The Anxious Influences of Netflix’s “White Noise” The Anxious Influences of Netflix’s “White Noise”
What has Noah Baumbach wrought in his adaptation of the 1985 postmodern novel?
Jan 25, 2023 / Books & the Arts / Vikram Murthi
The Fragile and Complex Worlds of George Saunders The Fragile and Complex Worlds of George Saunders
In his short fiction, Saunders reminds us that when it comes to ethical dilemmas there are often no clean ways out.
Jan 9, 2023 / Books & the Arts / Erin Somers
The Butler Didn’t Do It! On Rian Johnson’s “Glass Onion” The Butler Didn’t Do It! On Rian Johnson’s “Glass Onion”
While Knives Out was a brilliant inversion of the class politics of an Agatha Christie whodunit, the sequel wants to have it both ways.
Dec 29, 2022 / Ethan Iverson
The Faith of Halldór Laxness The Faith of Halldór Laxness
Salka Valka, the first novel written after the Nobel Prize winner’s apparent loss of faith, betrays an ongoing religious aesthetic.
Dec 28, 2022 / Books & the Arts / Jack Hanson
Nell Zink’s California Nell Zink’s California
There is Hollywood, there are lights, but only the rich are allowed to enjoy them.
Dec 13, 2022 / Books & the Arts / Alana Pockros
How Sister Souljah Went From Radical Activist to Scapegoat to Blockbuster Novelist How Sister Souljah Went From Radical Activist to Scapegoat to Blockbuster Novelist
After Bill Clinton used her to catapult himself to the presidency, the activist Souljah was sidelined. But the novelist Souljah continued to produce work that spoke to millions.
Dec 13, 2022 / Feature / Dani McClain
A New Kind of Trans Poetics A New Kind of Trans Poetics
In A Queen in Bucks County, Kay Gabriel finds a connection between trans femininity and modernism as she documents one person's winding journey from suburb to city.
Dec 6, 2022 / Books & the Arts / McKenzie Wark
The Malaise, Mess, and Art of Black Millennial Womanhood The Malaise, Mess, and Art of Black Millennial Womanhood
Chantal V. Johnson's debut novel typifies an emerging genre in fiction, one that interrogates the intimate and creative life of Black cosmopolitan women.
Nov 23, 2022 / Books & the Arts / Marina Magloire
Inside the Dreams of Ling Ma Inside the Dreams of Ling Ma
The stories in her collection Bliss Montage tackle the troubles of the real world by transporting us to the realm between sleep and waking life.
Nov 22, 2022 / Books & the Arts / Jennifer Schaffer-Goddard
Michelle de Kretser’s Unsettled Australia Michelle de Kretser’s Unsettled Australia
Her novels examine how migration and globalization have changed the country's identity and relation to the rest of the world.
Nov 16, 2022 / Books & the Arts / Nawal Arjini