Books & the Arts

What the Paiva Family Means to Brazil

What the Paiva Family Means to Brazil What the Paiva Family Means to Brazil

In I’m Still Here, one Brazilian clan’s confrontation with the military dictatorship dramatizes the last half-century of Brazil’s democratic travails.

Feb 19, 2025 / Books & the Arts / Andre Pagliarini

Beatriz Nascimento’s Histories of Afro-Brazilian Rebellion 

Beatriz Nascimento’s Histories of Afro-Brazilian Rebellion  Beatriz Nascimento’s Histories of Afro-Brazilian Rebellion 

The scholar, poet, and filmmaker devoted her life to sketching out a revisionist historiography of resistance in Latin America but also the world.

Feb 18, 2025 / Books & the Arts / Yasmina Price

“The Pitt” and the Gritty Return of the Hospital Drama

“The Pitt” and the Gritty Return of the Hospital Drama “The Pitt” and the Gritty Return of the Hospital Drama

 In the frenzied medical drama, the limits and problems of the healthcare system serve as the basis for the show’s plot.

Feb 12, 2025 / Books & the Arts / Jorge Cotte

A still from “Hard Truths.”

The Uncomfortable Genius of Mike Leigh The Uncomfortable Genius of Mike Leigh

In “Hard Truths,” Leigh reminds us that a family dinner can tell the story of a whole society.

Feb 12, 2025 / Books & the Arts / J. Hoberman

Henri Bergson’s States of Change

Henri Bergson’s States of Change Henri Bergson’s States of Change

Why did one of the early 20th century’s most famous philosophers go out of fashion?

Feb 11, 2025 / Books & the Arts / John Banville

Kara Walker, “Fortuna and the Immortality Garden (Machine),” 2024 © Kara Walker.

The Art and Automatons of Kara Walker The Art and Automatons of Kara Walker

Walker’s new installation at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art offers us visions from both the past and future.

Feb 10, 2025 / Books & the Arts / Rachel Hunter Himes

The Making and Remaking of Karl Marx’s  “Capital”

The Making and Remaking of Karl Marx’s “Capital” The Making and Remaking of Karl Marx’s “Capital”

In the first English translation in half a century, Paul Reitter and Paul North distill the essence of the Marxist masterpiece by going back to basics.

Feb 10, 2025 / Books & the Arts / Alyssa Battistoni

Khawla Ibraheem in “A Knock on the Roof.”

A Snapshot of a Mother’s Life in Gaza Under Occupation A Snapshot of a Mother’s Life in Gaza Under Occupation

Khawla Ibraheem’s play A Knock on the Roof examines how the Israeli military terrorizes Palestinians in their most intimate and private spaces: their homes.

Feb 6, 2025 / Books & the Arts / Ahmed Moor

“Summer Interior” by Edward Hopper, 1909. Located at the Whitney Museum of American Art.

Vigdis Hjorth and the Novel of Ugly Love Vigdis Hjorth and the Novel of Ugly Love

In If Only, the Norwegian novelist distills a story of romance into all its private discomfort and claustrophobia. Its intense ambivalence in regards to love feels truer to life. ...

Feb 4, 2025 / Books & the Arts / David Schurman Wallace

The Elion-Hitchings Building in 2020 before its demolition.

The Dubious Return of the Brutalists The Dubious Return of the Brutalists

Why the stark 20th-century architectural style is back in vogue.

Feb 3, 2025 / Books & the Arts / Daniel Brook

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