Those who know Tim Blake Nelson’s stellar work as an actor (O Brother, Where Art Thou?; Minority Report; The Ballad of Buster Scruggs) and playwright (Eye of God, Socrates) will not be surprised that his first novel is trenchant, cutting, and utterly engrossing. City of Blows offers a devastating portrait of Hollywood and how pictures get both made and upended, and if its moral applies to the larger world as well, then we live in dark times indeed.
Oskar Schindler is justly famous for saving many Jews from the Holocaust, but, as Richard Hurowitz points out, there were many others, now forgotten, who also risked their lives to rescue those who were otherwise destined to die at Hitler’s hand. His skill in bringing so many of these heroes to life on the page is unparalleled, enlightening us about those who, when confronted by evil, responded with courage and kindness. May we never forget.
