The Invention of Close Reading The Invention of Close Reading
By transforming quotations into evidence, close reading served as way to turn postwar criticism into a specialized knowledge. But what if we treated it more as an art form?
May 12, 2025 / Books & the Arts / Dan Sinykin
Sigrid Nunez On and Off the Big Screen Sigrid Nunez On and Off the Big Screen
Two new films—Pedro Almodóvar’s The Room Next Door and Scott McGehee and David Siegel’s The Friend—attempt to adapt her work. Do they succeed?
Apr 9, 2025 / Books & the Arts / Sarah Chihaya
Zora Neale Hurston’s Lost Roman Epic Zora Neale Hurston’s Lost Roman Epic
In The Life of Herod the Great, we get a novel full of intrigue, betrayal, and revolution.
Apr 9, 2025 / Books & the Arts / Edna Bonhomme
What Caused the Irish Famine? What Caused the Irish Famine?
A new book offers a comprehensive and heartbreaking account of the most terrible catastrophe to befall Ireland in the modern era.
Apr 8, 2025 / Books & the Arts / John Banville
The Rebellions of Murray Kempton The Rebellions of Murray Kempton
One of his generation’s most prolific journalists, Kempton never turned a blind eye to the inequalities all around him.
Apr 8, 2025 / Books & the Arts / Vivian Gornick
Agnes Callard and the Examined Life Agnes Callard and the Examined Life
In her new book, Callard makes the case that we should all live more philosophically but where does politics fit in?
Apr 8, 2025 / Books & the Arts / Olúfémi O. Táíwò
The Making of a Cold War Spy The Making of a Cold War Spy
The life and work of Frank Wisner, one of the CIA’s founding officers, offers us a portrait of American intelligence’s excesses.
Mar 11, 2025 / Books & the Arts / Adam Hochschild
The Cruel World According to Stephen Miller The Cruel World According to Stephen Miller
How did he become the Trump era’s architect of hate?
Mar 10, 2025 / Books & the Arts / David Klion
Henri Bergson’s States of Change Henri Bergson’s States of Change
Why did one of the early 20th century’s most famous philosophers go out of fashion?
Feb 11, 2025 / Books & the Arts / John Banville
The Making and Remaking of Karl Marx’s “Capital” The Making and Remaking of Karl Marx’s “Capital”
In the first English translation in half a century, Paul Reitter and Paul North distill the essence of the Marxist masterpiece by going back to basics.
Feb 10, 2025 / Books & the Arts / Alyssa Battistoni