Ratik Asokan

is a writer in New York.

Juan Rulfo, 1985.

Juan Rulfo’s Revolution in Mexican Fiction Juan Rulfo’s Revolution in Mexican Fiction

In his 1955 masterpiece Pedro Páramo, he gave the bloody history of his country—between the rich and poor, landed and landless—mythic dimension.

Feb 1, 2024 / Books & the Arts / Ratik Asokan

James Ensor's “L'Intrigue,” 1890

Down and Out in Paris With Rainer Maria Rilke Down and Out in Paris With Rainer Maria Rilke

In The Notebooks of Malte Laurids Brigge, the German poet’s only novel, a young artist contends with the contradictions of urban experience and the dream of pastoral life 

Mar 14, 2023 / Books & the Arts / Ratik Asokan

Adalbert Stifter’s View of Oberplan

Adalbert Stifter’s Disappearing World Adalbert Stifter’s Disappearing World

His uncanny writing bears witness to the early stages of capitalism offering a glimpse of the natural world before modernity.

Sep 13, 2021 / Books & the Arts / Ratik Asokan

Susan Meiselas’s Redemptive Time

Susan Meiselas’s Redemptive Time Susan Meiselas’s Redemptive Time

In her new photo-memoir, the photographer returns to the origin of her career to reflect on all she’s remembered, and why it’s worth remembering.

Dec 5, 2017 / Ratik Asokan

The Air We Breathe: A Conversation With Arundhati Roy

The Air We Breathe: A Conversation With Arundhati Roy The Air We Breathe: A Conversation With Arundhati Roy

The writer discusses her new novel, love, justice, and Indian politics.

Jul 17, 2017 / Q&A / Ratik Asokan

The Presence of Lynette Yiadom-Boakye’s Paintings

The Presence of Lynette Yiadom-Boakye’s Paintings The Presence of Lynette Yiadom-Boakye’s Paintings

Though she routinely paints human figures, it’s better to understand her work as abstract art.

Jul 11, 2017 / Ratik Asokan

Caught Between Modernity and Tradition

Caught Between Modernity and Tradition Caught Between Modernity and Tradition

With sympathy and ruthlessness, U.R. Ananthamurthy’s novel Samskara gives shape to the mutinies that raged within mid-century India. 

Mar 20, 2017 / Ratik Asokan

A Catalog of Cadavers

A Catalog of Cadavers A Catalog of Cadavers

Claudia Salazar Jiménez sets out to conjure the experience of atrocity in Peru with her debut novel, Blood of the Dawn. The result is disquieting—though not in the way you’d e...

Dec 30, 2016 / Ratik Asokan

The Personal Is Political, But Not Always Fictional

The Personal Is Political, But Not Always Fictional The Personal Is Political, But Not Always Fictional

What is the novelist Intizar Husain’s theory of Pakistani history?

Nov 19, 2016 / Ratik Asokan

Danny Lyon’s Drama of Solitude

Danny Lyon’s Drama of Solitude Danny Lyon’s Drama of Solitude

How did he take such profoundly empathetic photographs?

Sep 6, 2016 / Ratik Asokan

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