Maria Reva’s Mordant and Profound Fiction Maria Reva’s Mordant and Profound Fiction
In her short story collection, Good Citizens Need Not Fear, Reva documents the chaos, joy, and serendipity of life before and after the fall of the Soviet Union.
Jun 29, 2020 / Books & the Arts / Jennifer Wilson
Gimmicks Might Be the Key to Understanding Capitalism Gimmicks Might Be the Key to Understanding Capitalism
Sianne Ngai’s Theory of the Gimmick continues her project of looking at how aesthetic categories shape labor, value, and everyday experience.
Jun 11, 2020 / Q&A / Jennifer Wilson
The Long Shadow of Cultural Anthropology The Long Shadow of Cultural Anthropology
Franz Boas, Margaret Mead, and their circle sought to show the fallacy of biological and physical difference, but they also created new forms of categorization that reinforced thei...
May 5, 2020 / Books & the Arts / Jennifer Wilson
Lauren Wilkinson’s Novel of Race, Empire, and Espionage Lauren Wilkinson’s Novel of Race, Empire, and Espionage
American Spy examines the intersections between spycraft and living in America as a black person.
Jan 20, 2020 / Books & the Arts / Jennifer Wilson
Next Year the Nobel Committee for Literature Needs to Look Beyond Europe’s Borders Next Year the Nobel Committee for Literature Needs to Look Beyond Europe’s Borders
Despite the differences between Olga Tokarczuk and Peter Handke, they both reflect a divided Europe as viewed only from within its borders.
Oct 14, 2019 / Jennifer Wilson
What Inspired ‘Lolita’? What Inspired ‘Lolita’?
Sarah Weinman’s new book traces the true crime that influenced Nabokov and the writing of his novel.
Sep 10, 2019 / Books & the Arts / Jennifer Wilson
Black People Don’t Need Murals To Remember Injustice Black People Don’t Need Murals To Remember Injustice
Critics of a San Francisco school’s decision to paint over art forget that people of color have a bright future, not just a tragic past.
Jul 9, 2019 / Jennifer Wilson
Susan Orlean’s Tale of Arson and Unfulfilled Dreams Susan Orlean’s Tale of Arson and Unfulfilled Dreams
The Library Book is more than a work of true crime; it is a study of Los Angeles and the burning ambition of the people who flock to it.
Mar 6, 2019 / Books & the Arts / Jennifer Wilson
The World of ‘Crime and Punishment’ The World of ‘Crime and Punishment’
A new translation captures the painful backdrop of Dostoyevsky’s classic: the poverty, crime, and violence that shaped much of everyday life in 19th-century St. Petersburg.
Mar 22, 2018 / Books & the Arts / Jennifer Wilson