The Shock of the Old The Shock of the Old
These remarks introduced a centennial tribute to Isaac Bashevis Singer in October at the 92nd Street Y in New York.
Nov 24, 2004 / Books & the Arts / Morris Dickstein
The Good Girl The Good Girl
In the past few decades, Russell Banks has established himself as one of America's most important living writers, one of a handful with the daring and the talent to plumb our his...
Nov 24, 2004 / Books & the Arts / Deborah Scroggins
Imitation of Life Imitation of Life
To return to Chekhov in this cultural moment makes you feel as if you were experiencing spring in Russia.
Nov 24, 2004 / Books & the Arts / Lee Siegel
The Counter-Life The Counter-Life
Philip Roth is a miracle of modern medicine.
Nov 4, 2004 / Books & the Arts / James Wolcott
About Henry About Henry
Henry James is not a name that springs to mind when we think of adventure stories, prose epics or historical fiction.
Oct 14, 2004 / Books & the Arts / Brenda Wineapple
This Canadian Life This Canadian Life
The reviewer's galley of Natasha, David Bezmozgis's short-story collection about a Russian émigré family in Toronto, begins with words not from the writer but the p...
Sep 30, 2004 / Books & the Arts / D.T. Max
Black American in Paris Black American in Paris
In the spring of 1960, the year of his death, the novelist Richard Wright wrote from Paris to his friend and Dutch translator Margrit de Sablonière:
Sep 9, 2004 / Books & the Arts / James Campbell
Laughter in the Dark Laughter in the Dark
Stalin has had a rough time at the hands of Russian novelists in recent years.
Jul 15, 2004 / Books & the Arts / Boris Fishman
What Are They Reading? What Are They Reading?
It's the first three chapters of Yuri Olesha's Envy that really bite, that really get across the impotent sting of the emotion.
Jul 1, 2004 / Books & the Arts / Nicholas Jahr
Scenes From a Marriage Scenes From a Marriage
Conventional wisdom suggests Israelis and Palestinians are bitter enemies: two sides mired in a century-long conflict marked by violence, hatred and an unbounded reservoir of bru...
Jun 17, 2004 / Books & the Arts / Jonathan Shainin