Gwendoline Riley’s Biting Realism Gwendoline Riley’s Biting Realism
By turns bracing and comical, her novels find in everyday domestic dramas the art of life.
Mar 2, 2023 / Books & the Arts / Robert Rubsam
A Comic That Captures the Antic Energy of a Post-Truth World A Comic That Captures the Antic Energy of a Post-Truth World
A conversation with the makers of The Department of Truth, a comic series that examines the intersection of American conspiracy and Western propaganda.
Mar 1, 2023 / Books & the Arts / ML Kejera
Let Kids Read Roald Dahl’s Books the Way He Wrote Them Let Kids Read Roald Dahl’s Books the Way He Wrote Them
The beloved author’s books are being edited by their publisher to suit contemporary sensibilities. That robs us of the author’s vision—and any sense of history.
Feb 21, 2023 / Katha Pollitt
Sevgi Soysal’s Liberation of the Mind Sevgi Soysal’s Liberation of the Mind
Her novel Dawn, which documents the discontents of the 20th century Turkish left, proposes that any account of historical upheaval requires equally radical artistic methods.
Feb 13, 2023 / Books & the Arts / Shaj Mathew
The Anxious Influences of Netflix’s “White Noise” The Anxious Influences of Netflix’s “White Noise”
What has Noah Baumbach wrought in his adaptation of the 1985 postmodern novel?
Jan 25, 2023 / Books & the Arts / Vikram Murthi
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
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
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
Nell Zink’s California Nell Zink’s California
There is Hollywood, there are lights, but only the rich are allowed to enjoy them.
Dec 13, 2022 / Books & the Arts / Alana Pockros
How Sister Souljah Went From Radical Activist to Scapegoat to Blockbuster Novelist How Sister Souljah Went From Radical Activist to Scapegoat to Blockbuster Novelist
After Bill Clinton used her to catapult himself to the presidency, the activist Souljah was sidelined. But the novelist Souljah continued to produce work that spoke to millions.
Dec 13, 2022 / Feature / Dani McClain