Book Review: On Hemingway and the ideal of masculinity
"The masters of the short story come to no good end," wrote Ernest Hemingway, in a bitterly prescient moment. He was, of course, a master of the short story who...
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“Moving Kings”: The comedic clash of an American businessman and an Israeli innocent abroad
Admit it: You picked up Joshua Cohen's 800-page epic "Witz" but decided life was too short.
“Who is Rich?” describes the middle-aged white men’s Rabbit hole
"Who Is Rich?" is about a writer who once enjoyed "precocious success" and then sank into obscurity. "I'd had an appointment with destiny," the narrator says. "I'd barely started, then...
Pulitzer winner Tracy K. Smith named the nation’s 22nd poet laureate
"I was stunned," she said from her office at Princeton University, where she is director of creative writing.
The most delightful heroine since Elizabeth Bennet
Last month, "The Essex Serpent" won the British Book Award, and it's already sold more than 250,000 copies, which should convince any skeptic that this slippery beast is real.
From Arundhati Roy, “The Ministry of Utmost Happiness” is a remarkable creation
Now, in an era that feels impossibly removed from 1997, comes her second novel, "The Ministry of Utmost Happiness," a book always threatening to surge beyond its covers.
“Woman No. 17” a juice box of suburban satire
The science is still unsettled, but by now it should be clear to most readers that cancer causes memoirs. In fact, it's the leading cause of memoirs, followed closely by...
New-school “Othello” on a D.C. playground
The author of 'Girl With a Pearl Earring' reimagines 'Othello' at a 1970s playground.
“American War” follows today’s vitriol to a dystopian future
When you wade into the ever-agitated waters of social media, you realize just how quickly the currents of infectious bile are flowing. Follow the tributaries of today's political combat a...
“No One is Coming to Save Us”: “Gatsby” gets a revolutionary reboot
Crossing through that valley of ashes once again, we approach Stephanie Powell Watts' debut novel with a mixture of wariness and dread.