Books & the Arts

Families walking in a New York park, 1952.

A New York Cult That Promised the End of the Nuclear Family A New York Cult That Promised the End of the Nuclear Family

Alexander Stille’s The Sullivanians documents the sordid history and fascinating intellectual roots of a psychotherapy group that proposed a utopian alternative to conventional fa...

Dec 7, 2023 / Books & the Arts / Callie Hitchcock

Siddhartha Deb, “The Light at the End of the World”

Siddhartha Deb and the Politics of Fiction Siddhartha Deb and the Politics of Fiction

A conversation with the novelist and journalist about India, colonialism, the Union Carbide catastrophe, solidarity, history in literature, and his novel, The Light at the End of ...

Dec 6, 2023 / Books & the Arts / Feroz Rather

Hélène Cixous, 2019.

Hélène Cixous, a Poet Among Theorists Hélène Cixous, a Poet Among Theorists

In Well-Kept Ruins, a key example of her late style, a hybrid and dreamlike form of social theory comes into focus.

Dec 6, 2023 / Books & the Arts / Rebecca Ariel Porte

Joaquin Phoenix in “Napoleon.”

History According to Ridley Scott History According to Ridley Scott

Ultimately what we learn in Napoleon says far more about the director than it does about Napoleon.

Dec 4, 2023 / Books & the Arts / Mike Duncan

Steve McQueen and Jonathan Glazer Confront the Holocaust 

Steve McQueen and Jonathan Glazer Confront the Holocaust  Steve McQueen and Jonathan Glazer Confront the Holocaust 

In Zones of Interest and Occupied City, the two filmmakers attempt to depict the ordinary fascism and everyday violence of World War II.

Dec 4, 2023 / Books & the Arts / J. Hoberman

Michael Fassbender in “The Killer.”

David Fincher’s Man Without Qualities  David Fincher’s Man Without Qualities 

His grim action movie satire The Killer pokes fun at the blandness of modern life and modern moviemaking.

Nov 30, 2023 / Books & the Arts / Beatrice Loayza

“Melancholy,” Edvard Munch, 1895.

Søren Kierkegaard Dared to Ask Søren Kierkegaard Dared to Ask

In The Sickness Unto Death, the Danish philosopher posed a difficult question: Is despair an essential feature of human life?

Nov 29, 2023 / Books & the Arts / Clare Carlisle

Berlin, December 22, 1989.

Can the European Union Be Salvaged? Can the European Union Be Salvaged?

New books by Timothy Garton Ash and Loukas Tsoukalis document the moral and political exhaustion of the “EU” generation.

Nov 28, 2023 / Books & the Arts / Mark Mazower

“Untitled (Strike),” Dox Thrash, c. 1940.

The Radical Art of the Depression Years The Radical Art of the Depression Years

By working within the constraints of the WPA, artists like Philip Guston discovered new modes of representation and irony.

Nov 27, 2023 / Books & the Arts / Rachel Hunter Himes

“The Siesta,” by Vincent van Gogh, 1889.

You Have “The Right to Be Lazy” You Have “The Right to Be Lazy”

Paul Lafargue's anti-work manifesto is newly relevant in a time when the very idea of labor is changing.

Nov 23, 2023 / Books & the Arts / Clinton Williamson

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