Tag: reviews

The Button Thief is one of the featured books in this week’s edition of The Washington Independent Review of Books!  Y.S. Fing wrote an enthusiastic review, concluding that

In this lovely memoir, we’re reminded anew of the bittersweet nature of growing up. Fay Webern has rendered a way to break out of a cycle of misery and embrace the ambivalent joys of life.

Read the full review here.

“Books on GIF” is a fun and quirky book review column started by Michael P. Ventura, the Managing Editor of DNAInfo.  The title is pretty self-explanatory — he peppers his “smart and non-snooty” reviews with animated GIFs.

In January, he published an enthusiastic review of The Button Thief, delightfully illustrated with a slew of well-chosen animated GIFs .  (And you’ve  gotta check out the GIF he used at the end for his “rating” of the book!  It’s perfect!)

Here’s an excerpt:

Webern has many great stories about growing up, from her discovery of modern dance in a class held in the Lavanburg Homes’ basement to her finding romantic love on the building’s roof. There are also the fascinating tales of her family’s struggles for a better life, which involve arranged marriages, plucking chickens and button thievery. But what I found most interesting was her almost complete lack of nostalgia for those times.

Read the full “Books on GIF” review by clicking here.