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The Enduring Power of the Charlatan
How a novella by Thomas Mann and a historical study of charlatantry can illuminate our times.
Fiction
"Fiction is obliged to stick to possibilities. Truth isn't." — Mark Twain
Crossing the Blood Meridian: Cormac McCarthy and American History
McCarthy imagined a vast border region where colonial empires clashed, tribes went to war, and bounty hunters roamed.
Only Odessa: On Ian Ross Singleton’s “Two Big Differences”
Herb Randall finds much to like in “Two Big Differences,” a novel by Ian Ross Singleton.
The Descent of Autofiction … and the Rise of the Literary Thrill-Seeking Industrial Complex
Autofiction and new narrative are booming, thanks to a host of innovative writers and presses.
Confederate Dunces: On Percival Everett’s “The Trees”
A comic condemnation of white racism with a Twainian level of wit and meanness.
We All Bleed Red: A Conversation with Heather Morris
Jane Ratcliffe speaks to Heather Morris, who weaves together resilience and pain in her works of Holocaust historical fiction.
A Masterpiece of Subtlety and Gentle Ellipsis: On Saikat Majumdar’s “The Middle Finger”
A sparkling new novel from India about the work of poetry and the poetry of work.
The Realm of Forgotten Things: On Ludmilla Petrushevskaya’s “The New Adventures of Helen”
Yelena Furman is drawn to “The New Adventures of Helen,” a collection of fairy tales for adults by Ludmilla Petrushevskaya, translated from the Russian by Jane Bugaeva.
The Language of the Misfit: On Oğuz Atay’s “The Disconnected”
A great Turkish cult novel of the early ’70s is available in English translation (sort of).
“Trickery Wrapped in Spittle Inside a Militia”: On Anne Garréta’s “In Concrete”
An absurdist psychosexual satire about how a father’s dangerous mania for mixing concrete.
The Anthropocene Unconscious of “Shuggie Bain”
Is Douglas Stuart’s “Shuggie Bain” a climate change novel?
“One Berry at a Time, You Fill the Jug”: A Conversation with Anthony Doerr
The prize-winning author discusses his new novel, “Cloud Cuckoo Land.”
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