Books & the Arts

A Lion in Winter

A Lion in Winter A Lion in Winter

Jürgen Habermas remains an indispensable guide to the unfinished project of democratic consciousness and enlightenment.

Sep 14, 2016 / Books & the Arts / Peter E. Gordon

Who Freed the Slaves?

Who Freed the Slaves? Who Freed the Slaves?

For some time now, the answer has not been the abolitionists.

Sep 13, 2016 / Books & the Arts / Stephanie McCurry

Affliction and Salvation

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

The Virtue of Patience

The Virtue of Patience The Virtue of Patience

It has taken a lifetime of reading, writing, and drawing for Daniel Clowes to achieve the creative maturity on display in his new book.

Sep 8, 2016 / Books & the Arts / David Hajdu

Antoine Volodine’s Army of Avatars

Antoine Volodine’s Army of Avatars Antoine Volodine’s Army of Avatars

Is there any other writer whose work is as strange and hermetic and gloriously, painfully appropriate to the unparalleled shittiness of our times?

Sep 7, 2016 / Books & the Arts / Ben Ehrenreich

Several Types of William Empson

Several Types of William Empson Several Types of William Empson

A lost study of Buddhist art reveals a hidden side of a great literary critic.

Sep 6, 2016 / Books & the Arts / Chenxin Jiang

Behind the Sun

Behind the Sun Behind the Sun

In four books about Syria and Egypt, the narrative arc of revolution bends toward disappointment.

Sep 6, 2016 / Books & the Arts / Ursula Lindsey

Notes From Many Years

Notes From Many Years Notes From Many Years

Helen Gurley Brown’s ideas about women were often as retrograde as the ones she claimed to fight. Why is she still appealing?

Sep 1, 2016 / Books & the Arts / Madeleine Schwartz

A Summer Blockbuster From the Trump World

A Summer Blockbuster From the Trump World A Summer Blockbuster From the Trump World

Loud, lurid, incoherent, Suicide Squad seems to emanate straight from the Republican’s campaign for president.

Aug 26, 2016 / Books & the Arts / Stuart Klawans

Captivity

Captivity Captivity

If it’s Yuletide in the New World, then what bellies up to the manger are rattler, gator, buzzard. Just as a wooden snake in a basket of toys at this barber shop I bring the boys s…

Aug 25, 2016 / Books & the Arts / Ange Mlinko

x