Books & the Arts

The Worlds of Noam Chomsky The Worlds of Noam Chomsky
If ordinary Americans know one critic of the American Empire, it’s almost certainly Chomsky.
Fady Joudah’s Poetry of Dislocation Fady Joudah’s Poetry of Dislocation
In his new book of poetry, […], the poet, translator, and ER doctor explores Palestinians’ experiences of exile and displacement—and the difficulty of healing amid the ongoing Nak…
Olga Tokarczuk’s New Rules for Realism Olga Tokarczuk’s New Rules for Realism
In The Empusium, the Polish novelist’s first novel since her Nobel, she pays homage to Thomas Mann in order to redraw the boundaries of the realist novel.
What Do We Want From Bob Dylan’s Story? What Do We Want From Bob Dylan’s Story?
In James Mangold’s film A Complete Unknown, we get a cautious and reverent story of a musician who has always sought to transcend the limits imposed upon him.
From the Magazine

The Discontents of Michel Houellebecq The Discontents of Michel Houellebecq
What happened to the French novelist?

The Brutalist and the Hidden Work of Architecture “The Brutalist” and the Hidden Work of Architecture
A film about survival, creativity, the hypocrisies of high art, The Brutalist tells a story about an architect who does not exploit and manipulate others to achieve his grand visi…

What Happened to the Democratic Party? What Happened to the Democratic Party?
The squalid state of our present political institutions points to a failure of not just individuals but the system as a whole.
Literary Criticism

Danzy Senna’s Acerbic Satires of Art and Money Danzy Senna’s Acerbic Satires of Art and Money
Having gnawed away at literary and political conventions from within their hallowed forms, Senna has now set her eyes on Hollywood.

The Magic of Reading Bernard Malamud The Magic of Reading Bernard Malamud
His work, unlike that of Bellow or Roth, focused on the lives of often impoverished Jews in Brooklyn and the Bronx and bestowed on them a literary magic.

Isabella Hammad and the Politics of Recognition Isabella Hammad and the Politics of Recognition
In her capacious book of criticism, Recognizing the Stranger, Isabella Hammad asks: “How large is the gulf between us?”
History & Politics

The Intractable Puzzle of Growth The Intractable Puzzle of Growth
For more than a century, the key measure of a healthy economy has been its capacity to grow and yet if production and consumption continues to expand at their current rate we migh…

The Radical Past and Future of Debt Resistance The Radical Past and Future of Debt Resistance
The deep roots of debt relief activism in the United States.

The Impossible Story of Communism The Impossible Story of Communism
How do you tell the history of a global movement in all its hope and contradiction?
Art & Architecture

The Cosmopolitan Modernism of the Harlem Renaissance The Cosmopolitan Modernism of the Harlem Renaissance
A new exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art explores the world-spanning art of the Harlem Renaissance.

Rain and Mountains Rain and Mountains
Pages from a novelist’s notebook.

What’s the Deal With Manhattan’s Pencil-Thin High Rises? What’s the Deal With Manhattan’s Pencil-Thin High Rises?
A walk along 57th Street.
Film & Television

The Empty Promise of “Megalopolis” The Empty Promise of “Megalopolis”
Francis Ford Coppola’s long-awaited magnum opus is a flop.

“Anora,” an American Fantasia “Anora,” an American Fantasia
In Sean Baker’s tragicomic film of a sex worker’s brush with wealth, he evokes auteurs of yore, who focused on the social realities of the country’s outcasts.

The Apprenticeship of Donald Trump The Apprenticeship of Donald Trump
A new film examines Trump’s formative years under the tutelage of Roy Cohn.
Latest in Books & the Arts

A Snapshot of a Mother’s Life in Gaza Under Occupation A Snapshot of a Mother’s Life in Gaza Under Occupation
Khawla Ibraheem’s play Knock on the Roof examines how the Israeli military terrorizes Palestinians in their most intimate and private spaces: their homes.
Feb 6, 2025 / Books & the Arts / Ahmed Moor

Vigdis Hjorth and the Novel of Ugly Love Vigdis Hjorth and the Novel of Ugly Love
In If Only, the Norwegian novelist distills a story of romance into all its private discomfort and claustrophobia. Its intense ambivalence in regards to love feels truer to life. …
Feb 4, 2025 / Books & the Arts / David Schurman Wallace

The Dubious Return of the Brutalists The Dubious Return of the Brutalists
Why the stark 20th-century architectural style is back in vogue.
Feb 3, 2025 / Books & the Arts / Daniel Brook

The Art of Reading Like a Translator The Art of Reading Like a Translator
In The Philosophy of Translation, Damion Searls investigates the essential differences—and similarities—between the task of the translator and of the writer.
Jan 30, 2025 / Books & the Arts / Lily Meyer

The Reckless Creation of Whiteness The Reckless Creation of Whiteness
In The Unseen Truth, Sarah Lewis examines how an erroneous 18th-century story about the “Caucasian race” led to a centuries of prejudice and misapprehension.
Jan 29, 2025 / Books & the Arts / Erin L. Thompson

The Polymath of Pittsburgh The Polymath of Pittsburgh
Garielle Lutz is one of America’s great writers. Why has her literary genius gone unnoticed?
Jan 28, 2025 / Books & the Arts / Daniel Kolitz