About Kelley Kawano

Born and raised in Los Angeles, Kelley Kawano is a freelance writer and doctoral student in New York.

February 23, 2012

The Classic Behind the Film: John le Carré’s Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy

He is a small, middle-aged man, podgy and thickly bespectacled, drably dressed. He endures an early retirement. His aristocratic wife cheats on him regularly. Hardly the rough material for a hero of an espionage thriller. And yet this man is the greatest British spymaster of them all: George Smiley.

December 16, 2011

Sherlock Holmes: A Pre-Movie Primer

As Guy Ritchie returns to Baker Street with “Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows,” here’s a handy Sherlock primer to help you bone up for the movie.

November 20, 2011

50 Years of The Phantom Tollbooth and Milo, Who Has Plenty of Time

Frequently compared to Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, another work with a young hero and absurdist humor, The Phantom Tollbooth shares with its predecessor its endless delight in the process of learning, as well as its unending appeal to children and adults alike.

November 7, 2011

Brightest Star in the Galaxy? U.S. Soccer and The Beckham Experiment

David Beckham is soccer’s biggest name (though never its biggest talent) and arguably its first international superstar. In most parts of the world, he’s known for his triumphs with some of the most celebrated clubs in Europe (Manchester United, Real Madrid, and AC Milan) and with the English national team. In America, however, he’s primarily famous for his good looks, sartorial choices, fashionably skeletal wife, and provocative Armani ads. But with rumors that the midfielder may depart the Los Angeles Galaxy for French team Paris Saint-Germain, now is a good time to check out The Beckham Experiment.

November 5, 2011

Rob Sheffield’s Love is a Mix Tape: A Bittersweet Soundtrack

For a certain generation, the mix tape is an art form, a carefully curated expression of our emotions and creativity. But it’s also an incredibly personal artifact, an audio snapshot of our lives at that particular moment. As Rolling Stone contributing editor Rob Sheffield points out, “The times you lived through, the people you shared those times with — nothing brings it all to life like an old mix tape.”

November 4, 2011

Dead Men Tell Tales: The Incredible Spy Plot of Operation Mincemeat

If the story of Operation Mincement wasn’t real, someone would have dreamed it up — and then been laughed at for its improbability. Yet it was one of the most thrilling espionage stories of World War II, leading to the successful Allied invasions of Sicily and then continental Italy in 1943, and London Times columnist Ben Macintyre does it justice.

November 1, 2011

Mad House: Stephen Benatar’s Wish Her Safe at Home

When middle-aged office drone Rachel Waring unexpectedly inherits a Georgian townhouse in Bristol from a great-aunt, she feels rejuvenated, like a teenager going to Paris for the first time, and decides to use the opportunity to turn her world around. Most novels would take this Cinderella story through to its natural conclusion, tracing Rachel’s blossoming as she finds love, happiness, and fulfillment. This is not that novel.