Recent content from Claude Peck
Novel's Iranian characters struggle to be themselves in a repressive 'Country'
FICTION: Salar Abdoh's characters must keep their lives secret from their own government.
Review: Inspired by diaries, 'Room' author returns with 'spellbinding' 'Learned by Heart'
FICTION: Emma Donoghue's masterwork centers on the intoxication of young love at a girls' school.
Review: 'Swim Home to the Vanished' finds a young man transformed by grief
FICTION: A young man's quest for understanding takes him to a very fishy village.
Review: Friends and frenemies pursue life, love and MFAs at a Midwestern university
FICTION: Brandon Taylor follows grad school novel "Real Life" with another look at the lows of higher learning.
Review: 'Diary of a Misfit,' by Casey Parks
NONFICTION: A journalist chases "a good Southern tale" and discovers herself.
Review: 'Trust,' by Hernan Diaz
FICTION: In his engrossing second novel, Hernan Diaz gives us four versions of the life of an early capitalist.
Review: 'A Previous Life,' by Edmund White
FICTION: A couple's twin memoirs generate more heat than light.
Review: 'The Fortune Men,' by Nadifa Mohamed
The wrong man: Inside the world of a Somali sailor hanged for murder.
Review: 'Antiquities,' by Cynthia Ozick
FICTION: An old man tells the story of a remarkable childhood friend in Ozick's new novella.
Review: 'The Prophets,' by Robert Jones Jr.
FICTION: A powerful debut novel about a forbidden union on a cotton plantation.
Review: 'The Sun Collective,' by Charles Baxter
FICTION: The prosaic and the uncanny work together in Charles Baxter's new novel.
Review: 'Memorial,' by Bryan Washington
FICTION: Bryan Washington's debut novel has a lot going for it, but his 2019 story collection is a hard act to follow.
Review: 'Enemy of All Mankind,' by Steven Johnson
NONFICTION: An adventure-filled life that feels plucked from swashbuckling fiction.
Review: 'The Scientist and the Spy,' by Mara Hvistendahl
NONFICTION: It's the FBI vs. the Chinese in Iowa farm fields. What are they seeking? High-quality seeds.
Review: 'Year of the Monkey,' by Patti Smith
NONFICTION: Patti Smith's road memoir starts slowly, but sharpens and builds as she goes.
REVIEW: 'Furious Hours: Murder, Fraud, and the Last Trial of Harper Lee,' by Casey Cep
NONFICTION: After decades of silence, novelist Harper Lee set out to write a nonfiction book about a serial killer.
Review: 'Mama's Boy: A Story From Our Americas,' by Dustin Lance Black
NONFICTION: Oscar winner recalls childhood of hardship and abuse and seeks healing.
Review: 'Everything in Its Place,' by Oliver Sacks
NONFICTION: A final essay collection charts the undying curiosity of a remarkable mind.
Review: 'Breaking News: The Remaking of Journalism and Why it Matters Now,' by Alan Rusbridger
NONFICTION: A newspaper editor surveys the recent era of remarkable change and disruption.
Review: 'Mad, Bad, Dangerous to Know,' by Colm Tóibín
NONFICTION: Filial revolt runs through these entertaining stories by Colm Tóibín.
Review: 'Oranges,' by Gary Eldon Peter
FICTION: Tales by Twin Cities writer take a revealing look at the human experience.
Review: 'The Sparsholt Affair,' by Alan Hollinghurst
FICTION: Changes radiate from wartime Oxford to span 70 years and dozens of characters.
Review: 'Some Hell,' by Patrick Nathan
FICTION: This debut novel by a Minneapolis writer zeroes in on a guilt-torn adolescent and his mother after a family suicide.
REVIEW: 'Logical Family' by Armistead Maupin
NONFICTION: At 72, "Tales of the City" writer Armistead Maupin takes up his own life.
A defiant Jim Surdyk opens for liquor sales four months early
Surdyk's issued a social-media blast Sunday morning saying the store would be open from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Review: 'You Say to Brick: The Life of Louis Kahn,' by Wendy Lesser
NONFICTION: This remarkable biography sheds light on one of the 20th century's greatest architects.
What helps Minnesota seniors age in place? U researcher has some clues
Researcher finds it's the little things — like benches and safe crosswalks — that make life better for aging Minnesotans.
REVIEW: 'Elizabeth Bishop: A Miracle for Breakfast,' by Megan Marshall
NONFICTION: This new biography of troubled poet Elizabeth Bishop is nuanced, vivid and, at times, lacking.
Two hotels in Palm Springs offer rooms with a point of view
The remodeled Parker and the year-old Arrive have differing takes on the desert town's mystique.
Temple Israel in Minneapolis gets contemporary addition for preschool, Hebrew classes and events
Young people and education are at the heart of a winning addition to Temple Israel in Minneapolis.
Dave Eggers sends family on madcap trip in 'Heroes of the Frontier'
FICTION: In Dave Eggers' new novel, a mom and two children flee their Ohio home.
U expert tells how 'design thinking' can solve society's big problems
While he's long been interested in the tangible, physical world around us, Tom Fisher has a new book of essays about "the design of what we cannot see."
Aftermath of fatal Falcon Heights officer-involved shooting on video
A man identified by relatives as Philando Castile, 32, a St. Paul schools employee, died Wednesday night at HCMC. The shooting followed a traffic stop in Falcon Heights. On the video, Castile is slumped next to a woman, his T-shirt soaked with blood.
Review: 'Lust & Wonder,' by Augusten Burroughs
NONFICTION: Augusten Burroughs' memoir about a hapless love life lacks his usual humor.
Review: 'M Train' by Patti Smith
NONFICTION: Patti Smith's new memoir is less linear and more interior than her "Just Kids" as it hopscotches across the decades.
Talking Volumes authors for 2014 include Richard Ford, Azar Nafisi
Writers coming to the Fitzgerald Theater in St. Paul this fall reflect a variety of topics and genres.
Miranda July's first novel takes quirky to new level
FICTION: Miranda July's debut novel about a middle-aged woman and her much younger lover is quirky in the extreme.
Withering Glance: Who needs streets? We've got skyways
Rick Nelson and Claude Peck dispense unasked-for advice about clothing, etiquette, culture, relationships, grooming and more. Today, skyways.
Withering Glance: Saluting the true dream palaces
Rick Nelson and Claude Peck dispense unasked-for advice about clothing, etiquette, culture, relationships, grooming and more. RN: Do you love the Riverview…
Review: 'Nora Webster,' by Colm Toibin
FICTION: When an Irish woman's husband dies, she embarks on a quiet voyage of self-discovery.
Message of 'Boxtrolls' is wrapped in stop-motion movie magic
REVIEW: "The Boxtrolls" is an immensely satisfying, all-ages fable packed with plot twists, adventure, humor, nobility, wrongdoing, bravado, creepiness and silliness.
Twin Cities Film Fest will screen Oscar-buzz movies
The Twin Cities Film Fest (TCFF) includes "Wild," starring Reese Witherspoon, and "The Imitation Game," a big winner in Toronto.
Withering Glance: Fun times at the fair (Maalox and all)
Fair highlights include Aretha Franklin at the grandstand in a feather-covered wedding gown. But the Tilt-a-Whirl and a steady diet of deep-fried delights? That does not mix well.
Big names on tap for new Northrop dance season
The 2014-15 season unveiled Wednesday by Christine Tschida, director of Northrop, includes ballet and modern dance by nine troupes from around the world.
Orchestra board addressed romance between Vänskä and concertmaster
Osmo Vänskä 's return as music director included talks about his personal relationship with concertmaster Erin Keefe. Vänskä called the relationship a private matter, and said that he would refrain from taking part in decisions about Keefe's status with the orchestra.
Withering Glance: When Hollywood finally made a gay movie
Rick Nelson and Claude Peck dispense unasked-for advice about clothing, etiquette, culture, relationships, grooming and more. CP: When you pleaded with me…
On Amtrak's fast train from D.C. to N.Y.C.
The country's fastest train gets you from D.C. to New York in under three hours. And you can opt for the Quiet Car.
'Driving Miss Daisy' at Jungle is a star vehicle
REVIEW: Jungle Theater's "Driving Miss Daisy" puts two masterful performers — James Craven and Wendy Lehr — in the driver's seat.
Withering Glance finds its inner love bug
Rick Nelson and Claude Peck dispense unasked-for advice about clothing, etiquette, culture, relationships, grooming and more. RN: Hey Mister Glass-Half-Empty, I’m guessing…
Brecht play shows the downside of kindheartedness
REVIEW: In the parable "Good Woman of Setzuan," a prostitute discovers the pitfalls of having a kind heart in a flawed world.
Minnesota Orchestra President Henson received bonus pay of $200,000 in year before lockout
Michael Henson, president and CEO of the Minnesota Orchestra, received $202,500 in bonus pay in 2011, boosting his total compensation that year to $619,313, according…
Talking Volumes 2013: Pat Conroy, Margaret Atwood, Rick Riordan
Big names in fiction, nonfiction and fantasy will visit the Twin Cities for the live-event book club.
REVIEW: "Dreadful: The Short Life and Gay Times of John Horne Burns"
NONFICTION: A war novel brought overnight but fleeting fame to pioneering gay writer John Horne Burns.
Three very different works show range of James Sewell Ballet
REVIEW: Live music adds zing to "Lover," a series of dances set to classic tunes of Rodgers and Hart.
Peavey Plaza is listed on National Register
Groups suing Minneapolis over demolition of Peavey Plaza claimed a moral victory Thursday when the downtown Minneapolis site was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
St. Paul Chamber Orchestra cancels more concerts
Talks in the lengthy labor dispute are terminated, and shows are scrapped through late March.
Gay dads vs. the cold, cruel world
Review: The system conspires against two men who rescue a mentally disabled teen.
Holiday cheer with a twist
John Waters likes a traditional Christmas, complete with a decorated electric chair.
Musicians vote 'no confidence' in Minnesota Orchestra president
Board counters with assurance that Michael Henson has its "full confidence."
"How to Survive a Plague": Anger over AIDS
REVIEW: A new film relives the passion and activism of ACTUP and its founders.
Fall 2012: Talking Volumes draws Pulitzer winner, more
Four well-known writers will appear at the Fitzgerald Theater this fall as part of the book-club series -- Pulitzer Prize winner Junot Diaz (pictured), high-profile legal-affairs journalist Jeffrey Toobin, and bestselling authors Abraham Verghese and Erin Morgenstern.
Movies: Reality nibbles in 'Tiny Furniture'
Lena Dunham wrote, directed and stars in her deadpan-hilarious first feature.
Movies: When Chris met Don
The late author Christopher Isherwood and artist Don Bachardy open their hearts in this love story.
Chuck Palahniuk goes to hell
In his 12th novel, "Fight Club" writer Chuck Palahniuk sends a chubby adolescent girl on an underworld adventure.
Going hotel hopping in Chicago
Where to sleep during your next visit to the Windy City? Try one of these three brand-new beauties.
Friends, war and the atom bomb in 'Copenhagen'
REVIEW: The century-defining science in "Copenhagen" is grounded in a story of friends in gravest conflict.
Minnesota's two Pulitzers something to cheer about
In typical Minnesota fashion, the jubilation was low-key at the offices of the Minnesota Opera and Graywolf Press, honored for producing Pulitzer Prize-winning work last year.
Despite Northrop makeover, a full dance season is on tap
Shows will move to the Orpheum, O'Shaughnessy and Ted Mann Concert Hall.
Green days in Portland, Ore.
Eco-friendly Portland has something missing in way too many U.S. cities: personality.
NONFICTION: "Eminent Outlaws," by Christopher Bram
Bram's book connects the dots of influential gay writers in the last half of the 20th century, from Tennessee Williams to Tony Kushner.
Franzen's struggle for 'Freedom'
Despite the huge success of "The Corrections" in 2001, Jonathan Franzen struggled mightily to write his big new novel about a St. Paul family's highs and heartbreaks.
'Husband' smart, wickedly amusing
REVIEW: A blackmailed politician is fortunate to have a best friend like Lord Goring in the Oscar Wilde comedy.
'Paul Goodman': The thought-bombs of a pacifist
New documentary traces the influence of radical thinker Paul Goodman, author of "Growing Up Absurd."
Dance center director steps down abruptly
Frank Sonntag said he will leave the Cowles Center next month.
