Diane Johnson’s Homecoming Diane Johnson’s Homecoming
In her new novel, the novelist returns to the United States to offer a self-conscious story of American fragmentation.
Jun 28, 2021 / Books & the Arts / Becca Rothfeld
Bruno Schulz’s Dream Worlds Bruno Schulz’s Dream Worlds
Born in turn-of-the-century Poland, Schulz lived both longer and better in his books than in real life.
Jul 29, 2019 / Books & the Arts / Becca Rothfeld
The Magic of Helen DeWitt The Magic of Helen DeWitt
In the world of Some Trick, the best words are so acute they lacerate.
Oct 11, 2018 / Books & the Arts / Becca Rothfeld
Christa Wolf’s Life Under Surveillance Christa Wolf’s Life Under Surveillance
In her diaries, the German novelist recorded a life of watching and being watched.
Feb 22, 2018 / Books & the Arts / Becca Rothfeld
The Uncanny World of Deborah Levy The Uncanny World of Deborah Levy
The English novelist is a connoisseur of domestic disturbances.
Aug 9, 2017 / Books & the Arts / Becca Rothfeld
Affliction and Salvation Affliction and Salvation
Love was a learned art for Iris Murdoch, because it involved realizing that something other than the self is real.
Sep 9, 2016 / Books & the Arts / Becca Rothfeld
Ghostly Presences Ghostly Presences
Unable to write effectively but unable to remain silent, W.G. Sebald, like the narrator of The Emigrants, is condemned to speak unsatisfactorily.
Aug 17, 2016 / Books & the Arts / Becca Rothfeld
The Partisan Reviewer The Partisan Reviewer
In two recent essay collections, Tim Parks explores why we bother with reading and writing books.
Jul 21, 2016 / Books & the Arts / Becca Rothfeld
J.M. Coetzee’s Facts of Life J.M. Coetzee’s Facts of Life
For the South African author, the selves we write and read may be truer than any other.
Jan 28, 2016 / Books & the Arts / Becca Rothfeld
Real, Realist, Realistic, and False Real, Realist, Realistic, and False
Linda Rosenkrantz’s 1968 quasi-novel Talk reminds us that wry self-awareness and anxious fragility are hardly millennial inventions.
Nov 25, 2015 / Books & the Arts / Becca Rothfeld