Abiding Legends Richard Matheson, George R. Stewart, and the birth of the Calipocalypse. Kevin Mims 9 Jul 2024 · 23 min read
France’s Founding Fathers: A Review of ‘House of Lilies’ In a new book, Justine Firnhaber-Baker tells the story of the Capetian dynasty (987–1328), whose rulers stitched a set of medieval duchies and counties into a single kingdom. Charlotte Allen 26 Jun 2024 · 20 min read
Too Much Chocolate Fifty years of Robert Cormier’s “classic” young-adult novel is more than enough. Kevin Mims 13 Jun 2024 · 9 min read
George Orwell’s Error Had he lived long enough to witness the fruits of liberal capitalism, perhaps Orwell would finally have accepted the failure of socialism. Christopher J. Snowdon 6 Jun 2024 · 13 min read
Unbowed but Gravely Wounded Salman Rushdie’s new memoir, ‘Knife,’ describes the assassination attempt its author survived and offers a moving contemplation of mortality. Paul Berman 3 Jun 2024 · 15 min read
Less Than Half ‘A Man in Full’ One of US television’s most experienced and talented writers has made a mess of Tom Wolfe’s second novel. Kevin Mims 13 May 2024 · 24 min read
Desire and Ambition Today, most of John Braine’s work is out of print and forgotten. But he was an underrated writer, unafraid to confront the complexities of masculine sexuality with terse precision, self-deprecation, and emotional candour. Brad Strotten 13 Apr 2024 · 11 min read
The Prophet of October 7? Frantz Fanon’s defenders try to distance him from the of ethos of violence he advocated, even as they embrace his anti-colonialist rhetoric to promote anti-Zionism. Leon Hadar 6 Apr 2024 · 12 min read
Sex and Smashed Steel A look back at J.G. Ballard's ‘Crash’—one of the the 20th century’s greatest and most disturbingly prophetic novels. Benjamin Kerstein 2 Apr 2024 · 25 min read
The Amityville Horror—A 50-Year Old Lie That Won’t Die Jay Anson’s haunted-house yarn was a highly lucrative hoax, but it struck a popular chord amid the financial precarity of 1970s America. Kevin Mims 7 Mar 2024 · 26 min read
Motorpsycho Nightmare Robert Pirsig’s insufferable cult novel about philosophy and bike maintenance turns 50. Kevin Mims 20 Feb 2024 · 18 min read
In the Country of Last Things A look back at the work and impressively productive life of Brooklyn’s most famous resident, Paul Auster. David Cohen 19 Feb 2024 · 14 min read
Bestseller Reparations In ‘American Fiction,’ director Cord Jefferson brings a devil-may-care effrontery to bear on the culture of self-censorship, progressive pieties, and artistic hypocrisy. Thomas Larson 24 Jan 2024 · 7 min read
Huck Finn or Uncle Tom? These great books should be read together, for each illuminates a different part of the American character. Tim DeRoche 13 Jan 2024 · 8 min read