Hamilton Cain
@hamiltoncain.bsky.social
Expat Tennesseean in NYC. Bylines: New York Times Book Review, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Boston Globe, Oprah Daily, The Atlantic, Los Angeles Review of Books, Publishers Weekly, Chapter 16, On The Seawall, Harvard Review.
Pinned
Is everything you ever learned about capitalism wrong? - The Boston Globe
While scholars have illuminated bits and pieces of this immense narrative, Beckert’s massive volume brings it together with impeccable authority and perspicacity.
www.bostonglobe.com
I had the pleasure and privilege of reviewing @svenbeckert.bsky.social's landmark "Capitalism: A Global History" for @bostonglobe.com. Out tomorrow from @penguinpress.bsky.social. Thanks to @katekilla.bsky.social for the opportunity. www.bostonglobe.com/2025/11/24/a...
There 'tis. I reviewed 13 of these beauties: www.nytimes.com/2025/11/24/b...
100 Notable Books of 2025
www.nytimes.com
November 25, 2025 at 1:54 PM
There 'tis. I reviewed 13 of these beauties: www.nytimes.com/2025/11/24/b...
I had the pleasure and privilege of reviewing @svenbeckert.bsky.social's landmark "Capitalism: A Global History" for @bostonglobe.com. Out tomorrow from @penguinpress.bsky.social. Thanks to @katekilla.bsky.social for the opportunity. www.bostonglobe.com/2025/11/24/a...
Is everything you ever learned about capitalism wrong? - The Boston Globe
While scholars have illuminated bits and pieces of this immense narrative, Beckert’s massive volume brings it together with impeccable authority and perspicacity.
www.bostonglobe.com
November 24, 2025 at 10:02 PM
I had the pleasure and privilege of reviewing @svenbeckert.bsky.social's landmark "Capitalism: A Global History" for @bostonglobe.com. Out tomorrow from @penguinpress.bsky.social. Thanks to @katekilla.bsky.social for the opportunity. www.bostonglobe.com/2025/11/24/a...
Reposted by Hamilton Cain
A movie that takes place where you're from. vimeo.com/259103344
November 23, 2025 at 9:09 PM
A movie that takes place where you're from. vimeo.com/259103344
I had the great good fortune to work with Lucy Feldman and her team on TIME's "100 Must-Read Books 2025," the perfect holidays gift list for bibliophiles in your lives: time.com/collections/...
The 100 Must-Read Books of 2025
Discover the novels, memoirs, biographies, and more that entertained and enlightened us
time.com
November 12, 2025 at 3:05 PM
I had the great good fortune to work with Lucy Feldman and her team on TIME's "100 Must-Read Books 2025," the perfect holidays gift list for bibliophiles in your lives: time.com/collections/...
An American master returns with a collection of eerie, brilliant stories. Here's my review of Joy Williams's "The Pelican Child" for @bostonglobe.com. Out next week from @aaknopf.bsky.social. Many thanks to @katekilla.bsky.social for the opportunity: www.bostonglobe.com/2025/11/11/a...
In her new story collection, Joy Williams probes the weirdness of the West - The Boston Globe
Joy Williams’s stories are set in a liminal space, untethered, grasslands floating among craggy mountains, biker bars and seedy motels and ghosts baked by harsh sunlight.
www.bostonglobe.com
November 11, 2025 at 5:11 PM
An American master returns with a collection of eerie, brilliant stories. Here's my review of Joy Williams's "The Pelican Child" for @bostonglobe.com. Out next week from @aaknopf.bsky.social. Many thanks to @katekilla.bsky.social for the opportunity: www.bostonglobe.com/2025/11/11/a...
The great Salman Rushdie examines mortality from myriad angles in "The Eleventh Hour," a quintet of stories just out from Random House. Here's my review for @stribgoingout.startribune.com: www.startribune.com/salman-rushd...
Review: Salman Rushdie still at top of his powers with ‘Eleventh Hour’
Fiction: His elegant short fiction probes the shadows of mortality and loss.
www.startribune.com
November 10, 2025 at 8:48 PM
The great Salman Rushdie examines mortality from myriad angles in "The Eleventh Hour," a quintet of stories just out from Random House. Here's my review for @stribgoingout.startribune.com: www.startribune.com/salman-rushd...
And today's print version of @stribgoingout.startribune.com:
November 9, 2025 at 1:31 PM
And today's print version of @stribgoingout.startribune.com:
Print is sweet! Today's @latimes.com:
November 9, 2025 at 1:15 PM
Print is sweet! Today's @latimes.com:
Siddharth Kara's searing "The Zorg" is easily one of this year's top five nonfiction titles. Out now from @stmartinspress.bsky.social. Here's my review for @stribgoingout.startribune.com: www.startribune.com/the-zorg-kar...
Review: A shocking act at sea damns ‘The Zorg’
Nonfiction: Siddharth Kara’s account of a slave ship is one of the year’s finest books.
www.startribune.com
November 8, 2025 at 5:16 PM
Siddharth Kara's searing "The Zorg" is easily one of this year's top five nonfiction titles. Out now from @stmartinspress.bsky.social. Here's my review for @stribgoingout.startribune.com: www.startribune.com/the-zorg-kar...
The British-American historian Richard Bell offers an exuberant narrative on the American Revolution's global impact. Out today from @riverheadbooks.bsky.social. Here's my review for "On the Seawall":https://www.ronslate.com/on-the-american-revolution-and-the-fate-of-the-world-by-richard-bell/
November 4, 2025 at 3:20 PM
The British-American historian Richard Bell offers an exuberant narrative on the American Revolution's global impact. Out today from @riverheadbooks.bsky.social. Here's my review for "On the Seawall":https://www.ronslate.com/on-the-american-revolution-and-the-fate-of-the-world-by-richard-bell/
Fashionably late to the party? Here's my review of Thomas Pynchon's rollicking "Shadow Ticket" for @startribune.com. Out now from @penguinpress.bsky.social: www.startribune.com/thomas-pynch...
Review: If you loved DiCaprio’s new film, have we got a book for you
Fiction: Maestro Thomas Pynchon is back with “Shadow Ticket,” a brilliant comic novel set in Al Capone’s America.
www.startribune.com
October 30, 2025 at 12:25 AM
Fashionably late to the party? Here's my review of Thomas Pynchon's rollicking "Shadow Ticket" for @startribune.com. Out now from @penguinpress.bsky.social: www.startribune.com/thomas-pynch...
Zadie Smith's collection of essays, "Dead and Alive," is provocative, eloquent, and uneven. Out today from @penguinpress.bsky.social. Here's my review for @latimes.com: www.latimes.com/entertainmen...
Review: All the Zadies — empathetic and problematic — are on display in her latest essay collection
‘Dead and Alive’ review: Zadie Smith collection revisits controversy
www.latimes.com
October 28, 2025 at 11:34 AM
Zadie Smith's collection of essays, "Dead and Alive," is provocative, eloquent, and uneven. Out today from @penguinpress.bsky.social. Here's my review for @latimes.com: www.latimes.com/entertainmen...
@markzdanielewski.bsky.social reimagines the American western in his new epic, "Tom's Crossing," out today from @pantheonbooks.bsky.social. Here's my review for @nytimes.com: www.nytimes.com/2025/10/28/b...
Can the Western Be Reinvented Again? Here’s a 1,200-Page Yes.
www.nytimes.com
October 28, 2025 at 11:15 AM
@markzdanielewski.bsky.social reimagines the American western in his new epic, "Tom's Crossing," out today from @pantheonbooks.bsky.social. Here's my review for @nytimes.com: www.nytimes.com/2025/10/28/b...
A new Gish Jen book is a tonic for the soul. Here's my review of "Bad Bad Girl" for @washingtonpost.com. Just out from @aaknopf.bsky.social: www.washingtonpost.com/books/2025/1...
Review | Gish Jen’s ‘Bad Bad Girl’ recasts a fraught relationship
The novel is two books in one: an imagined account of her mother’s early years in Shanghai and the U.S., and a fictionalized memoir about a difficult upbringing.
www.washingtonpost.com
October 23, 2025 at 2:22 PM
A new Gish Jen book is a tonic for the soul. Here's my review of "Bad Bad Girl" for @washingtonpost.com. Just out from @aaknopf.bsky.social: www.washingtonpost.com/books/2025/1...
I loved Souvankham Thammavongsa's short, searing novel, "Pick a Color," which punches above its weight. Out today from @littlebrown.bsky.social. Here's my review for @washingtonpost.com: www.washingtonpost.com/books/2025/0...
Review | In ‘Pick a Color,’ the customer isn’t always right
Souvankham Thammavongsa’s novel follows workers and clients interacting inside a nail salon over the course of a single day.
www.washingtonpost.com
September 30, 2025 at 12:46 PM
I loved Souvankham Thammavongsa's short, searing novel, "Pick a Color," which punches above its weight. Out today from @littlebrown.bsky.social. Here's my review for @washingtonpost.com: www.washingtonpost.com/books/2025/0...
The great Argentine writer Mariana Enriquez is back with "Somebody Is Walking on Your Grave," a literary travelogue like no other, gorgeously translated by Megan McDowell. Out today from Hogarth Books. Here's my review for @latimes.com: www.latimes.com/entertainmen...
Review: Mariana Enriquez explores cemeteries around the world and the cultures they mirror
Argentine writer Mariana Enriquez guides us around 21 of the world’s most distinctive cemeteries in a collection of essays percolating with social commentary.
www.latimes.com
September 30, 2025 at 11:45 AM
The great Argentine writer Mariana Enriquez is back with "Somebody Is Walking on Your Grave," a literary travelogue like no other, gorgeously translated by Megan McDowell. Out today from Hogarth Books. Here's my review for @latimes.com: www.latimes.com/entertainmen...
Set in 1915, @danchaon.bsky.social's spellbinding new novel, "One of Us," explores American marginalization and violence via telepathic twins in a traveling circus. Just out from @henryholtbooks.bsky.social. Here's my rave review for @nytimes.com: www.nytimes.com/2025/09/24/b...
In This Circus Tale, Telepathic Twins Aren’t Even the Freak Show
www.nytimes.com
September 24, 2025 at 12:03 PM
Set in 1915, @danchaon.bsky.social's spellbinding new novel, "One of Us," explores American marginalization and violence via telepathic twins in a traveling circus. Just out from @henryholtbooks.bsky.social. Here's my rave review for @nytimes.com: www.nytimes.com/2025/09/24/b...
Patricia Lockwood's expressionistic if scattered "Will There Ever Be Another You" details one woman's struggles with Long Covid. Out tomorrow from @riverheadbooks.bsky.social. Here's my review for @latimes.com: www.latimes.com/entertainmen...
Patricia Lockwood’s ‘Will There Ever Be Another You’ never takes flight. Blame COVID
Like Sylvia Plath’s ‘The Bell Jar,’ Patricia Lockwood’s latest book draws on her own fevered struggles with illness — in her case with the long tail of COVID.
www.latimes.com
September 22, 2025 at 11:31 AM
Patricia Lockwood's expressionistic if scattered "Will There Ever Be Another You" details one woman's struggles with Long Covid. Out tomorrow from @riverheadbooks.bsky.social. Here's my review for @latimes.com: www.latimes.com/entertainmen...
Reposted by Hamilton Cain
👇 💫 Very fortunate that @hamiltoncain.bsky.social reviewed Ian McEwan’s brilliant new novel, What We Can Know. A lovely review brimming with insight and praise that captures the essence and payoffs of McEwan’s dystopian vision.
Ian McEwan fans, rejoice! The Booker laureate returns to form in "What We Can Know," his engrossing twist on dystopian fiction. Out next week from @aaknopf.bsky.social. Here's my rave for @bostonglobe.com, with thanks to @katekilla.bsky.social for the opportunity. www.bostonglobe.com/2025/09/17/a...
‘What We Can Know’ ponders the present day and the literary future - The Boston Globe
Dystopian fiction is now a firm fixture in our literary landscape. Ian McEwan’s stylish, cunning “What We Can Know” takes a whack at the genre.
www.bostonglobe.com
September 17, 2025 at 6:21 PM
👇 💫 Very fortunate that @hamiltoncain.bsky.social reviewed Ian McEwan’s brilliant new novel, What We Can Know. A lovely review brimming with insight and praise that captures the essence and payoffs of McEwan’s dystopian vision.
Print, glorious print! Today's @latimes.com:
September 21, 2025 at 11:59 AM
Print, glorious print! Today's @latimes.com:
Ian McEwan fans, rejoice! The Booker laureate returns to form in "What We Can Know," his engrossing twist on dystopian fiction. Out next week from @aaknopf.bsky.social. Here's my rave for @bostonglobe.com, with thanks to @katekilla.bsky.social for the opportunity. www.bostonglobe.com/2025/09/17/a...
‘What We Can Know’ ponders the present day and the literary future - The Boston Globe
Dystopian fiction is now a firm fixture in our literary landscape. Ian McEwan’s stylish, cunning “What We Can Know” takes a whack at the genre.
www.bostonglobe.com
September 17, 2025 at 5:18 PM
Ian McEwan fans, rejoice! The Booker laureate returns to form in "What We Can Know," his engrossing twist on dystopian fiction. Out next week from @aaknopf.bsky.social. Here's my rave for @bostonglobe.com, with thanks to @katekilla.bsky.social for the opportunity. www.bostonglobe.com/2025/09/17/a...
The author meets the moment: Jill Lepore's "We the People" is an essential guide to our embattled Constitutional order. And so beautifully written! Out tomorrow from @liveright.bsky.social. Here's my review for @latimes.com: www.latimes.com/entertainmen...
Jill Lepore’s ‘We the People’ is a life buoy for a Constitution under attack
Jill Lepore’s history of the Constitution includes a colorful cast of characters and makes a case for it as a living document that continues to evolve as we evolve.
www.latimes.com
September 15, 2025 at 12:14 PM
The author meets the moment: Jill Lepore's "We the People" is an essential guide to our embattled Constitutional order. And so beautifully written! Out tomorrow from @liveright.bsky.social. Here's my review for @latimes.com: www.latimes.com/entertainmen...
Stephen Greenblatt's erudite "Dark Renaissance" evokes the of Christopher Marlowe, Shakespeare's literary rival. Out next week from @wwnorton.com. Here's my review for @bostonglobe.com, with thanks to @katekilla.bsky.social for her editorial guidance. www.bostonglobe.com/2025/09/04/a...
A dazzling visit to Shakespeare’s time, and a look at his most alluring rival - The Boston Globe
A tug-of-war between haves and have-nots. Elite universities engulfed in fiery disputes. A head of state pumped up by flattery and conspiracy theories. Welcome to England, circa the late 16th century...
www.bostonglobe.com
September 4, 2025 at 2:35 PM
Stephen Greenblatt's erudite "Dark Renaissance" evokes the of Christopher Marlowe, Shakespeare's literary rival. Out next week from @wwnorton.com. Here's my review for @bostonglobe.com, with thanks to @katekilla.bsky.social for her editorial guidance. www.bostonglobe.com/2025/09/04/a...