Norman Erikson Pasaribu’s Portrait of Gay Indonesia Norman Erikson Pasaribu’s Portrait of Gay Indonesia
In, Happy Stories, Mostly, a collection of short stories, the complexities of queer life in the Southeast Asian country come into focus.
Dec 28, 2023 / Books & the Arts / Bryony Lau
Whose “It’s a Wonderful Life” Is It Anyway? Whose “It’s a Wonderful Life” Is It Anyway?
How everybody’s favorite Christmas movie about the perils of monopoly capitalism became a victim of monopoly capitalism.
Dec 25, 2023 / Ray Nowosielski and David Cassidy
Reading “Mumbo Jumbo” in the Post-Covid Age Reading “Mumbo Jumbo”" "in the Post-Covid Age
Ishmael Reed's novel depicts an American government dedicated to public health as long as its efforts keep hierarchy and the status quo in place.
Dec 20, 2023 / Books & the Arts / Melvin Backman
A Modern-Day Fable for the Tenant Class A Modern-Day Fable for the Tenant Class
Hilary Leichter’s fiction examines contemporary crises like work and inequality through the lens of magical realism. Her latest novel, Terrace Story, is a parable about the family...
Nov 8, 2023 / Books & the Arts / Grace Byron
Surreal Tales From Erdoğan’s Turkey Surreal Tales From Erdoğan’s Turkey
In Kenan Orhan's collection I Am My Country, he examines a pervasive sense of estrangement in contemporary Turkish life for both citizens and exiles.
Nov 7, 2023 / Books & the Arts / Kaya Genç
The Enigmatic Science Fiction of Djuna The Enigmatic Science Fiction of Djuna
The radical visions of South Korea’s mononymous, pseudonymous, and officially anonymous sci-fi novelist and film critic.
Oct 30, 2023 / Books & the Arts / E. Tammy Kim
Jonathan Lethem Returns to the Scene of the Crime Jonathan Lethem Returns to the Scene of the Crime
In his new novel, the bard of Boerum Hill interrogates the brutal truths of gentrification.
Oct 27, 2023 / Ross Barkan
In Brazil, a Best-Selling Novel Confronts the Brutal Afterlife of Slavery In Brazil, a Best-Selling Novel Confronts the Brutal Afterlife of Slavery
Crooked Plow made Itamar Vieira Junior an essential voice in Brazilian letters.
Oct 25, 2023 / Books & the Arts / Jimin Kang
The Ironist and the Exhibitionist: On Osamu Dazai The Ironist and the Exhibitionist: On Osamu Dazai
The Japanese novelist’s dark-hearted comedies are at once unhinged and brilliant.
Oct 24, 2023 / Books & the Arts / Paul Franz
The Haunting of the Publishing House The Haunting of the Publishing House
The racism and prejudice of the industry has been the subject of recent novels. In R.F. Kuang's Yellowface, that plot becomes a horror story.
Oct 13, 2023 / Books & the Arts / Laura B. McGrath