The Imaginary Jew The Imaginary Jew
Two new novels, by Michael Chabon and Nathan Englander, recharge the modern Jewish experience with a sense of the exotic.
May 10, 2007 / Books & the Arts / William Deresiewicz
Cafe Society Cafe Society
Clive James's erudite new collection of essays celebrates the best of twentieth-century art, thought and politics.
Apr 26, 2007 / Books & the Arts / William Deresiewicz
The Book of Questions The Book of Questions
In a book-length essay on the novel, Milan Kundera foresees the curtain of literary history drawing to a close.
Feb 6, 2007 / Books & the Arts / William Deresiewicz
Awesome Powers Awesome Powers
Hidden Valley Lake, Calif.
Nov 21, 2006 / Our Readers and William Deresiewicz
Representative Fictions Representative Fictions
An ambitious two-volume history of the novel explores its evolution across continents and centuries.
Nov 16, 2006 / Books & the Arts / William Deresiewicz
Science Fiction Science Fiction
Richard Powers's The Echo Maker speaks volumes about neuroscience, nature and environmental degradation. But it says little about what it means to be alive.
Sep 20, 2006 / Books & the Arts / William Deresiewicz
Dead Man Dead Man
Philip Roth's Everyman is a contemporary morality play that explores the author's obsessions with health and virility, ecstasy and betrayal, and the certainty and solitude of death...
May 11, 2006 / Books & the Arts / William Deresiewicz
Zadie Smith’s Indecision Zadie Smith’s Indecision
It can't be easy to rein in a writer as successful as Zadie Smith. Her new novel, On Beauty, proves it's almost impossible.
Sep 15, 2005 / Books & the Arts / William Deresiewicz
It’s a Man’s, Man’s World It’s a Man’s, Man’s World
Cormac McCarthy's No Country for Old Men seems designed as a calculated assault on the reader.
Aug 25, 2005 / Books & the Arts / William Deresiewicz
The Literary World System The Literary World System
What are you doing? I mean, right now. You're reading a book review.
Dec 16, 2004 / Books & the Arts / William Deresiewicz