Fiction

“Harlem WPA Street Dance,” by Elizabeth Olds, ca.1935–43.

Reading “Mumbo Jumbo” in the Post-Covid Age Reading “Mumbo Jumbo”" "in the Post-Covid Age

Ishmael Reed's novel depicts an American government dedicated to public health as long as its efforts keep hierarchy and the status quo in place.

Dec 20, 2023 / Books & the Arts / Melvin Backman

A New York City apartment building.

A Modern-Day Fable for the Tenant Class A Modern-Day Fable for the Tenant Class

Hilary Leichter’s fiction examines contemporary crises like work and inequality through the lens of magical realism. Her latest novel, Terrace Story, is a parable about the family...

Nov 8, 2023 / Books & the Arts / Grace Byron

Surreal Tales From Erdoğan’s Turkey

Surreal Tales From Erdoğan’s Turkey Surreal Tales From Erdoğan’s Turkey

In Kenan Orhan's collection I Am My Country, he examines a pervasive sense of estrangement in contemporary Turkish life for both citizens and exiles.

Nov 7, 2023 / Books & the Arts / Kaya Genç

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 smallest book in the world is on display at the Frankfurt Book Fair, 1961.

What Was Literary Fiction? What Was Literary Fiction?

The strangely short history of a publishing niche.

Oct 10, 2023 / Books & the Arts / Dan Sinykin

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

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