Fiction

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

On History, Marriage, and Politics: A Q-and-A with Barbara Kingsolver
Sarah Boon talks to novelist Barbara Kingsolver about her new book, "Unsheltered."
Sarah BoonDec 3, 2018
- Fiction
The Mixed Meanings of Missing Girls
Martha Cooley searches for the figure of the missing girl in contemporary fiction.
Martha CooleyDec 2, 2018
- Fiction
- Gender & Sexuality
The Tragicomedy of “Evening in Paradise” by Lucia Berlin
Dylan Brown reviews the recently released collection "Evening in Paradise," which shows Berlin's mastery of rhythm and restraint.
Dylan BrownDec 2, 2018
- Fiction
Horror in Revision: On the Contemporary Gothic
Adam Fales on Ahmed Saadawi’s “Frankenstein in Baghdad,” Sarah Perry’s “Melmoth,” and Chase Berggrun’s “R E D” — emissaries of the “contemporary Gothic.”
Adam FalesDec 1, 2018
Collaging Together Scraps of Trauma: Karen Green’s “Frail Sister”
In "Frail Sister," Green’s elegant collaging of image and text makes for a compelling story that stands in for so many women’s lives cut short.
Megan N. LibertyNov 29, 2018
- Art & Architecture
- Fiction
The Ugly Poverty of Violence: Michael Datcher’s “Americus”
"Americus," saturated by emotional taboos and an overarching miasma of racism, reads as a mortician’s journal of an extended embalming.
Peter J. HarrisNov 28, 2018
- Fiction
Anna Maria Ortese’s Unforgiving Vision in “Neapolitan Chronicles”
Eloisa Morra unmasks the challenging nature of Anna Maria Ortese’s classic fiction-reportage hybrid “Neapolitan Chronicles.”
Eloisa MorraNov 27, 2018
The Children of Catastrophes: On Vladimir Sharov’s “The Rehearsals”
Caryl Emerson considers the legacy of the late Vladimir Sharov, whose novel “The Rehearsals” is now available in Oliver Ready’s translation.
Caryl EmersonNov 27, 2018
- Around the World
- Fiction
Future Fiction
Sarah LaBrie wonders what a fiction that focused on our place in the world, rather than on our desire to flee from it, might look like.
Sarah LaBrieNov 25, 2018
- Fiction
The Addictive Experience of Writing: An Interview with Katya Apekina on “The Deeper the Water the Uglier the Fish”
Anne-Marie Kinney talks to Katya Apekina about her debut novel, "The Deeper the Water the Uglier the Fish."
Anne-Marie KinneyNov 24, 2018
- Fiction
The Real Clarice: A Conversation with Magdalena Edwards
David Shook speaks to Magdalena Edwards, translator of “The Chandelier” by Clarice Lispector, about her artistic engagement with the Brazilian author.
David ShookNov 23, 2018
- Around the World
- Fiction
Crudo, She Tweeted: Olivia Laing’s “Crudo”
With "Crudo," Olivia Laing appropriates Twitter’s trademark intonation, writing in a flippant voice, concise to the point of discarding most punctuation.
Lauren SarazenNov 22, 2018
- Fiction