Fiction

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

Teju Cole and the Forking Paths of Autofiction

Teju Cole and the Forking Paths of Autofiction Teju Cole and the Forking Paths of Autofiction

Books & the Arts / October 2, 2023 A Multitude of Selves Teju Cole and the forking paths of autofiction. Teju Cole and the Forking Paths of Autofiction In Tremor, the novel…

Oct 2, 2023 / Books & the Arts / Tope Folarin

Lydia Davis, 2018.

Why You Can’t Buy Lydia Davis’s New Book on Amazon Why You Can’t Buy Lydia Davis’s New Book on Amazon

Our Strangers is more than a beguiling collection of short fiction: It represents a stand against what might be killing the book industry.

Sep 28, 2023 / Books & the Arts / Lily Meyer

A businessman hitchhiking at a gas station in Oregon, 1973.

Can We Imagine Life Without Oil? Can We Imagine Life Without Oil?

Mobility, a novel by Lydia Kiesling, looks at the way fossil fuels defines life in public and private, shaping the very way we tell stories.

Sep 26, 2023 / Books & the Arts / Jess Bergman

James Purdy, 1957.

James Purdy’s Chronicles of Outsiderdom James Purdy’s Chronicles of Outsiderdom

His fiction, which ranged from slapstick humor to sheer terror, fixated on the lives of those society discarded.

Sep 19, 2023 / Books & the Arts / John Lingan

Copyright © 2023 Chantal Montellier

Chantal Montellier’s Prescient Dystopias Chantal Montellier’s Prescient Dystopias

A new volume collects the pioneering French comic artist's work.

Sep 18, 2023 / Books & the Arts / Laila Lalami

A crime scene at Colorado College, 2004.

What Can True Crime Offer Us? What Can True Crime Offer Us?

Rebecca Makkai’s I Have Some Questions for You tries to understand popular culture's fixation on two lurid things: podcasts and murders.

Sep 13, 2023 / Books & the Arts / Bekah Waalkes

Nora Ephron’s Divorce Plot

Nora Ephron’s Divorce Plot Nora Ephron’s Divorce Plot

Her only novel, "Heartburn," looked beyond the love story to uncover the limits of bourgeoisie life and marriage itself.

Aug 28, 2023 / Books & the Arts / Dilara O’Neil

The “Voyager” stroboscopic headsets, an early VR device, 1991.

The First Great Novel About Virtual Reality? The First Great Novel About Virtual Reality?

Colin Winnette’s disorienting Users examines the limits of morality and imagination as they exist online and in video games.

Aug 16, 2023 / Books & the Arts / Lily Meyer

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