LARB’s Best: Fiction

The nine pieces below were selected by Lisa Teasley, the brilliant Los Angeles author, painter, and all-around creative powerhouse whom we were lucky to call our Fiction Editor for half a decade. Lisa, now an Editor-at-Large, leaves behind her a long legacy of freethinking, wide-ranging, and always, in the broadest possible sense, inclusive reviews, essays, and interviews — a legacy that we will carry forward into the next decade. We will rely on the editorial model she has set for us, and will look forward, always, to seeing more of her own brilliant work in every genre.

— LARB Editorial

This digest is part of our year-round celebration of our 10th anniversary. To celebrate with us, please visit our anniversary page!

Outside Language and Power: The Mastery of Arundhati Roy’s “The Ministry of Utmost Happiness”
Anita Felicelli on Arundhati Roy's long-awaited second novel.
Jun 21, 2017
An Architect of Dreams: On Ngugi wa Thiong’o’s “Devil on the Cross”
Tope Folarin looks at Ngugi wa Thiong'o's "Devil on the Cross," which is being reissued this month by Penguin.
Apr 3, 2017
Failed Utopias: On Johannes Anyuru’s “They Will Drown in Their Mothers’ Tears”
Nathan Scott McNamara reviews Johannes Anyuru's "They Will Drown in Their Mothers’ Tears," translated by Saskia Vogel.
Nov 23, 2019
Writing Isn’t a Sacred Activity, It Is an Ordinary Activity: A Conversation with Karl Ove Knausgaard
Bob Blaisdell talks with writer Karl Ove Knausgaard.
Jan 8, 2021
Afrofuturism, Africanfuturism, and the Language of Black Speculative Literature
Hope Wabuke considers the future of Afrofuturism and Africanfuturism.
Aug 27, 2020
The Ones We Know: The Malaysian Dream in Tash Aw’s “We, the Survivors”
Jaymee Goh considers “We, the Survivors,” a new novel from Tash Aw.
Feb 20, 2020
A Theme on Love: “Enigma Variations”
Hooman Majd finds the words to express his love for André Aciman's "Enigma Variations."
Jan 3, 2017
Queer Nigerians Rewrite the Body
Erik Gleibermann on the emerging generation of LGBT Nigerian writers.
Jan 6, 2020
Door Open for Beauty: On Deborah Tobola’s “Hummingbird in Underworld: Teaching in a Men’s Prison, a Memoir”
Irina Dumitrescu reflects on Deborah Tobola’s “Hummingbird in Underworld: Teaching in a Men’s Prison, a Memoir.”
Aug 2, 2019