Fiction

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

• We Can Learn Things When We’re Out There: A Conversation with William T. Vollmann

  Hannah Jakobsen talks to William T. Vollmann about writing and empathy.

  Hannah JakobsenFeb 26, 2018

  • Fiction

  • Nonfiction

• 

  At War with Monsters in Postwar Iraqi Literature

  The dark absurdities of postwar Iraqi literature.

  Mark FirmaniFeb 24, 2018

  • Around the World

  • Fiction

• 

  Marooned by Obsession in Craig Cliff’s “The Mannequin Makers”

  Heidi North discovers a rich, gripping story in Craig Cliff’s New Zealand–set debut, “The Mannequin Makers.”

  Heidi NorthFeb 24, 2018

  • Around the World

  • Fiction

• 

  A Message from Hans Fallada: On “Little Man, What Now?”

  Susan Scarf Merrell on what Fallada's novel can offer us now.

  Susan Scarf MerrellFeb 22, 2018

  • Fiction

• Escapism: Colin Winnette Talks to Willy Vlautin About His New Novel, “Don’t Skip Out on Me”

  "One of the ideas of the book is: Can you fix a broken person? Can you heal a broken person? Can you make the scars disappear enough so they can get by?"

  Colin WinnetteFeb 22, 2018

  • Fiction

• 

  “Alone Together, Together Alone”: On Lisa Halliday’s “Asymmetry”

  Lori Feathers takes the measure of “Asymmetry” by Lisa Halliday.

  Lori FeathersFeb 20, 2018

  • Fiction

• 

  You Belong Here: A Conversation with Aditi Khorana and Sara Saedi

  Juliana Romano talks to Aditi Khorana and Sara Saedi about their new books.

  Juliana RomanoFeb 16, 2018

  • Fiction

  • Memoir & Essay

• 

  Dissolving Identities: On Cristina Rivera Garza’s “The Iliac Crest”

  Rachel Ballenger dwells in “The Iliac Crest,” a novel by Cristina Rivera Garza, translated by Sarah Booker.

  Rachel BallengerFeb 14, 2018

  • Fiction

  • Gender & Sexuality

• 

  Life Writing: Samuel Beckett’s Literature of Disorder

  Amanda Dennis cracks open “Samuel Beckett Is Closed” by Michael Coffey.

  Amanda DennisFeb 13, 2018

  • Fiction

  • Literary Criticism

• 

  Writing In Order to Live: On Maya Jasanoff’s “The Dawn Watch: Joseph Conrad in a Global World”

  John Tytell ranges over “The Dawn Watch: Joseph Conrad in a Global World” by Maya Jasanoff.

  John TytellFeb 10, 2018

  • Around the World

  • Fiction

  • Literary Criticism

• 

  Isolation, Intimacy, and Immortality in “Eternal Life” and “How to Stop Time”

  Chelsea Leu finds the cloying and the clever in two new novels that reckon with immortality: Dara Horn’s “Eternal Life” and Matt Haig’s “How to Stop Time.”

  Chelsea LeuFeb 10, 2018

  • Fiction

• 

  Listening to Ghosts: On Hari Kunzru’s “White Tears” and Tyehimba Jess’s “Olio”

  David Hering reviews "White Tears" and "Olio."

  David HeringFeb 7, 2018

  • Fiction