Cory Oldweiler
@coryoldweiler.bsky.social
Book critic. Translated lit evangelist. Runner. Cinephile. Disillusioned vagabond.
“For I, you see, dwelling upon the rim of life, see everyone in the arena as acting blindly.”
“For I, you see, dwelling upon the rim of life, see everyone in the arena as acting blindly.”
Pinned
You Can Go Home Again, and Again, and Again | Los Angeles Review of Books
Cory Oldweiler reviews the new translation of Danish author Solvej Balle’s “On the Calculation of Volume (Book III).”
lareviewofbooks.org
I too am stuck into the Nov 18th hype, and wrote about Book III of Solvej Balle’s ON THE CALCULATION OF VOLUME, trans. by Sophia Hersi Smith and Jennifer Russell, for @lareviewofbooks.bsky.social. I like the variables Balle adds to familiar time-loop tropes and am eager to see where the story goes.
@kateyrich.bsky.social @chrisvfeil.bsky.social @joereid.bsky.social I was already looking forward to the Thanksgiving episode of THOB, but could never have imagined how much I’d enjoy this year’s quiz. Thank you all.
November 24, 2025 at 2:09 PM
@kateyrich.bsky.social @chrisvfeil.bsky.social @joereid.bsky.social I was already looking forward to the Thanksgiving episode of THOB, but could never have imagined how much I’d enjoy this year’s quiz. Thank you all.
Businesses sending me an email every time I use their service/make a purchase from them/attend an event hosted by them—please STOP DOING THIS. What are you hoping to accomplish???
November 20, 2025 at 6:10 PM
Businesses sending me an email every time I use their service/make a purchase from them/attend an event hosted by them—please STOP DOING THIS. What are you hoping to accomplish???
Ethan Hawke has to get an Oscar nomination for “Blue Moon,” right?
November 20, 2025 at 2:07 AM
Ethan Hawke has to get an Oscar nomination for “Blue Moon,” right?
(Reposted without my angry concluding snipe):
The Met moved to Lincoln Center in 1966. Maria Callas retired in 1965. The Lincoln Center Met is not “the rarefied stage that Maria Callas called home.” Also Callas was famously unwelcome at the Met, where she only sang 21 times.
The Met moved to Lincoln Center in 1966. Maria Callas retired in 1965. The Lincoln Center Met is not “the rarefied stage that Maria Callas called home.” Also Callas was famously unwelcome at the Met, where she only sang 21 times.
Sting Drops Anchor at a Sinking Met
Can the pop star help salvage the beleaguered Metropolitan opera house by putting on a show of his own?
www.hollywoodreporter.com
November 19, 2025 at 9:01 PM
(Reposted without my angry concluding snipe):
The Met moved to Lincoln Center in 1966. Maria Callas retired in 1965. The Lincoln Center Met is not “the rarefied stage that Maria Callas called home.” Also Callas was famously unwelcome at the Met, where she only sang 21 times.
The Met moved to Lincoln Center in 1966. Maria Callas retired in 1965. The Lincoln Center Met is not “the rarefied stage that Maria Callas called home.” Also Callas was famously unwelcome at the Met, where she only sang 21 times.
Haven’t used them for several years due to the whole over-billing lawsuit settlement. Hope this drives them out of business.
TurboTax is about to be integrated into ChatGPT, where customers will be guided through tasks tied to their tax filings or financial profile by the AI chatbot.
TurboTax owner Intuit is also paying OpenAI more than $100 million a year to power AI agents.
TurboTax owner Intuit is also paying OpenAI more than $100 million a year to power AI agents.
November 19, 2025 at 3:26 AM
Haven’t used them for several years due to the whole over-billing lawsuit settlement. Hope this drives them out of business.
Reposted by Cory Oldweiler
Tim Cook, of Apple, is at this dinner.
The likes of Musk and Schwarzman—sure, that's who they are.
But Cook has been groveling more than strictly necessary.
The likes of Musk and Schwarzman—sure, that's who they are.
But Cook has been groveling more than strictly necessary.
everlasting shame on all these people
November 19, 2025 at 1:18 AM
Tim Cook, of Apple, is at this dinner.
The likes of Musk and Schwarzman—sure, that's who they are.
But Cook has been groveling more than strictly necessary.
The likes of Musk and Schwarzman—sure, that's who they are.
But Cook has been groveling more than strictly necessary.
Reposted by Cory Oldweiler
"But he knew nothing about it," Trump says. False: The CIA (under Trump) concluded that Mohammed bin Salman ordered the operation that killed Jamal Khashoggi. Trump has long resisted that fact. But it's a fact. www.washingtonpost.com/world/nation...
November 18, 2025 at 7:04 PM
"But he knew nothing about it," Trump says. False: The CIA (under Trump) concluded that Mohammed bin Salman ordered the operation that killed Jamal Khashoggi. Trump has long resisted that fact. But it's a fact. www.washingtonpost.com/world/nation...
I too am stuck into the Nov 18th hype, and wrote about Book III of Solvej Balle’s ON THE CALCULATION OF VOLUME, trans. by Sophia Hersi Smith and Jennifer Russell, for @lareviewofbooks.bsky.social. I like the variables Balle adds to familiar time-loop tropes and am eager to see where the story goes.
You Can Go Home Again, and Again, and Again | Los Angeles Review of Books
Cory Oldweiler reviews the new translation of Danish author Solvej Balle’s “On the Calculation of Volume (Book III).”
lareviewofbooks.org
November 18, 2025 at 4:19 PM
I too am stuck into the Nov 18th hype, and wrote about Book III of Solvej Balle’s ON THE CALCULATION OF VOLUME, trans. by Sophia Hersi Smith and Jennifer Russell, for @lareviewofbooks.bsky.social. I like the variables Balle adds to familiar time-loop tropes and am eager to see where the story goes.
Despite it coming out when I was in high school, I just watched MOONSTRUCK for the first time this evening. What. A. Banger of a film. Haven’t heard a theater laugh that much in a long time. Delightful.
November 15, 2025 at 2:24 AM
Despite it coming out when I was in high school, I just watched MOONSTRUCK for the first time this evening. What. A. Banger of a film. Haven’t heard a theater laugh that much in a long time. Delightful.
If you’re in NYC, esp. Brooklyn, go to Community Bookstore tonight to hear Megan McDowell & Jazmina Barrera discuss their new translation & biography, respectively, of phenomenal Mexican author Elena Garro. I have a piece about both books/Garro in general in the next @southwestreview.bsky.social
November 14, 2025 at 6:22 PM
If you’re in NYC, esp. Brooklyn, go to Community Bookstore tonight to hear Megan McDowell & Jazmina Barrera discuss their new translation & biography, respectively, of phenomenal Mexican author Elena Garro. I have a piece about both books/Garro in general in the next @southwestreview.bsky.social
When I filed my review of TOO GREAT A SKY last year, I originally had a line saying something to the effect that Monica Cure should win every award for her translation. Haven’t read all of these shortlisted titles yet but glad to see Corobca’s novel on here as hopefully more people will read it.
November 13, 2025 at 7:18 PM
When I filed my review of TOO GREAT A SKY last year, I originally had a line saying something to the effect that Monica Cure should win every award for her translation. Haven’t read all of these shortlisted titles yet but glad to see Corobca’s novel on here as hopefully more people will read it.
I’ve written monthly for the Star Trib since 2020, when then editor @lhertzel.bsky.social took a chance on me. The Strib has now stopped assigning freelance reviews so this piece on Joy Williams’ PELICAN CHILD is my final review for them. Here’s to the next gig, which hopefully exists.
www.startribune.com
November 13, 2025 at 2:26 PM
I’ve written monthly for the Star Trib since 2020, when then editor @lhertzel.bsky.social took a chance on me. The Strib has now stopped assigning freelance reviews so this piece on Joy Williams’ PELICAN CHILD is my final review for them. Here’s to the next gig, which hopefully exists.
Reposted by Cory Oldweiler
The "stories of untethered lives" in Álvarez’s novel are "broken apart, admixed, and rearranged," writes critic Cory Oldweiler. Read Oldweiler’s review “'An Inexpressible Void': Exile and Longing in Carlos Manuel Álvarez’s FALSE WAR":
“An Inexpressible Void”: Exile and Longing in Carlos Manuel Álvarez’s False War - Words Without Borders
The "stories of untethered lives" in Álvarez’s novel are "broken apart, admixed, and rearranged," writes critic Cory Oldweiler.
buff.ly
November 13, 2025 at 1:28 PM
The "stories of untethered lives" in Álvarez’s novel are "broken apart, admixed, and rearranged," writes critic Cory Oldweiler. Read Oldweiler’s review “'An Inexpressible Void': Exile and Longing in Carlos Manuel Álvarez’s FALSE WAR":
Great choice in David Szalay’s FLESH. I called the novel his best work to date in my March review for the @bostonglobe.com and seems like the Booker judges agreed.
In David Szalay’s ‘Flesh,’ a reminder of the body’s betrayals - The Boston Globe
The new novel proves the author is a master at probing the insecurities and regrets of men.
www.bostonglobe.com
November 10, 2025 at 10:43 PM
Great choice in David Szalay’s FLESH. I called the novel his best work to date in my March review for the @bostonglobe.com and seems like the Booker judges agreed.
@john-self.bsky.social thanks for including Iris Wolff’s BLURRED in your roundup from August. Just finished reading it, what a beautiful little gem of a novel. Hope it gets released in the US at some point.
November 9, 2025 at 10:49 PM
@john-self.bsky.social thanks for including Iris Wolff’s BLURRED in your roundup from August. Just finished reading it, what a beautiful little gem of a novel. Hope it gets released in the US at some point.
Reposted by Cory Oldweiler
"We spoke with nine C-level U.S. airline executives and senior officials across six U.S. carriers for this story. They expressed varying degrees of skepticism, but none felt the cuts were without some level of political interference."
With little recourse, U.S. airline leaders skeptical of DOT flight cut justification theaircurrent.com/airlines/air... (via @willguisbond.com & @jonostrower.com) #staycurrent
With little recourse, U.S. airline leaders skeptical of DOT flight cut justification
Concern about political motivation fills the void left by lack of FAA data
theaircurrent.com
November 7, 2025 at 10:08 PM
"We spoke with nine C-level U.S. airline executives and senior officials across six U.S. carriers for this story. They expressed varying degrees of skepticism, but none felt the cuts were without some level of political interference."
What it means is that lots of people won’t be filing taxes.
The Trump administration has decided not to offer the IRS' electronic tax filing system for free next year, and its future is unclear.
IRS Direct File won't be available next year. Here's what that means for taxpayers
The Trump administration has decided not to offer the IRS' electronic tax filing system for free next year, and its future is unclear.
bit.ly
November 6, 2025 at 4:04 PM
What it means is that lots of people won’t be filing taxes.
Reposted by Cory Oldweiler
Sex and art and politics and glamor -- welcome to Italian cinema! Olivia Laing's new novel THE SILVER BOOK is out and our @coryoldweiler.bsky.social gave it a read for us. In print on Sunday in the @bostonglobe.com but you can read it here now. www.bostonglobe.com/2025/11/04/a...
Love, sex, and politics amid Italy’s cinema scene in the 1970s - The Boston Globe
Moviemaking holds a storied place in Italy’s cultural life, an alluring combination that has played a supporting part in plenty of novels set in the Bel Paese.
www.bostonglobe.com
November 6, 2025 at 3:53 PM
Sex and art and politics and glamor -- welcome to Italian cinema! Olivia Laing's new novel THE SILVER BOOK is out and our @coryoldweiler.bsky.social gave it a read for us. In print on Sunday in the @bostonglobe.com but you can read it here now. www.bostonglobe.com/2025/11/04/a...
New piece from me @southwestreview.bsky.social on Brenda Lozano’s MOTHERS, trans. by Heather Cleary. Loved this novel, particularly the way it explores how “Fear and love are not separate things; on the contrary, they’re like two fires. One doubles the other.”
Fear and Love Are like Two Fires | Brenda Lozano’s Mothers
By Cory Oldweiler
southwestreview.com
November 6, 2025 at 2:00 PM
New piece from me @southwestreview.bsky.social on Brenda Lozano’s MOTHERS, trans. by Heather Cleary. Loved this novel, particularly the way it explores how “Fear and love are not separate things; on the contrary, they’re like two fires. One doubles the other.”
Ah, the Union Sq farmers market, where you can purchase a $7 cabbage or an $8 cauliflower. New mayor has his work cut out for him.
November 5, 2025 at 7:26 PM
Ah, the Union Sq farmers market, where you can purchase a $7 cabbage or an $8 cauliflower. New mayor has his work cut out for him.
Reposted by Cory Oldweiler
"Anglophones at last have an opportunity to engage with this intriguing and intellectually stimulating novel for the first time." @coryoldweiler.bsky.social in On the Seawall about A FICTIONAL INQUIRY by Daniele Del Giudice.
www.ronslate.com/on-a-fiction...
www.ronslate.com/on-a-fiction...
November 5, 2025 at 3:57 PM
"Anglophones at last have an opportunity to engage with this intriguing and intellectually stimulating novel for the first time." @coryoldweiler.bsky.social in On the Seawall about A FICTIONAL INQUIRY by Daniele Del Giudice.
www.ronslate.com/on-a-fiction...
www.ronslate.com/on-a-fiction...
Thanks to @wwborders.bsky.social for letting me write about FALSE WAR, by Cuban author Carlos Manuel Álvarez, trans. by Natasha Wimmer, a novel that stylistically and narratively looks at the fragmentation of exile. (And it gave me an always-welcomed opportunity to cram Dante into the lede.)
“An Inexpressible Void”: Exile and Longing in Carlos Manuel Álvarez’s False War - Words Without Borders
The "stories of untethered lives" in Álvarez’s novel are "broken apart, admixed, and rearranged," writes critic Cory Oldweiler.
wordswithoutborders.org
November 5, 2025 at 2:35 PM
Thanks to @wwborders.bsky.social for letting me write about FALSE WAR, by Cuban author Carlos Manuel Álvarez, trans. by Natasha Wimmer, a novel that stylistically and narratively looks at the fragmentation of exile. (And it gave me an always-welcomed opportunity to cram Dante into the lede.)
For @bostonglobe.com, I reviewed Olivia Laing’s THE SILVER BOOK, a novel about a passionate, messy love affair in Italy and the passionate, messy world of Italian cinema. Pasolini, Fellini, Donati, amore, omicidio! Thanks to Kate Tuttle for the opportunity to write about it.
Love, sex, and politics amid Italy’s cinema scene in the 1970s - The Boston Globe
Moviemaking holds a storied place in Italy’s cultural life, an alluring combination that has played a supporting part in plenty of novels set in the Bel Paese.
www.bostonglobe.com
November 5, 2025 at 1:38 PM
For @bostonglobe.com, I reviewed Olivia Laing’s THE SILVER BOOK, a novel about a passionate, messy love affair in Italy and the passionate, messy world of Italian cinema. Pasolini, Fellini, Donati, amore, omicidio! Thanks to Kate Tuttle for the opportunity to write about it.
This weekend is going to be so great with a million fewer assholes in the city.
November 5, 2025 at 2:24 AM
This weekend is going to be so great with a million fewer assholes in the city.
My thanks to @ronslate.bsky.social for the chance to write about Anne Milano Appel’s English-language translation of Daniele Del Giudice’s 1983 debut, A Fictional Inquiry. It’s the first time English-speakers have had a chance to read the late Italian writer’s exploration of the writing life.
on A Fictional Inquiry, a novel by Daniele Del Guidice, translated from the Italian by Anne Milano Appel – On the Seawall
www.ronslate.com
November 4, 2025 at 6:03 PM
My thanks to @ronslate.bsky.social for the chance to write about Anne Milano Appel’s English-language translation of Daniele Del Giudice’s 1983 debut, A Fictional Inquiry. It’s the first time English-speakers have had a chance to read the late Italian writer’s exploration of the writing life.