An Argentinian Novelist, Out of Oblivion An Argentinian Novelist, Out of Oblivion
Exile, failure, the dread of erasure: Antonio Di Benedetto seems to have transmuted all his life experiences into his novel Zama, which has finally been translated into English.
Aug 23, 2016 / Ratik Asokan
Leaving Home to Go Home Leaving Home to Go Home
Yaa Gyasi’s ideas about fiction are suffused with her lifelong attention to the fluctuating shadows that race casts on American life.
Aug 12, 2016 / Erin Vanderhoof
What Breeds in ‘Standing Water’ What Breeds in ‘Standing Water’
Eleanor Chai’s poems require delving below the surface of each compact, enjambment-packed stanza, forcing the reader through a process of discovery not unlike Chai’s own origin sto...
Jul 29, 2016 / Larissa Pham
Jesse Ball’s Extreme Minimalism Jesse Ball’s Extreme Minimalism
His settings are dark, sketchy, and unrealistic by dint of what’s held back.
Jul 28, 2016 / Sasha Chapin
The Partisan Reviewer The Partisan Reviewer
In two recent essay collections, Tim Parks explores why we bother with reading and writing books.
Jul 21, 2016 / Books & the Arts / Becca Rothfeld
What Rebecca Schiff Knows What Rebecca Schiff Knows
Her most obvious forebear in minimalist stories is Lydia Davis. But Schiff is certainly charting her own path.
Jun 17, 2016 / Erin Vanderhoof
Stephen O’Connor Dreams of Thomas Jefferson Stephen O’Connor Dreams of Thomas Jefferson
Even as it condemns Jefferson for his immoral conduct, O’Connor’s novel still holds him up as a hero.
May 20, 2016 / Erin Vanderhoof
A Blues for Albert Murray A Blues for Albert Murray
His name was never household familiar. Yet his complex, mind-opening analysis of art and life remains as timely as ever—probably more so.
May 16, 2016 / Books & the Arts / Thomas Chatterton Williams
Don DeLillo’s American Dream Don DeLillo’s American Dream
His recent protagonists dream only of money, except perhaps for the technological advances that will allow them to go on acquiring it indefinitely.
May 11, 2016 / Books & the Arts / Jon Baskin
What Is It Good For? What Is It Good For?
In his new story collection, Luke Mogelson demonstrates that American soldiers fight for someone, and something, other than the reasons you hear.
Apr 29, 2016 / Alina Cohen