Fiction

"Fiction is obliged to stick to possibilities. Truth isn't." — Mark Twain

Too Sweet to Be Sour: On Inman Majors’s “Penelope Lemon: Game On!”
Robert Stubblefield finds that “Penelope Lemon: Game On!” is “a stellar addition to Inman Majors’s growing body of Southern comic novels.”
Robert StubblefieldMay 17, 2019
- Fiction
Celestial Events: On Rachel Barenbaum’s “A Bend in the Stars”
Jean Hey follows the trajectories of “A Bend in the Stars,” a debut novel by Rachel Barenbaum.
Jean HeyMay 16, 2019
- Fiction
De-Melanization Procedure: A Conversation with Maurice Carlos Ruffin
Joselyn Takacs talks with writer Maurice Carlos Ruffin about his new novel, "We Cast a Shadow."
Joselyn TakacsMay 15, 2019
- Fiction
- SF
The Catalan Paradox, Part III: A Conversation with Peter Bush
A series of conversations on the state of Catalan literature.
Azareen Van der Vliet OloomiMay 15, 2019
- Around the World
- Fiction
Portrait of an Artist: On Catherine Cusset’s “Life of David Hockney: A Novel”
Geoff Nicholson looks at “Life of David Hockney: A Novel” by Catherine Cusset, translated by Teresa Lavender Fagan.
Geoff NicholsonMay 14, 2019
Fetid Carpets and Toast: On “Lanny: A Novel”
Magdalena Miecznicka goes in search of “Lanny: A Novel” by Max Porter.
Magdalena MiecznickaMay 14, 2019
- Fiction
The New Madame Bovary: Leila Slimani’s “Adèle”
Stephanie Sy-Quia reviews Leïla Slimani's novel "Adèle," which is "masterfully taut and entirely gripping."
Stephanie Sy-QuiaMay 12, 2019
- Around the World
- Fiction
The Impact of War: Lisa See’s “The Sea Island of Women”
Lisa See's new novel shows how hatred is manufactured, and how fear can turn otherwise compassionate people against each other.
Rahna Reiko RizzutoMay 10, 2019
- Fiction
Futuristic Technology of an Alternate Past: Ian McEwan’s “Machines Like Me”
McEwan seems ultimately to have wanted to write a science fiction novel, but he couches it in his old historical upholstery.
Ben LibmanMay 8, 2019
- Fiction
- SF
Home Is Where the Heart Breaks: Abbigail N. Rosewood’s “If I Had Two Lives”
One of the grand illusions of great writing is the appearance of effortlessness, a quality that Abbigail Rosewood often achieves in "If I Had Two Lives."
Ryan SmernoffMay 4, 2019
- Fiction
Born Again Grifters: On Belle Boggs’s “The Gulf”
Niko Maragos visits "The Gulf" by Belle Boggs.
Niko MaragosMay 3, 2019
- Fiction
In the Borderlands Between Reality and Fantasy: On Chloe Aridjis’s “Sea Monsters”
Chloe Aridjis’s "Sea Monsters" is a surreal, captivating tale about the power of a youthful imagination.
Ellen JonesMay 1, 2019
- Around the World
- Fiction