-
FictionOctober 18, 2021
Jonathan Franzen’s God
A multigenerational saga about a Midwestern family, Crossroads is like most of Franzen novels—with one exception: Every plotline leads to the big guy himself.
Rumaan Alam
-
FictionFebruary 8, 2021
Can the Novel Document the Present in Real Time?
Ali Smith’s Seasonal Quartet is an experiment in novel writing that closely tracks and analyzes the news as it happens.
Rumaan Alam
-
Autobiography and MemoirOctober 7, 2020
John Luther Adams’s Songs for a Vanished World
A conversation, conducted via satellite phone, with the legendary composer about his new memoir, Silences So Deep, and the music of his life.
Rumaan Alam
-
CultureApril 17, 2020
The Liberation of Fiona Apple
Her first album in eight years, Fetch the Bolt Cutters, is exquisite.
Rumaan Alam
-
The stakes are higher now than ever. Get The Nation in your inbox.
-
FictionOctober 29, 2019
Zadie Smith’s Turn to Short Fiction
In her first short story collection, the novelist and essayist offers us both cautionary tales and experimental riffs.
Rumaan Alam