The Whole Human Mess: On Saul Bellow The Whole Human Mess: On Saul Bellow
Drollery, mordancy, tenderness and soul talk: Saul Bellow's letters are a Saul Bellow novel!
Nov 23, 2010 / Books & the Arts / William Deresiewicz
Texts for Nothing? On Tom McCarthy Texts for Nothing? On Tom McCarthy
With C, Tom McCarthy asks us to see fiction as a crafty and adventurous playmate unafraid of its mortality.
Nov 4, 2010 / Books & the Arts / Ben Ehrenreich
Shelf Life Shelf Life
Jonathan Franzen's Freedom, Robert Darnton's Poetry and the Police, Jeremy Harding's Mother Country
Oct 27, 2010 / Books & the Arts / John Palattella
The Impasse: On Martin Solares The Impasse: On Martin Solares
The Black Minutes, a nuanced neo-noir, conveys how narco-violence has leached the Mexican justice system of meaning.
Oct 27, 2010 / Books & the Arts / Natasha Wimmer
A Passionate Reader: On David Markson A Passionate Reader: On David Markson
Remembering David Markson (1927–2010), whose playful novels pushed storytelling to the edge of understanding.
Oct 13, 2010 / Books & the Arts / Joanna Scott
Love and Hardship: On Gary Shteyngart Love and Hardship: On Gary Shteyngart
Is Super Sad True Love Story the kind of novel Gary Shteyngart might previously have held in contempt?
Oct 13, 2010 / Books & the Arts / Aaron Thier
A Wink and a Con: On W.L. Gresham A Wink and a Con: On W.L. Gresham
In Nightmare Alley, whoever you are, you can always depend on the cruelty of strangers.
Sep 15, 2010 / Books & the Arts / Charles Taylor
Reverse Psychology: On Ernst Weiss Reverse Psychology: On Ernst Weiss
In Georg Letham, Ernst Weiss turned to psychoanalysis to tap an atmosphere of unknown terror and mystery.
Sep 1, 2010 / Books & the Arts / Elias Altman
No Name or Too Many? On Javier Marías No Name or Too Many? On Javier Marías
In Javier Marías's trilogy Your Face Tomorrow, the self is composed of borrowed languages and an uncertain voice.
Aug 25, 2010 / Books & the Arts / William Deresiewicz
The High Wire The High Wire
In the stories of Deborah Eisenberg, life keeps piling up, unsolved and unsolvable.
Jul 28, 2010 / Books & the Arts / Peter C. Baker