Fiction

Illustration by Lily Qian.

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

Writer Jonathan Lethem poses for a photo against a gray background

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

A scene from the day Princess Isabel abolished slavery in Brazil, 1888.

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

Osamu Dazai, 1924.

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 London offices of Penguin Random House.

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

The Ghosts of Lorrie Moore

The Ghosts of Lorrie Moore The Ghosts of Lorrie Moore

An enigmatic new novel retells a disorienting story about death, love, the Civil War, and everything in-between. 

Oct 3, 2023 / Books & the Arts / Erin Somers

Teju Cole and the Forking Paths of Autofiction

Teju Cole and the Forking Paths of Autofiction Teju Cole and the Forking Paths of Autofiction

Books & the Arts / October 2, 2023 A Multitude of Selves Teju Cole and the forking paths of autofiction. Teju Cole and the Forking Paths of Autofiction In Tremor, the novel…

Oct 2, 2023 / Books & the Arts / Tope Folarin

Lydia Davis, 2018.

Why You Can’t Buy Lydia Davis’s New Book on Amazon Why You Can’t Buy Lydia Davis’s New Book on Amazon

Our Strangers is more than a beguiling collection of short fiction: It represents a stand against what might be killing the book industry.

Sep 28, 2023 / Books & the Arts / Lily Meyer

A businessman hitchhiking at a gas station in Oregon, 1973.

Can We Imagine Life Without Oil? Can We Imagine Life Without Oil?

Mobility, a novel by Lydia Kiesling, looks at the way fossil fuels defines life in public and private, shaping the very way we tell stories.

Sep 26, 2023 / Books & the Arts / Jess Bergman

James Purdy, 1957.

James Purdy’s Chronicles of Outsiderdom James Purdy’s Chronicles of Outsiderdom

His fiction, which ranged from slapstick humor to sheer terror, fixated on the lives of those society discarded.

Sep 19, 2023 / Books & the Arts / John Lingan

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