Never-Endings Never-Endings
Georges Perec’s books are designed to stir readers to think actively, freshly, and imaginatively about what could have been, and what might come next.
Aug 3, 2016 / Books & the Arts / Joanna Scott
The Virtues of Difficult Fiction The Virtues of Difficult Fiction
If novels aren’t worthy challenges, we have no reason to linger in their pages.
Jul 30, 2015 / Books & the Arts / Joanna Scott
Ragged, Unkempt, Strange: On William Faulkner Ragged, Unkempt, Strange: On William Faulkner
For all the ways it is rife with tenderness, fury and ugliness, William Faulkner’s fiction is stubbornly persistent in its artistry.
Nov 20, 2012 / Books & the Arts / Joanna Scott
Self-Portrait in a Sheet Mirror: On Vivian Maier Self-Portrait in a Sheet Mirror: On Vivian Maier
The recently discovered photographs of Vivian Maier are tantalizing works of artistry and ambition.
May 22, 2012 / Books & the Arts / Joanna Scott
Till the Knowing Ends: On William Gass Till the Knowing Ends: On William Gass
In Life Sentences, William Gass shows that consciousness needs to be stressed to be strengthened.
Mar 7, 2012 / Books & the Arts / Joanna Scott
A Passionate Reader: On David Markson A Passionate Reader: On David Markson
Remembering David Markson (1927–2010), whose playful novels pushed storytelling to the edge of understanding.
Oct 13, 2010 / Books & the Arts / Joanna Scott
Telling It Slant: On J.M. Coetzee Telling It Slant: On J.M. Coetzee
J.M. Coetzee's Summertime and the fictions of self-deception.
Jan 28, 2010 / Books & the Arts / Joanna Scott
In the Theater of Isak Dinesen In the Theater of Isak Dinesen
A reconsideration of the fictive truths behind a storyteller's many masks.
Aug 12, 2009 / Books & the Arts / Joanna Scott
Where Now? Let’s Go! Where Now? Let’s Go!
The nonsensical funhouse of Donald Barthelme's fiction celebrates the cosmic joke of life and the pathos of grappling with it.
Apr 9, 2008 / Books & the Arts / Joanna Scott