Books and Ideas

Headshot of George Santos speaks in Las Vegas at the Republican Jewish Coalition (RJC) annual meeting. His hand is raised in oath.

George Santos George Santos

George Santos invented an alternate life, With chutzpah we’ve seen only rarely. Mendacity in all his statements was rife. He beat Trump in lying, though barely.

Jan 10, 2023 / Column / Calvin Trillin

A black and white photo of a young Hannah Arendt lounging.

Hannah Arendt Was Really a Prophet Against Conformity Hannah Arendt Was Really a Prophet Against Conformity

To the question of how totalitarian methods could ever draw the compliance of free citizens, she replied: through the enchantment of success.

Jan 9, 2023 / Column / David Bromwich

The Fragile and Complex Worlds of George Saunders

The Fragile and Complex Worlds of George Saunders The Fragile and Complex Worlds of George Saunders

In his short fiction, Saunders reminds us that when it comes to ethical dilemmas there are often no clean ways out.

Jan 9, 2023 / Books & the Arts / Erin Somers

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

Characters stand on the private island in the Netflix movie Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery.

The Butler Didn’t Do It! On Rian Johnson’s “Glass Onion” The Butler Didn’t Do It! On Rian Johnson’s “Glass Onion”

While Knives Out was a brilliant inversion of the class politics of an Agatha Christie whodunit, the sequel wants to have it both ways.

Dec 29, 2022 / Ethan Iverson

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

Letters Icon

Letters From the January 9/16, 2023, Issue Letters From the January 9/16, 2023, Issue

Here we go again… Unintended consequences… An American daughter… Dangerous policies…

Dec 27, 2022 / Our Readers

Trump golf

Exit Trump? Exit Trump?

Some Washington types say that Trump’s here for good; He’ll handle those setbacks just fine. But some say they’re certain that soon he may go, And not with a bang but a whine.

Dec 27, 2022 / Column / Calvin Trillin

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