Books & the Arts

Anywhere But Here Anywhere But Here

Tim Burton enlivens the dark and gloomy life of corpses and aristocrats in Corpse Bride; Occupation: Dreamland offers an unsentimental view of Iraqi soldiers.

Sep 22, 2005 / Books & the Arts / Stuart Klawans

The Blank Verses The Blank Verses

A Rick Moody novel is generally about one thing and that is Rick Moody's ability to write very long, occasionally graceful sentences.

Sep 22, 2005 / Books & the Arts / Christine Smallwood

In Search of Sam Cooke In Search of Sam Cooke

A womanizing gospel king and black-pride pop star, Sam Cooke led a short life filled with contradiction.

Sep 22, 2005 / Books & the Arts / Robert Christgau

Readers Respond to Sharon Olds Readers Respond to Sharon Olds

Readers respond to poet Sharon Olds's decision to decline Laura Bush's invitation to dine at the White House.

Sep 21, 2005 / Books & the Arts / Our Readers

Visionaries Wanted Visionaries Wanted

New homes for those displaced by Hurricane Katrina need not be the penitentiary-style public housing we've come to dread. Bring in architects who know how to create human-scale dwe...

Sep 19, 2005 / Books & the Arts / Nicholas von Hoffman

New World Symphony New World Symphony

Joseph Horowitz diligently lays out the immense problems that face American classical music today, and his warnings cannot go unheeded.

Sep 15, 2005 / Books & the Arts / Russell Platt

Barbara Ehrenreich’s White Collar Blues Barbara Ehrenreich’s White Collar Blues

Barbara Ehrenreich probes a deeper level of white-collar angst: people who lose or quit their corporate jobs and routinely spend months, even years, finding another.

Sep 15, 2005 / Books & the Arts / Michael Kazin

Rushdie’s Receding Talent Rushdie’s Receding Talent

It has almost become a sadness to review a novel by Salman Rushdie. Shalimar the Clown is no exception.

Sep 15, 2005 / Books & the Arts / Lee Siegel

Zadie Smith’s Indecision Zadie Smith’s Indecision

It can't be easy to rein in a writer as successful as Zadie Smith. Her new novel, On Beauty, proves it's almost impossible.

Sep 15, 2005 / Books & the Arts / William Deresiewicz

Levee Town Levee Town

There are decades of memos from engineers and contractors setting forth budgets to build up the Gulf Coast's levees, but Bush wouldn't let them be.

Sep 15, 2005 / Books & the Arts / Alexander Cockburn

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