Written Reviews

Juzo Itami: Tampopo

April 28, 2017

Trevor reviews Juzo Itami’s 1985 “ramen western” Tampopo.

Alice Munro: “Fits”

April 27, 2017

Trevor and Betsy carry on in Alice Munro’s The Progress of Love with “Fits.”

Leonora Carrington: Down Below

April 26, 2017

Trevor reviews Leonora Carrington’s account of her mental breakdown and institutionalization in Spain during World War II, Down Below.

David Means: “Two Ruminations on a Homeless Brother”

April 24, 2017

This week’s New Yorker fiction is “Two Ruminations on a Homeless Brother” by David Means.

Wim Wenders: Buena Vista Social Club

April 21, 2017

Trevor reviews Wim Wenders’ 1999 documentary Buena Vista Social Club, about a group of Cuban musicians who were essentially forgotten for fifty years. The film is out now on home video from The Criterion Collection.

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Episodes of The Mookse and the Gripes Podcast: discussions of books and authors, shaped by curiosity, rereading, and the pleasures of talking things through.

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The Mookse and the Gripes Instagram features a more immediate space with posts and videos about current reads, recent finds, including a steady dose of Criterion films.