Books & the Arts

The Lost Worlds of Anton Shammas’s “Arabesques”

A new translation of the 1988 novel documents not only the loss and exile created by the Nakba but also the loss and exile created by occupation.

Raja Shehadeh

Kelly Reichardt’s Cinema of Class Conflict

In her latest film, Showing Up, she continues a career-long project of examining the bitter resentments produced by inequality. 

Alex Kong

Katherine Dunn’s Counterculture Parables

Dunn’s books are often described as cult classics, which fits not only in the sense that they inspire devotion but also in the sense that cults of personality always appear in them.

Nora Caplan-Bricker

From the Magazine

Alasdair MacIntyre and Richard Rorty’s Lifelong Argument

Alasdair MacIntyre and Richard Rorty’s Lifelong Argument

While in many ways their careers ran parallel to each other, the two philosophers disagreed about whether liberalism could—and should—be saved.

George Scialabba
Emma Cline’s Novel of Pool Parties and Class Conflict

Emma Cline’s Novel of Pool Parties and Class Conflict

Full of suspense and subterfuge, The Guest turns a story about a summer on Long Island into a thriller about what it takes to survive.

Jennifer Wilson
C.L.R. James, Man of Paradox

C.L.R. James, Man of Paradox

A new biography examines the revolutionary possibilities and radical contradictions at the heart of James’s life and ideas.

Gerald Horne

Literary Criticism

Janet Malcolm.

Janet Malcolm, Reluctant Memoirist

Why was one of the most gifted nonfiction writers of her generation so uncomfortable writing about herself?

Vivian Gornick
The Defiance of Cormac McCarthy’s Late Style

The Defiance of Cormac McCarthy’s Late Style

In Stella Maris and The Passenger, McCarthy invites us to consider hopelessness not just to give us hope but to compel us to make use of it.

Nicolás Medina Mora
The Disappearing Acts of Haruki Murakami

The Disappearing Acts of Haruki Murakami

In his new book, the novelist examines what it takes to become a great writer.

Rumaan Alam

B&A Newsletter

Best of Books & the Arts

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Dance

The Costs and Contradictions of Ballet

The Costs and Contradictions of Ballet

Alice Robb’s Don’t Think, Dear and Ellen O’Connell Whittet’s What You Become in Flight explore both the liberating sense of art and the domineering logic of ballet.
Glory Liu

In December of 2017, a #MeToo scandal rocked the ballet world. Peter Martins, the artistic director of New York City Ballet, stepped down from his position amid allegations of sexual harassment and physical abuse from within the company. The accusations included incidents that dated back to early in his tenure… Continue Reading >

History & Politics

A draughtsman, circa 1940.

What’s the Matter With Contemporary Architecture?

In his new book, Reinier de Graaf attempts to work out why his profession appears to be at an impasse.

Marianela D’Aprile
The Liberal Discontents of Francis Fukuyama

The Liberal Discontents of Francis Fukuyama

“The End of History?” was more than just commentary; it was an announcement of victory. And yet, nearly a quarter-century later, its author remains unsure if liberalism truly won.

Daniel Bessner
The Palo Alto System

The Palo Alto System

Malcolm Harris’s new history of his hometown dispenses with the sentimental lore and examines how it has long been the seedbed for exploitation, chaos, and ecological degradation.

Jonathan Lethem

Television and Films

Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey in “The Last of Us.”

What “The Last of Us” Could Never Do

The HBO series exposed all the limits of video game adaptations.

Erin Schwartz
The Biting Workplace Comedy of “Party Down”

The Biting Workplace Comedy of “Party Down”

Returning over a decade after it was originally canceled, the cult series remains a potent satire of meritocracy and Los Angeles.

Vikram Murthi
Joaquin Phoenix in “Beau Is Afraid.”

Is There Anything Below the Surface in “Beau Is Afraid”?

When mothers and dreams are involved, it is hard not to think of Freud. But in Ari Aster’s latest, very little is left to the imagination.

Jorge Cotte

History

Eugene Debs at the US Penitentiary in Atlanta

The Crusade Against Civil Liberties During World War I

Adam Hochschild’s latest book, American Midnight, examines a dark era in US history in which Woodrow Wilson and his administration went to war at home as well as abroad. 
Eric Foner

With the exception of the Second World War, every military conflict in which the United States has taken part has generated an anti-war movement. During the American Revolution, numerous Loyalists preferred British rule to a war for independence. New Englanders opposed the War of 1812; most Whigs denounced the Mexican-American… Continue Reading >

Poems

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