s called the realme Book Slim.

The top-of-the-line version comes with the same Core i5 CPU, but gets 16GB of RAM instead, in addition to a fully flush display with a single sheet of glass covering the screen and the bezels. This version — the one we were sent for review — seems to be available only in China for now, priced at 4699 yuan (~$727). A 512GB NVMe SSD is standard across the Core i5 versions of the realme Book.

Related:   The best laptops you can buy

The realme Book comes with an all-aluminum build and its most attractive feature — a 14-inch, 3:2 display with a resolution of 2,160 by 1,440 pixels. You also get a backlit keyboard, a large trackpad, and a single sign-on fingerprint reader. There’s a pair of USB-C 3.2 gen 2 ports on the Core i3 version of the realme Book. The Core i5 version gets one of those, and one Thunderbolt 4 port, which is not a common offering on laptops in this segment.

Stereo speakers are also on board along with a headphone jack. Charging is via USB-C, and realme gives you a 65W charger in the box. You get a choice of two colors: Real Blue and Real Grey.

The realme Book is priced starting at Rs. 46,990 (~$644), and the laptop is now available in India via Flipkart and realme’s India website. realme has not announced launched plans for Europe at the time of writing.

How is the design?

The realme Book follows the trend of many laptops we have seen emerge from China. It has the classic MacBook-inspired design that has become mainstream to such a degree it’s tough to even call these laptops out as MacBook clones. realme Book adjusts the look for a 3:2 form factor, and it’s one of the better laptops to implement this design.

realme has even avoided the classic mistakes: there are no edges too sharp, nor does the construction feel flimsy. Instead, the build feels solid, and there’s very little flex to the chassis. realme has a history of flashy design with the “Dare to Leap” motto painted across the back of some of its phones. However, with the realme Book, the company has taken a rather subtle approach, fit for laptops. You get the realme logo on the back of the laptop lid. “Dare to Leap” does make a subtle appearance on one of the rubber feet, where it’s much more acceptable.

The design isn’t all perfect, though. The laptop doesn’t feel the best when it’s actually on your lap. The rubber feet are quite thick, and the upper one runs right across the length of the laptop. Additionally, the laptop gets a bit toasty near the air vents, making it slightly annoying for lap use, especially if you’re wearing a thin piece of clothing. It’s also a smudge magnet. However, the slim profile and lightweight body offset these issues a bit.

The laptop strikes a decent balance between form and function and is one of the better-designed laptops you can find in this price range.

How is the screen?

The screen is the real winner here. It’s a 14-inch display, and that 3:2 aspect ratio feels ideal for a smaller laptop. You get more vertical room on the screen, which definitely makes the realme Book a more usable machine.

Additionally, you get a solid resolution of 2,160 by 1,440 pixels. The display feels sharp, but the pixel density is not overdone, making for a well-balanced experience. UI elements and text didn’t look pixelated, but at the same time, I was able to set the scaling in Windows 10 to 100% and not have to squint.

The only issue with the screen is that it is glossy across all models. Don’t get me wrong, I prefer a glossy screen myself, but it can be a nightmare to use if you work in a bright environment. The upside on the realme Book is that the display is quite bright. So cranking up the brightness helped a lot with the overall visibility while outdoors.

The display on my unit also had some backlight bleed seeping in from the bottom edge, likely due to the tightness of the hinge. It didn’t bother me during my use at all, but it did show up when the laptop was at full brightness and displaying darker images. While this may not be present on all units, it’s another example of the quality control issues a first-generation product like this can have.

There’s another glaring bug that throws off the otherwise decent screen experience. The brightness hotkey (F5) goes to zero brightness when you crank it all the way to the lowest setting. This leaves the display looking like it’s switched off. This is a very fixable bug, and might already be fixed on units that are shipping. However it’s a bug that alters the experience, and one you should be careful of if you buy one of these laptops.

The high-end model we reviewed had a flush glass display, while the lower variants get a sunken screen with the bezels raised. The flush display did add to the premium feel, which the lower variants may lack. However, the display panel itself is the same, so your experience shouldn’t differ too much.

How is the battery life?

The realme Book packs in a 54Wh battery. realme promises 8.5 hours of battery life as per its testing for office usage. During my use, I got between five to six hours of battery life with medium usage.

My usage mostly included about 30 or so tabs in the Chromium-based Microsoft Edge, with a lot of switching, scrolling, and typing, and some YouTube video playback. The battery life on this laptop turned out to be below expectations when under load, especially since Edge is less stressful to the system given it suspends inactive tabs. Light usage did get me closer to 10 hours of battery life, but I’d have liked the laptop to do better under heavier loads. realme could have done a better job here.

See also:  The best laptop deals

The realme Book comes with a 65W USB-C charger that also supports up to 30W Dart flash charging for supported realme phones. The charger managed to top up an empty battery to 50% in about 35 minutes. The time needed for a full charge varied between one hour 15 minutes to one hour 30 minutes. These figures are pretty decent if you work long hours away from an outlet, and need a quick top-up to get you through the day.

There’s one issue with the charging — the battery warms up, making the bottom of the laptop warm to the touch. It got quite a bit warmer than expected, and this could impact battery health considerably over time.

How powerful is it?

The 11th gen Intel Core i5-1135G7 is a solid performer. It felt snappy, and I never faced any slowdowns during my usage. The 16GB of RAM definitely helped. However, be mindful that this variant does not seem to be available in markets other than China right now.

While my experience was smooth, don’t expect this laptop to perform miracles. I’m a relatively light user, and this laptop should perform well for similar usages, such as office, home, or educational use. However, the CPU is only a 28W chip, which means that there’s not too much headroom for more CPU-intensive tasks, like video editing.

On top of that, the thermals on this laptop are rather questionable. I regularly use laptops on my lap. This one was more or less always warm to a point where I could feel it. In addition to that, it got even warmer while charging, as mentioned before. The temperatures didn’t reach burning hot, but the laptop always felt a bit uneasy to use.

The general thermal issues could be because of poor thermal paste application. Regardless, it seems like a problem that should not exist. The realme Book runs warm without being subjected to anything that can be considered unusual for a laptop of its stature. That cannot be a good thing in the long run.

Coming to the ports, there’s again some disappointment. You get two USB-C 3.2 gen 2 ports, with one supporting Thunderbolt 4 , and one USB-A 3.1 gen 1 port. While I’m team USB-C all the way, I would have loved to see more ports onboard, like HDMI or collapsible ethernet, or at least an extra USB-A port. The Core i3 version skips Thunderbolt 4 too and provides a normal USB-C 3.2 gen 2 instead. It also gets slower wireless tech and slower RAM.

It’s great that realme didn’t go the traditional laptop way, with a USB 2.0 port. However, this laptop sits in a category aimed at the average user, and the omission of crucial ports is not ideal. The Core i5 version of this laptop does get Wi-Fi 6 to make up for the lack of an ethernet port, but that’s still not a fair trade-off.

Anything else?

• Keyboard: The keyboard is pretty solid to type on, but the backlight has a mind of its own. It refuses to light up again after the keyboard sits idle for a while, requiring a press of the F7 keyboard backlight key to get it to work again.
• Speakers: The audio quality is pretty great, but it feels muffled at times.
• Webcam : The 720p HD webcam is pretty good, especially given its resolution. A 1080p webcam with this kind of quality would’ve done wonders.
• GPU : The integrated Intel Iris Xe GPU is an improvement over basic Intel HD graphics. Don’t expect the realme Book to handle anything more than light gaming, though, especially given that this is a 28W chip. The Core i3 version gets the Intel UHD graphics, which are weaker than the Iris Xe.
• Windows 10 : The realme Book runs Windows 10 Home, with a Windows 11 upgrade promised. You also get Microsoft Office Home and Student pre-installed.
• Biometrics : The fingerprint reader is of the single sign-on kind, which means one press to boot up the laptop is all it takes. The scanner is very responsive too.

realme Book specs

Value and competition.

We’re going to judge the value of the Core i5/8GB RAM model, given that it’s available in all markets where realme is selling this laptop rather than the China-only Core i5/16GB RAM model we were sent to test.

The former variant carries a hefty price tag of Rs. 59,999. Although it’s available at a slightly lower price of Rs. 56,999 at the time of writing as part of a promotion, it still isn’t the best value proposition, given the multiple issues.

Competitors include the HP 15s ( Rs. 51,890 ), the Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 5 ( Rs. 57,990 ), and the RedmiBook Pro ( Rs. 49,999 ). The HP 15s makes the strongest case against the realme Book, with the option to pick between Ryzen 5000 processors and 11th Gen Intel i5 chips.

The RedmiBook Pro comes from realme’s rival brand, and has a terrible display, especially in comparison to the realme Book. While the realme Book looks better on paper, neither of them make for a particularly solid purchase, even given the excitement around the laptop-made-by-a-phone-brand factor.

Unless we see the Core i5/16GB RAM version release in India, if you really want to buy the realme Book we suggest opting for the i5/8GB version (also known as the realme Book Slim), and even then only if you’re a light user. You’ll be getting a great display for the price, even with the software issues.

However, realme should consider making the more powerful variant more widely available. It should also consider pricing it more aggressively because the current pricing isn’t competitive enough to ignore some of the issues that the realme Book has.

realme Book review: The verdict

The realme Book is a solid laptop on paper. It has an amazing display that rivals screens from laptops costing twice as much. The other specifications stack up nicely, too.

In reality, the realme Book has all the problems of a first-generation product. It’s an unfinished product and has many little issues that drag down its appeal. It feels very realme to me, which means it is, overall, unpredictable.

I loved the idea of the laptop before testing it, but during my use, I have come to see it for what it really is — a public beta test.

So should you buy one? It’s not terrible value, and the display is reason enough to recommend it. However, I would advise you to look both ways before crossing this road. If a pretty display is all you want, this laptop will get the job done, but for everyone else, there are small frustrations that could ruin the experience.

If you want something more affordable, that’ll last you a while, and be a little more polished, then you may want to wait for one of the other BBK Electronics brands to launch a laptop. Maybe a OnePlus Book? If nothing else, wait for a sequel to this realme Book that will address the issues this laptop has.

If your needs are urgent, though, you should consider looking elsewhere. This laptop sits in a crowded market segment, and there are plenty of other laptops capable of delivering a more reliable experience.

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Get paid to read: 18 legitimate sites that pay reviewers.

Serious question: do you want to get paid to read? You might laugh it off at first, thinking that that sounds too good to be true, but it’s not. You can get paid for spending time on what you love: reading books. 

Of course, the key to this #hack is book reviewing, where you offer your personal opinion of a book after you’re done with it. (If you’d like to learn more, check out this post to discover how to write a book review .) Because books are constantly being published, book reviewers are generally always in demand. 

So whether you’re a voracious reader of nonfiction, genre fiction, classics, or indie books, there’s probably an outlet that’s willing to compensate you if you read (review) for them! Without further ado, here’s a definitive list of the 17 sites that will help you get paid to read. If you want to cut to the chase and find out which of them is the right fit for you, we recommend first taking this quick quiz:

Which review community should you join?

Find out which review community is best for your style. Takes 30 seconds!

Then read on for the full list of all of the ways to get paid while reading!

 1. Kirkus Media

💸 Pay: Freelance basis

👀 More information: Check here

If you’ve ever lingered on a book’s Amazon page before, you’ll have heard of Kirkus Reviews. It’s one of the most respected sources of book reviews out there, publishing many of the blurbs that you’ll see on Amazon, or on the cover of your favorite titles.

You have to wonder: where do all of these reviews come from? That’s where you come into the picture. Kirkus Media lists an open application for book reviewers. As of right now, they’re specifically searching for people who will review English and Spanish-language indie titles. Some of the qualities that they want in reviewers include: experience, a keen eye, and an ability to write about a 350-word review in two weeks’ time.

To apply, simply send your resume and writing samples! You can find out more about this opportunity here .

2. Reedsy Discovery

💸 Pay: Tip basis

A powerhouse in the world of indie books, Reedsy Discovery gives book reviewers the chance to read the latest self-published books before anyone else. You can browse through hundreds of new stories before picking one that piques your interest. And if you’ve built up a brand as a book reviewer on Reedsy Discovery, you can liaise with authors who contact you directly for a review.

Its application process is pretty simple: just complete this form to be selected as a book reviewer. Once you’re accepted, you can start looking through the shelves and reading immediately. One more thing: book reviewers can get tips for their book reviews. Readers can send $1, $3, or $5 as a token of appreciation (which, let’s be honest, all book reviewers deserve more of).

If this system intrigues you, you can “discover” more about how it works on this page .

3. Any Subject Books

Any Subject Books is a full-suite self-publishing service. More importantly for you, it hires book reviewers on a book-by-book basis to help them review new books.

They’re big on in-depth, honest, and objective reviews. No fluff here! They’re also happy to give you books in your preferred genres, so if you’re a voracious reader of war fiction, you won’t typically be asked to read the latest paranormal romance hit (or vice versa).

Sadly, Any Subject Books is not currently open to book reviewer applications, but check back again — this could change at any time.

4. BookBrowse

BookBrowse reviews both adult fiction and nonfiction, and some books for young adults. The site focuses on books that are not only enjoyable to read, with great characters and storylines, but that also leave the reader knowing something about the world they did not before. Reviewers also write a "beyond the book" article for each book they review.

5. Online Book Club

💸 Pay: $5 to $60

Online Book Club’s FAQ begins with a warning for all aspiring book reviewers: “First of all, this is not some crazy online get-rich-quick scheme. You won't get rich and you won't be able to leave your day job.”

That daunting reminder aside, Online Book Club’s setup is pretty reasonable, not to mention straightforward. You’ll get a free copy of the book and you’ll get paid for your review of that book. Moreover, it’s one of the few sites that’s transparent about their payment rates (anywhere between $5 to $60). To begin the sign-up process, simply submit your email here .

6. U.S. Review of Books

U.S. Review of Books is a nation-wide organization that reviews books of all kinds and publishes those reviews in a popular monthly newsletter. The way that it works for a book reviewer is simple: when a book title is posted, reviewers can request to read it and get assigned.

A typical review for U.S. Review of Books is anywhere between 250 and 300 words. They are looking particularly for informed opinions and professionalism in reviews, along with succinctness. To apply, submit a resume, sample work, and two professional references via email. But we’d recommend that you check out some previous examples of their book reviews here to first get a better sense of what they’re looking for.

7. Women’s Review of Books

💸 Pay: $100 per review

Women’s Review of Books is a long-running, highly-respected print publication that’s a part of Wellesley Centers for Women. This feminist magazine has been published for 36 years and is looking for more book reviewers to join their force.

If you plan on writing reviews for Women’s Review of Books , you should be aware that its reviews are published “in the service of action and consciousness.” Most of its writers are also academics, journalists, or book reviewers with some years of experience behind them. If you meet these qualifications and are accepted, you’ll be compensated $100 per review.

To pitch then a review, send them an email with a quick proposal. For more details, click here .

8. eBookFairs

eBookFairs primarily helps authors grow their author platforms, but it also has a Paid Book Reader program where readers can earn money by, you guessed it, reviewing the books listed on their site.

Note that they do have clear instructions on what qualifies as a review, so do read their guidelines carefully before applying to make sure you can meet them. For instance, the review must be at least 250 words, you must allow at least 3 days between reviews submitted, and it must provide helpful feedback for the author. There are also a limited number of paid reader positions available.

💸 Pay: Variable

If you’re a freelancer, you’re probably already familiar with Upwork! One of the biggest marketplaces for freelancers, Upwork has fingers in every industry’s pie. So it won’t be a surprise to learn that people who are looking for freelance book reviewers regularly post listings on its marketplace.

Because each job caters to an individual client, the requirements and qualifications will differ. It might be a one-time project, or the gig might turn into a long-running collaboration with the client. Generally, the listing will specify the book’s genre, so you’ll know what you’re getting before you agree to collaborate with the client on the other end.

To begin, you’ll need to sign up as a freelancer on Upwork. Find out more information on Upwork’s FAQ page!

10. Moody Press

💸 Pay: Free ARCs

Moody Press is a nonprofit publishing house of Christian titles and Bible study resources. If this is your niche, you’ll definitely be interested in Moody Press’ Blogger Review Program! As part of the program, you’ll get free copies of book published by Moody Press.

Like some of the other programs on this list, you won’t get paid for your review, but you will get a free book. Moody Press also asks you to write your honest review within 60 days of reading it. To get a feel for it, try joining the MP Newsroom Bloggers Facebook group , where you can directly interact with existing members of the program.

11. New Pages

💸 Pay: Variable 

Not interested in writing anything longer than 300 words? Are quick flash book reviews more your pace? If so, becoming a NewPages reviewer might be just your speed. NewPages.com is an Internet portal to small presses, independent publishers and bookstores, and literary magazines. More importantly, they’re looking for short book reviews (generally between 100 and 200 words) on any recent literary magazine or book that you’ve read.

If you’re already a fan of books from small presses or unknown magazines, even better: that’s exactly the kind of reviewer NewPages wants to work with. If you’d like to look through some of their past book reviews to see if your style matches, check out their book review archive here .

12. Publishers Weekly

Publishers Weekly is an online magazine focused on international book publishing and all that that entails. More pertinently, it regularly reviews both traditionally published and self-published books, which means that it does occasionally have a call for book reviewers. As of right now, it’s closed to applications — but if you check its Jobs page every once in a while, you might see an opening again.

13. Tyndale Blog Network

Tyndale Blog Network runs a program called My Reader Rewards Club, which is based on an innovative rewards system. If you join as a member, you can earn points for certain actions that you take on the site (for instance, inviting a friend to the program and sharing a direct link to MyReaderRewardsClub.com on Facebook each fetches you 10 points).

Writing a review for a Tyndale or NavPress book on Amazon or Barnes & Noble gets you 10 points, with a maximum limit of 50 points in 30 days. In turn, you can use your accumulated points to receive more books off of Tyndale’s shelves. If this sounds like something that may be up your alley, check out their FAQ here.

14. Booklist Publications

💸 Pay: $12.50 to $15 per review

Booklist is the American Library Association’s highly respected review journal for librarians. Luckily for freelance writers, Booklist assigns freelance book reviews that vary from blog posts for The Booklist Reader to published book review in Booklist magazine.

As the site itself suggests, it’s important that you’re familiar with Booklist Publication’s outlets (which include Booklist magazine, the quarterly Book Links , and The Booklist Reader blog) and its writing style. Reviews are generally very short (no longer than 175 words) and professionally written. You can discover more of its guidelines here — and an archive of previous Booklist reviews here .

To apply, contact a relevant Booklist editor and be prepared to submit a few of your past writing samples.

15. Instaread

💸 Pay: $100 per summary

Not interested in writing critical takes on the books that you read? Then Instaread might be for you. Instaread has an open call for book summaries, which recap “the key insights of new and classic nonfiction.”

Each summary should be around 1000 to 1500 words, which makes it a fair bit lengthier than your average flash book review. However, Instaread will compensate you heartily for it: as of 2019, Instaread pays $100 for each summary that you write. You can peruse Instaread’s recommended Style Guide on this page , or download Instaread from your App Store to get a better feel for the app.

16. NetGalley

If you’ve dreamt about becoming an influencer in the book reviewing community, you may want to give NetGalley a look. Put simply, NetGalley is a service that connects book reviewers to publishers and authors. Librarians, bloggers, booksellers, media professionals, and educators can all sign up to NetGalley to read books before they’re published.

How it works is pretty simple. Publishers put digital review copies out on NetGalley for perusal, where NetGalley’s members can request to read, review, and recommend them. It’s a win-win for both publisher and reviewer: the publisher is able to find enthusiastic readers to provide an honest review for their books, and the reviewer gets access to a vast catalog of books.

The cherry on top is that NetGalley membership is 100% free! Simply use this form to sign up. And if you’d like more information, you can dip into their FAQ here .

17. getAbstract

Are you an avid reader of nonfiction books? getAbstract is a site that summarizes 18,000+ nonfiction books into 10-minute bites. Their Career Opportunities page often includes listings for writers. At the time of this post’s writing, getAbstract is looking for science and technology writers who can sum up the latest magazine articles and books. They pay on a freelance basis, so apply through their website to get further details.

18. Writerful Books

💸 Pay: $10 to $50

Writerful Books is an author services company that provides everything from beta reading to (you guessed it) book reviewing. As such, they’re always on the lookout for book reviewers with fresh and compelling voices.  

One of the benefits of this gig is that you can review any book that you want for them (although they prefer contemporary award-winning American, Australian, British, Canadian, Irish, and New Zealand authors). Getting a regularly paid gig with Writerful Books isn’t a guarantee, but if you regularly publish quality reviews for them, they may contact you. 

To apply, you’ll have to be able to provide previous book review samples. Here’s the job listing if you’re curious to learn more about this role.

If you're an avid reader,  sign up to Reedsy Discovery  for access to the freshest new reads — or  apply as a reviewer  to give us  your  hot takes!

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‘The Spoiled Heart’ will consume any reader who picks it up

Booker prize nominee sunjeev sahota delivers another brilliant, timely novel.

Me again, banging on about Sunjeev Sahota. I won’t stop until you read him.

Across the pond, this argument isn’t so hard to make. A decade ago, Granta named Sahota one of the 20 Best Young British Novelists, along with Sarah Hall, Naomi Alderman and Zadie Smith. At the time, Granta editor John Freeman predicted these authors “will be exceptions to the general rule of irrelevance faced by writers today.” That exception has certainly remained true for Sahota, who was nominated for the Booker Prize in 2015 for “ The Year of the Runaways ” and again in 2021 for “ China Room .”

His new book, “ The Spoiled Heart ,” finds a timeless imprint in the hot metal of the moment. The story explores identity politics, that complicated intersection of race, gender and sexual orientation that, depending on your point of view, promotes equity or sanctifies discrimination. It’s the kind of treacherous novel that Philip Roth might have written — and almost did with “The Human Stain.”

But I already regret that comparison. Although Sahota is just as clear-eyed as Roth about the crosscurrents of tribalism that contort our lives, his tone is always plaintive. No matter how deeply he sympathizes with characters’ grievances, he never sweats with the kind of rage that fueled Roth.

At the center of “The Spoiled Heart” is an affable, well-respected manager named Nayan Olak. When the novel opens, he puts up his name for general secretary of Britain’s largest labor union. The executive committee has assured Nayan that after years of loyal service, the time is right: As an Anglo-Indian, he’ll be the first non-White general secretary. He’s expected to lead the union into a glorious colorblind future. Of course he will — he’s an expert at graciously subsuming minorities’ concerns within the majority’s self-interest. “You’ll win, no probs,” a colleague says, because “you know that most of the workers being failed in this country are white.” Even as a teenager, his White friend’s parents used to congratulate him: “You’re just like one of us.” Sahota notes that this compliment always left Nayan with a “confusing blend of pleasure and injury, of being both co-opted and made to feel traitorous.” But now he knows he’s right: The union’s focus must be on the great struggle of all working folks, not the particular concerns of various minority groups.

Running against him in the election — a long shot, surely — is a smart young woman named Megha Sharma. Though she’s also of Indian descent, she draws a stark contrast with Nayan: Her parents are wealthy, she hasn’t put in decades of work on the union, and she’s fluent in the strident dialects of critical theory and identity politics. She has no trouble poking holes in Nayan’s contention that the old model of solidarity supersedes all gender and racial differences. But Nayan remains convinced that highlighting concerns raised by, say, women of color will strike rank and file members as divisive.

Besides, Nayan is kinda-sorta owed the position of general secretary. After all, decades ago, his mother and only child died in a horrible fire. Soon after that tragedy, his marriage was snuffed out by grief. Over the years, he has been “made glamorous by the nature of his losses, by the hypnotic allure of the bereaved parent.” It feels shameful, but in a pinch, Nayan isn’t above alluding to the fire and his bereavement “to tilt things in his favour.”

Such is the unstable moral foundation of “The Spoiled Heart.” Sahota draws up an admirable protagonist and then lets our sympathy curdle in the fetid atmosphere of his ambition. A similar reassessment takes place around Megha, who comes across as a privileged snob, drunk on the slogans of DEI activism, but then gradually proves herself just as passionate about helping ordinary workers. Both candidates feel abused by the other’s tactics, which creates a perilous terrain for us to negotiate as the campaign becomes increasingly contentious.

Along the way, Sahota throws so many disparate parts into this story that it’s something of a miracle when they begin to coalesce — like a box of gears and springs tumbling down the stairs and coming to rest in the shape of a clock. The novel’s timely political debate develops alongside a swelling mystery about the old fire that destroyed Nayan’s family. The scent of that possibly racist attack lingers over deliberations about race in the workplace. And as much as Nayan would like to deny it, race also informs the way people gossip about his romantic relationship with Helen Fletcher, a White woman who recently moved back to town.

In fact, the only ham-handed element in “The Spoiled Heart” is a subplot involving Helen’s teenage son, Brandon. He was once fired from a dining services job after a wealthy Black student concocted a racist offense and sicced the woke mob on him. This melodrama of White innocence and manufactured racial protest feels like one of those reactionary yarns recycled on Fox News and the op-ed pages of the Wall Street Journal.

Or maybe that anecdote is a crucial reminder that we’re receiving these details second- and third-hand, after they’ve been picked over and processed into stories that make sense to the various tellers. As the narrator admits, “I knew only a small part … of any of these people, the part that could be held and beaten like metal into some kind of form.”

Because, you see, “The Spoiled Heart” is very much a novel told to us by an interested spectator; it’s a tragedy like Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby” that has taken root in the mind of a haunted onlooker. In this case, the narrator is Sajjan Dhanoa, who remembers Nayan as an older, much cooler student from back in the day. After high school, Sajjan moved to London and became a successful fiction writer. But “The Spoiled Heart” isn’t one of his novels; instead, it’s the clustered notes, interviews and scraps of speculation he collected when he was casting about for a new plot. “I’d been without an idea for a while,” he confesses. “Surely there was material here.”

At their first reunion, Nayan accuses him of “building a career out of making us look contemptible.” But that’s not fair. Throughout “The Spoiled Heart,” Sajjan struggles to divine what happened to his old acquaintance. He pushes neighbors and relatives to remember dark pasts. “I wasn’t intending to spy,” he claims, but every time his thumb slips into the camera view, we’re reminded of the voyeuristic frame of this project. When Nayan’s memories sound hopelessly self-aggrandizing, Sajjan confesses, “Like Nayan, I wanted to believe that it might be true,” and when someone asks him, “Is this something you’re writing for publication?” he squirms: “Just for me, really. It’s all become quite personal.” He’s more right than he knows, and he lures us into the same conspiracy to create a coherent tale, to explain the harrowing descent of this once-successful man.

“I was always just trying to connect,” Sajjan tells us — pleads with us — as the novel accelerates toward a series of increasingly shocking revelations. But how much can really ever be known or should be? That’s the paradox this brilliant novel wrestles with and one that will consume any reader who picks it up.

Ron Charles reviews books and writes the Book Club newsletter for The Washington Post. He is the book critic for “CBS Sunday Morning.”

The Spoiled Heart

By Sunjeev Sahota

Viking. 329 pp. $29

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Critic’s Pick

‘Civil War’ Review: We Have Met the Enemy and It Is Us. Again.

In Alex Garland’s tough new movie, a group of journalists led by Kirsten Dunst, as a photographer, travels a United States at war with itself.

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‘Civil War’ | Anatomy of a Scene

The writer and director alex garland narrates a sequence from his film..

“My name is Alex Garland and I’m the writer director of ‘Civil War’. So this particular clip is roughly around the halfway point of the movie and it’s these four journalists and they’re trying to get, in a very circuitous route, from New York to DC, and encountering various obstacles on the way. And this is one of those obstacles. What they find themselves stuck in is a battle between two snipers. And they are close to one of the snipers and the other sniper is somewhere unseen, but presumably in a large house that sits over a field and a hill. It’s a surrealist exchange and it’s surrounded by some very surrealist imagery, which is they’re, in broad daylight in broad sunshine, there’s no indication that we’re anywhere near winter in the filming. In fact, you can kind of tell it’s summer. But they’re surrounded by Christmas decorations. And in some ways, the Christmas decorations speak of a country, which is in disrepair, however silly it sounds. If you haven’t put away your Christmas decorations, clearly something isn’t going right.” “What’s going on?” “Someone in that house, they’re stuck. We’re stuck.” “And there’s a bit of imagery. It felt like it hit the right note. But the interesting thing about that imagery was that it was not production designed. We didn’t create it. We actually literally found it. We were driving along and we saw all of these Christmas decorations, basically exactly as they are in the film. They were about 100 yards away, just piled up by the side of the road. And it turned out, it was a guy who’d put on a winter wonderland festival. People had not dug his winter wonderland festival, and he’d gone bankrupt. And he had decided just to leave everything just strewn around on a farmer’s field, who was then absolutely furious. So in a way, there’s a loose parallel, which is the same implication that exists within the film exists within real life.” “You don’t understand a word I say. Yo. What’s over there in that house?” “Someone shooting.” “It’s to do with the fact that when things get extreme, the reasons why things got extreme no longer become relevant and the knife edge of the problem is all that really remains relevant. So it doesn’t actually matter, as it were, in this context, what side they’re fighting for or what the other person’s fighting for. It’s just reduced to a survival.”

By Manohla Dargis

A blunt, gut-twisting work of speculative fiction, “Civil War” opens with the United States at war with itself — literally, not just rhetorically. In Washington, D.C., the president is holed up in the White House; in a spookily depopulated New York, desperate people wait for water rations. It’s the near-future, and rooftop snipers, suicide bombers and wild-eyed randos are in the fight while an opposition faction with a two-star flag called the Western Forces, comprising Texas and California — as I said, this is speculative fiction — is leading the charge against what remains of the federal government. If you’re feeling triggered, you aren’t alone.

It’s mourning again in America, and it’s mesmerizingly, horribly gripping. Filled with bullets, consuming fires and terrific actors like Kirsten Dunst running for cover, the movie is a what-if nightmare stoked by memories of Jan. 6. As in what if the visions of some rioters had been realized, what if the nation was again broken by Civil War, what if the democratic experiment called America had come undone? If that sounds harrowing, you’re right. It’s one thing when a movie taps into childish fears with monsters under the bed; you’re eager to see what happens because you know how it will end (until the sequel). Adult fears are another matter.

In “Civil War,” the British filmmaker Alex Garland explores the unbearable if not the unthinkable, something he likes to do. A pop cultural savant, he made a splashy zeitgeist-ready debut with his 1996 best seller “The Beach,” a novel about a paradise that proves deadly, an evergreen metaphor for life and the basis for a silly film . That things in the world are not what they seem, and are often far worse, is a theme that Garland has continued pursuing in other dark fantasies, first as a screenwriter (“ 28 Days Later ”), and then as a writer-director (“ Ex Machina ”). His résumé is populated with zombies, clones and aliens, though reliably it is his outwardly ordinary characters you need to keep a closer watch on.

By the time “Civil War” opens, the fight has been raging for an undisclosed period yet long enough to have hollowed out cities and people’s faces alike. It’s unclear as to why the war started or who fired the first shot. Garland does scatter some hints; in one ugly scene, a militia type played by a jolting, scarily effective Jesse Plemons asks captives “what kind of American” they are. Yet whatever divisions preceded the conflict are left to your imagination, at least partly because Garland assumes you’ve been paying attention to recent events. Instead, he presents an outwardly and largely post-ideological landscape in which debates over policies, politics and American exceptionalism have been rendered moot by war.

‘Civil War’ Is Designed to Disturb You

One thing that remains familiar amid these ruins is the movie’s old-fashioned faith in journalism. Dunst, who’s sensational, plays Lee, a war photographer who works for Reuters alongside her friend, a reporter, Joel (the charismatic Wagner Moura). They’re in New York when you meet them, milling through a crowd anxiously waiting for water rations next to a protected tanker. It’s a fraught scene; the restless crowd is edging into mob panic, and Lee, camera in hand, is on high alert. As Garland’s own camera and Joel skitter about, Lee carves a path through the chaos, as if she knows exactly where she needs to be — and then a bomb goes off. By the time it does, an aspiring photojournalist, Jessie (Cailee Spaeny), is also in the mix.

The streamlined, insistently intimate story takes shape once Lee, Joel, Jessie and a veteran reporter, Sammy (Stephen McKinley Henderson), pile into a van and head to Washington. Joel and Lee are hoping to interview the president (Nick Offerman), and Sammy and Jessie are riding along largely so that Garland can make the trip more interesting. Sammy serves as a stabilizing force (Henderson fills the van with humanizing warmth), while Jessie plays the eager upstart Lee takes under her resentful wing. It’s a tidily balanced sampling that the actors, with Garland’s banter and via some cozy downtime, turn into flesh-and-blood personalities, people whose vulnerability feeds the escalating tension with each mile.

As the miles and hours pass, Garland adds diversions and hurdles, including a pair of playful colleagues, Tony and Bohai (Nelson Lee and Evan Lai), and some spooky dudes guarding a gas station. Garland shrewdly exploits the tense emptiness of the land, turning strangers into potential threats and pretty country roads into ominously ambiguous byways. Smartly, he also recurrently focuses on Lee’s face, a heartbreakingly hard mask that Dunst lets slip brilliantly. As the journey continues, Garland further sketches in the bigger picture — the dollar is near-worthless, the F.B.I. is gone — but for the most part, he focuses on his travelers and the engulfing violence, the smoke and the tracer fire that they often don’t notice until they do.

Despite some much-needed lulls (for you, for the narrative rhythm), “Civil War” is unremittingly brutal or at least it feels that way. Many contemporary thrillers are far more overtly gruesome than this one, partly because violence is one way unimaginative directors can put a distinctive spin on otherwise interchangeable material: Cue the artful fountains of arterial spray. Part of what makes the carnage here feel incessant and palpably realistic is that Garland, whose visual approach is generally unfussy, doesn’t embellish the violence, turning it into an ornament of his virtuosity. Instead, the violence is direct, at times shockingly casual and unsettling, so much so that its unpleasantness almost comes as a surprise.

If the violence feels more intense than in a typical genre shoot ’em up, it’s also because, I think, with “Civil War,” Garland has made the movie that’s long been workshopped in American political discourse and in mass culture, and which entered wider circulation on Jan. 6. The raw power of Garland’s vision unquestionably owes much to the vivid scenes that beamed across the world that day when rioters, some wearing T-shirts emblazoned with “ MAGA civil war ,” swarmed the Capitol. Even so, watching this movie, I also flashed on other times in which Americans have relitigated the Civil War directly and not, on the screen and in the streets.

Movies have played a role in that relitigation for more than a century, at times grotesquely. Two of the most famous films in history — D.W. Griffith’s 1915 racist epic “The Birth of a Nation” (which became a Ku Klux Klan recruitment tool) and the romantic 1939 melodrama “Gone With the Wind” — are monuments to white supremacy and the myth of the Southern Lost Cause. Both were critical and popular hits. In the decades since, filmmakers have returned to the Civil War era to tell other stories in films like “Glory,” “Lincoln” and “Django Unchained” that in addressing the American past inevitably engage with its present.

There are no lofty or reassuring speeches in “Civil War,” and the movie doesn’t speak to the better angels of our nature the way so many films try to. Hollywood’s longstanding, deeply American imperative for happy endings maintains an iron grip on movies, even in ostensibly independent productions. There’s no such possibility for that in “Civil War.” The very premise of Garland’s movie means that — no matter what happens when or if Lee and the rest reach Washington — a happy ending is impossible, which makes this very tough going. Rarely have I seen a movie that made me so acutely uncomfortable or watched an actor’s face that, like Dunst’s, expressed a nation’s soul-sickness so vividly that it felt like an X-ray.

Civil War Rated R for war violence and mass death. Running time: 1 hour 49 minutes. In theaters.

An earlier version of this review misidentified an organization in the Civil War in the movie. It is the Western Forces, not the Western Front.

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Manohla Dargis is the chief film critic for The Times. More about Manohla Dargis

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Petitioners seek to repeal children’s book review board in Huntington Beach

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Huntington Beach has received significant pushback following a City Council majority’s decision to form a review committee for children’s books at the public library.

A new chapter has arrived, as some residents plan to circulate a petition to gain support for a ballot initiative that would repeal the ordinance that established the committee.

Organizers filed a notice of intention to circulate the petition on Wednesday at City Hall.

“We’re very concerned about what’s been happening with our local library,” said Cathey Ryder, co-founder of Protect Huntington Beach. “For that reason, today, I filed a notice of intention to circulate a petition, where we will repeal Ordinance 4318. … We believe that parents should be able to parent their own children.”

The ordinance creates a committee of up to 21 parents or guardians, who would make determinations regarding the children’s books purchased and placed on the shelves at the library.

Criticism of the ordinance included questions surrounding the qualifications of members who would serve on the review committee, the duration of their appointments and the inability to appeal decisions made by the committee, which would be considered final.

Each council member would have the ability to appoint up to three members of the review board.

Ryder said there are about 300 volunteers ready to circulate the petition once it has been prepared, and she feels confident the group will be able to achieve a target of approximately 30,000 signatures.

There have been additional steps taken to raise public awareness of the issue, Ryder said. Those efforts include Friday night rallies at the Main Street Branch Library, where the organizers have also handed out informational fliers, and a “read in” event at the Huntington Beach Central Library.

Barbara Richardson said the city has had conservative councils before the most recent four that comprise the majority were elected in 2022, but this is the first time she felt the library was not being supported. Formerly a children’s librarian at the Huntington Beach Central Library, Richardson said the City Council is “vilifying the librarians and the library staff.”

“What this committee does is taking away the librarians’ ability to order books,” Richardson said. “This committee has been told to judge the books by community standards, but what are these standards? Who gets to decide what these standards are? These committee members will be appointed by our City Council.

“We have four ultra-conservative, far-right council members, and three more liberal council members. It’s a majority-rule committee, so naturally, the conservative committee members are going to choose what books the children can read in the community — not the librarians, not individual parents.”

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Andrew Turner is a sports reporter for the Daily Pilot. Before joining the Pilot in October 2016, he covered prep sports as a freelancer for the Orange County Register for four years. His work also has been used by the Associated Press and California Rubber Hockey Magazine. While attending Long Beach State, he wrote for the college newspaper, The Daily 49er. He graduated with bachelor’s degrees in journalism and history. (714) 966-4611

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