Recent content from Chris Hewitt
Review: 'Furiosa' not quite as good as 'Fury Road' but it's full of energy and excitement
The "Mad Max" prequel shows how the title character, played by Anya Taylor-Joy, becomes a road warrior.
John Grisham's latest, set in northern Florida, has lawyers in search of 'Camino Ghosts'
FICTION: The third in his light-hearted "Camino" series is about the fight for rights to a deserted island.
In 'Telephone of the Tree,' a mysterious phone helps neighbors send their cares into the universe
FICTION: Alison McGhee's tender novel is about a girl looking for her friend and finding community.
Review: Amy Winehouse didn't want to go to 'Rehab,' and her biopic also resists logic
The biopic is best when star Marisa Abela is performing the singer's hits.
University of Minnesota professor wins $150,000 literary prize
University of Minnesota professor V. V. Ganeshananthan won the $150,000 Carol Shields prize for her novel "Brotherless Night."
'The Breeding Birds of Minnesota' is a huge, gorgeous look at our flying friends
NONFICTION: The who's who covers 250 birds from across the state.
Review: 'Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes' is a winner, with tons of thrilling action
The revitalized series continues with a new hero and a crucial appearance by former Minnesota actor Peter Macon.
University of Minnesota professor's book investigates shocking medical research abuse
NONFICTION: Speaking with fellow whistleblowers, bioethicist Carl Elliott learned about the loneliness and frustration of calling attention to wrongdoing.
'The Endurance' author Caroline Alexander turns her attention to World War II in new book
NONFICTION: "Skies of Thunder" looks at military pilots, trying to get to China with supplies.
Minnesota Book Awards go to Mona Susan Power, Shannon Gibney and Emma Torzs
The awards were handed out Tuesday in nine categories.
Pulitzer Prize winner Hernan Diaz, Oscar-anointed Percival Everett and bestseller Rebecca Makkai coming to Hopkins for Pen Pals
Five top authors are featured in the annual lecture series, which is both in-person and virtual.
Peter Macon goes from North High School to Emmy Award to 'Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes'
Using motion-capture technology, the actor appears as a wise orangutan in "Kingdom."
Helen Simonson is in Jane Austen mode with 'The Hazelbourne Ladies Motorcycle and Flying Club'
FICTION: Her latest is set in an English coastal town, at the end of World War I.
Review: 'The Fall Guy' gets a lift from the charisma and humor of Ryan Gosling
No Kensplaining necessary. Gosling and Emily Blunt's rom-com/adventure is a crowd-pleaser.
An unlikely friendship blooms in warm novel 'Sipsworth' (hint: it's perfect for the cabin)
FICTION: Simon Van Booy's book is a gentle charmer.
This funny, bold book about moms and reading might be the perfect last-minute Mother's Day gift.
NONFICTION: In "The Book of Mothers," author Carrie Mullins explores "How Literature Can Help Us Reinvent Modern Motherhood."
Chaska native's directorial debut 'Tarot' will be in 3,500 theaters
As an actor, Anna Halberg was frustrated by the lack of diversity in Hollywood. She shifted to directing to help change that.
Pulitzer Prize-winning Minneapolis author Louise Erdrich announces new book
"The Mighty Red," her first novel since 2021′s "The Sentence," is set in a North Dakota town on the Red River.
Review: Zendaya holds the key to tricky relationship drama 'Challengers'
Although the three main characters are all tennis players, its subject is much more elusive.
'Devil in the White City' author Erik Larson returns with 'The Demon of Unrest'
NONFICTION: He explores the years leading to the American Civil War and the shaky transfer of power from James Buchanan to Abraham Lincoln.
In book-loving Minnesota, Independent Bookstore Day lasts 5 days. Here's what indie shops recommend.
The event, which gathers thousands, celebrates local bookstores, community and, of course, books.
Meet the Oscar-winning cinematographer who has changed the way the movies look
Roger Deakins, the man most responsible for the visuals of many Coen brothers movies, will be at the Minneapolis St. Paul International Film Festival.
Of course you love your pooch but 'Dogland' wonders if she loves you back
NONFICTION: Partly about the Westminster Dog Show and partly about dog happiness, Tommy Tomlinson's book is a gem.
How did this novel's heroine end up with her ex's new love's ex? It's kind of a 'Funny Story'
FICTION: Emily Henry's fizzy book is perfect for beaches this summer.
Minneapolis author says visiting set of movie starring Russell Crowe and Rami Malek was 'surreal'
From Budapest, prolific nonfiction author Jack El-Hai is on "the most fun work trip I've ever been on."
Review: Depicting a divided nation, brutal 'Civil War' feels disturbingly real
Kirsten Dunst stars as a photojournalist, documenting an alarming near-future.
Oscar winners and superstars highlight Minneapolis St. Paul International Film Festival
Frequent Coen brothers cinematographer Roger Deakins and wife/collaborator James will attend events, with several of their movies screening.
'Magpie Murders' creator Anthony Horowitz wrote 'Close to Death' and is a (dopey) character in it
FICTION: A nasty neighbor dies early on. Like the suspects, you won't miss him.
New Minneapolis romance-only bookstore is the first of its kind in the Upper Midwest
Tropes & Trifles in Minneapolis promises lots of love and lots of happily-ever-afters.
James Patterson peeks into 'The Secret Lives of Booksellers and Librarians'
NONFICTION: They tell their best stories about why they love books.
Who wrote the 'Wicked Little Letters' that sent an English village into an uproar?
Based on a true story from the 1920s, the dark comedy stars Olivia Colman and Jessie Buckley.
Our books editor thought Romance wasn't for him. Then, he read Emily Henry
The popular genre seemed like a big hole in our book editor's reading until he realized he'd been reading it all along.
'Groundhog Day' meets 'Bridget Jones's Diary' in comic novel about a woman with too many husbands
FICTION: Holly Gramazio's heroine changes husbands more often than underwear.
'Gentleman in Moscow' writer Amor Towles' new book could be his best yet.
FICTION: It collects six stories and a novel, every one of them a winner.
You call those 'great American novels?' Where's Harper Lee? Beverly Cleary? Edward P. Jones?
The Atlantic's "great American novels" list is fun to debate but they whiffed on John Irving, Beverly Cleary, Edward P. Jones, Harper Lee and others.
Review: Who you gonna call? 'Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire'
The fourth (unless you count the all-female one) in the series isn't super-original but it's funny.
'Headshot' is a bracing, inventive gutpunch of a novel
FICTION: Rita Bullwinkel's debut gives us a blow-by-blow look inside the minds of young female boxers in a seedy tournament.
Minneapolis' Glenn Miller, from 'Days of Our Lives' and public TV to 'Doorman'
FICTION: The former TV exec makes his fiction debut with comic novel "Doorman Wanted."
Augsburg professor's thriller asks why we need 'Monsters' and says they endanger us, for real
FICTION: Lindsay Starck's second novel is part family drama, part mystery.
Wanna see two titans of American fiction? They're coming to Minneapolis Central Library
Louise Erdrich and Debra Magpie Earling will discuss their work May 9.
Hollywood on the Mississippi? Comedy filming in West St. Paul is east metro's second movie this year
The Minnesota production will take advantage of spring break to film in the Heritage school gym.
A Diana Spencer impersonator gets in a casino full of trouble in 'Princess of Las Vegas'
FICTION: Chris Bohjalian's latest thriller features another screw-up who's in over her head.
The Oppenhomies triumph, winning 7 Oscars
"Oppenheimer" won best picture in an evening where the biggest surprise was Emma Stone taking her second best actress trophy for "Poor Things."
Writer Steve Almond wants you to know your story is important. He'll also teach you to tell it
NONFICTION: In "Truth Is the Arrow, Mercy Is the Bow" and in classes at the Loft, he gets to get to the root of storytelling.
![TOM WALLACE ï twallace@startribune.com Assign#00001622A Slug:clas0217 02/11/2008 Minneapolis, MN]Twin ities native, classical composer Libby Lars](https://arc.stimg.co/startribunemedia/QSJUECHH6JFO3OSZHHRB4VJRZ4.jpg?h=120&w=180&fit=crop&bg=999&crop=faces)
Two Minnesotans are among the 19 new members of the American Academy of Arts and Letters
Composer Libby Larsen and author Charles Baxter have earned international reputations from their Minneapolis homes.
With debt under control, this gay, Black writer 'Finally Bought Some Jordans'
NONFICTION: Michael Arceneaux's essays about family are the best in his new collection.
Want to ace your Oscar pool? Here are our picks in all 23 categories
The short version? When in doubt, pick "Oppenheimer."
Will this year add to the beefs and screw-ups detailed in 'Oscar Wars?' Of course it will
NONFICTION: Now in paperback, it's a fun, informative look at the awards' rough history.
Minnesota writer Kate DiCamillo changes course to celebrate a family's love in her new book
She's built a wildly successful career writing about overcoming obstacles and dealing with loss. But "Ferris" is about a "happy, complete family."
With true crime podcasts and a tart heroine, 'Listen for the Lie' is a gas
FICTION: Amy Tintera's debut thriller stars a suspect who makes one bad decision after another.
6 terrific books you can read in one sitting
Coming in at about 100 pages (or less), each guarantees a satisfying but brief read.
Review: Two 'Drive-Away Dolls' are on a road trip to Goofytown
Margaret Qualley and Geraldine Viswanathan star as friends who get in over their heads when they tangle with gangsters.
Review: 'Dune: Part Two' delivers on the thrilling promise of 'Part One'
The humanity gets lost but the second half of the sci-fi epic is one triumphant scene after another.
Dennis Lehane fans should check out Thomas Mullen's gripping 'Rumor Game'
FICTION: Set in Boston during World War II, it finds a reporter and an FBI agent getting to the bottom of antiwar activities.
Jewel thief and a death forced writer Sloane Crosley to wrestle with 'Grief'
NONFICTION: The "I Was Told There'd Be Cake" essayist juxtaposes two kinds of loss in new book.
A town on the edge of colonial Massachusetts opens a door to history in 'Deerfield Massacre'
NONFICTION: "Manhunt" author James L. Swanson returns with an absorbing look at a pivotal moment for early America.
Ethan Coen's first solo feature film is a Coen brothers-y comedy
He wrote it with wife Tricia Cooke and will team with her again before rejoining brother Joel.
Leslie Jamison got married, had a baby and lived to tell about it in 'Splinters'
NONFICTION: Her essays are compassionate, insightful and hilarious.
Come for Bob, stay for Rita in 'Bob Marley: One Love'
Lashana Lynch is outstanding as the legendary musician's talented, principled wife.
At last, A.J. Finn has a new thriller for fans of his 'Woman in the Window'
FICTION: "End of Story" is the gothic tale of a novelist whose life is as mysterious as his books.
Pulitzer finalist Tommy Orange and Kiley Reid highlight author series
Events include both in-person and virtual appearances.
Review: Diablo Cody's 'Lisa Frankenstein' is assembled from parts of better films
It's an attempt at comedy and romance. Neither works.
A new kind of slavery traps Black women in futuristic (or not?) 'The Blueprint'
FICTION: Rae Giana Rashad's first novel recalls "The Handmaid's Tale" with its chilling depiction of injustice.
Review: 'Argylle' socks it to audiences with too many twists
Bryce Dallas Howard and Sam Rockwell star in the shaky spy spoof.
'The Bishop and the Butterfly' brought New York City to its knees in the 1930s
NONFICTION: There's a murder, but expect to learn more about the end of a political machine.
Keith Ellison, TD Mischke and Kate DiCamillo among Minnesota Book Award nominees
The trophies will be handed out in nine categories May 7.
'Gunflint Falling,' a gripping book about the BWCA blowdown, highlights mysteries of nature
Cary J. Griffith checks in with dozens of campers, rangers and others who grappled with the 1999 storm.
Emmy and Tony Award winner Jodie Comer tackles an audiobook
She narrates "Prima Facie," based on material she performed on Broadway.
Who will win this year's Oscars? Who should win?
Let's just say things are looking for good for "Oppenheimer" and "The Holdovers."
Full of likably flawed characters, 'Road from Belhaven' is a book to cherish
FICTION: Margot Livesey's latest, set in 19th-century Scotland, features a girl with a supernatural gift.
Review: Like 'British Baking Show'? You'll eat up 'Mrs. Quinn's Rise to Fame'
FICTION: The English cakes-and-cookies competition may have a different name in Olivia Ford's novel, but the inspiration is clear.
Land of 10,000 Maniacs: Why Minnesota produces so many top mystery writers
Jess Lourey, William Kent Krueger, Marcie Rendon, Mary Logue and many more live — and invent crimes — here.
Review: It's nice to have the 'Mean Girls' back, but about those songs...
Turning Tina Fey's comedy into a musical adds nothing, but it's still an entertaining story.
Graywolf Press celebrates 50 years and plans for 50 more
The small, adventurous Minneapolis firm is a big success in the publishing world, and plans to stay that way.
