Fiction

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

Real Life Rock Top 10: November 2020: Special Election Edition!
LARB presents the special election installment of “Real Life Rock Top 10,” a monthly column by cultural critic Greil Marcus.
Greil MarcusNov 16, 2020
- Fiction
- Politics
Three Questions for Yxta Maya Murray Regarding Her New Short Story Collection “The World Doesn’t Work That Way, but It Could”
The law professor turned author on her new collection and the banality of evil under Trump.
Daniel A. OlivasNov 13, 2020
- Fiction
Writing Girlhood Large
Teresa Carmody’s new novel explores faith, queerness, and the complexities of Christian girlhood.
Vidhu AggarwalNov 13, 2020
Strong and Certain: On Deesha Philyaw’s “The Secret Lives of Church Ladies”
Renee Simms reviews “The Secret Lives of Church Ladies,” the new story collection from Deesha Philyaw.
Renee SimmsNov 12, 2020
- Fiction
Stranger Than Something That Is Already Strange: A Conversation with Namwali Serpell
The literary critic turned celebrated novelist discusses her new book, “Stranger Faces.”
Anastasia NikolisNov 11, 2020
Trump Derangement Syndrome, or How I Learned to Love America: On Ayad Akhtar’s “Homeland Elegies”
Jordan Elgrably reviews "Homeland Elegies," the new book from Pulitzer Prize winner Ayad Akhtar.
Jordan ElgrablyNov 10, 2020
- Fiction
Cold Scrutiny and Venomous Complicity in Lina Wolff’s “Many People Die Like You”
Brendan Riley reviews the new story collection by Lina Wolff, "Many People Die Like You," translated by Saskia Vogel.
Brendan RileyNov 10, 2020
- Around the World
- Fiction
End Times Exit Strategy: Fractals, Philosophy, and Ultimate Frisbee in David Hollander’s “Anthropica”
Brian Evenson dives into David Hollander’s “Anthropica” and finds it “precise, dense, and evocative.”
Brian EvensonNov 10, 2020
- Fiction
I Drew on Every Role I’ve Ever Played: A Conversation with Armin Shimerman
Dinah Lenney speaks to actor and author Armin Shimerman about Shakespeare, Star Trek, and “Illyria Book One: Betrayal of Angels.”
Dinah LenneyNov 5, 2020
- Fiction
Myth and the Monozygote: On Edmund White’s “A Saint from Texas” and Tola Rotimi Abraham’s “Black Sunday”
Tanya Bush reviews the twin novels “A Saint from Texas” by Edmund White and “Black Sunday” by Tola Rotimi Abraham.
Tanya BushNov 4, 2020
- Around the World
- Fiction
The Frenzy of Love: On Pauline Delabroy-Allard’s “They Say Sarah”
GD Dess on Pauline Delabroy-Allard’s novel of obsessive, violent, transgressive, mind-altering love.
GD DessNov 4, 2020
- Around the World
- Fiction
Daring Holocaust Education: On Yishai Sarid’s “The Memory Monster” and Jean-Claude Grumberg’s “The Most Precious of Cargoes”
Miranda Cooper reviews Yishai Sarid’s “The Memory Monster” and Jean-Claude Grumberg’s “The Most Precious of Cargoes.”
Miranda CooperNov 3, 2020
- Around the World
- Fiction