The Monthly Digest: December 2019

In November LARB reaffirmed its commitment to covering literature from every corner of the world. The pieces below dive deeply into the work of Nobel laureates Naguib Mahfouz, Isaac Bashevis Singer, and Olga Tokarczuk; deconstruct the myths surrounding Vasily Grossman and the Soviet literary milieu in which he worked; examine the political implications of Jean-Patrick Manchette’s noirs and Arthur Koestler’s classic novel Darkness at Noon; and offer new perspectives on the legacy of Lafcadio Hearn. For an answer to I. B. Singer’s question — “Who Needs Literature?” — watch this space. — LARB Editorial

Naguib Mahfouz, Storyteller
What “The Arabian Nights” has to teach us about the compassion — and violence — of stories.
Hilal IslerNov 29, 2019
- Around the World
- Fiction
The Durassian Mysteries: On Marguerite Duras’s “Me & Other Writing”
Natasha Boyd reviews Marguerite Duras’s “Me & Other Writing,” out now from Dorothy, a publishing project.
Natasha BoydNov 29, 2019
- Around the World
- Memoir & Essay
Re-Seeing the Present: On Monique Truong’s “The Sweetest Fruits”
Rei Magosaki reviews Monique Truong’s new novel, “The Sweetest Fruits,” about the lives of the women in Lafcadio Hearn’s life.
Rei MagosakiNov 25, 2019
- Fiction
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.
Nathan Scott McNamaraNov 23, 2019
- Around the World
- Fiction
“How the Hell Did It All Come to This?”: The Political Noirs of Jean-Patrick Manchette
Tom Roberge peers into the dark world of French noir author Jean-Patrick Manchette.
Tom RobergeNov 22, 2019
More Norwegian Family Scandal: A Conversation with Vigdis Hjorth
Hannah Williams talks with Vigdis Hjorth about her novel, “Will and Testament,” out now from Verso Fiction in a translation by Charlotte Barslund.
Hannah WilliamsNov 21, 2019
- Fiction
- Memoir & Essay
“Logic Alone, All Love Laid by”: Returning to Arthur Koestler’s “Darkness at Noon”
Maya Chhabra plunges into Philip Boehm’s new translation of the original version of “Darkness at Noon” by Arthur Koestler.
Maya ChhabraNov 18, 2019
Meat Is Murder: On Olga Tokarczuk’s “Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead”
Stephanie Sy-Quia reads the polemical and blackly humorous “Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead” by celebrated Polish novelist Olga Tokarczuk.
Stephanie Sy-QuiaNov 15, 2019
- Around the World
- Fiction
An Exercise in Redemption: On Deirdre Bair’s “Parisian Lives”
In her new memoir, Deirdre Bair defends her biographical research and writing.
Sophie Madeline DessNov 14, 2019
Vasily Grossman: Myths and Counter-Myths
Robert Chandler and Yury Bit-Yunan demythologize the life of Vasily Grossman.
Robert Chandler, Yury Bit-YunanNov 13, 2019
- Around the World
- History
Lonely White Men: On Michel Houellebecq’s “Serotonin”
Louis Betty reacts to “Serotonin” by Michel Houellebecq, translated from the French by Shaun Whiteside.
Louis BettyNov 12, 2019
- Around the World
- Fiction
Who Needs Literature?
LARB presents an essay by Isaac Bashevis Singer, translated from the Yiddish by David Stromberg.
Isaac Bashevis SingerNov 11, 2019
- Around the World
- Literary Criticism
Isaac Bashevis Singer: Writer and Critic
David Stromberg considers the long-neglected critical writings of Isaac Bashevis Singer.
David StrombergNov 11, 2019
Exhuming Lafcadio Hearn
Jeff Kingston looks at three new books by and on the extraordinary Lafcadio Hearn.
Jeff KingstonNov 5, 2019
- Around the World
- Fiction
"Just Lucky": An Interview with Gore Vidal
Jon WienerNov 6, 2012