Fiction

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

The Beauty of Men: Ocean Vuong’s “On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous”
"On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous," the debut novel from poet Ocean Vuong, demands a different way of looking and valuing what is seen.
Min Hyoung SongJun 24, 2019
- Fiction
Failing Better: A Conversation with Ocean Vuong
Viet Thanh Nguyen talks with Ocean Vuong about the urgency of poetry, family inheritance, and the refugee experience.
Viet Thanh NguyenJun 24, 2019
- Fiction
- Poetry
Loneliness, Resurrection, and Taxidermy: A Conversation with Kristen Arnett
Bradley Sides talks to “Mostly Dead Things” novelist Kristen Arnett about Florida, loneliness, resurrection, and taxidermy.
Bradley SidesJun 20, 2019
- Fiction
All the World’s a Stage: On Yukio Mishima’s “Star”
Jan Wilm reviews Yukio Mishima's "Star," recently released by New Directions in a translation by Sam Bett.
Jan WilmJun 18, 2019
- Around the World
- Fiction
The Scourge of Himpathy
Rachel Cline’s new novel takes on the psychology and politics of the #MeToo movement.
Tatiana DubinJun 17, 2019
- Fiction
- Gender & Sexuality
A Little Private Space: A Conversation with Heike Geissler
Kate Durbin speaks to Heike Geissler, author of the autofictional novel “Seasonal Associate,” translated from German by Katy Derbyshire.
Kate DurbinJun 15, 2019
Parallel Deterioration: On Brian Evenson’s “Song for the Unraveling of the World”
In “Song for the Unraveling of the World,” Brian Evenson renders the world as a place of infinite and paralyzing delusion.
Nathan Scott McNamaraJun 14, 2019
- Fiction
- SF
No Filters: On Kathleen Collins’s “Notes from a Black Woman’s Diary”
Trisha R. Thomas is inspired by “Notes from a Black Woman’s Diary,” the posthumous collection of Kathleen Collins’s writing edited by Nina Lorez Collins.
Trisha R. ThomasJun 13, 2019
- Fiction
- Memoir & Essay
Navigating the Dark Corners: Karen Russell’s “Orange World and Other Stories”
Claire Kim looks at the alluring, dark tales in Karen Russell’s new short story collection, “Orange World and Other Stories.”
Claire KimJun 13, 2019
- Fiction
- SF
Writing About Binyavanga Wainaina
On the Kenyan author’s rich — and discomfiting — intellectual legacy.
Raksha VasudevanJun 11, 2019
Talking with Lynne Tillman About the Everlasting Fight for Women’s Independence
Karine Leno Ancellin talks to novelist-critic Lynne Tillman about selective memory, the postmodern glut of imagery, and the uneven progress of feminism.
Karine Leno AncellinJun 8, 2019
- Art & Architecture
- Fiction
Torn Like a Veil Before Me: On Elena Chizhova’s “Little Zinnobers”
Yelena Furman studies “Little Zinnobers,” a novel by Elena Chizhova, translated from Russian by Carol Ermakova.
Yelena FurmanJun 8, 2019
- Around the World
- Fiction