Books - Quillette

A still of John Braine speaking Black and white image, portrait, John in glasses.

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 · 10 min read

Frantz Fanon and university Palestine supporters

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 · 11 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 · 17 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 · 13 min read

Here Comes the Bite

Peter Benchley’s ‘Jaws’ turns 50.

Kevin Mims

31 Jan 2024 · 23 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.