Fiction

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

More Norwegian Family Scandal: A Conversation with Vigdis Hjorth
Hannah Williams talks with Vigdis Hjorth about her novel, “Will and Testament,” out now from Verso Fiction in a translation by Charlotte Barslund.
Hannah WilliamsNov 21, 2019
- Fiction
- Memoir & Essay
A New Simultaneous Reality: On Shane Jones’s “Vincent and Alice and Alice”
Matt E. Lewis reviews “Vincent and Alice and Alice” by Shane Jones.
Matt E. LewisNov 21, 2019
“Logic Alone, All Love Laid by”: Returning to Arthur Koestler’s “Darkness at Noon”
Maya Chhabra plunges into Philip Boehm’s new translation of the original version of “Darkness at Noon” by Arthur Koestler.
Maya ChhabraNov 18, 2019
Call Her by His Name: Caterina Albert and Catalonia’s Tradition of Radical Women
Azareen Van der Vliet Oloomi talks to Kathleen McNerney about writer Caterina Albert and generations of women writers in Catalonia.
Azareen Van der Vliet OloomiNov 17, 2019
- Around the World
- Fiction
Meat Is Murder: On Olga Tokarczuk’s “Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead”
Stephanie Sy-Quia reads the polemical and blackly humorous “Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead” by celebrated Polish novelist Olga Tokarczuk.
Stephanie Sy-QuiaNov 15, 2019
- Around the World
- Fiction
Feeling Real in the Age of Un-Realness: On Fiona Alison Duncan’s “Exquisite Mariposa”
Fiona Alison Duncan's new novel about Los Angeles, astrology, drugs, transcendence, and the search for the Real.
Emmalea RussoNov 14, 2019
- Fiction
The Keys to Robert Graves’s Mythologies
Matt Keeley considers the uncertain legacy of Robert Graves as well as a new biography of the writer by Jean Moorcroft Wilson.
Matt KeeleyNov 13, 2019
Fact-Checking Help from Readers: A Conversation with Ann Patchett on “The Dutch House”
Sarah Boon talks to writer Ann Patchett about her latest novel, "The Dutch House," and getting help from readers.
Sarah BoonNov 12, 2019
- Fiction
Witty and Grim: On Oscar Mandel’s “Last Pages”
Jake Fuchs relishes the grim wit of “Last Pages” by Oscar Mandel while pondering whether its author is "essentially cheerful."
Jake FuchsNov 12, 2019
Lonely White Men: On Michel Houellebecq’s “Serotonin”
Louis Betty reacts to “Serotonin” by Michel Houellebecq, translated from the French by Shaun Whiteside.
Louis BettyNov 12, 2019
- Around the World
- Fiction
Beginning with Abortion
Fran Bigman discusses Brit Bennett’s “The Mothers” and the stories we tell about abortion.
Fran BigmanNov 7, 2019
- Fiction
- Politics
Capitalism Is a Mental Illness: “Hustlers,” “The Known World,” and a Failed TV Project
Annie McGreevy on “Hustlers,” Edward P. Jones’s “The Known World,” a failed TV project, and the hustles that sustain us under capitalism.
Annie McGreevyNov 6, 2019