Books & the Arts

Will Alexander’s Epics of the Surreal

Will Alexander’s Epics of the Surreal Will Alexander’s Epics of the Surreal

As one critic put it, his poetry conjured up a world built by “an ecstatic surrealist on imaginal hyperdrive.” 

Jan 5, 2023 / Books & the Arts / Aditya Bahl

Lynne Tillman Breaks the Rules

Lynne Tillman Breaks the Rules Lynne Tillman Breaks the Rules

Mothercare, a fascinating and sometimes fraught experiment with memoir, finds the author testing the limits of personal writing.

Jan 4, 2023 / Books & the Arts / Michele Moses

Has the United States Ever Been a Democracy?

Has the United States Ever Been a Democracy? Has the United States Ever Been a Democracy?

Blending history, political theory, and commentary on current events, Jedediah Purdy's new book examines how that the United States continues to fail to qualify as a system defined...

Jan 3, 2023 / Books & the Arts / Sophia Rosenfeld

The Best Albums of 2022

The Best Albums of 2022 The Best Albums of 2022

David Hajdu’s favorite albums encompass everything from Bad Bunny to English metal to Afrobeat.

Dec 29, 2022 / Books & the Arts / David Hajdu

The Faith of Halldór Laxness

The Faith of Halldór Laxness The Faith of Halldór Laxness

Salka Valka, the first novel written after the Nobel Prize winner’s apparent loss of faith, betrays an ongoing religious aesthetic.

Dec 28, 2022 / Books & the Arts / Jack Hanson

Jerzy Skolimowski’s Wild and Kinetic EO

Jerzy Skolimowski’s Wild and Kinetic EO Jerzy Skolimowski’s Wild and Kinetic EO

If Au Hasard Balthazar is austere and precise, EO is excessive and elusive.

Dec 28, 2022 / Books & the Arts / J. Hoberman

Rachel Aviv’s Report From Psychiatry’s Gray Zones

Rachel Aviv’s Report From Psychiatry’s Gray Zones Rachel Aviv’s Report From Psychiatry’s Gray Zones

Her debut, Strangers to Ourselves, asks: Who shapes the story of someone's illness?

Dec 28, 2022 / Books & the Arts / Kevin Lozano

Emmanuel Carrère’s Brilliant Narcissism

Emmanuel Carrère’s Brilliant Narcissism Emmanuel Carrère’s Brilliant Narcissism

His latest “nonfiction novel,” Yoga, explores his favorite theme: himself. 

Dec 22, 2022 / Books & the Arts / Max Norman

The Most Dangerous Architect in America

The Most Dangerous Architect in America The Most Dangerous Architect in America

Gregory Ain wanted to create social housing in Los Angeles. Dogged by the FBI, his hope for more egalitarian architecture never came to be.

Dec 21, 2022 / Books & the Arts / Kate Wolf

Michael Cimino, a Chaotic Auteur

Michael Cimino, a Chaotic Auteur Michael Cimino, a Chaotic Auteur

A new biography examines the work of a flamboyant director who placed himself at the center of his own private Hollywood cosmology.

Dec 20, 2022 / Books & the Arts / Adam Nayman

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