Fiction

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

Meant to Be Understood: On César Aira’s Complete Translated Works
On the occasion of the publication of "Birthday," Kamil Ahsan surveys the many fictions of César Aira that are available in English.
Kamil AhsanMar 22, 2019
- Around the World
- Fiction
Misguided Devotion: On Kirstin Allio’s “Buddhism for Western Children”
Kirstin Allio’s new novel "Buddhism for Western Children" is a painful, funny tale about coming of age in a religious cult.
Susan Kaiser GreenlandMar 21, 2019
- Fiction
A Hymn to Life: On “Shatila Stories”
Isaac Nowell relishes “Shatila Stories,” a “hymn to life” written in the Shatila refugee camp in southern Beirut.
Isaac NowellMar 21, 2019
- Around the World
- Fiction
The Many Explanations: On Siri Hustvedt’s “Memories of the Future”
Elena Goukassian reviews Siri Hustvedt's new novel and discusses why it falls in the category of Trump-era political fiction.
Elena GoukassianMar 19, 2019
- Fiction
The Novel as Eating Machine: A Conversation with Mark Doten
Ryan Chapman speaks to “Trump Sky Alpha” author Mark Doten about meme culture, narrative fragmentation, and the effects of historical trauma.
Ryan ChapmanMar 18, 2019
- Fiction
Jane Austen on Film
On the many adaptations of Jane Austen's writing.
Graham DaselerMar 18, 2019
- Fiction
- Film
Pointless and Essential: On Witold Gombrowicz’s “Cosmos”
Witold Gombrowicz’s “Cosmos” is one of the great non-novels, or pseudo-novels, or reality-hungry books, or barely fictional narratives that we have.
Sean HooksMar 17, 2019
- Around the World
- Fiction
Cultural Complications: A Q-and-A with Etaf Rum on “A Woman Is No Man”
Eleanor J. Bader talks to writer Etaf Rum about her new novel.
Eleanor J. BaderMar 16, 2019
- Fiction
To the Marrow of One’s Bones: On Walter Kempowski’s “Homeland”
Stephanie Sy-Quia considers “Homeland” by Walter Kempowski, translated from the German by Charlotte Collins.
Stephanie Sy-QuiaMar 16, 2019
- Around the World
- Fiction
Apocalyptic Aesthetic: On Agustín Fernández Mallo’s “The Nocilla Trilogy”
Science as a fiction-producing method shapes "The Nocilla Trilogy," paving the way to reimagining what true interdisciplinarity looks like.
Katryn EvinsonMar 13, 2019
- Around the World
- Fiction
The Beginning Is Never Behind Us: On Christos Ikonomou’s “Good Will Come From the Sea”
"Good Will Come From the Sea" is a premonition of a world to come, far more than it is a paternalistic exposé of present-day Greece.
Niko MaragosMar 13, 2019
- Around the World
- Fiction
The Black Disk of the Sun: On Brian J. Boeck’s Biography of Mikhail Sholokhov, “Stalin’s Scribe”
Boris Dralyuk appreciates a “riveting political biography” of Mikhail Sholokhov, “Stalin’s Scribe” by Brian J. Boeck.
Boris DralyukMar 11, 2019