Written by Laurie Higgins

After reading a book review in the Chicago Tribune, I’ve got a little sumpin’ sumpin’ to say about renowned former New York Times book critic Michiko Kakutani who retired in 2017 and has written the book The Death of Truth, but first a clarification: This is not a defense of President Donald Trump, whose behavior I continue to find problematic but who I am really glad trumped Hillary.

In Kakutani’s newly released book, she says, “If a novelist had concocted a villain like Trump–a larger-than-life, over-the-top avatar of narcissism, mendacity, ignorance, prejudice, boorishness, demagoguery, and tyrannical impulses, she or he would likely be accused of extreme contrivance and implausibilty.”