Why Did Tom Hanks Write a Novel? Why Did Tom Hanks Write a Novel?
And can we understand his vision of Hollywood from this strange artifact?
Aug 10, 2023 / Books & the Arts / Adam Nayman
Walter Benjamin’s Radio Years Walter Benjamin’s Radio Years
After the faculty of philosophy in Frankfurt rejected his dissertation and dashed his hopes for an academic career, the Marxist critic found work as a radio broadcaster.
Aug 8, 2023 / Books & the Arts / Peter E. Gordon
Brandon Taylor’s Sweeping Novel of Class and Campuses Brandon Taylor’s Sweeping Novel of Class and Campuses
The Late Americans works the way that university towns do. People move in, move out, move on—not everyone gets to meet, but everyone temporarily occupies the same spaces.
Aug 7, 2023 / Books & the Arts / Sarah Chihaya
Black Refuge and the Novel of Ideas: A Conversation With Maya Binyam Black Refuge and the Novel of Ideas: A Conversation With Maya Binyam
“Fiction is so incredibly rife with ethical questions.”
Aug 3, 2023 / Books & the Arts / Rosemarie Ho
Pier Paolo Pasolini’s Eye Pier Paolo Pasolini’s Eye
For the Italian filmmaker, the act of seeing was its own kind of art.
Aug 2, 2023 / Books & the Arts / T.J. Clark
Manuela Martelli’s Tense Political Thriller “Chile ’76” Manuela Martelli’s Tense Political Thriller “Chile ’76”
In her new film, the actor turned director examines the brutality of the Pinochet regime and the oppressive gender politics of the society he ruled.
Aug 1, 2023 / Books & the Arts / Jacob Sugarman
Is the History of American Art a History of Failure? Is the History of American Art a History of Failure?
Sara Marcus’s recent book argues that from the Reconstruction to the AIDS era, a distinct aesthetic formed around defeat in the realm of politics.
Jul 31, 2023 / Books & the Arts / Lynne Feeley
The Muddled Feminism of Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie” The Muddled Feminism of Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie”
In trying to say too much, the film winds up not saying much at all.
Jul 27, 2023 / Books & the Arts / Tarpley Hitt
This “Barbie” Is in Crisis This “Barbie” Is in Crisis
Greta Gerwig tackles philosophical questions that are more daunting than a film based on a children’s toy can handle. It results in a strange, uneven, but beautiful movie.
Jul 26, 2023 / Books & the Arts / Erin Schwartz
What Happened to Peter Handke? What Happened to Peter Handke?
How an artist obsessed with interiority and language become a literary pariah.
Jul 26, 2023 / Books & the Arts / David Schurman Wallace