The Extraordinary Stories of Claribel Alegría The Extraordinary Stories of Claribel Alegría
The spirit of their romance lies in the fact that they are true.
Feb 5, 2018 / Chuck Wachtel
A Bell With a Distant Ring A Bell With a Distant Ring
There is much to learn from Yasunari Kawabata’s final novel, even as—especially as—it gives rise to more questions than answers.
Jan 29, 2018 / Larissa Pham
Between the News and a Prayer Between the News and a Prayer
Danez Smith’s poetry bends language to hope for the possibility of a better world.
Nov 15, 2017 / David B. Hobbs
What Was It Like to Be Ernest Hemingway? What Was It Like to Be Ernest Hemingway?
The world of the Hemingways rattled with frequent gunfire.
Oct 26, 2017 / Books & the Arts / John Banville
Carmen Maria Machado’s Earnest Vision Carmen Maria Machado’s Earnest Vision
Her new fiction collection reminds us that a new, more inclusive world is possible.
Oct 6, 2017 / Larissa Pham
The Poetics of Jazz The Poetics of Jazz
A new book presents an alternative aesthetic history of jazz—and is also a challenge to all music critics.
Jul 20, 2017 / David B. Hobbs
Percival Everett’s Abstract Art Percival Everett’s Abstract Art
His new novel, So Much Blue, is a meditation on seeing and abstraction, and it might be key for recognizing a new form of literary social critique.
Jun 26, 2017 / Paul Devlin
Mary Gaitskill Remains Open to Opposition Mary Gaitskill Remains Open to Opposition
The closest thing we get to a precept in Somebody with a Little Hammer is that we should all try to learn to think for ourselves—and, even then, things can go wrong.
Jun 19, 2017 / Larissa Pham
Hwang Jungeun’s Noisy, Crowded Space Hwang Jungeun’s Noisy, Crowded Space
It’s rare for a novel to be so dense in social meaning, and yet so lightly composed.
Apr 14, 2017 / E. Tammy Kim
Caught Between Modernity and Tradition Caught Between Modernity and Tradition
With sympathy and ruthlessness, U.R. Ananthamurthy’s novel Samskara gives shape to the mutinies that raged within mid-century India.
Mar 20, 2017 / Ratik Asokan