Exploring Books Through Articles, Reviews, Announcements, & Lists 2026-02 April-June

Note: updates to websites from most recent to least

Indexes

April Index: >2 featherbear:
May Index: >55 featherbear:
June Index: >107 featherbear:

Deaths:
Philip Caputo >70 featherbear:
Robert Coles >126 featherbear:
Robert Daley >100 featherbear:
Maureen Duffy >102 featherbear:
Maurice J. "Mitch" Freedman >142 featherbear:
Carlo Ginzburg >147 featherbear:
Barbara Gordon >35 featherbear:
Andrew Hacker >44 featherbear:
David Henderson >103 featherbear:
Nicole Hollander >64 featherbear:
Edgar Morin >106 featherbear:
Desmond Morris >43 featherbear:
David Plowden >138 featherbear:
J.H. Prynne >74 featherbear:
Alan Riding >127 featherbear:
Marjane Satrapi >123 featherbear:
Ronald H. Spector >24 featherbear:
Koji Suzuki >82 featherbear:
Robert Thurman >148 featherbear:
Jane Yolen >140 featherbear:

April Index

Aeon >20 featherbear:
American Scholar >18 featherbear:
Asian Review of Books >7 featherbear:
Atlantic >12 featherbear:
The Critic (UK) >6 featherbear:
The Drift >38 featherbear:
Guardian >3 featherbear:
Hedgehog Review >42 featherbear:
LARB >4 featherbear:
Literary Review >11 featherbear:
LitHub >13 featherbear:
The Nation >41 featherbear:
New Yorker >5 featherbear:
N+1 >23 featherbear:
NYRB Online April 09 >9 featherbear: -- Apr 23 >19 featherbear:
The Point >37 featherbear:
PRoB >8 featherbear:
Public Books >22 featherbear:
Quillette >40 featherbear:
Substack >39 featherbear:
TLS April 3 >10 featherbear:
TNR >29 featherbear:
Washington Monthly >30 featherbear:
Yale Review >21 featherbear:

Updates:
Apr 01-04 >16 featherbear:
Apr 05-11 >28 featherbear:
Apr 12-18 >36 featherbear:
Apr 19-25 >46 featherbear:
Apr 26-30 >53 featherbear:

May Index >55 featherbear:

Guardian April 2026

Sami Kent. 04/30/2026: Turkey in the age of Erdoğan. Review of: From Life Itself: Turkey and Istanbul in the Age of Erdoğan / Suzy Hansen.

Dina Nayeri. 04/30/2026: A hit in Germany that falls flat in English. Review of: Hey, Good Morning, How Are You? / Martina Hefter, translated from the German by Linda Gaus (Fig Tree).

M. John Harrison. 04/29/2026: Short stories that are frightening, passionate and comforting too. Review of: Devotions: eight stories / Lucy Caldwell.

Martin Pengelly. 04/28/2026: ‘It’s not a story that’s over’: inside the battle against hatred in America. Review of: The Secret War Against Hate: American Resistance to Antisemitism and White Supremacy / Steven J. Ross.

Samantha Ellis. 04/28/2026: Emily Brontë’s world. Review of: This Dark Night: The Life of Emily Brontë / Deborah Lutz.

Shahidha Bari. 04/28/2026: Painfully earnest tale of trauma and transition. Review of: Having Spent Life Seeking / Kae Tempest.

Kimberley Nixon, interviewer Anna Moore. 04/28/2026: ‘This is so taboo’: Kimberley Nixon on the hell of perinatal OCD – and how she survived it. Regarding her forthcoming memoir: She Seems Fine to Me: Behind the Scenes of Birth, Babies and My Broken Brain / Kimberley Nixon (Gallery UK).

Ella Creamer. 04/27/2026: Zadie Smith: ‘I don’t know when I read men any more.’ "At a talk on her latest essay collection, Dead and Alive, Smith said she ‘sometimes’ reads male novelists, but more often seeks the wisdom of older female writers like Helen Garner." (headline is clickbait)

Claire Adam. 04/27/2026: Readers will delight in these new characters. Review of: The Things We Never Say / Elizabeth Strout.

Hannah J. Davies. 04/27/2026: When celebrity causes side-effects. Review of: Famesick: a memoir / Lena Dunham.

Philip Oltermann. 04/26/2026: ‘It’s still a no-go area’: German author Matthias Jügler on the trauma surrounding the GDR’s ‘stolen children.’ "The reaction among officials in Germany to his bestselling novel has been hostile. As Mayfly Season is published in the UK, its author explains why." Regarding: Mayfly Season / Matthias Jügler; translation by Jo Heinrich (The Indigo Press).

Emma Loffhagen. 04/25/2026: ‘I saw the backlash coming’: civil rights activist Kimberlé Crenshaw on America and race. "She coined the term ‘intersectionality’ and helped to develop critical race theory, now her life’s work is under attack by Washington’s war on ‘woke’. As her memoir is published, the legal scholar explains why she’ll never stop speaking truth to power." Regarding: Backtalker: A Memoir / Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw.

Jude Cook. 04/24/2026: A compelling debut of mental meltdown. "A young woman’s dissociation from reality and her road to recovery are vividly rendered in this striking novel." Review of: The Body Builders / Albertine Clarke.

Imogen Russell Williams. 04/24/2026: Children and teens roundup – the best new picture books and novels. "An imposter monkey, an underworld princess, art’s female trailblazers, and YA tales of fear, family and friendship."

Joe Dunthorne. 04/24/2026: Joe Dunthorne: ‘Growing up in Swansea, I developed an allergy to Dylan Thomas’: the books in my life. "The author on feeling Thomas Hardy’s pain, being duped by Donna Tartt and how reading his sister’s copy of Trainspotting made him want to write." Recent publication: Children of Radium: A Buried Inheritance / Joe Dunthorne.

Caroline Knowles. 04/23/2026: The hidden hand of private equity. Review of: The Asset Class: How Private Equity Turned Capitalism Against Itself / Hettie O’Brien.

AK Blakemore. 04/22/2026: One of the boldest writers at work in English today. Review of: The Shadow of the Object / Chloe Aridjis.

Chloë Ashby. 04/22/2026: The queer artists who shaped New York cool. Review of: The Wonderful World That Almost Was: A Life of Peter Hujar and Paul Thek / Andrew Durbin.

Michael Billington. 04/22/2026: To see or not to see? Every single Shakespeare play – ranked!

Marcel Theroux. 04/21/2026: The clumsy finale of a classic New York series. Review of: See You On the Other Side / Jay McInerney.

Kathryn Hughes. 04/21/2026: The remarkable story of a wartime institution. Review of: Hotel Exile: Paris in the Shadow of War / Jane Rogoyska.

Sukhdev Sandhu. 04/21/2026: Life after Paul Auster. Review of: Ghost Stories: A Memoir / Siri Hustvedt.

Lucy Hughes-Hallett. 04/20/2026: Life of Pi author discovers a long-lost poem from Troy. Review of: Son of Nobody / Yann Martel.

Adam Sisman. 04/20/2026: An unconventional portrait of JG Ballard. Review of: The Illuminated Man: Life, Death and the Worlds of JG Ballard / Christopher Priest and Nina Allan (Bloomsbury).

John Self. 04/20/2026: From Manifesto to Mr Loverman: Bernardine Evaristo’s best books – ranked!

Ella Creamer. 04/20/2026: ‘Deliciously dark’: how Freida McFadden’s twisty thrillers gripped millions of readers.

Patrick Barkham. 04/19/2026: ‘How much have we missed?’: book tunes in to overlooked world of female birdsong. Regarding: The Sound Approach to Birding / Mark Constantine & The Sound Approach.

Siri Hustvedt. 04/19/2026: ‘After all the horrible things we’ve been through,’ he said to me, ‘if I die of cancer, it will make a bad story’: Siri Hustvedt on losing Paul Auster.

Gwendoline Riley, interviewer Alex Clark. 04/19/2026: My Phantoms author Gwendoline Riley on winning $175,000: ‘It was unimaginable. I felt overwhelmed.’

Kathryn Hughes. 04/17/2026: The art of the canine, from Velázquez to Picasso. Review of: The Dog's Gaze: A Visual History / Thomas Laqueur.

Laura Wilson. 04/17/2026: The best recent crime and thrillers – review roundup: The Keeper by Tana French; The Kindness of Strangers by Emma Garman; Mrs Shim Is a Killer by Kang Jiyoung; A Killer in the Family by Amin Ahmad; The Drowning Place by Sarah Hilary

Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett. 04/15/2026: When an author says she had to decline a $175,000 prize, what does it say about the publishing world? Regarding: Helen De Witt & the Windham Campbell Prize.

John Banville. 04/15/2026: An enraging account of Ireland’s Magdalene laundries. Review of: The Fallen: The Magdalene Laundries and Ireland’s Legacy of Silence / Louise Brangan.

Barney Ross. 04/15/2026: A charged debut about sin and solace. Review of: Communion / Jon Doyle (Atlantic).

Lucy Hughes-Hallett. 04/14/2026: Biography mingles with fiction as Levy explores the avant-garde writer through the story of three female friends in Paris. Review of: My Year in Paris With Gertrude Stein / Deborah Levy.

Jake Arnott. 04/14/2026: Murderous desires in the badlands of Dublin. Review of: All Them Dogs / Djamel White.

Kevin Power. 04/13/2026: A climate-crisis novel let down by its prose. Review of: Ghost-Eye / Amitav Ghosh.

Michael Edison Hayden, interviewer J Oliver Conroy. 04/11/2026: ‘We feel this incredible tension at all times’: what happened to small-town USA when extremists moved in. Regarding: Strange People on the Hill: How Extremism Tore Apart a Small American Town / Michael Edison Hayden.

Rebecca Wait. 04/10/2026: A joyfully clever New York romcom. Review of: Go Gentle / Maria Semple (W&N).

Lisa Tuttle. 04/10/2026: The best recent science fiction, fantasy and horror – review roundup: Loss Protocol by Paul McAuley; Night Babies by Lucie McKnight Hardy; Honeysuckle by Bar Fridman-Tell; Japanese Gothic by Kylie Lee Baker.

Vincenzo Latronico. 04/09/2026: Hitler, Speer and beyond: This unconventional exploration of Albert Speer’s duplicity during his Nazi years and into his rehabilitation is a masterful forewarning of the post-truth era. Review of: You Are the Führer’s Unrequited Love / Jean-Noël Orengo, translated by David Watson.

Mythili Rao. 04/09/2026: A manual for coping with change. Review of: The Beginning Comes After the End: Notes on a World of Change / Rebecca Solnit.

Emma Loffhagen. 04/09/2026: The Housemaid author Freida McFadden reveals her true identity. "The bestselling US novelist, who writes under a pseudonym and appears in public wearing a wig, said she’s ‘tired of this being secret’ as she announced her real name is Sara Cohen."

Pratinav Anil. 04/08/2026: The strange case of Graham Greene and Kim Philby. Review of: The Writer and the Traitor: Graham Greene, Kim Philby and the Great Betrayal / Robert Verkaik (Headline). Guardian gave an incorrect March date for the review yesterday.

Steven Poole. 04/08/2026: A medieval horror story. Review of: The Black Death: A Global History / Thomas Asbridge.

Neil Bartlett. 04/08/2026: As fierce and strange as anything you’ll read this year. Review of: My Lover, the Rabbi / Wayne Koestenbaum.

Patrick Radden Keefe, interviewer Anna Moore. 04/07/2026: A gangster, a bogus inheritance and a dead 19-year-old: the mystery Patrick Radden Keefe couldn’t ignore. Regarding: London Falling: A Mysterious Death in a Gilded City and a Family's Search for Truth / Patrick Radden Keefe.

Xan Brooks. 04/07/2026: Extraordinary debut from a non-speaking autistic author. Review of: Upward Bound: a novel / Woody Brown.

Ian Thomson. 04/07/2026: A compulsive tale of money, lies and avoidable tragedy. Review of: London Falling: A Mysterious Death in a Gilded City and a Family’s Search for Truth / Patrick Radden Keefe.

Associated Press. 04/07/2026: Iowa can restrict LGBTQ+ books and topics at schools, appellate court rules. "Ruling, vacating lower court’s temporary block, applies to classrooms and libraries up to sixth grade."

Charlie Gilmour. 04/06/2026: Masterly account of a flawed figure. Review of: Jan Morris: A Life / Sara Wheeler.

Joanna Cannon. 04/06/2026: An immersive exploration of grief. Review of: Into the Wreck / Susannah Dickey (Bloomsbury Circus).

Yann Martel, interviewer Alex Clark. 04/05/2026: Life of Pi author Yann Martel: ‘I thought the Iliad was a book for old farts… then I started getting ideas.’ Regarding: Son of Nobody / Yann Martel.

Blake Morrison. 04/04/2026: ‘Enough of this me me me’: Blake Morrison on memoir in the age of oversharing.

Jo Nesbø, interviewer Rosanna Greenstreet. 04/04/2026: Jo Nesbø: ‘How often do I have sex? I only do it outdoors, so it depends on the weather.’ "The novelist on working on a trawler, his near miss rock climbing, and being jailed for indecent exposure."

Sarah Hall. 04/03/2026: Sarah Hall: ‘Everyone wangs on about Anna Karenina – I’ve never been able to finish it’: The author on being inspired by Michael Ondaatje and how Hilary Mantel helped her overcome her aversion to historical figure novels. The Books In Her Life.

Kit Fan. 04/03/2026: The best recent poetry – review roundup.

Annette Gordon-Reed, interviewer Adria R Walker. 04/02/2026: ‘Slavery bounded his life’: Thomas Jefferson’s views on race – in his own words. Regarding: Jefferson on Race: A Reader / editor Annette Gordon-Reed.

Kathryn Heyman. 04/02/2026: I did not tell my sister that our other sister was dying. Silence was the right choice, yet murky and painful. Regarding: Circle of Wonders / Kathryn Heyman (HarperCollins).

Clare Clark. 04/02/2026: The laureate of bad relationships. Review of: The Palm House / Gwendoline Riley.

Jesse Dorris. 04/02/2026: Made in Fire Island: how artists were at the heart of the LGBTQ+ mecca. Review of: Fire Island Art: 100 Years / John Dempsey, editor.

Natasha Walter. 04/01/2026: Love, loss and a longing for the ocean. Review of: Under Water: A Novel / Tara Menon.

Ralf Webb. 04/01/2026: The relationships that drove a genius. Review of: Baldwin: A Love Story / Nicholas Boggs.

LARB April 2026

Alexander Billett. 04/30/2026: Red Specters and Right-Wing Fever Dreams. Review of: The Cultural Marxism Conspiracy: Why the Right Blames the Frankfurt School for the Decline of the West / A. J. A. Woods.

Harry Stecopoulos. 04/30/2026: High and Dry: The ‘godfather of climate fiction’ offers a novel about finding a home on a despoiled planet. Review of: No Way Home: a novel / T. C. Boyle.

Jonathan Basile. 04/29/2026: Natural Election. Review of: Original Sin: On the Genetics of Vice, the Problem of Blame, and the Future of Forgiveness / Kathryn Paige Harden.

Tom Williams. 04/28/2026: The Power of Fit. Review of: Middlemen: Literary Agents and the Making of American Fiction / Laura B. McGrath.

Cory Oldweiler. 04/27/2026: Purgatory or State of Grace? Review of: Permanence: a novel / Sophie Mackintosh.

Lisa Siraganian. 04/26/2026: The Limitation Game: Why AI can’t escape sci-fi.

Colum McCann. 04/25/2026: Heaven of Hell Regarding: The Albany Trilogy / William Kennedy.

Emmett Rensin. 04/25/2026: The Hunger of Joseph: Recorded starvations throughout history.

Melanie Walsh. 04/22/2026: ‘Infinite Jest,’ the Internet, and the Politics of Reading. Regarding: Infinite Jest / David Foster Wallace.

Helena Aerberli. 04/21/2026: Fiction Creep. Review of: Screen People: How We Entertained Ourselves into a State of Emergency / Megan Garber.

Leland de la Durantaye. 04/21/2026: We’ve All Stopped Dreaming. Review of: Aqua: A Story of Water and Lost Dreams / Chiara Barzini.

Oliver Wang. 04/20/2026: The Rhythm Specialist. Review of: This Is Rhythm: Ella Jenkins, Children’s Music, and the Long Civil Rights Movement / Gayle F. Wald (University of Chicago Press).

Heather House. 04/20/2026: The More You Know: ‘Knowing fictions’ and their consequences. Regarding: A Tale for the Time Being / Ruth Ozeki.

Sean Guynes. 04/18/2026: The Bittersweet Temporality of Love. "On the 50th anniversary of his death, it’s a perfect time to unearth the forgotten fantasies of Thomas Burnett Swann."

Henry M. Cowles. 04/16/2026: Seeing Like a Worm. Review of: The Power of Life: The Invention of Biology and the Revolutionary Science of Jean-Baptiste Lamarck / Jessica Riskin.

Bill Thompson. 04/16/2026: Cold War Reborn. Review of: Polar War: Submarines, Spies, and the Struggle for Power in a Melting Arctic / Kenneth R. Rosen.

Genie Giaimo, Liliana M. Naydan. 04/15/2026: Disaster Capitalism in Higher Education: What happens to local economies when universities downsize or shutter?

Dan Beachy-Quick. 04/14/2026: Mortal Urges: Three recent translations of Milo De Angelis, Jean Follain, and Vidyā will fill their reader with welcome weirdness. Review of: Earthly: Selected Poems of Jean Follain / Jean Follain. Translated by Andrew Seguin (The Song Cave) -- Last Stops of the Night Journey / Milo De Angelis. Translated by Patrizio Ceccagnoli and Susan Stewart -- Old Time Love Song Magic / Vidyā. Translated by Andrew Schelling.

Paul Finkelman. 04/13/2026: The Artist Who Knew Almost Everyone Important and Made Pictures of Them. Review of: The Etcher: The Life and Art of Oskar Stoessel / Bryan A. Garner (David R. Godine).

Greg Cwik. 04/13/2026: The Fascism of the Heart. Review of the reissue of: The Tunnel / William H. Gass.

Natasha O'Neill. 04/11/2026: Vulgar Marxism, or Stop Me If You’ve Heard This One Before. Review of: Blank Space: A Cultural History of the Twenty-First Century / W. David Marx.

Maddie Rubin. 04/11/2026: A Simulation of Worship. Review of: My Lover, the Rabbi / Wayne Koestenbaum.

Todd Cronan. 04/10/2026: Digging Through the Debris. Review of: Orpheus in the Underworld: Essays on Music and Its Mediation / Theodor W. Adorno. Translated by Douglas Robertson.

Bruce Krajewski. 04/07/2026: The Doyen of Distress. Review of: Arthur Schopenhauer: The Life and Thought of Philosophy’s Greatest Pessimist / David Bather Woods.

Sarah McEachern. 04/07/2026: Facing the Past. Review of: Transcription: a novel / Ben Lerner.

Amany Alsiefy. 04/06/2026: Fantasy Dismantled. Review of: The End of the Sahara / Saïd Khatibi. Translated by Alexander E. Elinson (Bitter Lemon Press).

Joseph Asmundson. 04/05/2026: Bright, Built World."A reflection on how the poets Richard Siken and Anne Carson responded to losing their language."

Long T. Bui. 04/02/2026: Cooking Up a Quiet Storm: Andrew Lam on wide rivers, tributaries, and leaving and revisiting Vietnam. Review of: Stories from the Edge of the Sea / Andrew Lam.

Ian Ellison. 04/04/2026: The Structures That Make Violence Legible. Review of: The Threshold and the Ledger / Tom McCarthy. "Tom McCarthy’s critical study of postwar Austrian writer Ingeborg Bachmann shows a deep sensitivity to form."

Lori Marso. 04/01/2026: Before and After the Pelicot Trial. Review of: Living with Men: Reflections on the Pelicot Trial / Manon Garcia. Translated by Maya B. Kronic.

New Yorker April 2026

Hua Hsu. 04/29/2026: How “The Fast and the Furious” Tells the Story of Hollywood. Regarding: Fast and Furious Franchising: How the Serialized Blockbuster Remade Hollywood (Mass Markets: Storyworlds Across Media) / Dan Hassler-Forest (University of Minnesota Press).

Becca Rothfeld. 04/29/2026: A German Master’s Modernist Epic of Postwar Amnesia and Hypocrisy. "Wolfgang Koeppen’s “trilogy of failure,” written from 1951 to 1954, is a sprawling, polyphonic portrait of a physically and morally shattered country."

Michael Schulman. 04/27/2026: Ellen Burstyn’s Inner Library. "Kris Kristofferson told her he was a poet when they co-starred in “Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.” Her new book tells the story of her life in poetry." The book: Poetry Says It Better: Poems to Help You Wake Up / Ellen Burstyn.

Louisa Thomas. 04/26/2026: After Magnus Carlsen, Chess Has Entered a New Age. "A new book by Jordan Himelfarb follows the game’s rising young players, including the reigning world champion Gukesh Dommaraju, as they compete in an era defined by computers." Review of: Interregnum: Inside the Grueling and Glamorous Battle to Become the Next King of Chess / Jordan Himmelfarb (Pegasus Books).

Becca Rothfeld. 04/23/2026: A Wunderkind’s Best-Selling Nostalgia. Review of: Lázár / Nelio Biedermann. "Nelio Biedermann’s “Lázár” is, for the most part, the well-rehearsed story of twentieth-century Europe. Why is it making such waves?"

Kyle Chayka. 04/22/2026: The Kardashians Explain Everything (Because They Are Everything). "A new book by an online Kardashian theorist argues that Kim and clan are the keys to understanding media in the new millennium." Regarding: Dekonstructing the Kardashians: A New Media Manifesto / MJ Corey.

Lynn Steger Strong. 04/22/2026: Gwendoline Riley’s New Novel Surveys the Wreckage of Middle Age. Review of: The Palm House / Gwendoline Riley.

Nikhil Krishnan. 04/20/2026: In Defense of the Moderate. Review of: Being Reasonable: The Case for a Misunderstood Virtue / Krista Lawlor, w/a reference to: Concealment and Exposure: And Other Essays / Thomas Nagel. "In an era that prizes passion, “reasonableness” gets caricatured as political cowardice or bloodless neutrality. A new book says it’s exactly what we need."

Hua Hsu. 04/20/2026: The Novelist Reimagining the Japanese American Internment. Review of: Questions 27 & 28 / Karen Tei Yamashita.

Elise Broach. 04/20/2026: The Thrill of Picture Books That Let Kids in on the Joke. "Several recent books with unreliable narrators give children the rare pleasure of feeling smarter than the story."

Gideon Lewis-Kraus. 04/15/2026: How Project Maven Put A.I. Into the Kill Chain. Review of: Project Maven: A Marine Colonel, His Team, and the Dawn of AI Warfare / Katrina Mason.

Cory Doctorow. 04/15/2026: Cory Doctorow on the High Cost of Living with the Ultra-Rich. Regarding: Careless People: A Cautionary Tale of Power, Greed, and Lost Idealism / Sarah Wynn-Williams -- Little Bosses Everywhere: How the Pyramid Scheme Shaped America / Bridget Reed -- More Everything Forever: AI Overlords, Space Empires, and Silicon Valley's Crusade to Control the Fate of Humanity / Adam Becker.

Anthony Lane. 04/13/2026: The Violence in Vermeer. Review of: Vermeer: A Life Lost and Found / Andrew Graham-Dixon. "It is easy to treat the Dutch artist as an agreeable intimist—a transcriber of domestic niceties. But he grew up in a world of war, starvation, and massacres. His paintings were safe havens."

Adam Gopnick. 04/13/2026: St. Paul Remade Human History. How Did He Do It? "You can almost see the toughened, sinewy Sinatra of the fifties as Paul, with Sammy Davis, Jr., as the suspicious James and Dean Martin as a slightly befuddled Peter." Omnibus review including: Paul within Paganism: Restoring the Mediterranean Context to the Apostle* / editors Alexander Chantziantoniou, Paula Fredriksen, Stephen L. Young -- The Letters of Paul in their Roman Literary Context: Reassessing Apostolic Authorship / Nina Livesey.

*Collection includes “Paul Among Pagan Penises,” Ryan D. Collman. Probably on circumcision?

Louis Menand. 04/13/2026: A Lesson of Vietnam: Getting in Is Easier than Getting Out. Review of: Done in a Day: Telex from the Fall of Saigon / Elisa Tamarkin.

Brandy Jensen. 04/08/2026: The Patron Saint of Oddballs and Delinquents. Review of: The Oyster Diaries / Nancy Lemann.

Kyle Chayka. 04/08/2026: The Age-Old Urge to Destroy Technology. Review of: Techno-Negative: A Long History of Refusing the Machine / Thomas Dekeyser.

Jerome Groopman. 04/06/2026: We Are All Constantly Mutating—and That’s a Good Thing. Review of: Beyond Inheritance: Our Ever-Mutating Cells and a New Understanding of Health / Roxanne Khamsi.

Emma Green. 04/06/2026: Will Biblical Womanhood Box You In or Set You Free? Review of: Lead Like Jael: 7 Timeless Principles for Today's Women of Faith / Emma Waters (Regnery Faith) -- Awake: A Memoir / Jen Hatmaker.

Kristen Roupenian. 04/06/2026: In Marie NDiaye’s Spellbinding New Novel, Witchcraft Stays in the Family. Review of: The Witch: A Novel / Marie NDiaye; translator Jordan Stump.

Richard Brody. 04/06/2026: In “Cinematic Immunity,” the Greatest Drama Is Offscreen. Review of: Cinematic Immunity / Michael Lee Nirenberg (Feral House).

Andrew Marantz. 04/05/2026: Ben Lerner and the Impossible Interview. "The novelist and poet discusses how smartphones “charge the air around us,” what fiction can record that a transcript can’t, and why the book is also a handheld device." Regarding: Transcription: a novel / Ben Lerner.

Joshua Rothman. 04/03/2026: Is It Wrong to Write a Book With A.I.?

Stephanie Burt. 04/01/2026: The Sci-Fi Novelist Who Disappeared for Decades. Review of: What We Are Seeking / Cameron Reed.

The Critic (UK) April 2026 The Critic became paywalled retroactively, so I won't be posting since I don't subscribe

Fitzroy Morrissey. 04/07/2026: The battle between sacred and profane. Review of: Justice and Islamic Law: Mazalim Courts and Legal Reform / Jonathan A.C. Brown.

Jeremy Black. 04/04/2026: Murders for April. Omnibus review of crime fiction.

David James. 04/01/2026: Unreadable red bile. Review of: Human Capital: the tragedy of the education commons / Guy Standing.

Nina Power. 04/01/2026: The online life that steals your soul. Review of: GIRLSⓇ: Gen Z and the Commodification of Everything / Freya India (Swift Press).

Asian Review of Books April 2026

Jonathan Han. 04/29/2026: “Lady No” by Kim Hyesoon. Review of: Lady No / Kim Hyesoon; translator Jack Saebyok Jung.

Sankha Maji. 04/28/2026: “The Corpse Collector.” Review of: The Corpse Collector / Vinu P, Niyas Kareem, translated from the Malayalam Ministhy S. (Juggernaut).

Susan Blumberg-Kason. 04/25/2026: “The Young Will Remember” by Eve J Chung. Review of: The Young Will Remember / Eve J Chung (Berkley).

Jonathan Han. 04/24/2026: “Light Year” by Jennifer Wong. Review of: Light Year Jennifer Wong (Nine Arches Press).

Peter Gordon. 04/22/2026: “Trading at the Edge of Empires Francesco Carletti’s World, c. 1600.” Review of: Trading at the Edge of Empires: Francesco Carletti's World, c. 1600 / Brian Brege, Paula Findlen, Luca Molà, Giorgio Riello (eds) (Harvard University Press).

Susan Blumberg-Kason. 04/21/2026: “Hooked: A Novel of Obsession” by Asako Yuzuki. Review of: Hooked: A Novel of Obsession / Asako Yuzuki.

Melanie Ho. 04/18/2026: “Writing Between Languages: Translation and Multilingualism in Indian Francophone Writing” by Sheela Mahadevan. Review of: Writing Between Languages: Translation and Multilingualism in Indian Francophone Writing / Sheela Mahadevan (Bloomsbury).

Susan Blumberg-Kason. 04/17/2026: “Asian Folktales for Children: Traditional Tales from Japan, Korea, China, India, The Philippines and Other Asian Lands.” Review of: Asian Folktales for Children: Traditional Tales from Japan, Korea, China, India, The Philippines and Other Asian Lands / David Conger, Liana Romulo, Joan Suyenaga and Marian Davies Toth, illustrated by Patrick Yee (Tuttle).

Alan Ali Saeed. 04/15/2026: “The Competition of Unfinished Stories” by Sener Ozmen. Review of: The Competition of Unfinished Stories / Sener Ozmen; translation Nicholas Glastonbury.

Peter Gordon. 04/14/2026: “The Craft of Indo-Arabic Numerals: How Practical Arithmetic Shaped Commerce and Mathematics in Western Europe, 1200-1600” by Raffaele Danna. Review of: The Craft of Indo-Arabic Numerals: How Practical Arithmetic Shaped Commerce and Mathematics in Western Europe, 1200-1600 / Raffaele Danna (Harvard University Press).

Stephen Mercado. 04/13/2026: “Pyongyang on the Brink: Sixteen Crises That Shaped North Korea” by Fyodor Tertitskiy. Review of: Pyongyang on the Brink: Sixteen Crises That Shaped North Korea / Fyodor Tertitskiy (Hurst).

Vikram Zutshi. 04/12/2026: “The Dog Meows, the Cat Barks” by Eka Kurniawan. Review of: The Dog Meows, The Cat Barks / Eka Kurniawan; translation, Annie Tucker (New Directions).

Thảo Tô. 04/11/2026: “No Man River” by Dương Hướng. Review of: No Man River / Dương Hướng; translators: Quan Manh Ha & Charles Waugh (Penguin Southeast Asia).

David Chaffetz. 04/10/2026: “The Khan and the Unicorn: Mongol Empire and Qing Knowledge in the Making of World History” by Matthew V Mosca. Review of: The Khan and the Unicorn: Mongol Empire and Qing Knowledge in the Making of World History / Matthew V Mosca.

Soni Wadhwa. 04/08/2026: “Invisible Hands: Fabrication, Forgery, and the Art of Islamic Ceramics” by Margaret S Graves. Review of: Invisible Hands: Fabrication, Forgery, and the Art of Islamic Ceramics / Margaret S Graves.

Francis P. Sempa. 04/07/2026: Review of: Iran and the Revolution: A History / Homa Katouzian (Yale University Press).

Peter Gordon. 04/06/2026: “Venice and the Mongols: The Eurasian Exchange That Transformed the Medieval World” by Nicola Di Cosmo and Lorenzo Pubblici. Review of: Venice and the Mongols: The Eurasian Exchange That Transformed the Medieval World / Nicola Di Cosmo and Lorenzo Pubblici.

Kateryna Shabelnyk. 04/05/2026: “Sakura” by Kanako Nishi. Review of: Sakura / Kanako Nishi; translation, Allison Markin Powell (HarperVia). "Kanako Nishi’s Sakura, first published in Japan in 2005 and subsequently adapted into a movie in 2020, is an exploration of grief and reconnection."

David Chaffetz. 04/04/2026: “Threads of Empire: A History of the World in Twelve Carpets” by Dorothy Armstrong. Review of: Threads of Empire: A History of the World in Twelve Carpets / Dorothy Armstrong.

Alison Fincher. 04/03/2026: “The Luminous Fairies and Mothra” by Takehiko Fukunaga, Yoshie Hotta & Shin’ichiro Nakamura. Review of: The Luminous Fairies and Mothra / Takehiko Fukunaga, Yoshie Hotta & Shin’ichiro Nakamura; translator Jeffrey Angles.

Stephen Mercado. 04/01/2026: “Safe Passage: The Untold Story of Diplomatic Intrigue, Betrayal, and the Exchange of American and Japanese Civilians by Sea During World War II” by Evelyn Iritani. Review of: Safe Passage: The Untold Story of Diplomatic Intrigue, Betrayal, and the Exchange of American and Japanese Civilians by Sea During World War II / Evelyn Iritani (Farrar, Straus and Giroux).

PRoB (Pittsburgh Review of Books) April 2026

Suzy Liss. 04/30/2026: Falling Down a Radden Keefe Rabbit Hole. Review of: London Falling: A Mysterious Death in a Gilded City and a Family's Search for Truth / Patrick Radden Keefe.

PRoB Staff. 04/30/2026: What We’re Reading the Fifth Week of April 2026. "A roundup of the most engaging recent pieces on the web read by the Pittsburgh Review of Books this week."

Jake Grefenstette. 04/30/2026: The Pittsburgh Classics Revolution. “Pittsburgh is a city that takes classic (and classical) literature as seriously as any city in the world. Even better, Pittsburgh does an especially good job of taking the classic and the contemporary side by side.”

Khiara Bridges. 04/29/2026: The Maternal Health Care Crisis Affects Even the Wealthiest Black Americans. Excerpt from: Expecting Inequity: How the Maternal Health Care Crisis Affects Even the Wealthiest Black Americans / Khiara M. Bridges (MIT Press).

Adrian Woolfson. 04/28/2026: A Paradigm Change in the Biological Sciences. Excerpt from: On the Future of Species: Authoring Life by Means of Artificial Biological Intelligence / Adrian Woolfson.

David Shumway. 04/27/2026: You Don’t Know Leonard Cohen. “But who do girls like after they grow up? All of the evidence seems to suggest that many of them liked Leonard Cohen.” Excerpt from: The World of Leonard Cohen / David R. Shumway.

Eric Hanson. 04/27/2026: Hell Was Funny Freshman Year. “The relationship between Faith and Living though was less flexible. We could think what we wanted about texts in classrooms, but how we acted with our bodies in our dorm rooms was not open to debate.”

Ed Simon. 04/24/2026: What Chernobyl Means. “As a signifier for the Anthropocene, for all of our guile, hubris, and stupidity, as well as for whatever follows our epoch, Chernobyl remains unsurpassed. Because everybody knows what ‘Chernobyl’ means, even if we forget.”

Simon Armitage, interviewer Melissa Eppiheimer. 04/23/2026: Simon Armitage on Translating Gilgamesh. "An Assyriologist and the Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom talk about translating Gilgamesh."

Daniel Hahn. 04/23/2026: Shakespeare in Another Tongue. “Nobody reads more closely than a translator. If you’re translating a literary text that you think worthwhile, you will consider all of it, you’ll be aware of every comma, every little unstressed syllable.” Excerpt from: If This Be Magic: The Unlikely Art of Shakespeare in Translation / Daniel Hahn.

Greg Barnhisel. 04/22/2026: Telling it Slant: New and Innovative Literary Lives. “Biography is essential in what counts as ‘literature’ and how people are taught to read it. And like literature itself, literary biography has evolved.”

Michael Bérubé. 04/22/2026: (Culture) War is a Racket. “Spewing arrant nonsense about the past century or so of work in the humanities has real-world consequences: who knew?”

Martha Anne Toll. 04/22/2026: Humanity and Faith in Andrew Krivak’s Coal Country. Review of: Mule Boy / Andrew Krivak.

Ian Hunter. 04/21/2026: A First-Generation Kantian. “That Kantian philosophy was understood to be a kind of religion by its enemies no less than its friends can be seen in works by those for whom “philosophical religion” was a pejorative.” Excerpt from: The Kantian Religion / Ian Hunter.

Nicholas Humphrey. 04/17/2026: Serial Rasputin. “In a bizarre reversal of the Great Man Theory of History, he had no official position and no mass following, yet unintentionally he became the major contributor to the collapse of the greatest autocracy in the world.” Excerpt from: Rasputin: Downfall of the Romanovs / Anthony Beevor (UK title: Rasputin and the downfall of the Romanovs).

Petrarch and A.M. Juster. 04/16/2026: Two Newly Translated Sonnets of Petrarch: excerpts.

PRoB Staff. 04/16/2026: What We’re Reading the Third Week of April 2026. "A roundup of the most engaging recent pieces on the web read by the Pittsburgh Review of Books this week."

Cameron Barnett and Rita Dove. 04/15/2026: The Body and Breath: Poets Rita Dove and Cameron Barnett on Craft and Life in Poetry.

Boen Wang. 04/15/2026: Gordon Parks and the Art of Dirty Hands: Standard Oil hired photographer Gordon Parks to create propaganda which is nonetheless also astonishing art. Regarding: Gordon Parks: Pittsburgh Grease Plant, 1944/46 / Gordon Parks; Dan Leers.

Kristoffer Collins. 04/15/2026: The Great Black Swamp is Dead, Long Live the Great Black Swamp! Review of: Esquire Ball, Stories from the Great Black Swamp / Lisa Slage Robinson.

Leslie Fiedler. 04/14/2026: Preface to “Love and Death in the American Novel.” Touchstone: Love and Death in the American Novel / Leslie Fiedler.

Mark Coeckelbergh. 04/14/2026: The Myths We Code: AI and the Afterlife of the Western Religious Imagination.

Pamela S. Nadell. 04/13/2026: The Many Meanings of Antisemitism. Review of: On Antisemitism: A Word in History / Mark Mazower.

PRoB Staff. 04/09/2026: What We’re Reading the Second Week of April 2026.

Todd Shy. 04/08/2026: No Clean Shot in Life. Review of: Small Town Girls: a writer's memoir / Jayne Anne Phillips.

Simon During. 04/07/2026: Against Pleonexia. "On Erich Auerbach, world literature and the end of history.

Emily Wilson. 04/06/2026: Michael Luo Grapples with Chinese American History. Review of: Strangers in the Land: Exclusion, Belonging, and the Epic Story of the Chinese in America / Michael Luo.

James Swindal. 04/03/2026: A Life in the Public Sphere. "In his attempts to use philosophy as a tool not simply for the explication of consciousness but rather for social and political change, Habermas developed an epistemology that what would undermine fascism and its role in what Nazism had unleashed."

James Gordon Finlayson. 04/03/2026: The Final End of an Unfinished Project. "As Habermas put it, “reflecting on his own life and times, ‘things needed to get better’ and they did for a while – at least in certain respects."

David Ingram. 04/03/2026: Habermas Invictus. “So, when Marcuse asked me what I thought about their exchange I reluctantly confessed my attraction toward Habermas’s thinking. The silence that followed seemed to last an eternity and we quickly changed subjects. I was now under the spell of a new philosopher.”

Jake Grefenstette. 04/02/2026: Reading with the International Poetry Forum. "A National Poetry Month Syllabus from the International Poetry Forum."

PRoB Staff. 04/02/2026: What We’re Reading the First Week of April 2026.

Hannibal Hamlin. 04/01/2026: Ancient Aliens, Ancient Lies: The Seductive Pseudoscience of Erich Von Däniken. "The death of the author of Chariots of the Gods prompts a reckoning with what made his alien-astronaut theories so captivating—and why, in an era of rampant conspiracy thinking, they can no longer be dismissed as harmless nonsense."

Scott Solomon. 04/01/2026: Martian Minds. "“’All that we do know is that the technology will probably keep going and the people, hopefully, will not go crazy.’ It was, in hindsight, an optimistic view.” Excerpt from: Becoming Martian: How Living in Space Will Change Our Bodies and Minds / Scott Solomon.

NYRB Online April 09 2026

Literature

Miranda Seymour. Deciphering Dame Muriel. Review of: Electric Spark: The Enigma of Dame Muriel / Frances Wilson -- The Letters of Muriel Spark, Volume 1: 1944–1963 / edited by Dan Gunn (Virago).

Ben Lerner. Crowds and Lovers. "This essay will appear, in somewhat different form, as the introduction to a new edition of John Berger’s G., to be published by New York Review Books in June."

Omari Weekes. Possessing the Painful Parts. Review of: We Are a Haunting: a novel / Tyriek White: "traces the lives of Black Brooklynites dealing with the porous boundaries between the past and the present as they forge lives amid the detritus that others have discarded."

Ange Mlinko. Mother Daughter Sister Wife. Review of: Under a Pannonian Sky: Ten Women Poets from Hungary / translated from the Hungarian by Anna Bentley, Erika Mihálycsa, Ottilie Mulzet, Ivan Sanders, George Szirtes, and Clare Pollard with Anna T. Szabó, edited with an introduction by Ottilie Mulzet (Seagull).

Cathleen Schine. The Possibility of Humor. Review of: A Fool’s Kabbalah / Steve Stern.

Arts & Sports

Michael Dirda. Dantès’s Inferno. "When I first read The Count of Monte Cristo, it offered something irresistible: the possibility of reinvention. If, against all odds, Edmond Dantès could remake himself, so could I." Review of The Count of Monte Cristo, an eight-part television series directed by Bille August.

Pablo Scheffer. The Tennissance: Two young tennis stars have revived the sport by embodying the sort of athletic-aesthetic duality that made Nadal and Federer so fascinating. Review of: The Warrior: Rafael Nadal and His Kingdom of Clay / Christopher Clarey -- Changeover: A Young Rivalry and a New Era of Men’s Tennis / Giri Nathan.

Andrew Katzenstein. ‘Not Insane!’: The Firesign Theatre, a comedy group formed in the 1960s, created surreal albums that mixed satire and science fiction, and inspired a generation of misfits. Review of: Firesign: The Electromagnetic History of Everything as Told on Nine Comedy Albums / Jeremy Braddock.

Jenny Uglow. Rivals of the Landscape. Review of: Turner and Constable: Rivals and Originals, an exhibition at Tate Britain, London, November 27, 2025–April 12, 2026. Catalog of the exhibition edited by Amy Concannon -- Turner and Constable: Art, Life, Landscape / Nicola Moorby -- Constable / Tim Barringer, with an essay by Nicholas Robbins (Yale Center for British Art) -- Turner / Ian Warrell, with an essay by Gillian Forrester (Yale Center for British Art).

James Romm. The Marbles & the Muses. Review of: Frieze Frame: How Poets, Painters, and Their Friends Framed the Debate Around Elgin and the Marbles of the Parthenon / A.E. Stallings.

Philosophy

Robert Fogue Harrison. Interminable Ignorance: Why has the will to ignorance become so virulent in our time? Review of: Ignorance and Bliss: On Wanting Not to Know / Mark Lilla -- On Not Knowing: How to Love and Other Essays / Emily Ogden.

Math

Dan Rockmore. In Defense of Algebra. Review of: The Mending of Broken Bones: A Modern Guide to Classical Algebra / Paul Lockhart -- Arithmetic / Paul Lockhart -- Measurement / Paul Lockhart -- A Mathematician’s Lament / Paul Lockhart, with a foreword by Keith Devlin. Note the link to 2 Benjamin Labatutt books: https://www.nybooks.com/articles/2025/04/10/the-quantum-chaos-of-literature-benj... (recommended!).

History, Politics, Society, & Culture

David A. Bell. Who Built France?: A new history explores France’s empire from the perspective of the indigenous and enslaved people who participated, willingly or not, in its creation. Review of: By Flesh and Toil: How Sex, Race, and Labor Shaped the Early French Empire / Mélanie Lamotte.

Joshua Hammer. A Man-Made Disaster. Review of: Black Snow: Curtis LeMay, the Firebombing of Tokyo, and the Road to the Atomic Bomb / James M. Scott -- The Bomber Mafia: A Dream, a Temptation, and the Longest Night of the Second World War / Malcolm Gladwell.

Yi-Ling Liu. Shenzhen Express: In Shenzhen, the successes and failures of China’s remarkable new economy are on full display. Review of: Breakneck: China’s Quest to Engineer the Future / Dan Wang -- House of Huawei: The Secret History of China’s Most Powerful Company / Eva Dou.

Fintan O'Toole. Signifying Absolutely Nothing: Trump’s war of choice in Iran is a performance of horrific military strength that betrays a stark political weakness. (Article)

Pankaj Mishra. A Bitter Education: In its quiescence to the West’s war on Iran, India is squandering a precious legacy. (Article)

TLS April 3, 2026|No. 6402

Featured

Mary Beard (A Don's Life blog from the TLS landing page). 03/31/2026: The ‘Column Crowd.’

Claude Rawson. Cultural superpower?: An argument for ‘British is best.’ Review of: The British Imagination: A history of ideas from Elizabeth I to Elizabeth II' / Peter Watson.

Mark Ford. English virtue battles the pagan: The genesis of Far from the Madding Crowd. Review of: Far from the Madding Crowd / Thomas Hardy; edited by Simon Gatrell (Cambridge University Press).

Judith Ryan. Freeing Thomas Mann: Modern English translations that do justice to the work. Review of: The Buddenbrooks / Thomas Mann; translated by Mike Mitchell (Oxford World's Classics) -- Death in Venice and Other Stories / Thomas Mann; translated by Nicola Luckhurst and Ritchie Robertson (Oxford World's Classics) -- The Magic Mountain / Thomas Mann; translated by Simon Pare (Oxford World's Classics) -- Doctor Faustus / Thomas Mann; translated by Ritchie Robertson (Oxford World's Classics).

Nat Segnit. The texture of etcetera: What smartphones can’t record. Review of: Transcription: a novel / Ben Lerner.

Literature

James Campbell. Being fair to Fowles: In praise of a neglected novelist. (Essay)

Irina Dumitrescu. Paper castles: How medieval texts predict modern technology. (Essay)

Karolina Watroba. The banality of victimhood: The ‘rich, famous and insufferable’ writer in exile. Review of: Wenn die Sonne untergeht: Familie Mann in Sanary / Florian Illies.

Lucy Wood. Backpacking: The young Wilkie Collins’s travels in Cornwall. Review of: On Cornwall / Wilkie Collins (Bodleian Library Publishing).

Ana Alicia Garza. What’s in a name?: An orphan who may have inspired Oliver Twist. Review of: Oliver Twist & Me: The true story of my family and Charles Dickens’s best-loved novel / Nicholas Blincoe.

Claire Harman. Soliloquies: Iris Murdoch’s poems are personal but not revealing. Review of: Poems from an Attic: Selected poems 1936–95 / Iris Murdoch; edited by Anne Rowe, Miles Leeson, Rachel Hirschler and Frances White.

Kit Maude. Donkey work: Translating Samuel Beckett into Spanish. Review of: La madre de Beckett tenía un burro / Matías Battistón.

George Garnett. Weighty bullion sense: The table talk of a seventeenth-century polymath. Review of: The Discourse / Jason P. Rosenblatt and Joshua Eckhardt, editors (Oxford University Press).

Libby Purves. Vodka and vapours: A crime writer turns her attention to winter. Review of: Winter: The story of a season / Val McDermid.

Heather Cass White. This shaken globe: A group of affluent friends flirts with disaster. Review of: The Quantity Theory of Morality: Together with five supporting propositions and the epilogue / Will Self (Grove Press).

Christopher Shrimpton. Street of shame: A novel of intergenerational conflict and personal angst. Review of: The Dice Was Loaded from the Start / David Annand (Corsair).

Philip Womack. Only expose: A jobbing actor finds work as a prop in an experiment. Review of: Black Bag / Luke Kennard.

Keith Miller. In concert: Collaboration between a Gen X composer and a Gen Z saxophonist. Review of: Discord / Jeremy Cooper.

In Brief Review of: ‘D’ Train / Terry Wilson.

In Brief Review of: Aurais-je été sans peur et sans reproche?: Le Chevalier Bayard et moi / Pierre Bayard (Minuit).

In Brief Review of: The Politics of Fantasy: Magic, children’s literature, and fandom in Putin’s Russia / Eliot Borenstein.

In Brief Review of: The Great Good Places / Margaret Drabble (Canongate). TLS incorrectly attributes the author of the review to M Drabble; link indicates it's by "sheena joughin"

Arts

Flora Willson. Sound and vision: Music and the material world. Review of: Duet: An artful history of music / Eleanor Chan.

Boyd Tonkin. Escaping chains and cages: Birds as symbol and reality in art. Review of: Birds: “The Goldfinch”, birds, art and us / Simon Schama and Martine Gosselink -- the exhibition Birds, Mauritshuis, The Hague, until June 7.

Adam Mars-Jones. His time is up: A third president: the new film by Paolo Sorrentino. Review of Sorrentino's new film: La grazia.

Maria Margaronis. Rural fantasies: The last days of the Russian bourgeoisie. Review of Maxim Gorky's Summerfolk In a new version by Nina Raine and Moses Raine; National Theatre, London, until April 29.

Lily Herd. Timelines and true crime: A new play poses questions about versions of history. Review of Sarah Power's Welcome to Pemfort, Soho Theatre, London, until April 18.

Philosophy

Mark Nayler. I am not alone: Hegel’s philosophy of interdependence. Review of: How to Read Hegel Now / Shannon Hoff.

Daniel A. Bell. Leading by example: A ‘magnificent’ new translation of Confucius’ Dialogues. Review of: Dialogues of Confucius: The complete text / translated, introduced and with commentary by Brian Bruya and Wenwen Li.

In Brief Review of: The Penguin Book of Existentialist Philosophy / Zachary Harman, editor.

Science, Technology, & Math

Fiona Stafford. Planting a seed: How trees shape our environment and the world. Review of: The Genius of Trees: How trees mastered the elements and shaped the world / Harriet Rix -- The Great Tree Story: How forests have shaped our world / Levison Wood.

Sally Coulthard. The darkness holds it all: Two studies of nocturnal beauty. Review of: Night Vision: In search of the true dark / Jean Sprackland -- Nightfaring: In Search of the Disappearing Darkness (UK title per TLS (error?): Night: In search of the disappearing darkness / Megan Eaves-Egenes.

Emily Herring. Press the off button: A hyperactive life as the enemy of creativity and personal happiness. Review of: In Defence of Leisure: Experiments in living with Marion Milner / Akshi Singh -- The Brain at Rest: Why doing nothing can change your life / Joseph Jebelli.

Violet Moller. From flesh to fossils: A pioneer in anatomy and geology. Review of: The Traveling Anatomist: Nicolaus Steno and the intersection of disciplines in early modern science / Nuno Castel-Branco.

In Brief Review: Reaching for the Extreme: How the quest for the biggest, fewest and weirdest makes maths / Ian Stewart.

History, Politics, Society, & Culture

Sam Freedman. All the president’s men: The four contradictory groups behind Maga. Review of: Furious Minds: The making of the Maga new right / Laura K. Field -- Muskism: A guide for the perplexed / Quinn Slobodian and Ben Tarnoff -- Hated: Tucker Carlson and the unravelling of the conservative mind / Jason Zengerle.

Sarah Baxter. A House divided: Why the US Congress is unfit for purpose. Review of: Stuck: How money, media, and violence prevent change in Congress / Maya L. Kornberg.

Robert Bevan. Life at the top: The rise and fall of British public housing. Review of: Up in the Air: A history of high-rise Britain / Holly Smith -- England’s Suburbs 1820–2020 / Joanna Smith and Matthew Whitfield.

Peter Parker. Experiments in living: Queer lives in suburban town and country. Review of: A Queer Inheritance: Alternative histories in the National Trust / Michael Hall -- Tales of the Suburbs: LGBTQ+ lives behind net curtains / John Grindrod.

Richard Davenport-Hines. Slumming it: Peter Rachman, the archetype of a ruthless London landlord. Review of: Slumlord: Peter Rachman and the post-war London underworld / Neil Root (Icon).

Tim Durrant. Kindly bullies: The world of the parliamentary whip. Review of: The Usual Channels: Inside the mysterious world of political whips / Sebastian Whale -- Ungovernable: The political diaries of a chief whip / Simon Hart.

Ruth Heholt. Horrifying echoes: An uneasy melding of memoir and haunted-house investigation. Review of: Hearth of Darkness / Matt Blake.

Rimas Uzgiris. Letter from: Vilnius. (Essay)

In Brief Review of: The Rise and Fall of the British Army, 1975–2025 / Ben Barry.

In Brief Review: Homeschooled: a memoir / Stefan Merrill Block.

In Brief Review of: Someone Like Me: An anthology of non-fiction by autistic writers / Clem Bastow and Jo Case, editors.

Literary Review April 2026 (UK monthly)

Jane O'Grady. It’s a Wonderful Life. Review of: Ludwig Wittgenstein: Philosophy in the Age of Airplanes / Anthony Gottlieb -- I Think of You Constantly with Love: The Letters of Ludwig Wittgenstein and Ben Richards / Gabriel Citron & Alfred Schmidt (edd).

Piers Brendon. Plum Assignments. Review of: Jan Morris: A Life / Sara Wheeler.

Richard Norton-Taylor. The Soviet Network. Review of: Stalin’s Apostles: The Cambridge Five and the Making of the Soviet Empire / Antonia Senior.

Simon Nixon. Web of Nightmares. Review of: We Know You Can Pay a Million: Inside the Dark Economy of Hacking and Ransomware / Anja Shortland.

Atlantic April 2026

Eva Holland. 04/30/2026: Seven Death-Defying Books for the Adventurous Reader. The books are: Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage / Alfred Lansing -- A Walk in the Park: The True Story of a Spectacular Misadventure in the Grand Canyon / Kevin Fedarko -- Coasting: A Private Voyage (Vintage Departures) / Jonathan Raban -- A Hope Divided (The Loyal League Book 2) / Alyssa Cole -- In the Heart of the Sea: the tragedy of the whaleship Essex / Nathanial Philbrick -- The Sun Is a Compass: A 4,000-Mile Journey into the Alaskan Wilds / Caroline Van Hemert -- The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon / David Grann.

Megan Garber and Adrienne LaFrance. 04/28/2026: Atlantic Reads: Screen People With Megan Garber. "Staff writer Megan Garber and Adrienne LaFrance, The Atlantic’s executive editor, discuss Garber’s new book, Screen People: How We Entertained Ourselves Into a State of Emergency."

Hua Hsu. 04/28/2026: Lee Friedlander’s America: The photographer spent decades meandering across the country with his camera. What was he looking for? Regarding: Lee Friedlander: Life Still / Lee Friedlander (Aperture).

Jack Hamilton. 04/28/2026: The Misunderstood Message of Heartland Rock. Review of: Won't Back Down: Heartland Rock and the Fight for America / Erin Osmon.

Charlie Tyson. 04/27/2026: The Books That Take Revenge, Centuries Later. Review of: A Treacherous Secret Agent: How Literature Spoke Truth to Power During the Red Scare / Marjorie Garber. "A new history of the Red Scare prompts the question: Does literature still have enough influence to bring down the powerful?"

Alec Nevala-Lee. 04/23/2026: The Questionable Triumph of the ‘Baling Wire Hippies.’ "Stewart Brand’s Whole Earth Catalog was seen as a countercultural milestone, but his new book reveals his alliances with the powerful." Regarding: Maintenance of Everything: Part One (Maintenance: Of Everything Book 1) / Stewart Brand.

Nicholas Boggs. 04/22/2026: Eight of the Most Fascinating Biographies to Read. Fairly recent ones, I should note.

Lily Meyer. 04/22/2026: Is Cohabitation the Feminist Future? "Stories about women living together are proliferating—and offering alternative visions to the nuclear family." Review of: Sisters in Yellow: A Novel / Mieko Kawakami; translators Laurel Taylor & Hitomi Yoshio, w/reference to: My Seven Mothers: Making a Family in the Danish Women's Movement / Pernille Ipsen; translator Tina Nunnally -- A Very Cold Winter / Fausta Cialente; translator Julia Nelsen -- Hollow Inside / Asako Otani; translator Ginny Tapley Takemori -- Two Women Living Together / Kim Hana & Hang Sunwoo; translator Gene Png.

Shirley Li. 04/21/2026: shared link: The Rise of CliffsNotes Cinema: Oversimplified literary remakes miss the point of the works they are adapting.

Jessica Ferri. 04/21/2026: Peter Hujar’s Photos Are All the Rage. He’d Be Shocked. Review of: The Wonderful World That Almost Was: A Life of Peter Hujar and Paul Thek / Andrew Durbin.

Olga Khazan. 04/20/2026: Where Did ‘Let Them’ Come From? "Years before Mel Robbins published her best-selling self-help book, a struggling writer posted a poem with a similar message." Regarding: The Let Them Theory: A Life-Changing Tool That Millions of People Can't Stop Talking About / Mel Robbins.

Boris Kachka. 04/17/2026: The First Draft of Cultural History: Lena Dunham’s new memoir is a fascinating primary source of Hollywood in the 2010s. Regarding: Famesick: a memoir / Lena Dunham.

Gal Beckerman. 04/16/2026: Be as Self-Righteous as Thoreau. "He has been seen as an environmentalist, a libertarian, a life coach. To understand his influence, think of him first as a dissident."

David Engber. 04/15/2026: The Publishing Mystery That No One Wants to Talk About. "A minimally speaking autistic man just wrote a best-selling book. Or did he?" Regarding: Upward Bound / Woody Brown.

James Parker. 04/14/2026: The Eighth Deadly Sin: Humankind has devised a new form of debasement.. Review of: Self-Help from the Middle Ages: What the Seven Deadly Sins Can Teach Us About Living / Peter Jones.

Meghan O'Rourke. 04/14/2026: The Paradox of Modern Medicine: Testing has become so advanced that doctors now miss important elements of diagnosis. Review of: The Elusive Body: Patients, Doctors, and the Diagnosis Crisis / Alexandra Sifferlin.

Sophie Gilbert. 04/14/2026: What Does Lena Dunham Want to Tell Us? Review of: Famesick: a memoir / Lena Dunham.

Jonathan Chait. 04/10/2026: The Banality of MAGA-fication. Review of: The Political Vise: How the Radical Left Controls America and the Path to Regaining Our Liberty / John Tillman (RealClear Publishing).

Kaitlynn Tiffany. 04/09/2026: ‘This City Will Always Pursue You’: With her first new novel in more than 20 years, Nancy Lemann returns, yet again, to New Orleans and its eccentricities. Review of: The Oyster Diaries / Nancy Lemann.

Rachel Canter. 04/09/2026: States Are Learning the Wrong Lesson From the ‘Mississippi Miracle.’ "Phonics-based curriculum is only one part of how Mississippi went from worst to first in education. The other part is much harder to pull off."

Rebecca Ackermann. 04/08/2026: The Literary Job AI Can’t Replace: Ghostwriting is good, actually—when it’s done by humans.

K. Austin Collins. 04/08/2026: Who Is Black Comedy For? Review of: Black Out Loud: The Revolutionary History of Black Comedy from Vaudeville to '90s Sitcoms / Geoff Bennett.

Nicholas Dames. 04/07/2026: The Feeling of Becoming Less and Less of a Person. Review of: Transcription: a novel / Ben Lerner.

Cullen Murphy. 04/01/2026: What Tracy Kidder Stood For: His deep, immersive writing had moral stakes and changed people’s lives.

LitHub April 2026

Madeline Vosch. 04/29/2026: I Wish I Didn’t Have to Tell You About My Book: Madeline Vosch on Writing a Memoir About Suicide. Nevertheless promoting: Undead: a memoir of my suicide / Madeline Vosch (Beacon Press).

Bruce Nichols. 04/28/2026: Was Emerson the True Father of American Literature? Excerpt from: The Emerson Circle: The Concord Radicals Who Reinvented the World / Bruce Nichols.

Jenny Bartoy. 04/28/2026: Ten Memoirs That Explore the Nuances of Family Estrangement. The list is long but sounds worthwhile: Shadow Daughter: A Memoir of Estrangement / Harriet Brown -- What My Bones Know: A Memoir of Healing from Complex Trauma / Stephanie Foo -- Another Bullshit Night in Suck City: A Memoir / Nick Flynn -- Touching the Art / Mattilda Bernstein Sycamore -- I Would Meet You Anywhere: A Memoir / Susan Kiyo Ito -- The Power of Parting: Finding Peace and Freedom Through Family Estrangement / Eamon Dolan -- Of My Own Making: A Memoir / Daria Burke -- Estranged: Leaving Family and Finding Home / Jessica Berger Gross -- The Land is Holy / noam klein -- Not My Father's Son: A Memoir: A Riveting Celebrity Biography with a Shocking Twist, Discover the Hidden Story / Alan Cumming.

Justin Garson. 04/28/2026: The Medicalization of Madness: How Schizophrenia Was Treated Throughout the Ages. Excerpt from: The Madness Pill: One Doctor's Quest to Understand Schizophrenia / Justin Garson.

Rachel León & Grace Spulak. 04/27/2026: Interrogating the Heaviness: On Resilience in Fiction and Real Life. "Rachel León and Grace Spulak Discuss The Ways Their Creative Process Is Informed By Professional and Personal Experience."

Kyle Cheung. 04/27/2026: On Vigdis Hjorth’s Repetition and the Hidden Disenfranchisement of Children. Touchstone (translation apparently not held on LT): Repetition: A Novel / Vigdis Hjorth; translation, Charlotte Barslund (Verso).

Emily Doucet. 04/27/2026: Honoré de Balzac’s Greatest Fear? Being Photographed. Excerpt from: Inventing Nadar: A History of Photographic Firsts / Emily Doucet (Duke University Press).

Max Rudin. 04/24/2026: How Library of America Helped Shape the Modern American Literary Canon "Max Rudin is President & Publisher of Library of America, which he joined 1980 soon after its founding."

Edwin B. Maxwell. 04/22/2026: BPL Chief Librarian Edwin B. Maxwell on his favorite books about libraries.

Caroline Bicks. 04/22/2026: “Clitter” is a Real World: And Other Discoveries Reading the First Draft of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. Excerpt from: Monsters in the Archives: My Year of Fear with Stephen King / Caroline Bicks.

Carissa Véliz. 04/22/2026: The Power of Prophecy, from Apollo to AI. Excerpt from: Prophecy: Prediction, Power, and the Fight for the Future, from Ancient Oracles to AI / Carissa Véliz (Doubleday).

Daniel Hahn. 04/22/2026: Are Shakespeare’s Commas Really That Important? Excerpt from: If This Be Magic: The Unlikely Art of Shakespeare in Translation / Daniel Hahn.

Jayne Anne Phillips. 04/22/2026: Jayne Anne Phillips Wonders What Happens to Writers If They Don’t Write? Excerpt from: Small Town Girls: a writer’s memoir / Jayne Anne Phillips.

Megan Garber: 04/22/2026: Have We Entertained Ourselves Into a State of Emergency? Excerpt from: Screen People: How We Entertained Ourselves Into a State of Emergency / Megan Garber.

Jayne Anne Phillips, interviewer Jane Ciabattar. 04/21/2026: Jayne Anne Phillips on Chronicling Her West Virginia Upbringing and Writer’s Journey. Regarding: Small Town Girls: a writer’s memoir / Jayne Anne Phillips.

Quinn Slobodian and Ben Tarnoff. 04/20/2026: When (and Why) Exactly Did Elon Musk Make His Hard Turn to the Right? Excerpt from: Muskism: A Guide for the Perplexed / Quinn Slobodian and Ben Tarnoff.

Laura E. Helton. 04/20/2026: In the Parlors of Black Bibliophiles: How Arturo Schomburg Built a Library and Made History. Excerpt from forthcoming: Black Studies on 135th Street: The Founding and Future of the Schomburg Collection / edited by Barrye Brown, Laura E. Helton, and Vanessa K. Valdés (Yale University Press, April 21).

Maris Kreizman. 04/16/2026: It’s Getting Harder to Spot AI in Contemporary Publishing. And That’s Very, Very Bad.

Suchitra Ramachandran. 04/16/2026: A Linguistic and Philosophical Tapestry: Suchitra Ramachandran on Jeyamohan’s The Abyss. Translator's introduction to: The Abyss / Jeyamohan; translator Suchitra Ramachandran (Transit Books).

Polly Barton. 04/16/2026: Polly Barton on Ryūnosuke Akutagawa’s Hell of Solitude. Introduction to: Hell of Solitude / Ryonosuke Akutagawa; translation Ryan Choi (Prototype Press).

Harry Sidebottom. 04/15/2026: Of the Many Types of Roman Gladiator, Some Were Definitely Women. Excerpt from: Those Who Are About to Die: A Day in the Life of a Roman Gladiator / Harry Sidebottom.

Rosa Campbell. 04/15/2026: We’re All Wrong About Men and Feminism. Excerpt from: The Book That Taught the World to Orgasm and Then Disappeared: Shere Hite and the Hite Report / Rosa Campbell. Touchstone: The Hite Report: a nationwide study of female sexuality / Shere Hite.

Jennifer Acker. 04/13/2026: On Writing the Hard Truths of Rural American Life.

James K. Chandler. 04/13/2026: Of Nature, Art and Grace: On Norman Maclean’s A River Runs Through It. Here's the touchstone: A River Runs through It and Other Stories / Norman Maclean.

Ed Simon. 04/10/2026: How Amazing Stories Served as the Blueprint for American Science Fiction.

Daphne du Meowier. 04/10/2026: Meet These Delightful Bookshop Cats (and One Dog!)

Jiiyoung Han. 04/08/2026: The Power of Narrative: How Stories Help Us Process Our Most Difficult Realities.

Michael Edison Hayden. 04/08/2026: The Extremist History Behind a Small American Town. Excerpt from: Strange People on the Hill: How Extremism Tore Apart a Small American Town / Michael Edison Hayden.

Amie Souza Reilly. 04/06/2026: The Responsibility of the Critic: On Art, Honesty, and Introspection. “A writer must look inward to determine how their own perceptions might project onto their theorizing.”

Ana Gavrilovska, interviewers Whitney Terrell and V.V. Ganeshananthan. 04/02/2026: Ana Gavrilovska on Pynchon’s Prescient Technofascism. Regarding Thomas Pynchon

Kelsey Rexroat. 04/02/2026: What Are the Routines of So-Called Super-Readers?

More on the late Jürgen Habermas:

Matt McManus. Jacobin, 03/15/2026: Jürgen Habermas Showed What Philosophy Could Be.

Cass Sunstein. Cass's Substack, 03/14/2026: On the Death of Jurgen Habermas: A Day to Mourn, A Hero to Celebrate.

Alexander C. Carp. Politico, 03/20/2026: My Time with Jürgen Habermas, Europe's 'Last Intellectual.'.

The Habermas obit is in Exploring Books Through Articles, Reviews, Announcements, & Lists 2026-01 Jan-March, item 134

Addendum, see also PRoB Apr 03 >8 featherbear:

NYT April 2025

Jonathan Russell Clark. 04/30/2026: In the Remote Woods of the Ozarks, Two Lost Girls Decades Apart. Review of: CAVE MOUNTAIN: A Disappearance and a Reckoning in the Ozarks / Benjamin Hale.

Miguel Salazar. 04/29/2026: Catholic Guilt? Not for These Priests. Review of: ASIDE FROM MY HEART, ALL IS WELL / Héctor Abad; translated by Anne McLean.

Jennifer Szalai. 04/29/2026: Your Chatbot Is a Fortune Teller, Not a Truth Teller. Review of: PROPHECY: Prediction, Power, and the Fight for the Future, From Ancient Oracles to AI / Carissa Véliz.

Emily C. Hughes. 04/29/2026: A Lush, Unnerving Ghost Story That Unfolds in Rural Japan. Review of: JAPANESE GOTHIC / Kylie Lee Baker.

Fred Kaplan. 04/28/2026: We Used to Compile Our Own Wartime Kill Lists. Now We Let A.I. Do It. Review of: PROJECT MAVEN: A Marine Colonel, His Team, and the Dawn of AI Warfare / Katrina Manson

Dustin Illingworth. 04/28/2026: Why Are Novels About Failure and Resentment So Thrilling? "The German writer Wolfgang Koeppen’s postwar trilogy crackles with life and unsparing details of a broken society."

Dwight Garner. 04/27/2026: shared link: Where Have All the Book Reviews Gone?: What the rise of A.I. and the gutting of books coverage across U.S. media will mean for literature.

Leah Greenblatt. 04/27/2026: You Can’t Always Get What You Want, Unless It’s a New Rolling Stones Biography. Review of: THE ROLLING STONES: The Biography / Bob Spitz.

Sigrid Nunez. 04/27/2026: The ‘Perfect Birthplace for a Writer’? She Says It’s West Virginia. Review of: SMALL TOWN GIRLS: A Writer’s Memoir / Jayne Anne Phillips.

Alexandra Jacobs. 04/26/2026: He’s Written Great Books About Sex in Suburbia. This One’s a ‘Ghost Town.’ Review of: GHOST TOWN / Tom Perrotta.

Natasha Singer. 04/26/2026: As the First Influencer Kids Come of Age, What Have We Learned? Review of: LIKE, FOLLOW, SUBSCRIBE: Influencer Kids and the Cost of a Childhood Online / Fortesa Latifi.

Brooks Barnes. 04/26/2026: For a Crawl Through Hollywood’s Underside, Let Him Be Your Guide. "Jordan Harper knows the entertainment industry from the inside out. His new novel, “A Violent Masterpiece,” holds nothing back."

Alida Becker. 04/26/2026: New Historical Fiction, Lush and Lavishly Detailed. Featured: The Shock of the Light / Lori Inglis Hall -- Ruby Falls / Gin Phillips -- Centroeuropa / Vicente Luis Mora; translation Rahul Bery -- Wild People Quiet / Tara Gereaux.

Gary Rosen 04/25/2026: Lessons From the Wild, Elusive Life of a Conservation Giant. Review of: HOMESICK FOR A WORLD UNKNOWN: The Life of George B. Schaller / Miriam Horn.

John McWhorter. 04/25/2026: Translating Shakespeare? This Be Madness — or Is It? Review of: IF THIS BE MAGIC: The Unlikely Art of Shakespeare in Translation / Daniel Hahn.

Jen Doll. 04/25/2026: Who Cares About Aliens. I’m Beefing With My Mom. Review of: THE RADIANT DARK / Alexandra Oliva.

Gregory Maguire. 04/24/2026: A New Manifesto for Children’s Literature. Review of: MAKE BELIEVE: On Telling Stories to Children / Mac Barnett.

Thomas E. Ricks. 04/24/2026: How Is the Persian Invasion of Greece Like the Iran War? Review of: PERSIA’S GREEK CAMPAIGNS: Kingship, War, and Spectacle on the Achaemenid Frontier / John O. Ryland -- CHAOS IN THE GREEN ZONE: My Time as an Iraq War Strategist / Tom Mowle (University Press of Kansas) -- MOLLIE BRUMLEY’S CIVIL WAR: Surviving the Guerrilla War in Arkansas / Theodor Catton.

Kelly Yang. 04/23/2026: These Literary Thrillers Explore Hollywood’s Dark Side.

Sarah Weinman. 04/22/2026: This Is the Noir Novel for Our Times. Review of: A Violent Masterpiece / Jordan Harper -- The Counting Game / Sinéad Nolan -- A Cute Little Murder / Molly Harper -- A Murder Most Camp / Nicolas DiDomizio.

Jennifer Szalai. 04/22/2026: An Israeli-Born Scholar of the Holocaust Mourns for His Country. Review of: ISRAEL: What Went Wrong? / Omer Bartov.

Charles Finch. 04/21/2026: Why Look at Art? This Critic Has Some Ideas. Review of: HOW IT FEELS TO BE ALIVE: Encounters With Art and Our Selves / Megan O’Grady.

Katie Kitamura. 04/21/2026: If Everyone Here Is Doing It, Is It Even Adultery? Review of: PERMANENCE: a novel / Sophie Mackintosh.

Christian Lorentzen. 04/21/2026: Surrender Your Standards. It’s Time to Join the Rest of the World. Review of: The Palm House / Gwendoline Riley. "Gwendoline Riley offers understated yet cleareyed observations of human behavior — this time about middle-aged Londoners struggling to stay relevant."

Andrea Wulf. 04/19/2026: Who Really Wore the Pants on the Lewis and Clark Expedition? Review of: THIS VAST ENTERPRISE: A New History of Lewis & Clark / Craig Fehrman.

Alexandra Jacobs. 04/19/2026: A Mother Remembers One of the ‘Beautiful Six,’ Abducted on Oct. 7. Review of: WHEN WE SEE YOU AGAIN / Rachel Goldberg-Polin (Random House).

Astra Taylor. 04/18/2026: Is There a Right Way to Rebel? Review of: HOW TO BE A DISSIDENT / Gal Beckerman.

2 selections from NYT T-Magazine's How to Be Cultured issue. Other book-related lists: "3 Pivotal Characters From American Literature" -- "6 Myths That Endure" -- "What You Should’ve Read By Age …" -- "What to Read to Understand France, Japan, India, the U.K. and Brazil" -- "The 5 AIDS-Era American Novels to Read First". Link to the issue: How to Be Cultured

Michael Cunningham. NYT T-Mag, 04/17/2026: The Great Literary B-Sides. "his favorite less-famous books by famous writers": Romola / George Eliot (1863) -- Quiet Dell / Jayne Anne Phillips (2013) -- Solaris / Stanislaw Lem (1961) -- Fox 8 / George Saunders (2013) -- Between the Acts / Virginia Woolf (1941).

Yiyun Li. NYT T-Mag, 04/17/2026: 3 Fairy Tales Worth Revisiting as an Adult: Childhood stories that shape how we understand the world. The Cowherd and the Weaver Girl (first millennium B.C.) "a traditional Chinese tale that, in a popular 20th-century version, describes a couple who defy the social order for a love marriage" -- How Some Children Played at Slaughtering (1812) by the Brothers Grimm -- Little Ida’s Flowers (1835) by Hans Christian Andersen.

Jennifer Reese. 04/16/2026: Two Delicious Food Memoirs, Two Very Different Menus. Review of: EXTRA SAUCE: The Good, the Bad, and the Onions / Zahra Tangorra -- ON EATING: The Making and Unmaking of My Appetites / Alicia Kennedy.

Zoe Dubno. 04/16/2026: A Woman Looks to Monica Lewinsky to Figure Out Where Things Went Wrong. Review of: DEAR MONICA LEWINSKY / Julia Langbein.

Annie Correal. 04/16/2026: How a Decade of Violence Transformed Colombia, and One Family. Review of: THE VIOLENCE: My Family’s Colombian War / Adriana E. Ramírez.

Arthur Sze. 04/16/2026(?): Arthur Sze Treasures Sappho, Neruda and ‘2,000 Years of Mayan Literature.’ "The U.S. poet laureate’s new book, “Transient Worlds,” collects 23 poems in 13 languages to show the many ways a work can be translated."

Jennifer Szalai. 04/15/2026: How ‘Muskism’ Is Changing the Way America Works. Review of: MUSKISM: A Guide for the Perplexed / Quinn Slobodian and Ben Tarnoff.

Sophie Pinkham. 04/15/2026: Russia’s Greatest Love Machine? Probably Not. Review of: RASPUTIN: The Downfall of the Romanovs / Antony Beevor.

Janice P. Nimura. 04/15/2026: What It Was Like Inside U.S.A.I.D. Before He Blew the Whistle. Review of: INTO THE WOOD: CHIPPER: A Whistleblower’s Account of How the Trump Administration Shredded USAID / Nicholas Enrich.

A.O. Scott. 04/14/2026: After 10 Years, She’s Still Waking Up on the Same Day. Review of: ON THE CALCULATION OF VOLUME: Book IV / Solvej Balle.

Alexandra Jacobs. 04/14/2026: In ‘Famesick,’ Lena Dunham Diagnoses Celebrity, Illness and Herself. Review of: FAMESICK: A Memoir / Lena Dunham.

Francine Prose. 04/14/2026: Bob Dylan and the Beatles: When the Fab Four Became the Fab Five. Review of: WHERE THE MUSIC HAD TO GO: How Bob Dylan and the Beatles Changed Each Other — and the World / Jim Windolf.

Nicolas Niarchos. 04/14/2026: A New Biography Asks, How Does Robert F. Kennedy Jr. See Himself? Review of: RFK JR.: The Fall and Rise / Isabel Vincent (Morrow).

Bruce Cumings. 04/14/2026: What North Korea’s Cult of Personality Owes Christianity. Review of: KOREAN MESSIAH: Kim Il Sung and the Christian Roots of North Korea’s Personality Cult / Jonathan Cheng.

Alexandra Alter. 04/13/2026: Tucker Carlson Is Starting a Publishing Imprint. "Tucker Carlson Books, a joint venture between Carlson’s media company and Skyhorse Publishing, will put out books by Russell Brand, Milo Yiannopoulos and more."

Jeff Giles. 04/13/2026: Maria Semple Is Back With Another Frenetic Human Comedy. Review of: GO GENTLE: a novel / Maria Semple.

Dwight Garner. 04/13/2026: A Brand-Name Novelist Revisits His Old Friend and Alter Ego. Review of: SEE YOU ON THE OTHER SIDE: a novel / Jay McInerney. "Jay McInerney has written about the literary party boy Russell Calloway once a decade since the 1990s. He returns in the Covid novel “See You on the Other Side.”"

Fintan O'Toole. 04/13/2026: Can These Israeli and Palestinian Tour Guides Find Common Ground? Review of: THE FUTURE IS PEACE: A Shared Journey Across the Holy Land / Aziz Abu Sarah and Maoz Inon.

Elvia Wilk. 04/12/2026: A Blue-Blooded Dynasty Falls to a ‘Blood-Red’ Century in This Novel. Review of: LÁZÁR: a novel / Nelio Biedermann; translated by Jamie Bulloch (‎ S&S/Summit Books).

Thomas Rogers. 04/12/2026: A Very Old-Fashioned Novel Has Made a Star Out of a Very Young Writer. "Just 22 and still a student, Nelio Biedermann has been compared to Thomas Mann thanks to “Lázár,” his sweeping family saga."

Kate Masur. 04/11/2026: The ‘Terrible Intimacy’ of Black and White Americans Amid Slavery’s Horror. Review of: A TERRIBLE INTIMACY: Interracial Life in the Slaveholding South / Melvin Patrick Ely.

Jennifer Wright. 04/11/2026: Was Phrenology Real? Ask the Lump on Your Forehead. Review of: EMPIRE OF SKULLS: Phrenology, the Fowler Family and a New Nation’s Quest to Unlock the Secrets of the Mind / Paul Stob.

Naomi Huffman. 04/11/2026: A Daughter’s Loving Homage to Her Large-Living French Dad. Review of: THE MONUMENTS OF PARIS: a novel / Violaine Huisman. "After devoting her first novel to her wild mother, Violaine Huisman focuses her second on her father, a man who amassed wealth, love affairs and stories."

Carlene Bauer. 04/10/2026: A Lurid Cult Horror Story, Told With Rare Sensitivity. Review of: THE ORACLE’S DAUGHTER: The Rise and Fall of an American Cult / Harrison Hill.

Alexandra Alter. 04/10/2026: Where Does Publishing’s A.I. Problem Leave Authors and Readers? "Major publishing houses risk unwittingly putting out books generated with A.I. tools. Authors and readers are frustrated, nervous and grasping for solutions."

Elizabeth Winkler. 04/10/2026: Oscar Wilde’s Only Grandchild Reckons With the Shadows of Scandal. Regarding: After Oscar: The Legacy of a Scandal / Merlin Holland. Profile: "Merlin Holland has spent decades dismantling the myths that grew up around his grandfather. He hopes his new book may finally settle the record."

Tina Jordan and Elisabeth Egan. 04/09/2026: If You Love ‘The Pitt,’ You’ll Love These Books: Memoirs from the front lines capture the high-octane pace, roller coaster stakes and unforgettable personalities of emergency medicine: The Blood of Strangers / Frank Huyler -- Code Gray / Farzon A. Nahvi -- The Beauty in Breaking / Michele Harper -- Something for the Pain / Paul Austin -- Singular Intimacies / Danielle Ofri -- The Emergency: A Year of Healing and Heartbreak in a Chicago ER / Thomas Fisher -- Patient Care: Death and Life in the Emergency Room / Paul Seward.

James S.A. Corey. 04/09/2026: In These Novels About Aliens, the Truth Is Out There: In these science fiction books, extraterrestrial beings are sympathetic, horrifying and everything in between: Dawn / Octavia E. Butler -- Blindsight (Firefall Book 1) / Peter Watts -- Stories of Your Life and Others / Ted Chiang -- Speaker for the Dead / Orson Scott Card -- Alien 3 / Pat Cadigan; based on the screenplay by William Gibson -- Berserker / Fred Saberhagen -- Roadside Picnic / Arkady and Boris Strugatsky; translated by Olena Bormashenko -- The Left Hand of Darkness / Ursula K. Le Guin -- Ancillary Justice / Ann Leckie.

Jennifer Szalai. 04/08/2026: A Teenager Plunged to His Death. A Reporter Found More to the Story. Review of: LONDON FALLING: A Mysterious Death in a Gilded City and a Family’s Search for Truth / Patrick Radden Keefe.

Jeff Gordinier. 04/08/2026: A Poet Who Embraced Recklessness, in Surreal Swerves and Zigzags. Review of: CREATURE FEATURE / Dean Young.

Jennifer Lawson. 04/07/2026: 7 Writers, 1 Island and a Dash of Murder. Review of: THE ENDING WRITES ITSELF / Evelyn Clarke.

Sadie Stein. 04/07/2026: To Topple the Patriarchy, These Women Have Sex With Vegetables. Review of: HEXES OF THE DEADWOOD FOREST / Agnieszka Szpila; translated by Scotia Gilroy.

Leah Greenblatt. 04/07/2026: All Aboard a Nostalgia Cruise, With a Blast From the Boy Band Past. Review of: AMERICAN FANTASY: a novel / Emma Straub.

Hank Shteamer. 04/07/2026: How Did Black Music Take Over the World? Let Melvin Gibbs Explain. "Since the late ’70s, the bassist has worked to map a musical route that mirrored the trans-Atlantic slave trade and birthed nearly all of American popular music." Regarding the forthcoming: How Black Music Took Over the World / Melvin Gibbs (Basic Books).

Sam Thielman. 04/07/2026: A Child Soldier Turned His Past Into Swashbuckling Comics. Review of: CORTO MALTESE: Fable of Venice and Other Adventures / Hugo Pratt.

Max Strasser. 04/06/2026: What Does Judaism Look Like Without Zionism? Review of: HERE WHERE WE LIVE IS OUR COUNTRY: The Story of the Jewish Bund / Molly Crabapple.

Dwight Garner. 04/06/2026: A New Orleans Heroine Who’s Uneasy in the Big Easy. Review of: THE OYSTER DIARIES / Nancy Lemann.

Michelle Ruiz. 04/05/2026: Tradwife or Trainwreck? Review of: Yesteryear: A Novel / Caro Claire Burke.

Sarah Weinman. 04/05/2026: Police Procedurals: A Starter Pack. "These novels marry good mysteries with unforgettable characters and the twists and turns of the investigative process to deliver page-turning thrills."

Deirdre Mask. 04/04/2026: Does This Come in Pink Margarine? A Surprising History of Color Names. Review of: TRUE COLOR: The Strange and Spectacular Quest to Define Color — From Azure to Zinc Pink / Kory Stamper.

Parul Sehgal. 04/03/2026: The Novel Will Never Die. Ben Lerner’s Latest Book Shows Us Why. Regarding: Transcription: a novel / Ben Lerner.

Shira Chess. The MIT Press Reader, 04/02/2026: ‘Backrooms’ and the Rise of the Institutional Gothic.

April 2026 updates: 01-04

Asian Review of Books Apr 04: a history of the world in 12 carpets -- Apr 03: The Luminous Fairies and Mothra -- Apr 01: Japanese/American civilian exchanges during WWII >7 featherbear:

Atlantic Apr 02: Tracy Kidder >12 featherbear:

The Critic (UK) Apr 04: April crime fiction -- Apr 01: red bile; online life >6 featherbear:

Guardian Apr 04: Blake Morrison on oversharing in memoirs; Jo Nesbø interview -- Apr 03: The Books in Sarah Hall's life (not including Tolstoy); best recent poetry -- Apr 02: Jefferson on race; Circle of Wonders; Gwendoline Riley's bad relationships; Fire Island art -- Apr 01: Tara Menon's novel Under Water; Baldwin a love story >3 featherbear:

LARB Apr 04: on Ingeborg Bachman -- Apr 02: Andrew Lam's Stories from the Edge of the Sea -- Apr 01: Pelicot trial >4 featherbear:

Literary Review April issue >11 featherbear:

LitHub Apr 02: Thomas Pynchon's prescient technofascism; superreaders >13 featherbear:

New Yorker Apr 03: Is It Wrong to Write a Book With A.I.? -- Apr 01: reappearance of sci-fi novelist Cameron Reed >5 featherbear:

NYRB Online Apr 09 >9 featherbear:

NYT Apr 04: color nomenclature -- Apr 03: Ben Lerner's Transcription >15 featherbear:

PRoB Apr 03: 3 essays on Jurgen Habermas -- Apr 02: syllabus for National Poetry Month; what PRoBs are reading 1st week of April -- Apr 01: Erich Von Daniken; Martian Minds >8 featherbear:

TLS Apr 03 >10 featherbear:

April index: >2 featherbear:

More on the late Jürgen Habermas: >14 featherbear: >8 featherbear:

Websites Added This Week:
MIT Press Reader >16 featherbear:

American Scholar April 2026 plus a March leftover

Joseph Horowitz. 04/27/2026: The People’s Critic: Michael Steinberg’s profound insights on music transcended the ephemeral world of daily newspaper journalism.

Andrew Lawler. 04/16/2026: Who Is Blake Whiting?: The most astonishingly productive historian in recent times is someone you’ll never meet.

Robert Zaretsky. American Scholar, 03/30/2026: The Importance of Being Idle. Regarding: The Right to Be Lazy / Paul Lafargue; translated by Alex Andriesse.

NYRB Online April 23 2026

Literature

Kathryn Hughes. Heaven’s Elegist. "Alfred Tennyson’s poetry addressed the central anxiety of his day: how to live in a world where scientific discoveries were slowly replacing religious faith." Review of: The Boundless Deep: Young Tennyson, Science, and the Crisis of Belief / Richard Holmes.

Hermione Lee. ‘To Share Is Our Duty.’ "Two consummate Virginia Woolf scholars have added more than 1,400 letters to the corpus. On show are charm, careful condolence, generosity, candor about her reading and writing, and a belief that “communication is health.”" Review of: The Uncollected Letters of Virginia Woolf / edited by Stephen Barkway and Stuart N. Clarke.

Tim Parks. A Devotee of Deception. "An an elderly writer looks back across a life in which he has always sought distance and control rather than passion." Review of: The Old Man by the Sea / Domenico Starnone, translated from the Italian by Oonagh Stransky.

Francine Prose. Blood in the Game. Review of: Bloodline / Lee Clay Johnson -- Fever Beach / Carl Hiaasen.

Arts & Architecture

Jed Perl. The Painter’s Shadow World. "Morgan Meis’s Three Paintings Trilogy is the most exciting new writing about the visual arts to appear in a generation." Review of: The Drunken Silenus: On Gods, Goats, and the Cracks in Reality / Morgan Meis -- The Fate of the Animals: On Horses, the Apocalypse, and Painting as Prophecy / Morgan Meis -- The Grand Valley: On Going to Hell, to France, and Back to Childhood / Morgan Meis (Slant).

Alice Kaplan. Misjudgment at Nuremberg. Review of Nuremberg, a film written and directed by James Vanderbilt.

David A. Bell. ‘A Vast Symphony of Stone.’ "In his renovation of Notre-Dame, Eugène Viollet-le-Duc projected his own Romantic vision of the Middle Ages onto the Gothic cathedral." Review of Viollet-le-Duc: Drawing Worlds, an exhibition at the Bard Graduate Center Gallery, New York City, January 28–May 24, 2026. Catalog of the exhibition edited by Barry Bergdoll and Martin Bressani.

History, Politics, Society, & Culture

Caroline Fraser. The Throwaway Planet. "Three books raise political and moral questions about human consumption—and the value we place on those who clean up the waste." Review of: Waste Wars: The Wild Afterlife of Your Trash / Alexander Clapp -- Waste and the City: The Crisis of Sanitation and the Right to Citylife / Colin McFarlane -- Valley So Low: One Lawyer’s Fight for Justice in the Wake of America’s Great Coal Catastrophe / Jared Sullivan.

Michael Gorra. Living Through the Civil War. Review of: George Templeton Strong: Civil War Diaries / edited by Geoff Wisner (Library of America). "George Templeton Strong’s diaries provide the North’s best record of daily passions and woes during its struggle against the South."

Trevor Jackson. The Aging Class. "Retirement, like so much of the American economy, is a broken system that benefits private interests and exploits the most vulnerable people." Review of: Golden Years: How Americans Invented and Reinvented Old Age / James Chappel -- Work, Retire, Repeat: The Uncertainty of Retirement in the New Economy / Teresa Ghilarducci, with a foreword by E. J. Dionne Jr.

Brenda Wineapple. World of His Fathers. Review of: Returning: A Search for Home Across Three Centuries / Nicholas Lemann: "traces his Louisiana family’s gradual distancing across generations from its Jewish faith and his own efforts to reembrace it."

Colm Tóibín. Reimagining the Future of Ireland. Review of: For and Against a United Ireland / Fintan O’Toole and Sam McBride: "Two writers from different parts and traditions of the island argue with each other and themselves about the advantages and disadvantages of Irish unification."

David Cole. Born in the USA. Article: "For the Supreme Court to accept the Trump administration’s attempt to revoke birthright citizenship, it would have to repudiate the Constitution, its own precedents, and the long-standing position of all three branches of the US government."

Anonymous. From the Rooftops of Tehran. Article: "We in Iran own our grief, mourning all by ourselves." (For the author’s safety, the translator’s name has also been kept anonymous.
This article was originally published online March 27, 2026. —The Editors)

Aeon April 2026

Flora Champy. 04/24/2026: Does reading do us any good? "Stripped of easy moralising, literature makes us relish the search for truth in an age when many believe truth to be dead."

Shawn Simpson. 04/23/2026: No nature without fear. "Aldo Leopold saw this in the eyes of a dying wolf: when we no longer fear nature, we are on the road to its destruction."

Nick Humphrey. 04/17/2026: The invention of the soul. "Humans weren’t given souls by God or genes. We made them ourselves with language – turning sentience into something sacred."

Mark Higgins. 04/14/2026: You’ve lived this life before. "The mystical insight came to Nietzsche like a lightning flash: time eternally recurs – and life must be lived accordingly."

Mette Leonard Høeg. 04/07/2026: Living without my self: Our culture valorises the big, coherent self: reading Robert Musil helps me embrace the beauty of my no-self existence.

Yale Review April 2026

Adam Biles. 04/30/2026: Arundhati Roy: The author on how making sense of violence made her a writer.

Kamran Javadizadeh. 04/06/2026: Robert Frost at Midlife: In his poems for The Yale Review, the poet reckoned with mortality, imperfection, and the limits of form.

Public Books April 2026:

Joshua Kazali. 04/23/2026: Barometric Reading: Solvej Balle and the New Atmospheric Novel. Review of: On the Calculation of Volume III / Solvej Balle, translated from the Danish by Sophia Hersi Smith and Jennifer Russell.

Jess Libow. 04/21/2026: The Hypochondriac’s Complaint. Review of: My Clavicle: And Other Massive Misalignments / Marta Sanz, translated from the Spanish by Katie King.

Lorraine Daston. 04/07/2026: B-Sides: Albert O. Hirschman’s “The Passions and the Interests.” Revisiting The Passions and the Interests: political arguments for capitalism before its triumph / Albert O. Hirschman (2013; Princeton University Press).

Maggie Millner. N+1, 04/07/2026: Something From the Outside Coming In. Review of: Transcription: a novel / Ben Lerner.

Ronald H. Spector, 1943-2026

Clay Risen. NYT, 04/06/2026; upd 04/07: Ronald H. Spector, Who Traced Social History in Books on War, Dies at 83. "A Vietnam veteran-turned-academic historian, he drew acclaim for portraying conflicts from the perspectives of generals as well as grunts on all sides, both in Vietnam and in World War II."

"Ronald H. Spector, who was among the first academic historians to grapple with the Vietnam War, and who did so by pioneering a hybrid of military and social history from both the American and the Vietnamese perspectives, died on March 26 at his home in Annandale, Va. He was 83.

"In 1967, right after he received a doctorate in history from Yale University, Professor Spector also received a draft notice. He joined the Marine Corps and spent more than a year in South Vietnam as a combat historian.

"The experience gave him special insights when, over the next decade, he moved into an academic career. Many of the first accounts of the war, which ended in 1975, were journalistic or memoirs, and what few historians’ accounts there were looked at the war strictly from the American side. He took a different tack.

"His first book on the Vietnam War, in 1983, “Advice and Support: The Early Years of the United States Army in Vietnam, 1941-1960,” blended traditional top-down military history with accounts drawn from low-level figures on both sides of the conflict, a bottom-up method influenced by the trend toward social history popular in other parts of the discipline.

"“He was so committed, so passionate about doing military history with the focus on the home front and ordinary soldiers, and not just sort of the great general, great man history that used to dominate the field of military history,” Lien-Hang Nguyen, an associate professor of history at Columbia University, said in an interview.

"In that book and in later works, Professor Spector argued that when it came to Vietnam, the top-down approach was especially limited because the United States had entered the conflict in the middle of what was in reality a decades-long anticolonial war.

"“One wonders,” he wrote in 2017 in Politico, “how anyone could have believed that a complex and intractable war that began 14 years before President Kennedy came into office and continued for six years after Johnson left it could have been won or lost by presidential decisions in Washington during the four years between 1961 and 1965.”

"“But,” he added, “that is what most Americans believed then, and what they continue to believe.”

"Perhaps his best-known book was “After Tet: The Bloodiest Year in Vietnam” (1993), a sweeping assessment of the 12 months following the surprise launch of a major offensive by the North Vietnamese during the festival of Tet in 1968.

"While covering major battles like Hue and the siege of Khe Sanh, Professor Spector delved into what it was like for soldiers — American, South Vietnamese, guerrillas and North Vietnamese regulars — fighting in them, as well as the political and military decisions made up and down the chain of command.

"Whereas previous scholars had focused on the morale and motivation of American soldiers, Professor Spector gave equal weight to their Vietnamese opponents, giving readers a novel look into just how formidable an enemy the United States was up against.

"Professor Spector’s contribution was valuable not only because he was a veteran, but also because he spent a large amount of his later career helping to shape the military’s own account of Vietnam as a leading figure at several Defense Department academic and history centers.

"He taught at the National War College and the Army War College, worked at the United States Army Center of Military History and, from 1986 to 1989, served as the first civilian to direct the Navy Department’s Division of Naval History.

"In those roles, as well as in his teaching history and international affairs at George Washington University for over three decades, he challenged students and colleagues to look for sources and perspectives outside the American point of view.

"He received a bachelor’s degree in history in 1964 from Johns Hopkins University and a doctorate in the same subject from Yale just three years later, one of the fastest graduate careers in the program’s history.

"After his service in the Marines, Professor Spector taught at Louisiana State University and the University of Alabama before joining the faculty at George Washington in 1990. He retired in 2020.

"His books about World War II also brought him acclaim, including “Eagle Against the Sun: The American War With Japan” (1985), widely considered the best single-volume account of the Pacific Theater during World War II; “In the Ruins of Empire: The Japanese Surrender and the Battle for Postwar Asia” (2007); and, in 2022, “A Continent Erupts: Decolonization, Civil War, and Massacre in Postwar Asia, 1945-1955.” (2022).

"The last book was a fitting finale to his life’s work: A wide-ranging account of the collapse of European colonial influence in East Asia following World War II, it drew on sources in English, French, Dutch, Chinese, Vietnamese and Malay, and it demonstrated what the era looked like to those at the pinnacle of leadership and to men and women on the street.

"“He was just this great blend of someone who did the high level military history analysis,” Professor Nguyen said, “but with the sensitivities of someone who was a social historian at heart and cared about how everyday people experience these conflicts.”"

Ronald H. Spector's LT page:
https://www.librarything.com/author/spectorronaldh

April-June obituary index >1 featherbear:

Jonathan Kay. Quillette, 04/09/2026: André Gide versus George Orwell: Two Paths to Truth. "More than a century after it was first published, ‘If It Die’—Gide’s shockingly candid account of his childhood and sexual awakening—remains a gripping read."

Alan Jacobs. Hedgehog Review, spring 2026: How Not to Save the Planet: If you would save the planet, forget The Planet. Nature Writing.

fivebooks.com April 2026

Lucy Betteridge-Dyson, interviewer ?. 04/29/2026: The best books on World War 2 in Asia: The Forgotten Highlander: An Incredible WWII Story of Survival in the Pacific / Alistair Urquhart -- A War of Empires: Japan, India, Burma & Britain: 1941–45 / Robert Lyman -- Tales By Japanese Soldiers (Cassell Military Paperbacks) / Kazuo Tamayama, John Nunneley -- With the Old Breed: At Peleliu and Okinawa / E.B. Sledge -- Defeat Into Victory / William Slim. Betteridge-Dyson is the author of: Jungle Commandos: The Battle for Arakan, Burma 1945.

Harry Tanner, interviewer Benedict King. 04/26/2026: The best books on Same Sex Love in the Ancient World: The Last of the Wine / Mary Renault -- The Man Jesus Loved: Homoerotic Narratives from the New Testament / Theodore Jennings, Jr. -- Homoeroticism in the Biblical World: A Historical Perspective / Martti Nissinen -- The Garden of Priapus: Sexuality and Aggression in Roman Humor / Amy Richlin -- Greek Elegiac Poetry: From the Seventh to the Fifth Centuries BC (Loeb Classical Library) / Douglas Gerber. And the by the way: The Queer Thing About Sin: why the West came to hate queer love / Harry Tanner.

Five Books editors. 04/23/2026: Marian Keyes’ Books, In Order. "We put together a list of Keyes' full back catalogue to assist those searching for a new-to-them book to sink into the sofa with."

Eleanor Anstruther, interviewer Sophie Roell. 04/19/2026: The Best Historical Novels Set in the 1980s. The list: Money / Martin Amis -- Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit / Jeanette Winterson -- The Line of Beauty: A Novel / Alan Hollinghurst -- The Great Believers: A Novel / Rebecca Makkai -- Shuggie Bain / Douglas Stuart.

Eyck Freymann, interviewer Benedict King. 04/16/2026: The best books on Taiwan and US-China relations: The Boiling Moat: Urgent Steps to Defend Taiwan / Matt Pottinger -- The Avoidable War: The Dangers of a Catastrophic Conflict between the US and Xi Jinping's China / Kevin Rudd -- U.S.-Taiwan Relations: Will China's Challenge Lead to a Crisis? / Ryann Hass, Bonnie Glaser, & Richard Bush -- The Political Thought of Xi Jinping / Steve Tseng & Bonnie Cheung -- Chokepoints: American Power in the Age of Economic Warfare / Edward Fishman. See also: Defending Taiwan: A Strategy to Prevent War with China / Eyck Freymann.

Fred Pearce, interviewer Cal Flynn. 04/14/2026: Landmark Environmental Books: Hiroshima / John Hersey -- Road to Survival / William Vogt -- Small Is Beautiful: Economics as if People Mattered – The Landmark Social Commentary on Localism, Fair Trade, and the Green Economy / E.F. Schumacher -- Gaia: A New Look at Life on Earth (Oxford Landmark Science) / James Lovelock -- Adventures in the Anthropocene: A Journey to the Heart of the Planet We Made / Gaia Vince.

Grace Talusan, interviewer Cal Flynn. 04/07/2026: The Best Memoirs: The 2026 NBCC Autobiography Shortlist: Mother Mary Comes to Me / Arundhati Roy (winner, winner!) -- Memorial Days: A Memoir / Geraldine Brooks -- Paper Girl: A Memoir of Home and Family in a Fractured America / Beth Macy -- Shattered: A Memoir / Hanif Kureishi -- A Truce That Is Not Peace / Miriam Toews.

April 2026 updates 05-11

Aeon Apr 07: Robert Musil >20 featherbear:

Asian Review of Books Apr 11: No Man River, a novel about a Northern Vietnam village during the wars of 1950-1070 -- Apr 10: Mongol Empire & Qing knowledge -- Apr 08: Islamic ceramics -- Apr 07: Iran & the Revolution -- Apr 06: Venice & the Mongols -- Apr 05: Kanako Nishi's Sakura (translation) >7 featherbear:

Atlantic Apr 10: simplistic Reaganite explanations of the Left's "power" -- Apr 08: Black comedy -- Apr 07: Ben Lerner's Transcription >12 featherbear:

The Critic (UK) Apr 07: divine law & Islam >6 featherbear: (now paywalled)

fivebooks.com Apr 07: National Book Critics 2026 best memoirs nominees >27 featherbear:

Guardian Apr 11: Michael Edison Hayden interview (author of: Strange People on the Hill) -- Apr 10: Maria Semple rom-com; SF, fantasy, & horror round-up -- Apr 09: Führer’s Unrequited Love; Rebecca Solnit; Freida McFadden's real name -- Apr 08: Graham Greene & Kim Philby; Black Death; My Lover the Rabbi -- Apr 07: interview of Patrick Radden Keefe regarding London Falling; autistic author's Upward Bound novel; mysterious death in London non-fiction; Iowa allowed to restrict LGBTQ material in libraries -- Apr 06: Jan Morris; Into the Wreck -- Apr 05: Yann Martel interview >3 featherbear:

Hedgehog Review Apr 08: Francis Bacon philosopher-prophet >42 featherbear:

LARB Apr 11: a (premature?) cultural history of the 21st century; My Lover, the Rabbi -- Apr 10: Theodo Adorno's early music criticism (early writings, not writings on early music) -- Apr 08: Schopenhauer -- Apr 07: Ben Lerner's Transcription -- Apr 06: first Algerian crime novel to be translated into English, potently critiques Orientalist fantasies of desert romance -- Apr 05: how the poets Richard Siken and Anne Carson responded to losing their language >4 featherbear:

LitHub Apr 10: Ed Simon on SF magazine Amazing Stories; bookstore cats & dog -- Apr 08: power of narrative to process difficult memories; excerpt from book on extremism in a small town -- Apr 06: responsibility of the critic >13 featherbear:

New Yorker Apr 08: Oyster Diaries; Techno-Negative -- Apr 07: Biblical womanhood; Marie NDiaye's The Witch -- Apr 06: mutation going on; Cinematic immunity -- Apr 05: Ben Lerner interview >5 featherbear:

NYRB Online Apr 23 issue >19 featherbear:

NYT Apr 11: Interracial Life in the Slaveholding South; phrenology; Violaine Huisman's novel about her father -- Apr 10: American cult; publishing's AI problem; Oscar Wilde's scandals -- Apr 09: List: ER memoirs; List: Aliens -- Apr 08: Patrick Radden Keefe's London Falling; Dean Young's last poems -- Apr 07: 7 writers trying to finish a manuscript; Polish witches; American Fantasy boy band novel; Black music takes over the world; Corto Maltese -- Apr 06: Jewish bund; Nancy Lemann's novel Oyster Diaries -- Apr 05: homesteading momfluencer can no longer hide the scandal; police procedurals >15 featherbear:

PRoB Apr 09: best of the Internet articles 2nd week of April -- Apr 08: Jayne Anne Phillips memoir Small Town Girls -- Apr 07: Erich Auerbach, world literature, & the end of history -- Apr 06: Chinese in America >8 featherbear:

Washington Monthly Apr 08: Judy Blume bio -- Apr 06: killers of Roe vs Wade >30 featherbear:

April Index >2 featherbear:

Websites Added This Week:
American Scholar (March 30) >18 featherbear:
Hedgehog Review >26 featherbear:
N+1 >23 featherbear:
Public Books >22 featherbear:
Quillette >25 featherbear:
Yale Review >21 featherbear:

Obituaries added this week:
Ronald H. Spector: >24 featherbear:

TNR April 2026

Sarah Menkedick. 04/14/2026: Rebecca West, Martha Gellhorn, and the Art of Self-Reinvention. Review of: Starry and Restless: Three Women Who Changed Work, Writing, and the World / Julia Cooke.

Scott W. Stern. 04/09/2026: The Historian Who Wants to Imagine an Alternative to Capitalism. Review of: The Insatiable Machine: How Capitalism Conquered the World / Trevor Jackson.

Washington Monthly April 2026

Sara Bhatia. 04/08/2026: Are You There, Judy?: Even as she showed deep empathy for young girls, Judy Blume remained a mystery to herself. Review of: Judy Blume: a life / Mark Oppenheimer.

Clara Bingham. 04/06/2026: Who Killed Roe v. Wade?: The decades-long plot against abortion rights had many fathers, who were largely lost to history until now. Review of: Killers of Roe: My Investigation into the Mysterious Death of Abortion Rights / Amy Littlefield.

Peter Schrag, 1931-2026

Trip Gabriel. NYT, 04/07/2026: Peter Schrag Dies at 94; Wrote of Dangers of California’s Populist Streak. "His best-received book explored the state’s infatuation with voter initiatives, which were sometimes pushed with anti-immigrant fervor."

"Peter Schrag, a longtime opinion editor of The Sacramento Bee who wrote a well-received book about the conundrum of California governance — a state blessed with extraordinary wealth and opportunity and, in his view, cursed with too much populist democracy — died on March 19 in Davis, Calif. He was 94.

"Mr. Schrag’s 1998 book, “Paradise Lost: California’s Experience, America’s Future,” argued that the state’s infatuation with voter initiatives — only Oregon has used the process as often — hamstrung the State Legislature and eroded representative government.

"While purporting to empower grass-roots Californians, these initiatives transferred power to the older, wealthier voters who turned out at the polls regularly, as Mr. Schrag demonstrated. These voters’ abhorrence of taxes hurt working class and minority populations that benefited from the public services that the revenue paid for. He described the state’s retreat from progressive policies, through a wave of initiatives in the 1980s and ’90s, as “Mississippification.”

"Mr. Schrag’s wide-ranging career in journalism reflected the highs and lows of a journeyman freelancer, one who traded the buzz of national exposure, while in his late 40s, for the security of a gig at a regional newspaper, where he unexpectedly found his greatest success.

"In his early decades, he wrote often for Saturday Review and Harper’s when those magazines helped define America’s literary and political culture, and he spun off books from his articles at a steady clip.

"A German-born Jewish refugee who was raised in Queens and educated at Amherst College, Mr. Schrag hobnobbed in New York City with the editors Norman Cousins, Willie Morris and Midge Decter before landing improbably in the Central Valley of California. There, he was hired in 1978 as editorial page editor of The Bee, an influential newspaper in the state’s capital, despite never have written a newspaper editorial.

"Peter graduated from Amherst with a bachelor’s degree in history in 1953. He spent two years as a journalist at The El Paso Herald-Post before taking a job in the communications department at his alma mater. He remained at Amherst for a decade — “five years too long, probably,” he wrote.

"But the experience gave him a knowledge of American education that became the foundation of a broad journalism career. He published a book, “Voices in the Classroom” (1965), about how race and class distorted the promise of an equal education in America’s K-12 public schools, and he became education editor of Saturday Review

"Mr. Schrag freelanced regularly for Harper’s when that magazine, under the editor Mr. Morris, published Norman Mailer and William Styron. Mr. Schrag’s Harper’s piece on “The Decline of the WASP” was promoted with posters in the commuter train stations of Westchester County, N.Y. The book editor Michael Korda, at Simon & Schuster, had Mr. Schrag expand the article into a book, in 1971.

"Two years later, Mr. Schrag published “The End of the American Future,” a eulogy for the country’s waning confidence in itself and its diminished prospects as the post-World War II boom petered out.

"Mr. Schrag was soon hunkered down in Los Angeles covering the espionage trial of Daniel Ellsberg, the leaker of the secret Defense Department history of the Vietnam War known as the Pentagon Papers. His book on the case, “Test of Loyalty,” suffered from bad timing: It appeared in June 1974 and was overshadowed by the Watergate hearings that led President Richard M. Nixon to resign.

"After “Paradise Lost,” Mr. Schrag, then retired from newspapering, had one more California book in him. “California: America’s High-Stakes Experiment” (2006) appeared after the state’s economy had recovered in the early 2000s and voters had repudiated the immigrant-bashing of Proposition 187. That failed law is credited with awakening Latino voters in the state and propelling the long-term erosion of Republican power in California.

"“With the population becoming increasingly Latinized,” he wrote in his book, “California’s willingness and ability to accommodate its new residents, and their ability to assimilate to it, could well be important, and perhaps definitive, indicators for the nation.”"

Peter Schrag's LT page: https://www.librarything.com/author/schragpeter

April-June obituary index >1 featherbear:

TLS April 17, 2026|No. 6403

Featured

Mary Beard. 04/14/2026: For the eternally curious. From the TLS landing page

Joyce Carol Oates. Go deeper: Blake Morrison’s guide to life writing. Review of: On Memoir: An A–Z of life writing / Blake Morrison (Borough Press).

Philip Zelikow. History lessons?: China, America and the danger of war. Review of: The Coming Storm: Power, conflict and warnings from history / Odd Arne Westad.

Lucy Munro. A man of property: Discovering exactly what Shakespeare owned. (Essay)

Catherine Taylor. Out of sheer intention: Writing about others as a means to write about yourself. Review of: My Year in Paris with Gertrude Stein / Deborah Levy.

Literature

Tim Parks. Afterthoughts: Poring over the pot: The pleasure of reading authors who restlessly return to old themes. (Essay)

Ernest Hilbert. Commentary: Poetry readings I have known. (Essay)

M.C. NB: Slop making sense: Artificially intelligent reviewing, Shakespeare in Arden, Elizabeth Bishop’s postcards. (Weekly column)

Norma Clarke. Labour of love: A biography of J. G. Ballard becomes a much more personal project. Review of: The Illuminated Man: Life, death and the worlds of J. G. Ballard / Christopher Priest and Nina Allan.

Nat Segnit. A ribald imagination: Alan Bennett’s fourth collection of diaries. Review of: Enough Said / Alan Bennett.

Julian Evans. Being Jan Morris: The travel writer, historian and pioneering trans woman. Review of: Jan Morris: A Life / Sara Wheeler.

Emma Smith. Take choice of all my library: Recovering the world of Shakespeare’s books. Review of: Book Culture in Shakespeare’s Stratford: The Quiney connections / Marlin E. Blaine, Lena Cowen Orlin, Robert Bearman and Alan H. Nelson (Arden Shakespeare) -- How the World Became a Book in Shakespeare’s England / Jonathan P. Lamb.

Margreta De Grazia. Vil communication: Complexities of attempting a linguistic metamorphosis. Review of: If This Be Magic: The unlikely art of Shakespeare in translation / Daniel Hahn.

Adam Smyth. Such sweet sorrow: A search for First Folios meets a study of grief. Review of: Walking Shadow: Love, loss and Shakespeare / Greg Doran (Bloomsbury).

Michael Caines. The tune of our catch: Transporting an Elizabethan poet to the twentieth century. Review of: Picture of Nobody / Philip Owens.

Oonagh Devitt Tremblay. The body understands: Living with childhood trauma. Review of: Repetition: a novel / Vigdis Hjorth; translated by Charlotte Barslund (Penguin Random House).

Amanda Dennis. Secret grammars: Literature as psychic excavation. Review of: Au grand jamais / Jakuta Alikavazovic.

Joanna Kavenna. All the persons: A philosopher-poet attempts to make sense of the self. Review of: Angst / Hélène Cixous; translated by Sophie Lewis.

Clare Pettit. Waiting period: A daughter confronts life, a mother confronts death. Review of: they / Helle Helle; translated by Martin Aitken (New Directions).

Alice Blackhurst. This vibrating web: An author in permanent conversation with others. Review of: The Endless Week / Laura Vazquez; translated by Alex Niemi -- Les Forces / Laura Vazquez.

In Brief Review of: Afternoon Drinking / Alan Beard (Floodgate).

In Brief Review of: Holy Smoke / Fanny Howe.

In Brief Review of: A Stranger in Corfu / Alex Preston.

In Brief Review of: The Last of the Lairds / John Galt; edited by Craig Lamont -- Transatlantic Tales and Essays / John Galt; edited by Angela Esterhammer (both Edinburgh University Press).

Arts

James Cahill. ‘Turn heads into naked people’: Distance and connection in Lucian Freud’s work. Review of the exhibition Lucian Freud, Drawing into painting, National Portrait Gallery, London, until May 4.

Guy Damman. Forces colliding: A kinetic new production of a late Mozart opera. Review of: La clemenza di Tito / W.A. Mozart, direction Jan Lauwers; Wiener Staatsoper, Vienna.

Peter Holland. Protean performances: A leading actor in an age of diverse stages. Review of: Richard Burbage and the Shakespearean Stage: A “delightful Proteus” / Siobhan Keenan (Arden Shakespeare) -- Early Modern Performance Beyond the Public Stage: Extra-theatrical forms and spaces / Amrita Sen and Jennifer Linhart Wood, editors (Arden Shakespeare).

Muriel Zagha. Observer of his own life: François Ozon’s version of a French classic. Ozon's film version of Camus's novel L’Étranger.

Philosophy

In Brief Review of: Why Plato Matters Now / Angie Hobbs.

Science & Technology

Barnaby Phillips. Trumpeting, roars and grumbles: How elephants communicate, and why we should listen. Review of: Between the Ears: Elephant voices / BBC Radio 3, BBC Sounds.

Vanessa Taylor. That sinking feeling: The diversity of Britain’s wetlands and the blight of pollution. Review of: The Waterlands: Follow a raindrop from source to sea / Stephen Rutt.

Tom Seymour Evans. Ebb and flow: Drought and creative industry in LA. Review of: Aqua: A story of water and lost dreams / Chiara Barzini.

In Brief Review of: The Rise of the Railway: How trains changed the world / Christian Wolmar.

History, Politics, Society, & Culture

Wendy Slater. Holy charlatan: Rasputin’s role in bringing down the last tsar. Review of: Rasputin and the Downfall of the Romanovs / Anthony Beevor.

Ian Thomson. Stalin’s long reach: The plot to kill Leon Trotsky. Review of: The Death of Trotsky: The true story of the plot to kill Stalin’s greatest enemy / Josh Ireland (TLS has 84p.; Amazon has: 380p, which is probably closer).

Miriam Dobson. Homo Sovieticus: Did the Bolshevik revolution create a civilization? Review of: Exit Stalin: The Soviet Union as a civilization, 1953–1991 / Mark B. Smith.

Jeremy Hicks. Truth teller: The poet who edited the leading journal of Khrushchev’s thaw. Review of: Aleksandr Tvardovskii: Memory and truth in the Soviet Union / Geoffrey Hosking (CEO Press).

Jeffrey Wasserstrom. Looking back to leap forward: How revolutionaries reflected on their predecessors. Review of: Revolutions: A new history / Donald Sassoon.

Manisha Sinha. African genesis: Slave resistance and the struggle for liberty. Review of: Daring to be Free: Rebellion and resistance of the enslaved in the Atlantic World / Sudhir Hazareesingh (title proper truncated in TLS review citation)

Delinda Collier. Spoils of war: Imperial loot and the prospect of its return. Review of: The African Kingdom of Gold: Britain and the Asante treasure / Barnaby Phillips.

David Warren. Birth strike: Japan’s demographic crisis. Review of: Alone in Japan: A journey to the future / Tom Feiling.

Sophie Oliver. Clothed in majesty: The sartorial strategies of British royalty. Review of: Fashioning the Crown: A story of power, conflict and couture / Justine Picardie -- Dressing the Queen: Two hundred years of makers and monarchy / Kate Strasdin (Chatto & Windus).

Ben Rogers. Free and equal: The radical republican tradition. Review of: Citizen Marx: Republicanism and the formation of Karl Marx’s social and political thought / Bruno Leipold -- The Wealth of Freedom: Radical republican political economy / Stuart White (Oxford University Press).

Max Harris. Surprise, surprise: President Nixon’s unpredictable moves. Review of: Beyond the Nixon Shocks: Global consequences since 1971 / Thomas W. Zeiler (Bloomsbury).

Harrison Stetler. Sarko’s story: The former French president declares his innocence. Review of: Le Journal d’un prisonnier / Nicolas Sarkozy.

In Brief Review of: Being Old: And learning to love it! / Prue Leith.

In Brief Review of: Saying Yes: My adventures in polyamory / Natalie Davis (Skyhorse).

In Brief Review of: Granta 174 – Therapy.

Food

Julian Baggini. Recipes for success: The myth of national food purity. Review of: What We Eat: A global history of food / Pierre Singaravélou and Sylvain Venayre; translated by Stephen W. Sawyer.

Pen Vogler. Lovely grub: A peripatetic tour of the British food scene. Review of: All You Can Eat: The search for a new British menu / Ben Benton (Profile).

NYRB Online between issues in April

Daniel Lefferts. 04/16/2026: The Hardy Men. "Why is a right-wing press reissuing century-old adolescent mystery novels?"

Jeremy Lymbarger. 04/16/2026: A Workingman’s Surrealist. "The artist H. C. Westermann cribbed from science fiction, pulp novels, and comic strips to make impeccable constructions from utilitarian stock."

Sophie Abramowitz. 04/16/2026: She Knows a Place."For seven decades, the gospel singer Mavis Staples has troubled the opposition between chorus and soloist, background and lead."

Amelia Soth. JSTOR Daily, 04/15/2026: The Golden Age of the American Soapbox. "Across the country, impromptu speakers drew crowds and arrests alike, turning public oratory into a defining feature of civic life." With links to various articles.

Barbara Gordon, 1935-2026

Trip Gabriel. NYT, 04/15/2026: Barbara Gordon, 90, Dies; Wrote a Best Seller About Her Pill Addiction. "Her 1979 memoir, “I’m Dancing as Fast as I Can,” which also became a movie, detailed years of prescription drug abuse and offered an indictment of American psychiatry."

"Barbara Gordon, whose scorching 1979 memoir of prescription pill abuse and a mental breakdown that undid her successful TV producing career, “I’m Dancing as Fast as I Can,” which became a movie starring Jill Clayburgh, died on April 7 at her home in Manhattan. She was 90.

"Ms. Gordon’s book, a New York Times best seller, found a wide audience in an era when prescription drug abuse was far less well known than it is today, when checking into “rehab” to kick an addiction was not nearly so commonplace, and when mental illness carried a far greater stigma in work and social life.

"In 1975, when she was 40, Ms. Gordon was an Emmy Award-winning documentary writer and director at WCBS, CBS’s flagship station in New York. She had a rent-controlled apartment on Central Park West, a live-in partner and an addiction to 30 milligrams a day of Valium, which a psychiatrist had prescribed for her anxiety.

"When she told her doctor that she wanted to stop the pills, he assured her they were not addictive and instructed her to quit “absolutely cold.” Instead of easing off the medication, Ms. Gordon spiraled quickly downward to the edge of psychosis. Unable to work, she spent months in two mental hospitals.

"She began writing her memoir in 1977, soon after leaving the second hospital, when WCBS made no move to bring her back on. She sent out résumés to other stations but received no offers.

"“Maybe it was stigma, maybe it was timing,” she wrote, “but I couldn’t find a job in the business I had worked in for 20 years.”

"Ms. Gordon’s memoir also offered an indictment of American psychiatry. She sought the help of some 20 psychiatrists, mostly men, with impressive certificates on their walls but dogmatic, often sexist views of the human psyche. She was variously diagnosed (or misdiagnosed) as schizophrenic, manic-depressive, agitated depressive, hysterical and neurotic.

"She described herself as “a victim of the individual and collective ignorance of a profession that, because it is essentially unmonitored, attracts into its ranks a brand of charlatan that wouldn’t dare practice in other branches of the medical establishment.”

"Harper & Row, Ms. Gordon’s hardcover publisher, had minimal expectations for the book, paying Ms. Gordon a modest $7,500 advance. Sales and interest quickly accelerated, though. Paramount paid $200,000 for the film rights, and Bantam bought the paperback rights for close to $500,000. “I’m Dancing as Fast as I Can” eventually sold more than two million copies, according to its publishers.

"The movie version, released in 1982, was directed by Jack Hofsiss and starred Ms. Clayburgh, who was known for her repertoire of frazzled 1970s career women. It received mixed reviews.

"Ms. Gordon wrote two other books, the novel “Defects of the Heart” (1983) and “Jennifer Fever” (1988), a work of pop sociology about older men in relationships with younger women. Neither was embraced by reviewers or readers."

Barbara Gordon's LT page: https://www.librarything.com/author/gordonbarbara-1

April-June obituary index >1 featherbear:

April 2026 Updates 12-18

Aeon Apr 17: invention of the soul -- Apr 14: Nietzsche's eternal return of the same old-same old >20 featherbear:

American Scholar Apr 16: historian Blake Whiting? >18 featherbear:

Asian Review of Books Apr 18: translation and multilingualism in Indian Francophone Writing -- Apr 17: Asian folktales for children -- Apr 15: "written in 2010, the novel is set between 1969 and about 2000, at the height of the vicious conflict between the Kurdish PKK and the Turkish army" -- Apr 14: practical arithmetic in history via "Arabic" numerals -- Apr 13: North Korean crises -- Apr 12: coming of age in Indonesia novel >7 featherbear:

Atlantic Apr 16: self-righteous Thoreau -- Apr 15: who wrote Upward Bound? -- Apr 14: self-help the 8th deadly sin; doctors, testing, & diagnosis; Lena Dunham memoir >12 featherbear:

The Drift Apr 17: Knausgaard >38 featherbear:

fivebooks.com Apr 16: books on Taiwan & US China relations -- Apr 14: best "landmark" environmental books >27 featherbear:

Guardian Apr 17: dogs in art; best crime fiction -- Apr 15: Helen De Witt rejects literary prize conditions; Magdalene laundries; Jon Doyle's Communion -- Apr 14: novel featuring Gertrude Stein; All Them Dogs in Dublin novel -- Apr 13: Amitav Ghosh climate-crisis novel >3 featherbear:

LARB Apr 16: Lamarck; polar war -- Apr 15: downsizing universities -- Apr 14: 3 new poetry translations -- Apr 13: Oskar Stoessel bio; reissue of William H. Gass's The Tunnel >4 featherbear:

LitHub Apr 16: editors trying unsuccessfully to identify AI?; Ryūnosuke Akutagawa's Hell of Solitude -- Apr 15: excerpt from Harry Sidebottom's gladiator book; excerpt from Rosa Campbell's book on The Hite Report -- Apr 13: Jennifer Acker on rural life; A River Runs Through It at 50 >13 featherbear:

The Nation Apr 16: Larry McMurtry bio >41 featherbear:

New Yorker Apr 15: Project Maven; Cory Doctorow lists books on the ultra-rich -- Apr 13: violence of Vermeer; St. Paul books; fall of Saigon >5 featherbear:

NYRB Online April 16 (between issues): Hardy Boys; artist H. C. Westermann; Mavis Stapes >33 featherbear:

NYT Online Apr 18: Gal Beckerman on dissidence -- Apr 17: 2 lists from the NYT T-mag's How to Be Cultured -- Apr 16: 2 food memoirs; Dear Monica Lewinsky; Colombian War non-fiction; poet laureate Arthur Sze interview -- Apr 15: Muskism; Rasputin; USAID to the wood-chipper -- Apr 14: v. 4 of Solvej Balle's On the Calculation of Volume; Lena Dunham memoir; Bob Dylan, the fifth Beatle; RFK Jr.; North Korean Messiah -- Apr 13: new Tucker Carlson imprint; Maria Semple's novel Go Gentle; Jay McInerney's hero returns; tour guides find common ground -- Apr 12: LÁZÁR plus a profile of the author Nelio Biedermann >15 featherbear:

PRoB Apr 17: excerpt from Beevor's Rasputin bio -- Apr 16: Petrarch translations; what they're reading on the web 3rd week of April -- Apr 15: Rita Dove/Cameron Barnett interview; Pittsburgh Grease Plant & Gordon Parks; stories from the Great Black Swamp -- Apr 14: Love & Death in the American novel; How AI shows us who we are and what we want to become -- Apr 13: the word "anti-semitism" >8 featherbear:

TNR Apr 14: Julia Cooke on 3 women writers -- Apr 09: theory of capitalism >29 featherbear:

April Index >2 featherbear:

Websites Added This Week:
JSTOR Daily >34 featherbear:
TNR >29 featherbear:
Washington Monthly >30 featherbear:

Obituaries added this week:
Barbara Gordon >35 featherbear:
Peter Schrag >31 featherbear:

April-June obituary index >1 featherbear:

Kaya Genc. The Point, 04/16/2026: A History of Erasures. "Learning to write like Leylâ Erbil."

Max Norman. The Drift, 04/17/2026: Roman-Flood​: Karl Ove Knausgaard’s Diabolic Realism.

Dan Sinykin. Substack, 04/20/2026: Three Theses on Aesthetic Judgment.

Quillette April 2026

Rob Capshaw. 04/29/2026: Radical Lessons in Solidarity and Resistance. Review of: Dangerous, Dirty, Violent & Young: A Fugitive Family in the Revolutionary Underground / Zayd Ayers Dohrn.

Joel Kotkin. 04/24/2026: The Roots of Recession: As an energy shock looms, a new book reframes recession as the product of historical circumstance, not cyclical inevitability. Review of: The Real Reasons Economies Shrink and What to Do About It / Tyler Goodspeed.

Ron Capshaw. 04/23/2026: Statecraft and Seduction. Review of: Rasputin: The Downfall of the Romanovs by Antony Beevor. "In an excellent new biography of Rasputin, British military historian Antony Beevor argues that perception can be a more powerful shaper of world events than reality."

Michael Cohen. 04/20/2026: The Professor and the Pariah: How a brilliant mind fell for bad history and worse people. Noam Chomsky & Jeffrey Epstein's relationship explained.

Gus O'Connor. The Nation, 04/16/2026: Larry McMurtry’s Tall Tales. Review of: Western Star: The Life and Legends of Larry McMurtry / David Streitfeld.

Ed Simon. Hedgehog Review, 04/08/2026: The Man Who Invented the Future. "Are we the conflicted heirs of the world according to Francis Bacon?"

Desmond Morris, 1928-2026

Douglas Martin. 04/20/2026: Desmond Morris, 98, Dies; Explored Humans’ Animal Instincts in ‘The Naked Ape.’ "An English zoologist, he wrote an immensely popular 1967 book arguing that ancient genes, shared with apes, shape our lives. Objections in the scientific world ensued."

"Desmond Morris, an English zoologist who used observation, logic and insight to contend in his immensely popular 1967 book, “The Naked Ape,” that humanity, stripped of civilized veneer, is just another species of ape, died on Sunday near Dublin. He was 98.

"In a career that included writing more than four dozen books and 50 scientific papers and presenting 700 television episodes, Dr. Morris used observational powers that he had honed as a zookeeper to study the ways of humans as well as those of animals. His “The Naked Ape: A Zoologist’s Study of the Human Animal,” which sold more than 20 million copies and was translated into 23 languages, argued that ancient genes, shared with apes, shape human behavior.

"Dr. Morris offered new interpretations of basic human functions like sleeping, fighting, mating and child-rearing. He noted that humans had evolved not only the biggest brains among primates but also the biggest penises, compared to body size. He said this was one of many sexual adaptations that keep couples sufficiently interested to stay together.

"Dr. Morris’s prolific output helped popularize the study of animal behavior and was sometimes likened to Carl Sagan’s work in astronomy. One of his more discussed contentions was that humans, unlike other primates, benefit by retaining youthful characteristics in adulthood. He said men keep playful brains and women youthful looks.

"“Our climb to the top has been a get-rich-quick story,” Dr. Morris wrote in the book, anticipating the objections, “and like all nouveaux riches, we are very sensitive about our background. We are also in constant danger of betraying it.”

"As he might have expected, his contention that atavistic drives trump higher motives outraged laypeople and experts alike.

"Anthropologists said Dr. Morris ignored culture. Linguists said he discounted language. Biologists said he omitted traits that did not further his argument. One Long Island school district banned the book. And opponents of the theory of evolution condemned the book in full.

"The usefulness of comparing apes and humans gained traction in 1971, however, when the primatologist Jane Goodall published her book “In the Shadow of Man,” detailing the intricate social lives of wild chimpanzees in East Africa; genetic research has since proved the species’ closeness. Social biology, the explication of behavior in an evolutionary context, has grown in importance, even as debates over interpretations have flared.

"Dr. Morris’s playfulness showed in his nimble intellectual speculation, calling gambling a manifestation of the hunting drive and cocktail parties a modern substitute for communal grooming. In 1997, he hosted a television show featuring a female orgasm photographed from inside the body.

“If I am honest, it is a struggle I have never fully resolved, the ‘ham’ and the academic in me doing battle with one another, with first one, then the other, getting the upper hand,” Dr. Morris wrote in “Animal Days” (1979), one of three memoirs.

"Desmond’s babyhood figured in a book published 80 years later, “Amazing Baby: The Amazing Story of the First Two Years of Life” (2008), in which Dr. Morris said he had nearly died because of stern child-rearing techniques. Heeding the advice of a baby expert, his mother left Desmond crying in a stroller on a windy day. He contracted double pneumonia. She then abandoned her strict approach in favor of the total love that Dr. Morris advocated in the book.

"As a child, Desmond liked to observe worms and beetles, painted his room black to intensify his dreams, he said, and became enthralled with Darwin. He picked up an interest in art after finding a great-grandfather’s microscope and set of slides; he soon began drawing and painting patterns based on the shapes of microorganisms.

"Off the air, his 1957 exhibition of paintings by an artistic chimpanzee, Congo, captivated the press and offended the art establishment. “Many people viewed his works as a cheap attack on the splatter paintings of Jackson Pollock and the bold abstractions of Franz Kline,” Sarah Boxer wrote in The Times in 1997. “But mockery was not Mr. Morris’s intention. He was interested in producing an ‘esthetic theory of ape art.’ ”

"Dr. Morris spent four weeks writing “The Naked Ape,” racing to pay for a new house. As huge profits almost immediately materialized, he moved to the Mediterranean island nation of Malta in 1968, in part to avoid British taxes. There, he bought a 27-room villa, two Rolls-Royces and a yacht. The next year, his son, Jason, was born.

"When the money ran out, Dr. Morris returned to Oxford to do more research. He sold his Rolls and rode a bicycle.

"He churned out book after book, many of which were very popular — not least his quasi-scholarly guided tours, one for each sex, to the erogenous precincts of the human body. (When book reviewers complained about how difficult he made it to write around the word “penis” in “The Naked Ape,” Dr. Morris replied to Newsweek: “Newspapers commonly use the word gun. They don’t mind printing a word describing something that shoots death, but if it shoots life, they won’t have it.”)

"His other books dealt with dogs, cats, horses and soccer players; he studied the last as a kind of athletic tribe deserving of anthropological study. His works on body language helped define that new field. And he continued to write late in life on myriad subjects; at age 90, he delved into the art world with “The Lives of the Surrealists” (2018).

"Dr. Morris’s ideas were novel and memorable, if not always proven. One, in “The Naked Man” (2008), was his explanation for why women are shorter on average than men: They can lie with their noses near their partners’ armpits, he said. The pheromones they thus inhale relax them during lovemaking and, he maintained, trigger ovulation."

Desmond Morris's LT page: https://www.librarything.com/author/morrisdesmond

Andrew Hacker, 1929- 2026

Robert D. McFadden. 04/21/2026: Andrew Hacker, Provocative Political Scientist, Dies at 96. "In a host of books and articles, he attacked conventional ideas on subjects including the battle of the sexes and the usefulness of high school math."

"To say that Professor Hacker, who taught at Queens College for over 50 years, was a contrarian hardly captured the audacity of his attacks on conventional ideas. He declared that colleges were failing to educate students and that high school math was a waste of time. He called men selfish, and said a war between the sexes was intensifying. He argued during the Vietnam War that the United States was falling apart or ungovernable, or both.

"He wrote more than a dozen books and scores of book reviews and essays for The New York Times and The New York Review of Books, touching on the Kennedy family, Ronald Reagan, the national census, journalistic controversies, advertising, poetry, the cultural influence of movies, the terrors of the Internal Revenue Service and the joys of Marx and Lenin for beginners.

"Whatever the subject, Professor Hacker’s ideas were usually iconoclastic and, to some, annoying. As he told visitors to his (now defunct) book website, themathmyth.net, “I combine information, analysis and irritation, all intended to get readers thinking.”

"Reviewers fell into two camps over his books. Detractors called his statistical evidence questionable, his methodology dubious and his writing didactic and hyperbolic. But admirers found his prose eloquent, even passionate, in defense of women and minority groups, and said that his analyses, especially on racial issues, were persuasive and inventive.

"“Andrew Hacker is a political scientist known for doing with statistics what Fred Astaire did with hats, canes and chairs,” Newsweek said of his book “Two Nations: Black and White, Separate, Hostile, Unequal” (1992). “He doesn’t crunch numbers; he makes them live and breathe. But who would have thought that even Hacker could turn up a dollar figure for what it’s worth to be born white? If you’re curious, it’s $1 million. A year. For life.”

"Professor Hacker had extracted that number with a Kafkaesque parable he presented to his students: A government official visits a white student and tells him that at midnight “you will become Black,” with dark skin and African American features, “unrecognizable to anyone you know,” although “inside you will be the person you always were.” The official offers compensation, and asks how much the student wants.

"Most students, Professor Hacker reported, asked for $1 million for each year that they presented as Black.

"Tom Wicker, in a review for The Times, noted that Professor Hacker had devoted five years of study and statistical analysis to “Two Nations” — a surprise best seller in the wake of the Rodney King riots in Los Angeles — and hailed the author’s thesis that the United States had never given Black Americans “a chance to become full citizens.” But the conservative columnist John Leo was not so laudatory, writing in U.S. News and World Report that “Hacker’s prose reflects the ossified thinking of an older white liberal elite.”

"Professor Hacker’s “Mismatch: The Growing Gulf Between Women and Men” (2003), argued that the gender gap had become an abyss.

“There is a greater divide between the sexes than at any time in living memory,” he wrote. “The result will be a greater separation of women and men, with tensions and recriminations afflicting beings once thought to be naturally companionable.”

"Michiko Kakutani, in The Times, called it “a glib, didactic book that uses sometimes dubious methodology to ratify women’s worst fears about dating and marriage and the opposite sex,” adding that Professor Hacker “focuses almost exclusively on those statistics that back up his thesis, presents the familiar or obvious with an air of revelatory zeal and glosses everything with speculative hyperbole.”

"Professor Hacker’s more recent writings examined education. He collaborated with Ms. Dreifus, his partner (and later his wife) and a writer for The Times, on “Higher Education? How Colleges Are Wasting Our Money and Failing Our Kids — And What We Can Do About It” (2010), in which they argued that colleges were failing their teaching mission because of encroachments from research commitments, tenure, athletics and other interests.

"With a 2012 guest essay in The Times — under the headline “Is Algebra Necessary?” — Professor Hacker touched off another lively debate. While acknowledging that basic math is a significant part of education, he said that nearly all high schoolers would never need algebraic algorithms in later life, and that many would fail the required subject and drop out of school in frustration. He proposed its elimination.

"He extended his argument in a follow-up book, “The Math Myth and Other STEM Delusions” (2016). It denied that all careers in science, technology, engineering and math require higher math skills. He said algebra and calculus might not be necessary, even for many scientific careers. Alternatively, he proposed courses in “numerical literacy,” or adult arithmetic.

"In “The End of the American Era” (1970), Professor Hacker portrayed a nation mired in Vietnam and declining into oblivion. “I must reject his fundamental thesis that ‘America’s history as a nation has reached its end,’” John Barkham wrote in a review in The New York Post. “Though we are living in a time of troubles, we will survive them as we survived such times before.”

"Professor Hacker’s last book was “Downfall: The Demise of a President and His Party” (2020), an analysis of what he predicted would be the mutual self-destruction of Donald J. Trump and the Republican Party. At his death, he was at work on a project about Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton and their conflicting ideas about America’s future."

Andrew Hacker's LT page: https://www.librarything.com/author/hackerandrew

Christian Kriticos. bbc culture, 04/24/2026: 'A remarkable time capsule': The enchanting history of Oxford University's 750-year-old medieval library. bbc usually paywalled but I got into this article this morning

April 2026 updates 19-25

Aeon Apr 24: is reading good for you? -- Apr 23: Aldo Leopold: no nature w/out fear >20 featherbear:

Asian Review of Books Apr 25: female Korean War correspondent novel -- Apr 24: Jennifer Wong's poetry collection Light Year -- Apr 22: 17th cent trader Francesco Carletti -- Apr 21: Hooked: a novel of obsession >7 featherbear:

Atlantic Apr 23: Stewart Brand -- Apr 22: 8 recent recommended biographies; female cohabitation in novels & elsewhere --Apr 21: CliffsNotes cinema; photographer Peter Hujar/Paul Thek bio -- Apr 20: where did the Let Them theory originate? >12 featherbear:

fivebooks.com Apr 19: best historical novels set in the 1980s >27 featherbear:

Guardian Apr 25: Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw memoir -- Apr 24: Albertine Clark's The Body Builders; children's & YA books round-up; the books in Joe Dunthorne's life -- Apr 23: The Asset Class -- Apr 22: The Shadow of the Object by Chloe Aridjis; The Wonderful World that Almost Was by Andrew Durbin; To see or not to see? Every single Shakespeare play – ranked! -- Apr 21: Jay McInerney's See You On the Other Side; Hôtel Lutetia in WWII; Siri Hustvedt memoir -- Apr 20: Yann Martel on Troy; J.G. Ballard bio; Bernardine Evaristo's best books; why Freida McFadden is popular -- Apr 19: birdsongs; Siri Hustvedt on losing husband Paul Auster; Gwendoline Riley interview following award of Campbell-Windham prize >3 featherbear:

LARB Apr 25: William Kennedy's Albany trilogy; starvation stories in history -- Apr 22: Infinite Jest anniversary -- Apr 21: Megan Garber on the Internet; Chiara Barzini's Aqua -- Apr 20: Ella Jenkins & children's music; "knowing fictions" & Roth Ozeki >4 featherbear:

LitHub Apr 22: Excerpts!!: prophecy; Shakespeare's punctuation; Jayne Anne Phillips memoir; Megan Garber's Screen People -- Apr 21: Jayne Anne Phillips interview -- Apr 20: Muskism excerpt; Schomberg Library excerpt >13 featherbear:

New Yorker Apr 23: Nelio Biedermann’s “Lázár” -- Apr 22: the Kardashians & media theory; Gwendoline Riley's The Palm House -- Apr 20: in defense of the moderate in politics; a novel's new take on Japanese internment; children's books that let the kids in on the joke >5 featherbear:

NYT Online Apr 25: George Schaller bio; translating Shakespeare; interplanetary communication novel -- Apr 24: children's lit lit crit; 3 books on warfare -- Apr 21: encounters with art w/Megan O'Grady; Permanence by Sophie McIntosh; Gwendoline Riley's The Palm House -- Apr 19: Lewis & Clark; mother's memoir of Oct 7 Israel >15 featherbear:

PRoB Apr 24: Ed Simon on Chernobyl -- Apr 23: translating Gilgamesh: interview of a translator; Shakespeare in translation excerpt -- Apr 22: literary biography; culture war racket; review of Mule Boy by Andrew Krivak -- Apr 21: Kantian religion >8 featherbear:

Public Books Apr 23: On the Calculation of Volume III -- Apr 22: hypochondriacs >22 featherbear:

Quillette Apr 24: recession -- Apr 23: Rasputin -- Apr 20: Chomsky & Epstein >40 featherbear:

April Index >2 featherbear:

Websites Added This Week:
bbc culture >45 featherbear:
The Drift >38 featherbear:
Hedgehog Review >42 featherbear:
The Nation >41 featherbear:
The Point >37 featherbear:
Quillette >40 featherbear:
Substack >39 featherbear:

April-June obituary index >1 featherbear:

Obituaries added this week:
Andrew Hacker >44 featherbear:
Desmond Morris >43 featherbear:

NYRB Online 05/14/2026

Literature

Nick Laird. ‘The Music of What Happens.’ "Seamus Heaney’s complete poems, following on editions of his letters, prose, and translations, confirm the extent of his achievement." Review of: The Poems of Seamus Heaney / edited by Rosie Lavan and Bernard O’Donoghue, with Matthew Hollis (Farrar, Straus and Giroux).

Clare Bucknell. Charlatans & Bores. "The profile of the pedant has changed surprisingly across time periods and cultures, but what’s constant is that nobody wants to be called one." Review of: On Pedantry: A Cultural History of the Know-It-All / Arnoud S.Q. Visser.

Arts including Architecture

Julian Bell. Drawn to the Void. "John --sic i.e. Joseph-- Wright of Derby introduced chiaroscuro to British audiences, using everything from blazing bladders to ivory planets to illuminate his dazzled subjects." Review of: Wright of Derby: From the Shadows, an exhibition at the National Gallery, London, November 7, 2025–May 10, 2026, and the Derby Museum and Art Gallery, Derby, England, June 13–November 1, 2026. Catalog of the exhibition by Christine Riding and Jon King.

Susan Tallman. Manet and Morisot: Game On. "An important exhibition showcases a painterly repartee that altered the trajectory of the two artists’ work and, by extension, modern art itself." Review of: Manet and Morisot, an exhibition at the Legion of Honor, San Francisco, October 11, 2025–March 1, 2026, and the Cleveland Museum of Art, March 29–July 5, 2026. Catalog of the exhibition by Emily A. Beeny, with contributions by Heather Lemonedes Brown, Anne Higonnet, and others.

Nicole Rudick. Seeing by Hand. ""“I feel my fingers have eyes,” June Leaf once said. The need to literally feel her way through her work is a primary subject of her art." Review of: June Leaf: Shooting from the Heart, an exhibition at the Addison Gallery of American Art, Phillips Academy, Andover, Massachusetts, March 15–July 31, 2025; the Grey Art Museum, New York University, New York City, September 9–December 13, 2025; and the Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin College, Oberlin, Ohio, January 27–May 24, 2026. Catalog of the exhibition by Sam Adams, Allison Kemmerer, and Gordon Wilkins, with contributions by Joan Jonas and Kara Walker (Rizzoli Electa/Addison/Allen Memorial Art Museum).

Elaine Blair. The Masked Avengers. "The Guerrilla Girls used indisputable data and a dry, polished style to show that the art world, contrary to its self-conception, was deeply retrograde." Review of: How to Be a Guerrilla Girl, an exhibition at the Getty Center, Los Angeles, November 18, 2025–April 12, 2026.

Coco Fusco. A Vital Unconscious. "Wifredo Lam’s paintings spring from a unique synthesis of European modernism and Afro-Cuban consciousness." Review of: Wifredo Lam: When I Don’t Sleep, I Dream, an exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art, New York City, November 10, 2025–April 11, 2026. Catalog of the exhibition edited by Beverly Adams and Christophe Cherix (Museum of Modern Art).

Ben Davis. Visions of Depravity. "Ceija Stojka, who survived the Romani Holocaust, came to painting later in life to preserve the horrors of her childhood." Review of: Ceija Stojka: Making Visible, an exhibition at the Drawing Center, New York City, February 20–June 7, 2026. Catalog of the exhibition edited by Lynne Cooke (Drawing Center).

Dawn Chan. Inflatable Life. "Paul Chan’s eerily animated sculptures pose the question of who gets to identify humanity in others." Review of: Paul Chan: Automa Mon Amour, an exhibition at Greene Naftali, New York City, March 12–April 25, 2026.

Jed Perl. Art for Our Age of Chaos. "The 2026 Whitney Biennial and the New Museum’s exhibition “New Humans: Memories of the Future” are attempts to respond to a world full of darkness, trauma, and strife." Review of: Whitney Biennial 2026, an exhibition at the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York City, March 8–August 23, 2026. Catalog of the exhibition edited by Marcela Guerrero and Drew Sawyer (Yale University Press) -- New Humans: Memories of the Future, an ongoing exhibition at the New Museum, New York City. Catalog of the exhibition edited by Massimiliano Gioni, Gary Carrion-Murayari, Madeline Weisburg, and Calvin Wang.

Martin Filler. The Rise and Fall of David Adjaye. "Three high-profile buildings by the eminent Ghanian British architect have just been completed, but allegations of sexual misconduct have severely damaged his prospects for future commissions." Review of: Princeton Collects, an exhibition at the Princeton University Art Museum, Princeton, New Jersey, October 31, 2025–March 29, 2026 -- Meaning Matter Memory: Selections from the Studio Museum in Harlem Collection, by Thelma Golden, Connie H. Choi, Mary Schmidt Campbell, Kinshasha Holman Conwill, Lowery Stokes Sims, and others (Phaidon).

Dennis Lim. How Should a Pixel Be? "Every low-resolution frame of Alexandre Koberidze’s Dry Leaf, shot on a nearly twenty-year-old mobile phone, enacts a drama of form." Review of: Dry Leaf, a film written and directed by Alexandre Koberidze.

Science, Technology, Environment

Rosa Lyster. This Bitter Earth. "The world’s salt lakes are the canary in the coal mine for the climate crisis, and they are shrinking at a drastic rate." Review of: Salt Lakes: An Unnatural History / Caroline Tracey.

Politics, Society, & Culture

Mark O’Connell. London’s Brutal Underground. "An ordinary boy’s deadly obsession with the ultrarich reveals deeper corruption at the heart of modern London." Review of: London Falling: A Mysterious Death in a Gilded City and a Family’s Search for Truth / Patrick Radden Keefe.

Fintan O'Toole. ‘The Right Amount of Crazy.’ "In Trump’s strategy of feigning madness to get what he wants, there is no longer any border between pretense and actual irrationality." (Article)

Mark Jarman. Hudson Review, winter 2026: Poet, Lucky Poet: The Poems of Seamus Heaney. Review of: THE POEMS OF SEAMUS HEANEY / ed. by Rosie Lavan and Bernard O’Donoghue with Matthew Hollis.

David Malouf, 1934-2026

Adam Nossiter. NYT, 04/27/2026: David Malouf, Novelist of Australia’s Divided Heritage, Dies at 92. "Declared a national living treasure in 1997, he wrote poetry and short stories but was best known for his nine novels, including “The Great World.”"

"David Malouf, a writer whose poetic vision of Australia’s dual nature — a nation defined by its British Empire heritage, yet sheltering in an untamed outback — played out across prizewinning novels, short stories, poems and opera librettos, died on Wednesday in Gold Coast, in Queensland, Australia. He was 92.

"Mr. Malouf, who in 1997 was named to the initial list of 100 living national treasures by the National Trust of Australia, was saluted on social media by the country’s prime minister, Anthony Albanese, for having “captured the harsh, vast and intense beauty of our land and the lives it shaped.”

"In nine novels, Mr. Malouf reached back into Australia’s past to explore how the country’s uncompromising landscape and the combative mentality of its early settlers had shaped its collective psychology.

"Beginning with “Johnno” (1975), a semi-autobiographical account of his Brisbane upbringing, and continuing with books that blended history, memory and fiction, like “The Great World” (1990), “Remembering Babylon” (1993) and “The Conversations at Curlow Creek” (1996), Mr. Malouf looked at how the country’s founding as a penal colony in a hostile land extended into a more genteel present.

"He looked back into history for his themes, but not grand history. He was after the smaller lives he imagined playing out beneath the larger narrative.

"“When we talk about history, of course what history really is, is what is told and recorded,” he told the Australian filmmaker Don Featherstone in a 1997 documentary. “What fiction is really interested in is all those paths that don’t get recorded.”

"His work also drew on his own diverse background: His father’s family was from Lebanon, and his mother was from a Portuguese Sephardic Jewish family that had long lived in England.

"“I have always written, I think, out of this early sense of seeing and feeling in one hemisphere and reading in another, or of doing both at the same time, and from the oddness of being plainly neither Anglo-Saxon nor Celtic in a place that was in those days 95 percent either one or the other,” he once wrote, referring to his boyhood in World War II-era Brisbane.

"Bookish and introverted from an early age, Mr. Malouf remained this way as an adult, in an environment more fiercely committed to carving a nation out of wilderness than to creating works of art. For many years, he spent months each year living in a small Italian village. After his death, The Sydney Morning Herald described him as “openly but discreetly gay.”

"That duality — the man of “sensibility” playing off his doppelgänger, “someone wild” — finds its way, again and again, into Mr. Malouf’s fiction, as critics have noted. In “Johnno,” there is the literary-minded Dante, a character modeled on Mr. Malouf, and his unrestrained, reckless friend Johnno. In the epic wartime novel “The Great World,” perhaps Mr. Malouf’s most important work, there is the reflective Digger and the impulsive Vic, fellow prisoners of war in a Japanese internment camp. In “The Conversations at Curlow Creek,” set in colonial-era Australia, Adair and Fergus are another pair of men who are opposites in character.

"The Australian novelist Janette Turner Hospital noted that the twinned characters were iterations of Mr. Malouf’s own dual nature — “a single self engaged in an inner dialectic,” as she put it, a view which the novelist did not disagree.

"“This conceptual principle gives rise both to the considerable strengths (the poetic language, the beauties of structure and form) and to the weaknesses (the solipsism, the sketchy characterization, the narrative inertia) of Malouf’s novels,” Ms. Hospital wrote in The London Review of Books in 1996.

"Other critics also observed that Mr. Malouf’s poetic gift sometimes led him astray. “One has the sense that Mr. Malouf should try to cram less meaningful cogitation onto every page and allow his striking story to unfold unhindered,” the critic Richard Bernstein wrote in The New York Times in 1997.

"Australia, in Mr. Malouf’s telling, is by definition a land of myth, a place still haunted by its past. Often, in his work, as Mr. James put it, “the urge to create a legend came first, and then the events were made up to fit.”

"That tendency is displayed in “The Valley of Lagoons,” a long story in the 2000 story collection “Dream Stuff,” about a teenage boy’s initiation-ritual trip into a remote, watery spot in the outback. Mr. Malouf’s classics-infused imagination renders it a kind of journey to the underworld. (Two of his books, “An Imaginary Life,” from 1978, and “Ransom,” from 2009, are based on Ovid and Homer.)

"A 1962 collection, “Four Poets,” which including a section of Mr. Malouf’s work, introduced him to readers. He went on to publish nine volumes of poetry. Mr. Malouf also wrote the librettos for several operas, including an adaptation of Patrick White’s novel “Voss,” with music by Richard Meale, which was first performed in Adelaide in 1986.

"He leaves no immediate survivors.

"Mr. Malouf saw himself as filling a void in what he called the “consciousness of Australians,” who were largely unconcerned with the country’s history. The Australian past was the subject matter of his books.

"He saw his preoccupation as inevitable. You had to understand Australia’s origins as a colony of criminals, he believed — the intentional antithesis of Britain — to get at its dual nature. From the beginning, he wrote, it was “a colony that was intended to exist in two places, a real geographical antipodes and at the same time an antipodes of the mind.”"

David Malouf's LT page: https://www.librarything.com/author/maloufdavid

Greta Rainbow. Dirt, 04/28/2026: Remote districts: At the tender age of 100, Book of the Month is still grappling with its literary identity.

Aaron Kreuter. Literary Review of Canada, May 2026: The origins of our digital nightmare. Review of: Enshittification: Why Everything Suddenly Got Worse and What to Do About It / Cory Doctorow -- Needy Media: How Tech Gets Personal / Stephen Monteiro (McGill-Queen’s University Press).

TLS May 1, 2026|No. 6404

Featured

P.D. Smith. Bomb culture: Mankind has escaped nuclear war, for now. Review of: Destroyer of Worlds: The deep history of the nuclear age 1895–1965 / Frank Close -- Nuclear Weapons: An international history / David Holloway -- The Nuclear Age: An epic race for arms, power and survival / Serhii Plokhy -- The Most Awful Responsibility: Truman and the secret struggle for control of the atomic age / Alex Wellerstein.

Mary Beard. From the TLS landing page, 04/27/2026: Tips for a book tour. Regarding her Talking Classics.

James Hall. A woman of substance: The subtle and humorous art of Michaelina Wautier. Review of the exhibition Michaelina Wautier, Royal Academy, London, until June 21 & the catalog Michaelina Wautier / Gerline Gruber, Katlijne Van der Stighelen and Julian Domercq, editors (Royal Academy of Arts).

Sophie Oliver. Out of nothing: Tracey Emin’s self-fashioning. Review of the exhibition Tracey Emin: Second life, Tate Modern, London, until August 31 -- My Heart Is This: Tracey Emin on painting / Martin Gayford.

James Critchley. Our lady of the volcano: An unpublished play by Peter Shaffer. (Essay)

Literature

M.C. N.B Column: No Paine, no gain: Archipelagic essays, Rare revolutions, Conway Hall, Biblio-fiction.

Letters to the Editor. Beryl Bainbridge’s reputation: Malcolm Cowley and Jack Kerouac, The British Imagination, Cesare Pavese, etc.

Laurent Binet. Edited out: Turmoil at Grasset. (Essay)

Alex Clark. Who’s laffin’?: Gwendoline Riley’s poetics of noticing. Review of: The Palm House / Gwendoline Riley.

Andrew Rosenheim. Working the land: The saga of a noble Hungarian family. Review of: Lázár / Nelio Biedermann; translated by Jamie Bulloch (Penguin Classics).

Rory Waterman. Greedy for light: The bittersweet contentment of old age. Review of: Marston Meadows / John Fuller.

Luis Castellví Laukamp. Grief, death and devotion: A modern poetic voice informed by the Spanish Baroque. Review of: Desolación / Gabriela Mistral; translated by Inés Bellina, Anne Freeland and Alejandra C. Quintana Arocho; featuring 37 poems translated by Langston Hughes (Sundial House).

Declan Ryan. Killing time: Light-touch poems that take account of loss. Review of: New Cemetery / Simon Armitage.

Dinah Birch. How much it mattered: Stories of faith, doubt and acceptance. Review of: Devotions: Eight Stories / Lucy Caldwell.

Keith Miller. Another final act: A novel of Hitler’s architect. Review of: You Are the Führer’s Unrequited Love / Jean-Noël Orengo; translated by David Watson.

Adam Sutcliffe. Moving on: Between Ottoman Salonica and Occupied Paris. Review of: The Tribe / Michael Arditti.

Keith Hopper. I’d do it again: Hollywood comes to Derry. Review of: Prestige Drama / Séamas O’Reilly.

Lily Ford. Loveless life: A cautionary tale about entry into womanhood. Review of: Love Life of a Cheltenham Lady / Dinah Brooke.

Norma Clarke. Romeo meets Romeo in the suburbs: Biker love and a pioneering queer women novel. Review of: The Leather Boys / Gillian Freeman -- A Jingle Jangle Song / Mariana Villa-Gilbert.

In Brief Review of: Sevastopol Tales / Leo Tolstoy; translated by Nicolas Pasternak Slater (Pushkin Press).

In Brief Review of: Sánchez / Esther García Llovet; translated by Richard Village (Foundry Editions).

Arts

Jenny Uglow. Amateurs in name only: Women landscape painters reconsidered. Review of the exhibition A View of One’s Own: Landscapes by British women artists, 1760–1860, Courtauld Gallery, London, until May 20 -- A View of One’s Own: Landscapes by British women artists, 1760–1860 / Rachel Sloan, editor (Paul Holberton).

Paul Keegan. When zip was hip: Barnett Newman’s ‘inaction painting.’ Review of: Barnett Newman: Here / Amy Newman.

John-Paul Stonard. Vaudevillian violence: Brecht’s unnerving parable of power. Review of Bertolt Brecht's The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui, Swan Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon, until May 30.

Colin Grant. In the lines and the margins: Painful truths hidden in the shadows of history. Review of Winsome Pinnock's The Authenticator, Dorfman Theatre, National Theatre.

Michael Caines. Ticking clocks, sliding doors: Shakespeare’s lovers and the anguish of chance. Review of Shakespeare's Rome and Juliet, Harold Pinter Theatre, London.

J.S. Barnes. Television of the fantastic: The Daleks return... Review of: Doctor Who: The Daleks’ Master Plan, BBC iPlayer.

Religion

In Brief Review of: Making the Cut: An unorthodox love story / Max Olesker (Ebury). Marriage/conversion rites into Modern Judaic Orthodoxy.

Science, Technology, & History of Science/Pseudoscience

In Brief Review of: The Secret World of Twilight: a natural history of Dusk and dawn / Sally Coulthard.

In Brief Review of: What Did Dinosaurs Think About? / Jean Le Loeuff; translated by Alison Duncan.

In Brief Review of: Decoding the Hand: A history of science, medicine, and magic / Alison Bashford.

History, Politics, Society, World, Culture

Christina Thompson. Silent stones: How Easter Island was cut off from its past. Review of: Island at the Edge of the World: The forgotten history of Easter Island / Mike Pitts.

Fernando Cervantes. Small world: The afterlives of Columbus and his afterlives. Review of: The Nine Lives of Christopher Columbus / Mathew Restall.

Benjamin T. Smith. So close to the United States: Mexico’s challenge to received historical ideas. Review of: Mexico: A 500 year history (UK subtitle: A History) / Paul Gillingham.

N.A.M. Rodger. Horror and humanity: Nelson’s greatest victory and its aftershock. Review of: Trafalgar: Battle and aftermath / Paul O’Keeffe (Bodley Head).

Dan Stone. Notes from the grey zone: The diary of a concentration camp survivor. Review of: “Es wird nicht eher hell, bis es ganz dunkel gewesen ist”: Das Lagertagebuch des Isy Aronowitz, 13. Dezember 1940 – 26. August 1943 / Christoph Heyl, editor (Metropol).

Matthew Reisz. Second generation: British children growing up in the shadow of the Holocaust. Review of: Himmler’s Curtains: A memoir of loss and concealment / Simon Weisz (Hutchinson Heinemann) -- Ausländer: One family’s story of escape and exile / Michael Moritz -- The Lines We Draw: The journalist, the Jew and an argument about identity / Tim Franks.

Piotr H. Kosicki. The people have spoken: Illiberalism in Polish politics. Review of: Good Change: The rise and fall of Poland’s illiberal revolution / Stanley Bill and Ben Stanley.

Henry Hitchings. The London jungle: A tale of a teenage impostor, gangsters and metropolitan greed. Review of: London Falling: A mysterious death in a gilded city and a family’s search for truth / Patrick Radden Keefe.

K.B. Wilson. A history of violence: The bloody legacy of post-colonial Zimbabwe. Review of: No Safer Kinder Hatred: How racial hatred and ethnic violence shaped Zimbabwe / Frank Thabani Sayi (Quercus).

Inés Arteta. A different landscape: Transatlantic divides in feminism. Review of: La Lucha: Latin American feminism today / Edited by Carolina Orloff, various translators.

Fintan O'Toole. In the penitentiary: The abuse of women in Ireland’s Magdalene laundries. Review of: The Fallen: The Magdalene laundries and Ireland’s legacy of silence / Louise Brangan.

Guy Stagg. Under the volcano: Two Sicilian expeditions. Review of: The Fire in the Mountain: Sicily, Etna and her people / Helena Attlee (Particular) -- Across Sicily with Garibaldi’s Thousand: An adventure in landscape and Italian memory / Tim Parks.

Amy Liptrot. What may be lost: The Scottish Highlands and the march of ‘progress.’ Review of: Borrowed Land: A Highland story / Kapka Kassabova.

Ian Sansom. A country without Crusoes: The demise of the odd-job man. (Afterthoughts column)

In Brief Review of: Travels Through the Spanish Civil War / Nick Lloyd.

In Brief Review of: La Nuit au cœur / Nathacha Appanah. "Linked narratives of abuse and control".

In Brief Review of: When the Year Ends in One: how Tottenham Hotspurs 1991 FA Cup win saved the club and transformed English football / Ewan Flynn (Pitch).

April 2026 Updates 26-30

American Scholar Apr 27: music critic Michael Steinberg >18 featherbear:

Asian Review of Books Apr 9: Kim Hyesoon's poetry collection in translation -- Apr 28: The Corpse Collector >7 featherbear:

Atlantic Apr 28: talking about Screen People; Lee Friedlander's Life Still book; heartland rock & the right -- Apr 27: can literature still bring down the powerful? >12 featherbear:

fivebooks.com Apr 29: best books on WWII in Asia -- Apr 26: Same Sex Love in the Ancient World >27 featherbear:

Guardian Apr 30: Turkey and Istanbul in the Age of Erdoğan; ballet dancer who baits love scammer -- Apr 29: Lucy Caldwell's short story collection Devotions -- Apr 28: American resistance to anti-semitism & white supremacy; Emily Brontë; trauma & transition; perinatal OCD -- Apr 27: Zadie Smith clickbait; new Elizabeth Strout novel; Lena Dunham memoir -- Apr 26: dark side of the GDR >3 featherbear:

LARB Apr 30: the Right vs Cultural Marxism; TC Boyle's No Way Home -- Apr 27: Sophie Mackintosh's Permanence -- Apr 26: science fiction & AI >4 featherbear:

Literary Review April issue: Ludwig Wittgenstein >13 featherbear:

LitHub Apr 29: suicide memoir -- Apr 28: excerpt from Emerson Circle book -- 10 memoirs of family estrangement; schizophrenia pill -- Apr 27: photographic firsts; Vigdis Hjorth’s Repetition; Resilience in Fiction and Real Life >13 featherbear:

New Yorker Apr 29: Fast & Furious -- Apr 27: Ellen Burstyn's life in poetry; Wolfgang Koeppen -- Apr 26: young chess masters >5 featherbear:

NYT Apr 30: murder in the Ozarks; inside/outside the Church novel -- Apr 29: Prophecy!; Japanese Gothic! -- Apr 28: AI warfare; Wolfgang Koeppen -- Apr 27: whither book reviews; new Stones collective bio; Jayne Anne Phillips memoir -- Apr 26: Tom Perrota's Ghost Town; influencer kids; Violent Masterpiece; 4 recommended historical novels issued this month >15 featherbear:

PRoB Apr 30: London Falling; what PRoB staff are reading 4th week of April; classics in Pittsburgh -- Apr 29: maternal health & racial inequity -- Apr 28: excerpt from Adrian Woolfson's On the Future of Species -- Apr 27: Leonard Cohen bio excerpt; freshman Hell >8 featherbear:

Quillette Apr 29: Weather Underground memoir >40 featherbear:

Yale Review Apr 30: Arundhati Roy interview >21 featherbear:

April Index >2 featherbear:

Last week's updates >46 featherbear:

Websites Added This Week:
Dirt >50 featherbear:
Hudson Review >48 featherbear:
Literary Review of Canada >51 featherbear:

April-June obituary index >1 featherbear:

Obituaries added this week:
David Malouf >49 featherbear:

Rand Richards Cooper. Commonweal, 04/26/2026: Humanity on the Page: Writing in the Age of AI. "Will “Certified Human” writing become an expensive, niche product, like artisanal cheese?"

May 2026 Index

Asian Review of Books >57 featherbear:
Atlantic >60 featherbear:
Dissent >90 featherbear:
fivebooks.com >61 featherbear:
Guardian >56 featherbear:
LARB >63 featherbear:
LitHub >62 featherbear:
The Nation >80 featherbear:
New Yorker >59 featherbear:
NYRB May 14 >47 featherbear:
NYT Online >58 featherbear:
Paris Review >91 featherbear:
The Point >92 featherbear:
PRoB >65 featherbear:
TLS May 01 >52 featherbear: May 13 >81 featherbear:

Literature & Non-Fiction Pulitzer Prize Winners >66 featherbear:

April Index >2 featherbear:

Updates:
May 01-09 >73 featherbear:
May 10-16 >84 featherbear:
May 17-23 >89 featherbear:

Guardian May 2026

Gautam Malkani. 05/31/2026: How our list of the 100 best novels became a page turner.

Maggie O'Farrell. 05/31/2026: Maggie O’Farrell: ‘Fiction comes from what you don’t know.’ "From a young age, the author was told that one of her ancestors had drawn some of the first maps of Ireland. Then she found a photograph, and embarked on a journey to discover his story." Regarding: Land: A Novel / Maggie O'Farrell.

John Self. 05/29/2026: The best recent translated fiction – review roundup. The list: Sisters in Yellow by Mieko Kawakami; All Flesh by Ananda Devi; The White Desert by Luis López Carrasco; The Home of the Drowned by Elin Anna Labba.

Joanna Quinn. 05/29/2026: Brilliant wry comedy of Derry and the shadow of the past. Review of: Prestige Drama / Séamas O’Reilly.

Virginia Evans. 05/29/2026: The Books in My Life: Virginia Evans: ‘I loved books about things that can’t exist.’ "The Women’s prize-shortlisted novelist on taking inspiration from John Steinbeck, Joan Didion and Jhumpa Lahiri, and weeping through Little Women in her 30s."

Martin Pengelly. 05/28/2026: Obama’s former speechwriter Ben Rhodes examines the US through its 15 most defining speeches. Review of: All We Say: The Battle for American Identity: A History in 15 Speeches / Ben Rhodes.

Christopher Shrimpton. 05/28/2026: Lust at first sight. Review of: Kingfisher / Rozie Kelly.

Lanre Bakare. 05/28/2026: An intimate history of Black British music. Review of: Escaping Babylon: An Intimate History of Black British Music / Jesse Bernard (Profile).

Ella Creamer. 05/27/2026: Novel about ‘Disneyfication’ of nature wins climate fiction prize. "Hum, Helen Phillips’ third novel, featuring a woman whose job is taken by a humanoid robot, is a terrifying look into a future where AI rules and nature is scarce."

David Smith. 05/27/2026: How Garry Trudeau’s Doonesbury cartoons captured America: ‘One of our nation’s greatest journalists.’ "A new book looks back at the work of artist and journalist Garry Trudeau and how he told the story of a country’s highs and lows through a comic strip." Regarding: Trudeau & Doonesbury: A Biography: The Cartoonist Who Turned the News into Art / Joshua Kendall.

Fatima Bhutto. 05/27/2026: Story of a deepfake sex tape. Review of: Fieldwork As a Sex Object / Meena Kandasamy.

Simon Usborne. 05/27/2026: The secrets of our search history: The company’s data editor trawls through billions of queries to deliver a portrait of the world’s preoccupations. Review of: What We Ask Google: A Surprisingly Hopeful Picture of Humankind / Simon Rogers.

Leila Slimani, interviewer Nadia Khomami. 05/27/2026: ‘Writing is exactly like love – you need to do it in the dark’: novelist Leila Slimani on starting a new chapter in her life.

Blake Morrison. 05/26/2026: A masterclass in translation: The polarising translator of the Odyssey and the Iliad sets out her philosophy in this fascinating collection. Review of: Crossing the Wine Dark Sea: Journeys through Ancient Literature / Emily Wilson.

Ian Maleney. 05/26/2026: Twisted love story from a cult writer. Review of: The Vivisectors: A Novel / Missouri Williams.

Sophie McBain. 05/25/2026: What we get wrong about men and women. Review of: A Billion Years of Sex Differences: How Evolution Shaped the Minds of Men and Women / Steve Stewart-Williams.

Beejay Silcox. 05/25/2026: A saccharine story of reunion: A woman’s encounter with the stepfather she hasn’t seen for decades leads to a revived bond – but is it all too perfect? Review of: Whistler: a novel / Ann Patchett.

Tahmima Anam. 05/24/2026: From Gilead to Ladyland: how the rebellious women of literature offer hope in dark times. "After visiting an island brothel in Bangladesh, the novelist was inspired to write an imagined uprising. She explores the radical fictional worlds where women have the power." On the inspiration for her book: Uprising: a novel / Tahmima Anam.

Guardian. 05/23/2026: ‘I laughed out loud dozens of times’: authors choose books to make you fall back in love with reading. "From a darkly comic new novel to a gripping 1950s memoir – Katherine Rundell, Malala Yousafzai, Matt Haig and others appearing at Hay festival pick titles to tempt you.

Lara Feigel. 05/22/2026: A blend of social realism and gothic horror. Review of: Hunger and Thirst / Claire Fuller.

Emma Brockes. 05/21/2026: A superb biography of the musical master: Packed with gossip and incident, this book is also a fascinating study in the gestation of genius. Review of: Stephen Sondheim: Art Isn’t Easy / Daniel Okrent.

Catherine Taylor. 05/21/2026: Indie debut on the Women’s prize shortlist. Review of: The Mercy Step / Marcia Hutchinson.

Sam Leith. 05/20/2026: Romance for the terminally online. Review of: I Want You to Be Happy: a novel / Jem Calder.

Jo Marchant. 05/20/2026: Is culture the best medicine?: A professor of psychobiology argues that art – from painting to theatre – has a measurable impact on our health. Review of: Art Cure: The Science of How the Arts Transform Our Health / Daisy Fancourt.

Houman Barekat. 05/19/2026: Wry comedy of a frazzled teacher: reads like a gen Z update on The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, playfully skewering modern literary tropes. Review of: Offseason: A Novel / Avigayl Sharp.

Steven Poole. 05/19/2026: How on earth do you translate Shakespeare?: Is Hamlet still Hamlet when every word has changed? A superbly diverting book about language and creativity. Review of: If This Be Magic: The Unlikely Art of Shakespeare in Translation / Daniel Hahn.

Hannah Harris Green. 05/18/2026: ‘Capitalism has to become more humane’: a Stanford economist on big tech, power hoarding and democracy. Review of forthcoming: Private Power and Democracy's Decline: How to Make Capitalism Support Democracy / Mordecai Kurz (MIT Press).

Emma Loffhagen. 05/18/2026: The stories behind the Windrush scandal. Review of: Smallie / Eden McKenzie-Goddard.

Brian Dillon. 05/18/2026: Lost voices from an Irish asylum: Forgotten psychiatric patients are resurrected with imagination and compassion in this extraordinary book. Review of: Said the Dead / Doireann Ní Ghríofa.

Doireann Ní Ghríofa, interviewer Alex Clark. 05/16/2026: ‘I’m so grateful I got to live these days’: A Ghost in the Throat author Doireann Ní Ghríofa on recovering from depression. "The acclaimed author and poet talks about her new book, telling the true stories of patients at a derelict Victorian psychiatric hospital – a place in which she might have found herself at a different time." Regarding the forthcoming: Said the Dead / Doireann Ní Ghríofa.

Dorothy A. Brown. 05/15/2026: The audacity of hope: The inspiring life of the Black American activist and legal scholar who changed the way the world things about race. Review of: Backtalker: An American Memoir / Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw.

A K Blakemore. 05/15/2026: Gripping portrait of the real-life Robinson Crusoe: This fascinating novel about 18th-century privateer Alexander Selkirk, abandoned on a tiny island in the South Pacific, becomes a revelatory meditation on humanity. Review of: Cast Away / Francesca De Torres (Bloomsbury).

Laura Wilson. 05/15/2026: The best recent crime and thrillers – review roundup. The list: Honey by Imani Thompson; Quite Ugly One Evening by Chris Brookmyre; The Final Chapter: a novel by CB Everett; The Hollow Boys by Tariq Ashkanani (Viper); Shrink Solves Murder by Philippa Perry.

Emma Loffhagen. 05/14/2026: American poet Sasha Debevec-McKenney wins Dylan Thomas prize for ‘blistering’ debut poetry collection. "The £20,000 award for writers aged 39 or under goes to Joy Is My Middle Name, a collection about navigating race, addiction and womanhood."

Alex Faludy. 05/14/2026: The town that changed Germany: It was the birthplace of the liberal tradition, but also the incubator for Nazism – what can this historic city tell us about democracy? Review of: Weimar: Life on the Edge of Catastrophe / Katja Hoyer.

Rebecca Wait. 05/14/2026: Immensely enjoyable return of the epistolary novel. Review of: The Correspondent / Virginia Evans.

Sana Goyal. 05/13/2026: A fiery novel of female rebellion: Radical hope and rage combine in this tale of ecological precarity and resistance among sex workers on a brothel island. Review of: Uprising: A Novel / Tahmima Anam.

Edward Posnett. 05/12/2026: A carnival of a book: An extraordinary exploration of wilderness and its meaning that takes us from the ocean floor to volcanic peaks. Review of: The Savage Landscape: How We Made the Wilderness / Cal Flynn.

James Smart. 05/12/2026: Will Britain boil over? Review of: High and Low / Amanda Craig (Abacus)

Yagnishsing Dawoor. 05/11/2026: Will a father and son come out to each other? Review of: John of John: a novel / Douglas Stuart.

John Self. 05/09/2026: The rise of the literary nepo baby? The children of famous novelists on following in their parents’ footsteps: From Naomi Ishiguro to Jess Atwood Gibson, more children of high profile writers are becoming authors themselves. Parents and their literary offspring discuss the pressures of measuring up.

Avi Shlaim. 05/09/2026: The long view: An erudite account of the foundation of the state and its subsequent moral and political decline. Review of: Israel: What Went Wrong? / Omer Bartov.

David Smith. 05/09/2026: ‘They’re trying to narrow the worldview of young people’: how book bans are on the rise in the US: Rising tide of censorship is spreading, reshaping what students are permitted to read, learn and think.

Farrah Jarral. 05/08/2026: Can you think yourself sick?. Review of: This Book May Cause Side Effects US (Abrams Press) subtitle: The Curious and Dangerous Power of the Nocebo Effect, Placebo's Evil Twin; UK (Atlantic) subtitle: Why Our Minds Are Making Us Sick / Helen Pilcher.

Lisa Tuttle. 05/08/2026: The best recent science fiction, fantasy and horror – review roundup: The Republic of Memory by Mahmud El Sayed; The Rainshadow Orphans by Naomi Ishiguro; No Ghosts by Max Lury; Palaces of the Crow by Ray Nayler; Moon Over Brendle by Jeff Noon.

Lily King. 05/08/2026: The Books in My Life: Lily King: ‘I couldn’t get past the first 20 pages of Pride and Prejudice.’ "The Women’s prize-shortlisted author on being obsessed with Judy Blume, hating Jane Austen at first, and the joys of Tove Jansson."

Sam Leith. 05/07/2026: Immensely fun gothic horror with a psychedelic twist. Review of: Solace House / Will Maclean.

Larry Ryan. 05/06/2026: The hill I will die on: Heavy, awkward and incredibly expensive – we don’t need hardback books.

Martin Pengelly. 05/06/2026: Revealing book shines light on Martin Luther King Jr’s early days. Review of: Young King: The Making of Martin Luther King Jr. / Lerone Martin.

Emma Loffhagen. 05/06/2026: Shyness, obsession and the joy of karaoke. Review of: What Am I, a Deer? / Polly Barton.

Hannah Kingsley-Ma. 05/05/2026: Harriet Clark spent a lifetime visiting her mother, an ex-Weather Underground member, in prison: ‘The US has always used family separation to destabilize.’ Regarding: The Hill / Harriet Clark (Farrar, Straus and Giroux).

Ralph Webb. 05/05/2026: Gun-toting drunks, boy-eating sharks and bloodsucking babies: the violent, brilliant stories of Eric Walrond. Regarding: Tropic Death / Eric Walrond.

Ben Child. 05/05/2026: An AI version of Milton’s Paradise Lost is fundamentally unworthy of one of the great works of art. Regarding: Paradise Lost / John Milton.

Alexandra Harris. 05/05/2026: A stunning tale of rural life for an era of ecological crisis. Review of: The Given World / Melissa Harrison.

John Simpson. 05/04/2026: How the Islamic Republic was born. Review of: Iran and the Revolution: A History / Homa Katouzian.

Yagnishsing Dawoor. 05/04/2026: A powerfully eerie portrait of Lagos. Review of: One Leg on Earth: A Novel / ’Pemi Aguda.

Emmy van Deurzen, interviewer/profiler Sophie McBain. 05/02/2026: ‘One of the most profound encounters of my life’: could existential therapist Emmy van Deurzen change the way you think? Regarding: Beginning to Live: The Art of Existential Freedom / Emmy van Deurzen.

Katie Kitamura. 05/01/2026: Katie Kitamura: ‘Almost every writer changes my mind – that’s the point of reading’ (The Books in my Life).

Beejay Silcox. 05/01/2026: A Cloud Atlas-like puzzle-box novel. Review of: Homebound: A Novel / Portia Elan. "From 1980s Cincinnati into the interstellar darkness, the stories of four women interconnect across the centuries in a gentle hymn to found families."

Fiona Sampson. 05/01/2026: The best recent poetry – review roundup: Yiewsley by Daljit Nagra (Faber); Mer de Glace by Małgorzata Lebda; The Intentions of Thunder by Patricia Smith; Cherry Blossom at Nightbreak by Rishi Dastidar (Nine Arches); Dark Night by St John of the Cross, translated by Martha Sprackland.

Asian Review of Books May 2026

Prarthana Prakash. 05/31/2026: “Rat Race” by Mamta Kalia. Review of: Rat Race / Mamta Kalia; translated from the Hindi by Jerry Pinto (Speaking Tiger Books).

Rosie Milne. 05/30/2026: “The Country Doctor’s Tale” by Mohamed Mansi Qandil. Review of: The Country Doctor’s Tale / Mohamed Mansi Qandil; translated from the Arabic by R. Neil Hewison (Syracuse University Press).

Ananya Kanai Shah. 05/29/2026: “To Compare” by Xuela Zhang. Review of: To Compare: poems / Xuela Zhang (Fonograf editions).

Andreas Pohl. 05/28/2026: “No Man River” by Dương Hướng. Review of: No Man River / Dương Hướng; Quan Manh Ha (trans), Charles Waugh (trans) (Penguin Southeast Asia).

David Chaffetz. 05/27/2026: “Chapal Rani, the Last Queen of Bengal” by Sandip Roy. Review of: Chapal Rani, the Last Queen of Bengal: the life and times of a female impersonator / Sandip Roy (Seagull Books).

Soni Wadhwa. 05/26/2026: “The Lady Who Carried the Monk Across the River: A Parable for Ordinary People” by Pavan K Varma. Review of: The Lady Who Carried the Monk Across the River: A Parable for Ordinary People / Pavan K Varma (India Penguin).

Susan Blumberg-Kason. 05/23/2026: “Questions 27 & 28” by Karen Tei Yamashita. Review of: Questions 27 & 28 / Karen Tei Yamashita

Stephen Mercado. 05/22/2026: “Witness to Korea, 1945-47: The Unfolding of an Authoritarian Regime” by Frank Hoffmann and Mark E. Caprio. Review of: Witness to Korea, 1945-47: The Unfolding of an Authoritarian Regime / Frank Hoffmann and Mark E. Caprio (Academia Publishers).

Jonathan Chatwin. 05/19/2026: “Cultural Mavericks: The Business and Politics of Independent Bookselling in China” by Zheng Liu. Review of: Cultural Mavericks: The Business and Politics of Independent Bookselling in China / Zheng Liu (Columbia University Press).

Kateryna Shabelnyk. 05/18/2026: “Sisters in Yellow” by Mieko Kawakami. Review of: Sisters in Yellow / Mieko Kawakami; translators: Laurel Taylor, Hitomi Yoshio.

Peter Gordon. 05/16/2026: “Gooday Nagar” by Maithreyi Karnoor. Review of: Gooday Nagar / Maithreyi Karnoor (Tranquebar Press). "Gooday Nagar is a collection of short stories about the people (or, better, “characters”) of and around the eponymous fictional Indian town. If this sounds a bit like RK Narayan’s classic Malgudi Days, that’s no accident; one of the stories even references it."

Jianan Qian. 05/15/2026: “The Memory Museum” by M Lin. Review of: The Memory Museum: Stories / M Lin.

David Chaffetz. 05/13/2026: “The Race for Universal Monarchy: Apocalypticism and the Ottoman–Habsburg Rivalry in the Sixteenth-Century Mediterranean.” Review of (you guessed it): The Race for Universal Monarchy: Apocalypticism and the Ottoman–Habsburg Rivalry in the Sixteenth-Century Mediterranean / Ebru Turan.

Susan Blumberg-Kason. 05/12/2026: “Inheritance” by Jane Park. Review of: Inheritance: a novel / Jane Park (Pegasus).

Kalpana Mohan. 05/09/2026: “Stories We Wear: Status, Spectacle and The Politics of Appearance” by Shefalee Vasudev. Review of: Stories We Wear: Status, Spectacle and The Politics of Appearance / Shefalee Vasudev (Westland).

Peter Gordon. 05/08/2026: “Troubled Waters” by Ichiyo Higuchi. Review of: Troubled Waters / Ichiyo Higuchi, Bryan Karetnyk (trans.). "Ichiyo Higuchi, a contemporary of Anton Chekhov, Henry James, O Henry and Colette, may well be the most acclaimed and influential writer you have (perhaps) never heard of."

Francis P. Sempa. 05/06/2026: “China’s Mahan: Admiral Liu Huaqing and the Rise of the Modern Chinese Navy” by Xiaobing Li. Review of: China’s Mahan: Admiral Liu Huaqing and the Rise of the Modern Chinese Navy / Xiaobing Li.

Ben Woollard. 05/05/2026: “Earth, Water & Fire” by Eiji Yoshikawa. Review of: Musashi: Book One - Earth, Water & Fire - The Novel / Eiji Yoshikawa, translater: Alexander Bennett (Tuttle).

Vikram Zutshi. 05/02/2026: “Murder in Byzantium” by Julia Kristeva. Review of: Murder in Byzantium: a novel / Julia Kristeva; translation C Jon Delogu.

Susan Blumberg-Kason. 05/01/2026: “The Moys of New York and Shanghai: One Family’s Extraordinary Journey Through War and Revolution.” Review of: The Moys of New York and Shanghai: One Family’s Extraordinary Journey Through War and Revolution / Charlotte Brooks.

NYT Online May 2026

Brian Bannon. 05/31/2026: shared link: Make America Read Again.

Mateo Askaripour. 05/31/2026: This Modern Fable Uses ‘Uncle Remus’ to Reclaim Black History. Review of: RABBIT, FOX, TAR / P.C. Verrone.

Sarah Weinman. 05/31/2026: The Hit Man Who Owns a Radio Station, and Other Riveting Crime Novels: The list: My Name Was Gerry Sass / Tiffany Hanssen -- Shadows on Sidewalks / James Grady -- Murder at the Hotel Orient / Alessandra Ranelli -- Broken Truths / Alessandro Robecchi; translated by Gregory Conti.

Sanjena Sathian. 05/30/2026: A Selfie Says a Thousand Words. Review of: GIRL’S GIRL / Sonia Feldman.

Daniel Nieh. 05/30/2026: Her Clone Is Finally Coming Home. Should They Merge Back Into One? Review of: SUBLIMATION / Isabel J. Kim. "Isabel J. Kim reimagines the dilemmas of immigration through a science fiction story about scheming clones."

Alexandra Jacobs. 05/29/2026: Jill Biden’s New Memoir Shows Off a Sharp Eye, if Not a Sharp Elbow. Review of: VIEW FROM THE EAST WING: A Memoir / Jill Biden.

No attribution. 05/28/2026: The Nonfiction Everyone Will Be Reading This Summer. "Memoirs, histories, true crime, investigations and much more."

Veronica Roth (e-mail interviewee). 05/28/2026: Veronica Roth’s Favorite Literary Villain: Lady Jessica From ‘Dune.’

Jennifer Szalai. 05/27/2026: This Infamous British Spy Ring Fed the Soviets Secrets for Years. Review of: STALIN’S APOSTLES: The Cambridge Five and the Making of the Soviet Empire / Antonia Senior.

Sandra Simond. 05/27/2026: Shocked and Shattered Elegies for a Lost Utopian Dream. Review of: KILLING SPREE: poems / Jorie Graham.

Angelina Mazza. 05/27/2026: Why Is TikTok in This Book from 2006?: For decades, publishers have swapped out cultural references in new editions of books to appeal to younger readers. Fans aren’t always thrilled.

Jon Meacham. 05/26/2026: The American Revolution Was Also Fought in India and Spain. Review of: FREEDOM ROUND THE GLOBE: A World History of the American Revolution / Sarah M.S. Pearsall.

Marcel Theroux. 05/26/2026: A Surreal Western Follows a Chinese Family With Magic Abilities. Review of: BABYLON, SOUTH DAKOTA / Tom Lin.

Ann Manov. 05/26/2026: A Campus Novel That Dwells on Controversy but Spares the Details. Review of: THE VIVISECTORS / Missouri Williams.

Elisabeth Egan. 05/26/2026: Love ‘The Midnight Library’? You’ll Love the Sequel, Too. Review of: THE MIDNIGHT TRAIN / Matt Haig.

Dwight Garner. 05/25/2026: The Story of ‘Doonesbury’ and a Half-Century of American Absurdity. Review of: TRUDEAU & DOONESBURY: The Cartoonist Who Turned the News Into Art / Joshua Kendall.

Richard Kreitner. 05/25/2026: It’s America’s Birthday, and He’ll Be Mad if He Wants To. Review of: AMERICA, U.S.A.: How Race Shadows the Nation’s Anniversaries / Eddie S. Glaude Jr.

Alexandra Jacobs. 05/24/2026: Some Like It Literary: How Marilyn Monroe Gave a Smart Gloss to Her Image. "It was all about self-improvement for the actress, who was born a century ago next week. Two new volumes shed light on the books she collected and the intellectual she married." Regarding: MARILYN AND HER BOOKS: The Literary Life of Marilyn Monroe / Gail Crowther -- THE ARTHUR MILLER TAPES: A Life in His Own Words / editor Christopher Bigsby.

Carmela Ciuraru. 05/23/2026: How Do Great Authors Transform Suffering Into Art? Review of: THE DANGER TO BE SANE: Creativity and the Eccentric Mind / Rosa Montero; translated by Lindsey Ford.

Elisabeth Egan. 05/22/2026, upd 05/23: How a Throwaway Line Turned Writers Against a Cheerleader for Children’s Books. "Mac Barnett, the national ambassador for young people’s literature, published a manifesto aimed at adults. Then came the blowback."

Roddy Doyle. 05/22/2026: The Hilarious, Steady Crawl to the Grave. Review of: THE LAND AND ITS PEOPLE: Essays / David Sedaris.

Jessica Bennett. 05/22/2026: You’re Doing Amazing, Sweetie, and Other Theories on World Domination. Review of: DEKONSTRUCTING THE KARDASHIANS: A New Media Manifesto / MJ Corey. "MJ Corey, best known as TikTok’s resident Kardashian scholar ..."

John Leland. 05/20/2026: Mom and Dad Were Radicals. In Two Books, Their Children Write to Understand. Profile of Zayd Ayers Dohrn and Harriet Clark, authors, respectively, of: Dangerous, Dirty, Violent, and Young: A Fugitive Family in the Revolutionary Underground & The Hill: a novel.

Alexandra Alter. 05/21/2026: YouTube Is Crawling with Pirated Audiobooks Made Using A.I.: Illegal, synthetically narrated copies of “The Hunger Games,” hit self-help books and everything in between are increasingly common on the platform.

Valeriya Safronova. 05/20/2026: Was a Story That Just Won a Literary Prize A.I.-Generated?: A respected literary magazine has published an award-winning short story many readers believe to be generated by artificial intelligence. Experts aren’t all so sure.

Miguel Salazar. 05/20/2026: Her Parents Fled the Cuban Revolution. Two Children Got Left Behind. Review of: KEEPER OF MY KIN: Memoir of an Immigrant Daughter / Ada Ferrer.

Megan O'Grady. 05/20/2026: Can Fiction Ever Really Capture Our Absurd, Violent World? Review of: GLYPH by Ali Smith.

Jennifer Szalai. 05/19/2026: ‘That Awful Thing That Happened’ Is Now a Stunning Memoir. Review of: DOG DAYS / Emily LaBarge.

Dana Spiotta. 05/19/2026: A Searing Memoir of Being Raised by Radicals on the Run. Review of: DANGEROUS, DIRTY, VIOLENT, AND YOUNG: A Fugitive Family in the Revolutionary Underground / Zayd Ayers Dohrn.

Sarah Ruden. 05/19/2026: Want to Fall in Love With Classics? Try a 4,000-Year-Old Bread Roll. Review of: TALKING CLASSICS: The Shock of the Old / Mary Beard.

Amy S. Greenberg. 05/19/2026: Mary Todd Lincoln Was Bad. But Not as Bad as the People Who Hated Her. Review of: AN INCONVENIENT WIDOW: The Torment, Trial, and Triumph of Mary Todd Lincoln / Lois Romano.

Sam Anderson. 05/19/2026: Do You Even Thinketh, Bro? "Lots of guys are recommending “As a Man Thinketh” for self-improvement. That’s not what it gave me." (by James Allen)

Dwight Garner. 05/18/2026: For Jesmyn Ward, Tough Times Have Led to Some of Her Best Writing. Review of: ON WITNESS AND RESPAIR: Essays / Jesmyn Ward. "The two-time National Book Award winner collects essays, profiles and appreciations in a new book."

Caroline Alexander. 05/18/2026: ‘They Just Wanted to Kill Us’: a Harrowing Account From Ukraine. Review of: THE THEATER: Courage and Survival in the Defining Atrocity of the Ukraine War / James Verini.

Anand Giridharadas. 05/18/2026: The Secret Elite One Freshman Discovered at Stanford. Review of: HOW TO RULE THE WORLD: An Education in Power at Stanford University / Theo Baker.

Nia Decaille. 05/18/2026: This Romance Writer Has the Spotlight. She’s Not Going to Waste It: Kennedy Ryan just landed a TV deal for her breakout novel. Her new books challenge readers — and her characters — to dive into the Harlem Renaissance. Review of: Score / Kennedy Ryan.

Brian Raftery. 05/17/2026, upd 5/18: Nobody Once Told Him the World Was Gonna Meme Shrek. "The writer and illustrator William Steig lived several lives before his book about a surly ogre became a Hollywood hit."

Alexandra Jacobs. 05/17/2026: Two of Susan Sontag’s Besties Get a Beautiful Biography of Their Own. Review of: THE WONDERFUL WORLD THAT ALMOST WAS: A Life of Peter Hujar and Paul Thek / Andrew Durbin.

Dina Gachman. 05/17/2026: Hayden Panettiere Can’t Escape the Drama: Her mother put her on TV at 11 months old. She lost custody of her own daughter. The “Nashville” star has a lot to reckon with in her new memoir. Regarding the forthcoming: This Is Me: A Reckoning / Hayden Panettiere.

T.J. Klune. 05/16/2026: Aliens Abducted His Husband. Now What? Review of: TAKE ME WITH YOU / Steven Rowley.

Justin Taylor. 05/16/2026: This Narrator Merits Your Attention. Just Don’t Trust Anything She Says. Review of: ATTENTION-SEEKING BEHAVIOR / Aea Varfis-van Warmelo.

Alec Nevala-Lee. 05/16/2026: Neil deGrasse Tyson’s Ode to Aliens Fails to Launch. Review of: TAKE ME TO YOUR LEADER: Perspectives on Your First Alien Encounter / Neil deGrasse Tyson.

Vaishnavi Patel. 05/15/2026: These Fantasy and Sci-Fi Novels Are Full of Real Horrors. The List: The Change / Kirsten Miller -- Gifted & Talented / Olivie Blake -- The City We Became / N.K. Jemisin -- Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng / Kylie Lee Baker -- Lakewood / Megan Giddings -- Exit West / Mohsin Hamid -- The Dream Hotel / Laila Lalami -- The Centre / Ayesha Manazir Siddiqi.

Aatish Taseer. 05/14/2026: Follow the Steps of the Buddha, Book by Book: A reporter’s essential reading list on Buddhism in Asia. The list: The Search for the Buddha: The Men Who Discovered India’s Lost Religion (2003) by Charles Allen (Basic Books) -- The Wheel of Life: The Autobiography of a Western Buddhist (1959) by John Blofeld -- The Living Thoughts of Gotama the Buddha (1948) by Ananda K. Coomaraswamy and I.B. Horner (1948) -- Keeping the Faith: Thai Buddhism at the Crossroads (2001) by Sanitsuda Ekachai -- The Robe and the Sword: How Buddhist Extremism Is Shaping Modern Asia (2025) by Sonia Faleiro -- Monk, Householder and Tantric Priest: Newar Buddhism and its Hierarchy of Ritual (1992) by David Gellhorn -- Battles of the New Republic: A Contemporary History of Nepal (2014) by Prashant Jha -- The Souls of China: The Return of Religion After Mao (2017) by Ian Johnson -- Buddhism: A Journey Through History (2024) by Donald S. Lopez Jr. -- Buddhism in Practice (1995) edited by Donald S. Lopez Jr. -- An End to Suffering: The Buddha in the World (2004) by Pankaj Mishra -- Buddhist Monuments (1971) by Debala Mitra -- All Roads Lead North: China, Nepal and the Contest for the Himalayas (2021) by Amish Raj Mulmi -- Gotama Buddha: A Biography Based on the Most Reliable Texts -- Zen Baggage: A Pilgrimage to China (2009) by Bill Porter (1977) -- The Monk and the Philosopher: A Father and Son Discuss the Meaning of Life (1997) by Jean-François Revel and Matthieu Ricard by Hajime Nakamura -- The Jatakas: Birth Stories of the Bodhisatta (2006) -- Buddhist Himalaya: Travels and Studies in Quest of the Origins and Nature of Tibetan Religion (1957) by David Snellgrove translated by Sara Shaw -- Buddhism: The Illustrated Guide (2001) edited by Kevin Trainor -- Taiwan Travelogue (2020) by Yang Shuang-zi. In conjunction with the T-Magazine article: Aatish Taseer. 05/14/2026: The Prince's Journey: Life, Death and Rebirth in the Land of the Buddha: Starting at the birthplace of Buddhism, a writer traces how its teachings spread across Asia, transforming the continent forever.

Violet Kupersmith. 05/12/2026: One Way to Stop a Stalker? Stalk Him Back. Review of: NERVE DAMAGE: a novel / Annakeara Stinson.

Everdeen Mason. 05/12/2026: The Author of ‘Divergent’ Returns With an Action-Packed Adventure. Review of: SEEK THE TRAITOR’S SON / Veronica Roth.

Max Chafkin. 05/12/2026: Will A.I. Help Humanity? A Journalist Looks For Answers. Review of: AI FOR GOOD: How Real People Are Using Artificial Intelligence to Fix Things That Matter / Josh Tyrangiel.

Dwight Garner. 05/11/2026: The Women of New Jersey’s Little India Have a Story to Tell. Review of: MEN LIKE OURS / Bindu Bansinath.

Jenny Comita. 05/11/2026: He Had a Vision for His Novel’s Main Character. A Sketch Artist Brought Her to Life. "With the help of a forensic artist, Amitav Ghosh puts a face to the name of Varsha Gupta, the central figure of his new novel, “Ghost Eye.”"

Deborah Blum. 05/11/2026: A Warning to Climate Scientists: Don’t Miss the Forest for the Trees. Review of: WHEN THE FOREST BREATHES: Renewal and Resilience in the Natural World / Suzanne Simard.

Alexandra Jacob. 05/10/2026: Who’s Been Taking Notes at Our Bedroom Door? Review of: LOOK WHAT YOU MADE ME DO / John Lanchester.

Alexis Coe. 05/09/2026: American Power and American Liberty Have A Long, Tortured Relationship The List: A WICKED WAR: Polk, Clay, Lincoln, and the 1846 U.S. Invasion of Mexico / Amy S. Greenberg (2012) -- HOW TO HIDE AN EMPIRE: A History of the Greater United States / Daniel Immerwahr (2019) -- HEROES TO HOSTAGES: America and Iran, 1800-1988 / Firoozeh Kashani-Sabet (2003) -- THE BROTHERS: John Foster Dulles, Allen Dulles, and Their Secret World War / Stephen Kinzer (n.d.?) -- POLAR WAR: Submarines, Spies, and the Struggle for Power in a Melting Arctic / Kenneth Rosen (n.d.).

Daisy Fried. 05/09/2026: The Water in These Poems May Be Poisoned, but Beauty Persists. Review of: WELLWATER: Poems / Karen Solie. "The Canadian poet Karen Solie balances environmental concerns with hope and deadpan wit."

Marisa Meltzer. 05/09/2026: The Woman Behind the Wheel of the Pink Cadillac. Review of: SELLING OPPORTUNITY: The Story of Mary Kay / Mary Lisa Gavenas.

Madison Malone Kircher. 05/08/2026: How to Break the Internet? Lose Your Soul. Review of: SCREEN PEOPLE: How We Entertained Ourselves Into a State of Emergency / Megan Garber.

Robert Ito. 05/08/2026: She Began with Japanese American History. Then She Made Things Up. Profile of Karen Tei Yamashita, author of Questions 27 & 28.

Stephanie Dray. 05/08/2026: Great Historical Fiction With Moms at the Heart. The List: The Red Tent / Anita Diamant --The Four Winds / Kristin Hannah -- Pachinko / Min Jin Lee -- The School for German Brides / Aimie K. Runyan -- A Thousand Splendid Suns / Khaled Hosseini -- Yellow Wife / Sadeqa Johnson -- The Memoirs of Cleopatra / Margaret George -- The Joy Luck Club / Amy Tan.

Ainslie Hogarth. 05/08/2026: Someone, or Something, Is Stalking These Pregnant Women: a young college grad’s idealistic move to Lagos turns into a nightmare. Review of: ONE LEG ON EARTH / ’Pemi Aguda.

Mary Jo McConahy. 05/07/2026: How Catholicism and Conservatism Come Together in Samuel Alito. Review of: REVENGE FOR THE SIXTIES: Sam Alito and the Triumph of the Conservative Legal Movement / Peter S. Canellos -- ALITO: The Justice Who Reshaped the Supreme Court and Restored the Constitution / Mollie Hemingway.

Amal El-Mohtar. 05/07/2026: These Consultants Can Advise, Schmooze and Kill a Dozen Ways. Review of: THE LAST CONTRACT OF ISAKO / Fonda Lee.

Fonda Lee. 05/06/2026: In These Books, You Don’t Have to Be Young to Save the World. "The best-selling author Fonda Lee recommends fantasy and science fiction novels with older, wiser, absolutely epic heroes."

Jennifer Szalai. 05/06/2026: What Autocracy Feels Like: the View From One Turkish Neighborhood. Review of: FROM LIFE ITSELF: Turkey, Istanbul, and a Neighborhood in the Age of Erdogan / Suzy Hansen.

Alexandra Alter. 05/06/2026: She’d Never Published a Book Without Paul Auster Reading It First. Regarding: Ghost Stories: a memoir / Siri Hustvedt.

Alexandra Alter. 05/05/2026: Five Publishers and Scott Turow Sue Meta and Mark Zuckerberg. "The class-action lawsuit accuses the tech giant and its founder and chief executive of infringing on authors’ copyrights."

Ezra Klein. 05/05/2026: The Book That Changed How I Think About Liberalism. Regarding: The Lost History of Liberalism: From Ancient Rome to the Twenty-First Century / Helen Rosenblatt.

Orlando Whitfield. 05/05/2026: The Murdaugh Murders as Southern Gothic Horror Story. Review of: THE FAMILY MAN: Blood and Betrayal in the House of Murdaugh / James Lasdun.

Hermion Hoby. 05/05/2026: Testing a Mother-Daughter Bond Forged Across Prison Bars. "Partly inspired by her life, Harriet Clark’s “The Hill” portrays a young girl navigating between her beloved mother’s jail cell and the world outside." Review of: THE HILL: a novel / Harriet Clark.

Kerry Howley. 05/05/2026: A Forgotten River Buried Under Paris Swells With Secrets. Review of: RIVERWORK / Lisa Robertson.

Joan Silber. 05/05/2026: What Happens When You Try to Fulfill All Possible Desires? Review of: LIST OF ALL POSSIBLE DESIRES: A Novel in Stories / Dylan Landis.

Colin Barrett. 05/05/2026: Never Let History Get in the Way of Good TV. Review of: PRESTIGE DRAMA / Séamas O’Reilly.

Alexandra AlterJoumana Khatib and Gregory Cowles. 05/04/2026: Pulitzer Prizes 2026: A Guide to the Winning Books and Finalists.

Dwight Garner. 05/04/2026: A Memoir of Grief, and the Ghosts That Linger After a Loss. Review of: GHOST STORIES: A Memoir / Siri Hustvedt.

Maggie Shipstead. 05/04/2026: Elizabeth Strout’s Latest Feels Like a Fresh Start. Review of: THE THINGS WE NEVER SAY / Elizabeth Strout.

Mark Harris. 05/04/2026: For 3 Generations on a Scottish Island, Secrets Can Only Stay Secret So Long. Review of: JOHN OF JOHN / Douglas Stuart.

Lauren Christensen. 05/03/2026: A Raucous Tale of Found Family by the Author of ‘The Help.’ Review of: THE CALAMITY CLUB / Kathryn Stockett. "Kathryn Stockett’s prodigious second novel, “The Calamity Club,” brings together an unlikely group of spinsters, sex workers and orphans in Depression-era Mississippi."

Elisabeth Egan. 05/03/2026: 17 Years After ‘The Help,’ Kathryn Stockett Returns to Mississippi. Profile of the author of The Help on the occasion of her new book reviewed above.

Alexandra Jacobs. 05/03/2026: Patricia Cornwell Takes a Scalpel to Her Own Life Story. Review of: TRUE CRIME: A Memoir / Patricia Cornwell.

David Kortava. 05/02/2026: Putin’s Rise Seems Inevitable. Could This Guy Have Stopped It? Review of: THE SUCCESSOR: Boris Nemtsov, Vladimir Putin and the Decline of Modern Russia / Mikhail Fishman; translated by Michele A. Berdy.

Colin Grant. 05/02/2026: She Helped Come Up With Critical Race Theory. What Moved Her to Do It? Review of: BACKTALKER: An American Memoir / Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw. "In her memoir “Backtalker,” Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw shows how personal trauma spurred her influential and controversial ideas about race and gender."

Elena Gorokhova. 05/01/2026: A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Girl, in Soviet Ukraine. Review of: CHERNOBYL, LIFE, AND OTHER DISASTERS / Yevgenia Nayberg. "Eleven-year-old Genya plays the pretending game as she crams for an art school entrance exam in Chernobyl’s wake."

New Yorker May 2026

Joshua Rothman. 05/29/2026: Should You Automate Your Life?. Review of: I Am Not a Robot: My Year Using AI to Do (Almost) Everything / Joanna Stern.

Adam Gopnick. 05/25/2026: What Dogs See When They Look at Us. Review of: The Dog's Gaze: a visual history / Thomas W. Laqueur.

Caleb Crain. 05/25/2026: Looking Back at Lewis and Clark. Review of: This Vast Enterprise: A New History of Lewis & Clark / Craig Fehrman.

Joyce Johnson. 05/23/2026: What Gets Kept. "More than half a century after “On the Road,” Jack Kerouac is still a literary celebrity. But fame undid the man I knew."

Jessica Winter. 05/23/2026: What’s Missing from Belle Burden’s “Strangers”. Review of: Strangers: A Memoir of Marriage / Belle Burden.

Joshua Rothman. 05/22/2026: Why Is It So Hard to Be Ordinary? Regarding: The Good-Enough Life / Avram Alpert.

David O'Neill. 05/20/2026: Why the Best Writing Advice Is Often the Weirdest. "a new collection of writing exercises, belongs to a venerable tradition of goofy, esoteric, and avant-garde guides to unlocking the creative mind": Review of: three six five: prompts, acts, divinations (an inexhaustible compendium for writing) / Lucy Ives.

Jill Lepore. 05/18/2026: The Prehistory of A.I. Slop: Before ChatGPT, there was the Plot Robot, Auto-Beatnik, and a century’s worth of schemes for automating authorship.

Jill Lepore. 05/12/2026: Writing the Trump Years Into History: How do you bring an American-history textbook up to date when the country’s past has become a political battleground?

Nicholas Dawidoff. 05/10/2026: How Reading with My Dying Mother Revealed Her Life: As a teacher, she would talk about literature with other people’s children. Finally I got the same chance.

Joshua Rothman. 05/08/2026: Do We Think Too Much About the Future? Regarding: Futures Past: On the Semantics of Historical Time (Studies in Contemporary German Social Thought.) / Reinhart Koselleck -- Prophecy: Prediction, Power, and the Fight for the Future, from Ancient Oracles to AI / Carissa Véliz.

Douglas Stuart. 05/06/2026: Douglas Stuart on Great Novels of Gay Life. "The novelist—whose new book, “John of John,” is out now—shares a few of his favorite works of historical fiction that center on queer characters." The List: As Meat Loves Salt / Maria McCann -- Clear / Carys Davies -- The Story of the Night / Colm Tóibín.

Audrey Wollen. 05/06/2026: Muriel Spark, the Double Agent. Review of: Electric Spark: The Enigma of Dame Muriel / Frances Wilson.

James Wood. 05/04/2026: Harriet Clark’s Début Is a New Kind of Coming-of-Age Novel. Review of: The Hill / Harriet Clark.

Daniel Immerwahr. 05/04/2026: The American Revolution Wasn’t the Main Event. Review of: Republic and Empire: Crisis, Revolution, and America’s Early Independence / Trevor Burnard; Andrew Jackson O'Shaughnessy (Yale University Press) -- Freedom Round the Globe: A World History of the American Revolution / Sarah M.S. Pearsall.

Kelefa Sanneh. 05/04/2026: Reshaped Identity Politics Has a Complicated Backstory. "Kimberlé Crenshaw gave us the terms “intersectionality” and “critical race theory.” Her new memoir shows that she isn’t done fighting over what they mean." Regarding: Backtalker: An American Memoir / Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw.

Sebastian Smee. 05/04/2026: The Artist Who Made America Look Like a Promised Land. Regarding: Frederic Church: Global Artist / edd Tim Barringer, Elizabeth Mankin Kornhauser, and Jennifer Raab (Yale University Press) -- Glorious Country: How the Artist Frederic Church Brought the World to America and America to the World / Victoria Johnson.

Ed Caesar. 05/02/2026: Jonathan Swift’s Last Joke: The writer composed his own epitaph. Did it have a secret satirical intent?

Atlantic May 2026

Rafaela Jinich. 05/31/2026: Seven Books You’ll Never Outgrow: Some stories are worth revisiting at every stage of life. The list:

Anna Holmes. 05/27/2026: Read These Books by the Time You Graduate: “Figuring things out” is a lifelong endeavor, but these titles offer inspiration for young adults finding their way. The 7 book list:

Helen Lewis. 05/24/2026: The Unfilmable Author Everyone Should Read This Summer. "Terry Pratchett, one of the funniest English writers, is in danger of being lost to history."

Megan Garber. 05/24/2026: The Kardashian-Industrial Complex. Review of: Dekonstructing the Kardashians: A New Media Manifesto / MJ Corey.

Michael A. Elliott. 05/23/2026: shared link: College Should Be Way More Fun. Touchstone: The Turn of the Screw / Henry James.

Vauhini Vara. 05/21/2026: shared link: This Literary AI Scandal Changes Everything: A magazine’s response to accusations of publishing AI-generated fiction points to a new phase in the struggle to keep literature human.

Lily Meyer. 05/20/2026: The Book That Plunges You Into Messy American History. Review of: Questions 27 & 28 / Karen Tei Yamashita.

Geraldo L. Cadava. 05/19/2026: How Cuban History Broke a Family: The historian Ada Ferrer’s new memoir retells the story of the island through the “utterly ordinary people” who matter most to her. Review of: Keeper of My Kin: Memoir of an Immigrant Daughter / Ada Ferrer.

Jake Lundberg. 05/18/2026: A Perfect Gilded Age Confection: How America celebrated its 100th birthday. Review of: Centennial: The Great Fair of 1876 and the Invention of America's Future / Fergus M. Bordewich.

Atlantic staff. 05/14/2026: The Summer Reading Guide.

Kristen Martin. 05/13/2026: An Urgent Question for Anyone Who Uses Social Media. Review of: Like, Follow, Subscribe: Influencer Kids and the Cost of a Childhood Online / Fortesa Latifi.

David L. Ulin. 05/11/2026: Rock and Roll Faces the Inevitable. Review of: Where the Music Had to Go: How Bob Dylan and the Beatles Changed Each Other—and the World / Jim Windolf.

Sophie Gilbert. 05/11/2026: What Happens When the Tradwife Dream Goes Wrong? Review of: Yesteryear: a novel / Caro Claire Burke.

Anna Holmes. 05/09/2026: What Adults Lose When They Put Down Children’s Books: Grown-ups who dismiss literature for kids aren’t just snobbish—they’re missing out.

Boris Kachka. 05/08/2026: The Kind of Nonfiction That Wins Pulitzers: If you look closely at the history, biography, memoir, and general-nonfiction honors, a noticeable pattern emerges.

Adam Begley. 05/05/2026: The Secret of Elizabeth Strout’s Appeal. "How she writes best sellers that are also critical darlings." -- "The Things We Never Say is classic Strout."

Gal Beckermann. 05/05/2026: For Ibram X. Kendi, It’s Nazis All the Way Down. Regarding: Chain of Ideas: The Origins of Our Authoritarian Age / Ibram X. Kendi.

Jon Krakauer. 05/04/2026: How Everest Has Changed Since Into Thin Air. With regard to: Into Thin Air / Jon Krakauer.

Adam Kirsch. 05/03/2026: The Era of Rational Discourse Is Over. "For Jürgen Habermas, who died in March, the essence of democracy was thoughtful back-and-forth argument."

Faith Hill. 05/01/2026: The Psychiatrist’s Case for Downsizing a Friendship. "A new book on attachment theory proposes a radical solution for the anxious among us." Regarding: Secure: The Revolutionary Guide to Creating a Secure Life / Amir Levine.

Charlie Warzel. 05/01/2026: Did a Human Write This?: The tool that knows if you used ChatGPT. (Podcast transcription)

fivebooks.com May 2026

Orwell Prize judges. 05/31/2026: The Best Political Novels of 2026: The Orwell Prize for Fiction. They comment on (more than 5 books!!: Uprising: A Novel / Tahmima Anam -- Flashlight: A Novel / Susan Choi -- Transcription / Ben Lerner -- This Is Where the Serpent Lives / Daniyal Mueenuddin -- Every One Still Here / Liadan Ní Chuinn -- John of John / Douglas Stuart -- A Private Man / Stephanie Sy-Quia -- The Comfort of Distant Stars / I.O. Echeruo.

Arash Zeini, interviewer Tuva Kahrs. 05/29/2026: Books about Zoroastrianism. Zeini is the author of: Zoroastrian Scholasticism in Late Antiquity. The list: Zoroastrians: their religious beliefs and practices (The Library of Religious Beliefs and Practices) / Mary Boyce -- Zoroastrianism: An Introduction (I.B.Tauris Introductions to Religion) / Jenny Rose -- The Spirit of Zoroastrianism / Prods Oktor Skjærvø --The Hymns of Zoroaster: A New Translation of the Most Ancient Sacred Texts of Iran / Martin West (editor, translator) -- The Dawn and Twilight of Zoroastrianism / R.C. Zaehner.

Cal Flynn. 05/27/2026: Must-Read Novels of Summer 2026. The list: Transcription: A Novel / Ben Lerner -- Land: A Novel / Maggie O'Farrell -- Yesteryear: a novel / Caro Claire Burke -- The Vivisectors: A Novel / Missouri Williams -- My Only Boy / Rosa Rankin-Gee (Per Amazon, only available in the UK).

Carl Erik Fisher, interviewer Sylvia Bishop. 05/25/2026: The best books on Addiction. The list: The Recovering: Intoxication and Its Aftermath / Leslie Jamieson -- Unbroken Brain: A Revolutionary New Way of Understanding Addiction / Maia Szalavitz -- Infinite Jest / David Foster Wallace -- The Globalization of Addiction: A Study in Poverty of the Spirit / Bruce Alexander -- Raising Lazarus: Hope, Justice, and the Future of America’s Overdose Crisis / Beth Macy. See also: The Urge: Our History of Addiction / Carl Erik Fisher.

Troy Onyago, interviewer Cal Flynn. 05/22/2026: The Best Fiction Books: The 2026 International Booker Prize. The shortlist, beginning with the winner: Taiwan Travelogue: A Novel / Shuang-zi Yang, translator Lin King -- The Nights Are Quiet in Tehran / Shida Bazyar, translator Ruth Martin -- She Who Remains / Rene Karabash, translator Izidora Angel -- The Director: a novel / Daniel Kehlmann, translator Ross Benjamin -- On Earth As It Is Beneath / Ana Paula Maia, translator Padma Viswanathan -- The Witch: a novel / Marie NDiaye, translator Jordan Stump.

Andrea Wulf, interviewer Cal Flynn. 05/18/2026: The Best Biographies of 18th-Century Figures. The List: Goethe: The Poet and the Age (1749-1790) / Nicholas Boyle -- The Age of Wonder: The Romantic Generation and the Discovery of the Beauty and Terror of Science / Richard Holmes -- Marie Antoinette / Stefan Zweig -- Wedlock: The True Story of the Disastrous Marriage and Remarkable Divorce of Mary Eleanor Bowes, Countess of Strathmore / Wendy Moore -- John Adams / David McCullough. Not incidentally, Andrea Wulf is the author of, among others: The Invention of Nature: Alexander von Humboldt's New World & the forthcoming: The Traveler: One Man's Quest for Humanity from the South Seas to Revolutionary Paris plus a number of books on historic gardens & gardeners.

Catherine Grant, interviewer Cal Flynn. 05/14/2026: The Best Historical Fiction of 2026. The Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction make a shortlist of the best new historical novels published over the previous twelve months: The Pretender: A Novel / Jo Harkin -- The Matchbox Girl / Alice Jolly -- Benbecula / Graeme Macrae Burnet -- Once the Deed Is Done / Rachel Seiffert -- Seascraper / Benjamin Wood.

Carissa Véliz, interviewer Nigel Warburton. 05/13/2026: The best books on Prophecy. Carissa Véliz is the author of: Prophecy: Prediction, Power, and the Fight for the Future, from Ancient Oracles to AI; she recommends: Here One Moment / Liane Moriarty -- The Bluest Eye: A Novel / Toni Morrison -- Oedipus Rex / Sophocles -- The Origins of Totalitarianism / Hannah Arendt -- The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable / Nassim Nicholas Taleb.

Terry Hunt. 05/10/2026: The best books on Easter Island. The list: The Mystery of Easter Island: The Story of an Expedition / Katherine Routledge -- Ethnology of Easter Island / Alfred Métraux -- Te Pito Te Henua, Or Easter Island / William J. Thomson -- The Survival of Easter Island: Dwindling Resources and Cultural Resilience / Jann J. Boersema, translator Diane Webb -- Stanley's Dream: The Medical Expedition to Easter Island / Jacalyn Duffin. See also: The Statues that Walked: Unraveling the Mystery of Easter Island / Terry Hunt & Carl Lipo.

Ahmed Honeini, interviewer, Cal Flyn. 05/05/2026: The Best Tennessee Williams Books. The list/bestest: The Glass Menagerie / Tennessee Williams -- Vieux Carré / Tennessee Williams -- The Rose Tattoo / Tennessee Williams -- Memoirs / Tennessee Williams -- Tennessee Williams: Mad Pilgrimage of the Flesh / John Lahr.

Margaret Meyer, interviewer Cal Flyn. 05/01/2026, updated 05/02: The Best Novels about Witches and Witch Hunts. The list: The Manningtree Witches: A Novel / A.K. Blakemore -- Lolly Willowes : Or the Loving Huntsman (New York Review Books Classics) / Sylvia Townsend Warner -- Dazzling / Chikodili Emelumadu (for some reason Amazon lists this as Wildfire Dazzling A bewitching tale of magic steeped in Nigerian mythology) -- Beyond Black: A Novel / Hilary Mantel -- The Wax Child / Olga Ravn. And a plug for: The Witching Tide: a novel / Margaret Meyer.

LitHub May 2026

Naomi Kanakia. 05/26/2026: We Should All Be Autodidacts: The Case For Reading the Great Books at Your Own Pace. "Argues in Favor of a DIY Literary and Philosophical Education."

Namwali Serpell and Hanif Abdurraqib. 05/26/2026: Namwali Serpell and Hanif Abdurraqib on Toni Morrison’s Song of Solomon. Podcast transcription. Touchstone: Song of Solomon / Toni Morrison.

Ross McMeekin. 05/22/2026: “I Hope to Die Laughing.” On Tom Drury’s The End of Vandalism. "Ross McMeekin Explores the Ways Fiction Can Help Us Cope With Emotionally Difficult Periods of Life." Regarding: The End of Vandalism: A Novel / Tom Drury.

Rebecca Chace. 05/22/2026: Reconsidering Mary McCarthy’s Iconic Friendship Novel The Group. "Rebecca Chace on How McCarthy’s Book Influenced Her Own Work." Touchstone: The Group / Mary McCarthy.

Katherine Packert Burke. 05/21/2026: It’s All Just Torture Porn: A Record of Failed Attempts to Explain What Trans Lit is “For.” "Katherine Packert Burke Considers the Past, Present and Future of Transgender Literary Representation."

Ed Simon. 05/21/2026: Why We Shouldn’t Feel Guilty For Not Being Extremely Well Read. "Ed Simon Considers the Many Uses and Abuses of Promoting “Great Books.”"

Brittany Allen. 05/20/2026: CEO James Daunt says Barnes & Noble will stock AI-generated books.

Julie C. Levy. 05/19/2026: The Man Who Reads Books For a Living (One Every Two Days). "You Have Clarke Speicher to Thank (Or Blame) For the Recent Train Dreams / Denis Johnson Adaptation."

Anton Hur. 05/18/2026: Translator Beware: On the Myth of the Finicky English Reader. From: Violent Phenomena: Essays Toward the Future of Literary Translation / editors Kavita Bhanot & Jeremy Tiang.

Katherine Kelaidis. 05/18/2026: Writing in Exile: Why Russian Dissident Literature Demands Our Attention.

Adrian McKinty. 05/15/2026: On the Road to Canterbury Reading Dan Simmons Sci-Fi Adaptation of Chaucer’s Classic. Touchstones: Canterbury Tales / Geoffrey Chaucer -- Hyperion Dan Simmons -- Hyperion / John Keats.

Maris Kreizman. 05/14/2026: Hollywood Needs to Stop Hot-Washing Literary Adaptations. "Maris Kreizman on Wuthering Heights, Scarpetta, Vladimir, and an Epidemic of Beautiful People in the Wrong Roles."

Deborah Lutz. 05/13/2026: On the Death of Branwell Brontë and the Shadow of Grief It Cast Upon His Literary Family.

Lucy Sante. 05/13/2026: Lucy Sante Recommends Five Books About Her Most Important Tool as a Writer: Memory: The five: The Art of Memory / Frances A. Yates -- The Mind of a Mnemonist: A Little Book About a Vast Memory / A. R. Luria, translated by Lynn Solotaroff -- Speak, Memory: An Autobiography Revisited / Vladimir Nabokov -- W or the Memory of Childhood / Georges Perec; translated by David Bellos -- Memory (Hard Case Crime Book 64) / Donald Westlake.

Michael Auslin. 05/13/2026: When the Librarians Fought the Archivists Over Who Gets the Declaration of Independence. Excerpt from: National Treasure: How the Declaration of Independence Made America / Michael Auslin.

Suzanne Berne. 05/11/2026: What Close Reading Can Reveal About an Author’s Intentions.

Laurie Frankel. 05/07/2026: We Need More Geriatric Heroines: Seven Books About Actually-Old Women. Nothing by Barbara Pym? (maybe none of her characters are "old enough"?

Claire Swinarski. 05/07/2026: Why Writing Stories For Children is So Much Harder Than Writing Stories For Adults.

Brittany Allen. 05/05/2026: Is Peter Thiel a “bad fan” of LOTR?

Laura Vanderkam. 05/05/2026: On Making Time to Read War and Peace and Other Great Literary Works.

Francine Prose. 05/05/2026: Charles Dickens... and Other Bad Men Who are Good Writers.

McKayla Coyle. 05/05/2026: Who Are the Best Monsters in Literature?

Elizabeth Zaleski. 05/04/2026: Seven of the Greatest Farts in Western Literature. "a few years ago, my friend Cassey Lottman and I created the Great Farts of Literature database, an ongoing project dedicated to cataloging the best butt bombs in print and from which this list is adapted."

Erin Van Der Meer. 05/01/2026: Satire Isn’t Dead, We Just Misunderstand It.

Lauren Groff. 05/01/2026: Lauren Groff: There is No Such Thing as Boredom, Only Noticing. "From Her Speech at the 2026 One Story Debutante Ball."

LARB May 2026

Sarah McEachern. 05/30/2026: The Embodiment of Lena Dunham. Review of: Famesick / Lena Dunham.

Julien Crockett. 05/29/2026: Where Did the Future Go?: the history of city planning and how urban design intertwines with a society’s prognostications and projections. Review of: The Invention of the Future: A History of Cities in the Modern World / Bruno Carvalho.

Tobie Meyer-Fong. 05/28/2026: Competing Visions of China’s Distant Past: Through examinations of ecological impacts or material objects, two books about China’s ancient past offer very different perspectives on its place in the world today. Review of: The King’s Harvest: A Political Ecology of China from the First Farmers to the First Empire / Brian Lander -- Life and Afterlife in Ancient China / Jessica Rawson.

Parul Kapur. 05/28/2026: Losing Our Cruelty. Review of: Governing Bodies: A Memoir, a Confluence, a Watershed / Sangamithra Iyer.

Josh Billings. 05/27/2026: Man out of Time: The travels and ecstasies of a Russian aesthete. Review of: Evocations of Italy / Pavel Pavlovich Muratov. Translated by Lena M. Lenček (Northwestern University Press).

Hugh Ryan. 05/26/2026: Going Back (Again) to the East Village. "Natalie Adler’s debut novel depicts the haunting transition of New York’s East Village during the AIDS crisis, from queer avant-garde to gentrified graveyard." Review of: Waiting on a Friend / Natalie Adler.

Cory Oldweiler. 05/26/2026: A Life Less Governed by Death. Review of: Electric Shamans at the Festival of the Sun / Mónica Ojeda. Translated by Sarah Booker.

Rowland Bagnall. 05/25/2026: Only Fact. Review of: Wellwater: poems / Karen Solie.

Katherine Kelaidis. 05/24/2026: Let the Ghosts Speak. "Saleem Haddad’s new novel and Fil Ieropoulos’s recent experimental film wrestle with the ghosts of the Ottoman past." Touchstone: Floodlines: A Novel / Saleem Haddad.

Robert Birdwell. 05/22/2026: Freedom Dreams and the American Dream. "A survey of recent literature on Black freedom dreams and their urgency in a post-2020 context."

Kazuo Robinson. 05/19/2026: Story Is Haunting: Ali Smith’s new novel is less a story than a meditation on story. Review of: Glyph / Ali Smith.

Reuven Pinnata. 05/19/2026: The Failure of Bildungsroman. Review of: The Dog Meows, the Cat Barks / Eka Kurniawan. Translated by Annie Tucker.

Isabella Gullifer-Laurie. 05/18/2026: Murky Effects: A novel of desire and domestic disorder amid a disintegrating literary establishment. Review of: The Palm House / Gwendoline Riley.

Caroline Hovanec. 05/14/2026: Aquatic Southern Gothic. Review of: Underlake / Erin L. McCoy. "Erin McCoy’s debut novel draws out the uncanny nature of environmental histories of the American South."

M. Sriram. 05/13/2026: Maybe the World Will Muddle Through Somehow. Review of: The Infinity Machine: Demis Hassabis, DeepMind, and the Quest for Superintelligence / Sebastian Mallaby.

Cory Oldweiler. 05/12/2026: Consummating Our Incomplete Nation. Review of: The Minister / Stefan Bošković. Translated by Will Firth (Sandorf Passage).

Maija Maleka. 05/12/2026: This Possible Grain of Light: Fanny Howe’s posthumous epic poem reads like an intercepted signal that explores what is ‘Unlocatable and Hidden.’ Regarding: This Poor Book: a poem / Fanny Howe (Graywolf Press).

Michael David-Fox. 05/11/2026: The Hedgehog and the Holocaust. Review of: World Enemy No. 1: Nazi Germany, Soviet Russia, and the Fate of the Jews / Jochen Hellbeck.

Matthew Lamb. 05/06/2026: Fame! A Misunderstanding. Review of: The Complete Notebooks / Albert Camus / translated by Ryan Bloom.

Sasha Razor. 05/05/2026: Sitting Apart. Review of: How to Be a Dissident / Gal Beckerman. "Gal Beckerman’s new book offers a thoughtful catalog of social resistance, from Diogenes to Alexei Navalny."

Tita Chico. 05/04/2026: Archives of Desire: Two recent biographies of Octavia Butler, drawing on her archive at the Huntington Library, ‘challenge us to reflect upon what it means to study a writer’s archive.’ Review of: Positive Obsession: The Life and Times of Octavia E. Butler / Susana M. Morris -- Octavia E. Butler: H Is for Horse / Chi-ming Yang.

Nicholas Liney. 05/03/2026: The Epic of the Fear of Death. Review of: Gilgamesh: A New Verse Translation / translated by Simon Armitage.

Aaron Bornstein. 05/02/2026: Beyond a Theory of Irresistible Desire. "Hanna Pickard’s new book examines the neurobiology of addiction by probing deeper than the usual questions we ask, and by deconstructing the questions themselves." Review of: What Would You Do Alone in a Cage with Nothing but Cocaine? A Philosophy of Addiction / Hanna Pickard.

L.A. Johnson. 05/02/2026: A Perfect Track: Wayne Miller’s recent collection interrogates the uneasy ambiguities of violence and masculinity. Review of: The End of Childhood: poems / Wayne Miller.

Nicole Hollander, 1939-2026

Richard Sandomir. NYT, 05/02/2026: Nicole Hollander, Acerbic Feminist Cartoonist, Dies at 86. "For more than 30 years, she wrote and illustrated “Sylvia,” a comic strip about a tart-tongued, witty woman unafraid of expressing her many opinions."

"Nicole Hollander, a biting cartoon artist whose comic strip “Sylvia,” about a big-haired, cigarette-smoking, cat-loving, hyper-opinionated feminist, made her a singular voice on the funny pages for more than 30 years, died on April 23 in Chicago. She was 86.

"With a loose drawing style that echoed Jules Feiffer’s, Ms. Hollander made Sylvia, who got her own strip in 1980, a tart-tongued, witty, loquacious single mother who held court — sometimes from her bathtub — on sex and relationships as well as politics, health care reform, the environment and other hot-button issues.

"“It was really radical feminism in the daily paper,” Alison Bechdel, who created the “Dykes to Watch Out For” comic strip and the graphic memoir “Fun Home,” said in an interview.

"In one of her “How Well Do You Know Your Genders?” quizzes, Sylvia typed, “What do you say about the first woman president of Harvard, the first woman speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Hillary Clinton?” With boxes labeled “M” and “F,” the responses were: “You go, girl” and “A little abrasive for my taste.”

"In another, Sylvia sat at a bar, listening to a television news report that said, “Studies show that women with ‘sexy’ names like Dawn and Cheryl are less likely to be promoted to managerial jobs than women with names like…,” to which she added: “Bill or Roger.”

"Ms. Bechdel noted that while “Sylvia” was influenced by Mr. Feiffer, he was published in The Village Voice, an alternative weekly, with an audience “that was open to those wordy, intellectual and politically provocative comics. Nicole was putting it out into the mainstream.”

"Perhaps because of its subject matter, “Sylvia” was not nearly as broadly syndicated as “Peanuts” or “Garfield,” but it was read in as many as about 80 newspapers from 1980 to 2012. Ms. Hollander published more than a dozen collections, including “The Sylvia Chronicles: 30 Years of Graphic Misbehavior from Reagan to Obama” (2010), for which Mr. Feiffer wrote the foreword.

"Nicole Marilyn Garrison was born on April 25, 1939, in Chicago, the elder of two daughters of Henry Garrison, a carpenter and deli owner, and Shirley (Mazur) Garrison, a hospital administrator. From an early age, Nicole recognized that the women around her, particularly her mother and her mother’s friends Esther and Olga, were funny.

"“I loved to listen to their conversations — all the jokes and irreverence and backbiting,” she said in a 2010 interview with the online publication Tablet.

"She drew as a child, and later said that she discovered her career by watching one of the regulars at her father’s deli. The man “seemed to have all the time in the world to stare into his coffee cup,” Ms. Hollander wrote. “I found out he was a freelance book illustrator. I had no idea that was a job. I was hooked.”

"She studied painting at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, graduating in 1960 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree, and she married Paul Hollander in 1962. Four years later, she earned a Master of Fine Arts degree from Boston University and divorced her husband.

"“I thought, ‘OK, I’m an adult, I have a married name, I proved that I could do it, and now I don’t have to do it ever again,’” she told The Chicago Tribune in 1990. (She didn’t.)

"After a succession of jobs — in a bakery, a day care center, a hat store and a bank, among others — she became a graphic artist and found her way to The Spokeswoman, a feminist newsletter in Chicago that she redesigned as a magazine.

"While there, she created a comic strip called “Feminist Funnies,” where Sylvia first appeared. It drew the attention of Doubleday, the book publisher, which ultimately decided it didn’t want to put out a volume of feminist cartoons. St. Martin’s published the book in 1979 as “I’m Training to Be Tall and Blonde.”

"She was soon asked by the Universal Press Syndicate to start a strip starring Sylvia. She didn’t get very far with Universal, which felt the strip was, in her recollection, “deep but too narrow.” She moved “Sylvia” to a Canadian syndicate, then the Field Newspaper Syndicate, before she began selling it to newspapers on her own. Later, it was carried by The Los Angeles Times Syndicate and Tribune Media Services.

"In one such cartoon by Ms. Hollander, a man says to Sylvia: “Admit it, Syl, you need us. Can you imagine a world without men?”

"“No crime and lots of happy, fat women,” Sylvia responds.

"Ms. Hollander collaborated on two musicals based on “Sylvia,” “Sylvia’s Real Good Advice” (1991) and “Female Problems: An Unhelpful Guide” (1998). She discontinued the strip in 2012, as the number of newspapers carrying it dwindled, and wrote and illustrated “We Ate Wonder Bread: A Memoir of Growing Up on the West Side of Chicago” (2018).

"More recently, Ms. Hollander kept drawing despite her dementia, with help from her caregiver, Karen Czernek, and even had a gallery show at her assisted-living center.

"“The drawings had a more surreal quality and were less tied to a character,” her friend Mr. Greensfelder said, adding that they were “odd but beautiful.”"

Nicole Hollander's LT page: https://www.librarything.com/author/hollandernicole

PRoB Pittsburgh Review of Books May 2026

Ed Simon. 05/29/2026: Three Lessons about the Humanities. “For what is sweet to one is bitter to another, where some thrill at the light others desire darkness. It’s a perspective that tells us everything about the critic and nothing about the text.”

John Miller. 05/29/2026: A Pope Against the Techbros. "“Being human means being authentically moved in your own heart in mysterious ways by revelations that don’t originate from aggregated data about other people collected by other people. Only you can know what it feels like for you to read Hamlet, see a solar eclipse, or hear your child’s heartbeat.”

Christopher Warren. 05/29/2026: Networking the Guardian 100. “If George Eliot’s novel were an English midlands gastropub, you’d better believe some people are tucking in for no better reason than that it’s been open since 1872.”

Deborah Baker. 05/28/2026: Fuck White Supremacy. Introduction to: Charlottesville: an American Story / Deborah Baker.

Linda Schuster. 05/28/2026: A Burning Hunger. Excerpt from: A Burning Hunger: One Family’s Struggle Against Apartheid / Lynda Schuster.

PRoB Staff. 05/28/2026: What We’re Reading the Fourth Week of May 2026.

James Wynn. 05/27/2026: Darwin on Mars. Review of Scott Solomon’s Becoming Martian: How Living in Space will Change our Bodies and Minds.

Stephen Wittek. 05/25/2026: Ben Jonson’s Space Opera: A lunar fantasy staged at Whitehall in 1620 offers an early example of confluence between colonial ideology and fictionalized visions of outer space.

Viet Thanh Nguyen. 05/25/2026: Address to the Class of 2026. "Literature demands something greater, a more capacious empathy, a more generous soul, and a more daring imagination, which leads us not to brutal solidarity but to radical solidarity.”

PRoB staff. 05/21/2026: What We’re Reading the Third Week of May 2026.

Pepper Culpepper and Taeku Lee. 05/21/2026: Does Facebook Know that You’re Reading This?. Excerpt from: Billionaire Backlash: The Age of Corporate Scandal and How it Could Save Democracy.

Anthony Curtis Adler. 05/20/2026: Gabriel Rockhill’s 400-Page Conspiracy Theory. Review of: Who Paid the Pipers of Western Marxism? / Gabriel Rockhill (v 1 of the trilogy: The Intellectual Word War: Marxism versus the Imperial Theory Industry.

Jan Hoel. 05/20/2026: Being a Literary Radical. Review of: Bohemian Bolsheviks: Dispatches from the Culture and History of the Left (Historical Materialism Book Series, 344) / Alan Wald (Brill); with reference to: Alan M. Wald's American Literary Left Trilogy, Omnibus E-Book: Includes American Night, Trinity of Passion, and Exiles from a Future Time / Alan M. Wald.

Sarah Pazur. 05/18/2026: Being Grand Rapids. Review of: Grand Rapids (Semiotext(e) / Native Agents) / Natasha Stagg.

Jason Irwin. 05/18/2026: Born Again: “I admit I was embarrassed by these public displays of faith—sing-alongs, holding hands, praying in public.”. Excerpt from: These Fragments I Have Shored: a memoir / Jason Irwin.

Christopher Hebert. 05/18/2026: Delivery. Excerpt from the novel: Delivery / Christopher Hebert.

Anthony Kaldellis. 05/15/2026: Sailing further from Byzantium. Excerpt from: 1453: The Conquest and Tragedy of Constantinople / Anthony Kaldellis.

Michael Bérubé. 05/14/2026: Some Counterintuitive Things about Academic Freedom and Democracy. Shared governance gone by the wayside.

Christian Wessels. 05/14/2026: Lightning Split the Tree: On Sony Ton-Aime’s “Konbit.” Review of: Konbit / Sony Ton-Aime’.

PRoB Staff. 05/14/2026: What We’re Reading the Second Week of May 2026.

Katherine Tilghman. 05/13/2026: Is Academic Publishing in Crisis?: Some lessons from the MLA Book Exhibit.

Kristofer Collins. 05/13/2026: Larry Levis Finally Gets His Due. "Levis’s complicated feelings about his hometown, his family and the land they owned and worked on are themes central to the poetry contained in “Swirl & Vortex: Collected Poems.”

Gabriela Rábago Palofox. 05/13/2026: Lorquiano, Mystical Vampire. Excerpt from: The Voice of Blood / Gabriela Rábago Palofox; M. Elizabeth Ginway (Translator), Enrique Muñoz-Mantas (Translator).

Olena Boryshpolets. 05/13/2026: Long Night of Europe: Mask of Death, Song of Life. With reference to: Confessions / Jaume Cabre (Author), Mara Faye Lethem (Translator).

Martin Aurand. 05/08/2026: Is the Cathedral of Learning a Figment of Our Imagination? “How Chancellor John G. Bowman and architect Charles Z. Klauder met to consider the design of the Cathedral of Learning, which was already improbably envisioned as a university in a skyscraper… How Klauder finally cued up a recording of Richard Wagner’s ‘Magic Fire Music’ from Die Walküre.”

Jonathan English. 05/08/2026: The Imperative of Empathy in Chekhov’s “Student.” “If Chekhov valued this story so highly, if it is indeed a manifesto for optimism, then might there not be something vital to be gleaned from it.”

PRoB Staff. 05/08/2026: What We’re Reading the First Week of May 2026: A roundup of the most engaging recent pieces on the web read by the Pittsburgh Review of Books this week.

C.M. Kushins, interviewer Bill Morris. 05/07/2026: What’s Cooler Than Cool? "PRoB interviews C.M. Kushins about his new biography “Cooler Than Cool: The Life and Work of Elmore Leonard.”

Michael Chabon, interviewer Patrick McGinty. 05/07/2026: Talking about Pittsburgh with Michael Chabon. “From my point of view, I never hesitated, never doubted for a second that Pittsburgh was a good town to set a book and that it should be in the title.” Regarding: The Mysteries of Pittsburgh / Michael Chabon.

Asma Mhalla, Irene Fidone, Leyla Gore, Catherine Seluzhytskaya, and Sébastien Dubreil. 05/07/2026: Translation as Intercultural Bridge – Part 4. “Asma Mhalla focuses on the intersection of the spheres of influence of big tech and political power and how it shapes our relationship to democracy.”

David M. Perry. 05/06/2026: Writing an Op-Ed as a Public Scholar. Excerpt from: The Public Scholar: A Practical Handbook / David M. Perry.

Ian Hunter. 05/06/2026: Kant Troubles at Tübingen. “Many of the central questions that would form the stock-in-trade for modern Kantian philosophy were already circulating among the young Tübingers.”

Alain Damasio, Stefan Langridge, Morgan Tarr, Harthistha Veeravalli, and Sébastien Dubreil. 05/06/2026: Translation as an Intercultural Bridge – Part 3. “Traveling through Damasio’s writing is a journey in an approach to language as a malleable tool that serves an approach to literature that is both creative and playful, dynamic and meditative.”

Paul Starobin. 05/05/2026: The Long Goodbye: Our Never-Ending Nostalgia for the Bygone Big Novel.

Elise L. Ryan. 05/05/2026: “Children and Art”: Lesley Jenike’s City of Toys. Review of: City of Toys: Essays (21st Century Essays) / Lesley Jenike (Mad Creek Books).

Victor Hugo, Salomé Saqué, Ellie Karthaus, Thomas O’Brien, Anna Shi, Rene Xu, and Sébastien Dubreil. 05/05/2026: Translation as an Intercultural Bridge – Part 2.

Salomé Saqué. 05/04/2026: Translation as an Intercultural Bridge – Part 1.

Mike Vargo. 05/04/2026: An Apocalypse for the Rest of Us. Review of: Bicycles of the Gods: A Divine Comedy / Michael Simms (Madville Publishing) -- The Hummingbird War (The Divine Comedies) / Michael Simms (Madville Publishing). "We have two novels to review, but first a question – does the Book of Revelation need an update?"

Literature & Non-Fiction Pulitzer Prize Winners

NYT, 05/04/2023: Pulitzer Prizes: 2026 Winners List

FICTION

“Angel Down,” by Daniel Kraus

"Mr. Kraus’s book was honored as “a stylistic tour-de-force” that blends allegory, magical realism and science fiction into a whole — told in a single sentence."

Finalists “Audition,” by Katie Kitamura; “Stag Dance,” by Torrey Peters.

DRAMA

“Liberation,” by Bess Wohl

"Ms. Wohl’s play was honored for exploring “the legacy of the consciousness-raising feminist groups of the 1970s, using the story of her own mother to demonstrate how the movement grew out of conversation.”"

Finalists “Bowl EP,” by Nazareth Hassan; “Meet the Cartozians,” by Talene Monahon

HISTORY

“We the People: A History of the U.S. Constitution,” by Jill Lepore

"Ms. Lepore won the prize for “a lively and engaging narrative that investigates why the Constitution is so difficult to amend, including a review of noteworthy failed amendments proposed by marginalized groups,” the committee said."

Finalists “King of Kings: The Iranian Revolution: A Story of Hubris, Delusion and Catastrophic Miscalculation,” by Scott Anderson; “Born in Flames: The Business of Arson and the Remaking of the American City,” by Bench Ansfield

BIOGRAPHY

“Pride and Pleasure: The Schuyler Sisters in an Age of Revolution,” by Amanda Vaill.

"The committee honored Ms. Vaill’s book, a biography of two daughters of wealthy Dutch landowners, which it said used “present tense to tell their story and past tense to chronicle the dramatic sweep of the American Revolution.”"

Finalists “The Life and Poetry of Frank Stanford,” by James McWilliams; “True Nature: The Pilgrimage of Peter Matthiessen,” by Lance Richardson

MEMOIR OR AUTOBIOGRAPHY

“Things in Nature Merely Grow,” by Yiyun Li

"Ms. Li won for her “moving and revelatory account” of losing her younger son to suicide several years after her older son died in the same way. It is “an austere and defiant memoir of acceptance that focuses on facts, language and the persistence of life,” the committee said.

Finalists “I’ll Tell You When I’m Home,” by Hala Alyan; “Clam Down,” by Anelise Chen; “Bibliophobia,” by Sarah Chihaya

POETRY

“Ars Poeticas (Wesleyan Poetry Series),” by Juliana Spahr

"Ms. Spahr’s collection, in which “the poet takes stock of her personal disillusionment,” won for examining her relationship to her art form, community and politics, the committee said."

Finalists “I Imagine I Been Science Fiction Always,” by Douglas Kearney; “The Intentions of Thunder: New and Selected Poems,” by Patricia Smith

GENERAL NONFICTION

“There Is No Place for Us: Working and Homeless in America,” by Brian Goldstone

"Mr. Goldstone’s book, the committee said, was “a feat of reportage, analysis and storytelling focusing on the issues that have created a national crisis of family homelessness.”"

Finalists “A Flower Traveled in My Blood,” by Haley Cohen Gilliland; “Mother Emanuel: Two Centuries of Race, Resistance, and Forgiveness in One Charleston Church,” by Kevin Sack

Public Books May 2026

Geraldo Cadava, Nicholas Dames, John Plotz. 05/08/2026: Style Guide: An Open Letter to the Editor of T Magazine.

Christopher T. Tan. 05/06/2026: B-Sides: Sandra Boynton’s Death Drive Regarding: The Going to Bed Book / Sandra Boynton.

Roxanne Panchasi. 05/05/2026: The Uncomfortable Lightness of Dark Academia. Review of: History Lessons / Zoe B. Wallbrook (Soho Crime).

Sharon. Goodreads, 05/01/2026: New Fiction and Nonfiction to Read This AAPI Heritage Month.

Ernest Jesuyemi. Compact, 05/04/2026: The Wrong Kind of Black Poet.

Philip Caputo, 1941-2026

Joseph Berger. NYT, 05/08/2026: Philip Caputo, Who Wrote Blistering Vietnam War Memoir, Dies at 84. “A Rumor of War,” about his service as a Marine Corps infantry officer and published in 1977, relentlessly detailed “the things men do in war and the things war does to them.”

"The Vietnam War, which cost the lives of at least one million Vietnamese and 58,000 American service members, generated an outpouring of fictional and nonfictional books, by some reckoning more than 3,500 titles.

"A few works came to be widely regarded as classics because their authors captured unflinchingly the peculiar mix of boredom and terror in combat, the ambivalence about fighting a war that often seemed pointless and unwinnable, and the disheartening malaise that followed America’s first military defeat.

"The standouts include works of fiction, including Tim O’Brien’s “The Things They Carried” (1990), and nonfiction ones like Michael Herr’s “Dispatches” (1977), Ron Kovic’s “Born on the Fourth of July” (1976) and Mr. Caputo’s “A Rumor of War” (1977), which sold two million copies and was translated into 15 languages.

"Mr. Caputo wrote in “A Rumor of War” that his book was about “the things men do in war and the things war does to them.” It opens with an account of Mr. Caputo’s enthusiastic enlistment in the Marine Corps as a 24-year-old Midwesterner, driven by a need to prove his courage and manhood, followed by his 16-month tour of duty as a platoon commander and infantry lieutenant.

"He vividly recorded the toll on the soldier’s spirit of the punishing heat, dust, malarial mosquitoes, disease-laden water and minimal hygiene. Those physical challenges were augmented by the confusion about what the platoon under his command was supposed to accomplish in its daily patrols — purportedly to secure the perimeter around the Danang airstrip essential to the safe passage of supplies and soldiers.

"It was especially difficult to pinpoint an enemy, hidden and shielded as they were by the thick growth of jungle and by their deadly mines and booby traps. The Vietcong — guerrilla fighters supporting the Communist government in Hanoi — were experienced at warfare, and the periodic skirmishes were bloody, costing the lives of men to whom Mr. Caputo had grown close.

"After troops under his command intentionally shot two civilians suspected of having Vietcong loyalties, Mr. Caputo took responsibility for the killings and wrote that he was “almost court-martialed” in 1966 before the charges of premeditated murder were dropped; Mr. Caputo left the service with an honorable discharge. He told the story as an illustration of how war can warp the moral codes of even ethical men.

"After graduating in 1964, he enlisted in the Marines, filled with idealism inspired by President John F. Kennedy’s “ask what you can do for your country” speech. Following his discharge three years later, he joined The Chicago Tribune.

"He was a member of a reporting team that won a Pulitzer for exposing flagrant violations of voting procedures in a March 1972 primary. When war broke out in the Middle East in October 1973, he was dispatched to the region as a foreign correspondent. Postings in Rome, Moscow and Saigon (now Ho Chi Minh City) followed.

"In 1975, during the civil wars that convulsed Lebanon, he was wounded by bullets that struck his left ankle and right foot. He took an indefinite medical leave from The Tribune, and he and his first wife, Jill Ongemach, and their two young sons, Geoffrey and Marc, moved into his parents’ home, where he worked on the manuscript for “A Rumor of War.”

"The unexpectedly exuberant reception, including requests to speak and thousands of letters from Vietnam veterans, overwhelmed him and led to a nervous collapse that required a brief hospitalization in a psychiatric ward. His marriage ended in divorce, as did a second, to Marcelle Besse.

"In 1975, sensing that the long war he covered at its outset was about to end, Mr. Caputo chose to return to Vietnam as a correspondent and was in Saigon that April when the North Vietnamese Army and the Vietcong captured the city. With shells exploding around him, he was evacuated by helicopter to an American aircraft carrier and reflected on the American experience in an epilogue to “A Rumor of War.”

"“My mind shot back a decade, to that day we had marched into Vietnam, swaggering, confident and full of idealism,” he wrote. “We had believed we were there for a high moral purpose. But somehow our idealism was lost, our morals corrupted and the purpose forgotten.”"

Philip Caputo's LT page: https://www.librarything.com/author/caputophilip

Luke Dunne. Boston Review, Spring 2026: The Machines Get in the Way: The work of art—and the work of making art—in an age increasingly hostile to it. Review of: Your Name Here / Helen DeWitt and Ilya Gridneff.

Carol Rumens, 1944-2026

Guardian Readers. 05/08/2026: ‘She made Mondays something to look forward to’: readers pay tribute to Carol Rumens, Guardian’s Poem of the week columnist.

Carol Rumens's LT page: https://www.librarything.com/author/rumenscarol

May 2026 updates 01-09

Asian Review of Books May 09: Status, Spectacle and the Politics of Appearance -- May 08: new translation of Ichiyo Higuchi's Troubled Waters -- May 06: rise of the modern Chinese navy -- May 05: new Musashi translation -- May 02: Julia Kristeva's Murder in Byzantium -- May 01: Moys of New York & Shanghai >57 featherbear:

Atlantic May 09: treasure for adults in children's books -- May 08: Nonfiction that wins Pulitzers -- May 05: classic Elizabeth Strout; Ibram X. Kendi's Chain of Ideas -- May 04: Jon Krakauer on Mt Everest -- May 03: Jürgen Habermas -- May 01: attachment theory; Did a Human Write This? >60 featherbear:

fivebooks.com May 05: Tennessee Williams -- May 01: novels about witches >61 featherbear:

Guardian May 09: literary nepo babies; Omer Bartov on Israel; censorship to shape the thinking of young people in the US -- May 08: strange medical mental phenomena; Lisa Tuttle's science fiction/fantasy roundup; the books in Lily King's life -- May 07: Will Maclean's Solace House -- May 06: hardback books obsolete?; Young King; What Am I, a Deer? -- May 05: Harriet Clark's The Hill; Tropic Death; Paradise Lost movie?; rural England in Melissa Harrison's The Given World -- May 04: Iran revolution of 1979; Lagos novel -- May 02: interview of psychiatrist Emmy van Deurzen -- May 01: Katie Kitamura; Portia Elan's novel Homebound; best recent poetry >56 featherbear:

LARB May 06: Albert Camus's notebooks -- May 05: Gal Beckerman on dissidence -- May 4: 2 Octavia Butler books from the archives -- May 3: Gilgamesh -- May 2: philosophy of addiction; Wayne Miller's new poetry collection >63 featherbear:

LitHub May 07: geriatric women novels; writing for children harder than writing for adults -- May 05: Peter Thiel & LOTR; how to read War & Peace; Charles Dickens bad man can we still read him; best monsters in literature -- May 04: Great Farts of Literature -- May 01: satire; Lauren Groff >62 featherbear:

New Yorker May 08: thinking about the future (2 books) -- May 06: Douglas Stuart's favorite historical novels w/gay characters -- May 05: Muriel Spark bio -- May 04: Harriet Clark's The Hill; 2 books on the American revolution; Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw's identity politics memoir; Americana painter Frederic Edwin Church -- May 02: Jonathan Swift's last joke >59 featherbear:

NYRB May 14 >47 featherbear:

NYT May 09: books about the American empire; Canadian poet's Wellwater; Mary Kay bio -- May 08: Megan Garber on the Internet; Karen Tei Yamashita tries magic realism on the Japanese-American internment; historical novels for Mother's Day; killer of pregnant women in Lagos -- May 07: 2 books on Samuel Alito; Fonda Lee's Last Contract of Isako -- May 6: Fonda Lee's favorite sci-fi/fantasy books; Turkey in the age of Erdogan; profile of Siri Hustvedt -- May 5: lawsuit against Facebook; book on liberalism that changed Ezra Klein's mind!; Murdaugh murders; mom in jail novel; Paris sewer; All Possible Desires; Prestige Drama -- May 4: winning Pulitzer Prize books; Siri Hustvedt on losing Paul Auster; new Elizabeth Strout novel; new Douglas Stuart novel -- May 3: Kathryn Stockett's new novel The Calamity Club; profile of KS; Patricia Cornwell memoir -- May 2: could Putin have been stopped?; Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw memoir & race theory -- May 01: Chernobyl coming of age novel >58 featherbear:

PRoB May 08: Cathedral of Learning; Chekhov's The Student & empathy; PRoB's What We're Reading on the Internet this week -- May 07: interview w/biographer of Elmore Leonard; interview of Michael Chabon; translation as intercultural bridge pt 4 -- May 06: Public Scholar excerpt; Kant in Tübingen; translation pt 3 -- May 05: nostalgia for the bygone long novel; City of Toys; translation as intercultural bridge pt 2 -- May 4: translation as intercultural bridge, pt 1; divine comedies >65 featherbear:

Public Books May 08: who owns B-Sides? -- May 06: B-Sides visits Mary Boynton's The Going to Bed Book -- May 05: crime in academia >67 featherbear:

TLS May 1 >52 featherbear:

Literature & Non-Fiction Pulitzer Prize Winners >66 featherbear:

May index: >55 featherbear:
April index: >2 featherbear:

April-June obituary index: >1 featherbear:

New Websites Added This Week:
Boston Review >71 featherbear:
Compact >69 featherbear:
Goodreads >68 featherbear:

Obituaries added this week:
Philip Caputo >70 featherbear:
Nicole Hollander >64 featherbear:
Carol Rumens >72 featherbear:

J.H. Prynne, 1936-2026

Alex Williams. NYT, 05/08/2026: J.H. Prynne, Erudite and Elusive British Poet, Dies at 89.

"J.H. Prynne, an enigmatic poet who became a cult figure — and, to some, one of Britain’s most inventive literary voices — despite an aversion to giving interviews or readings or doing much of anything to help readers navigate his richly intellectual, at times impenetrable works, died on April 22 in Cambridge, England. He was 89.

"His death, in a hospital, was announced in a statement by Gonville and Caius College at Cambridge University, where he taught for five decades and served for nearly 40 years as the college’s librarian.

"Mr. Prynne was hailed as a leading light of the so-called Cambridge School, a loose aggregation of poets who emerged in the 1960s and were known for their cerebral approach, marked by late Modernist experimentation.

"At times confoundingly complex, his work was informed by his deep knowledge of a broad range of disciplines: economics, anthropology, geology, game theory, theology, music and etymology, to name just a few. The Telegraph said after his death that he was perhaps the most learned poet since Milton.

"Mr. Prynne was an extremely reticent public figure; he wanted his work to stand on its own, without the distraction of an authorial persona. In that spirit, he almost never gave readings, to avoid the possibility that his performance would overshadow the written word. He also disclosed virtually nothing of his personal life and refused to pose for photographs, even for his book jackets.

"A major collection of past work, “Poems,” published in 1999, ran over 400 pages. A follow-up, “Poems, 2016-24,” added more than 700 pages of new material to his oeuvre.

"Mr. Prynne was also a literary critic, known for analyses of Wordsworth, Shakespeare and Wallace Stevens, as well as an art critic.

"Jeremy Halvard Prynne was born on June 24, 1936, in Bromley, Kent, southeast of London, to Halvard and Sarah (Andrade) Prynne. After serving two years of mandatory service in the British Army, he enrolled at Jesus College at Cambridge in 1957.

"There, he found inspiration in the work of Stevens, the American Modernist, who was “a seriously intellectual poet of cerebral focus, committed to an active intelligence of mind,” Mr. Prynne recalled in 2016 in a conversation with The Paris Review, his first substantial interview in more than 50 years.

"After graduating in 1960 with a bachelor’s degree in English, he accepted a fellowship at Harvard. Lonely and penniless in an unfamiliar country, he developed a love of automats, with their coin-operated food vending machines.

"If some readers were flummoxed, it was of little concern to him.

“I am frequently accused of having more or less altogether taken leave of discernible sense,” he said in a 2007 lecture. “In fact, I believe this accusation to be more or less true, and not to me alarmingly so, because what for so long has seemed the arduous royal road into the domain of poetry — ‘what does it mean?’ — seems less and less an unavoidably necessary precondition for successful reading.”

J.H. Prynne's LT page: https://www.librarything.com/author/prynnejh

Henry Oliver. The Common Reader, 05/04/2026: Growling in a corner: Samuel Johnson’s lost years.

Hirsch Chitkara. Liberties, 05/08/2026: Our Straussian Techocracy. Regarding: The Technological Republic: Hard Power, Soft Belief, and the Future of the West / Alexander C. Karp & Nicholas W. Zamiska, & Peter Thiel's essay The Straussian Moment.

Alex Rosenberg. The MIT Press Reader, 05/07/2026: The Trouble With Narrative History: To understand human history, we must resist attributing meaning and motive to it. Regarding: The Gulag Archipelago / Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn.

Henry Reichman. Hedgehog Review, 05/06/2026: The Use and Abuse of Joan Didion.

New York Review May 28, 2026

Literature

Christopher Tayler. ‘Facing the Past.’ Review of: Transcription / Ben Lerner.

Louisa Lim. Scarred in Hong Kong: Recent fiction by Hong Kong writers explores life in a society traumatized by ever-tightening Chinese national security laws that suppress political discussion and artistic freedom. Review of: City Like Water / Dorothy Tse, translated from the Chinese by Natascha Bruce -- Owlish / Dorothy Tse, translated from the Chinese by Natascha Bruce -- Patchwork Dolls / Ysabelle Cheung -- Forever Hong Kong: A Global City’s Decolonization Struggle / Ching Kwan Lee -- Everyday Movement / Gigi L. Leung, translated from the Chinese by Jennifer Feeley -- Tongueless / Lau Yee-wa, translated from the Chinese by Jennifer Feeley.

David Wheatley. Against Nostalgia: In their poems and essays, Kathleen Jamie and Peter Davidson transcend Scottish sentimentalism and find new points of entry into their shared past. Review of: Cairn / Kathleen Jamie, with drawings by Miek Zwamborn -- Arctic Elegies / Peter Davidson.

Charlie Lee. What Happened in Vegas: An impulsive trip to America’s “idiot Disneyland” thrust John Gregory Dunne among characters who, like him, sought distraction from their private miseries. Review of the reissue of: Vegas: A Memoir of a Dark Season / John Gregory Dunne, with a foreword by Stephanie Danler.

Arts

Frances Wilson. Mommie Dearest. Review of: Kids, Wait Till You Hear This! / Liza Minnelli, as told to Michael Feinstein, with Josh Getlin and Heidi Evans.

Prudencer Peiffer. Don’t Call It Entertainment. Review of: Everything Is Now: The 1960s New York Avant-Garde—Primal Happenings, Underground Movies, Radical Pop / J. Hoberman.

Jarrett Earnest. Pop & Pleasure & Freedom. Review of: The Secret Public: How Music Moved Queer Culture from the Margins to the Mainstream / Jon Savage

Science & Technology

Ben Tarnoff. Whither the Nerd-Bully?: Bill Gates was the monopolistic father figure who Silicon Valley’s young founders rebelled against—and, in so rebelling, became. Review of: Billionaire, Nerd, Savior, King: Bill Gates and His Quest to Shape Our World / Anupreeta Das -- Source Code: My Beginnings / Bill Gates.

History, Politics, Society, Culture

Lynn Hunt. Counting Heads: Jean-Paul Marat’s assassination transformed the reviled mouthpiece of revolutionary bloodthirstiness into the revered martyr of the people’s cause. Review of: Jean-Paul Marat: Prophet of Terror / Keith Michael Baker -- Murder in the Rue Marat: A Case of Art in Revolution / Thomas Crow.

Max Norman. Quoting the World: There may be no unifying style in Eugène Atget’s photographs—only an uncanny realism that still arrests viewers a century after his death. (Essay)

Adam Hochschild. A Dream of a Socialist Commonwealth: Molly Crabapple’s history of the Bund recovers an egalitarian, secular, cosmopolitan vision of Jewish identity and political life that was lost in the horrors of the twentieth century. Review of: Here Where We Live Is Our Country: The Story of the Jewish Bund / Molly Crabapple.

Samuel Earle. The Sage of Washington: Walter Lippmann was the most influential political commentator of his generation, but behind his preternatural confidence was a far more complicated and unsettled character. Review of: Walter Lippmann: An Intellectual Biography / Tom Arnold-Forster.

Nina Siegal. Indiana’s Indiana Jones: FBI agents who raided an Indiana farm in 2014 were astonished to find some 42,000 artifacts and bones looted by an amateur archaeologist. Review of: The Grave Robber: The Biggest Stolen Artifacts Case in FBI History and the Bureau’s Quest to Set Things Right / Tim Carpenter.

Christopher de Bellaigue. Iran’s New Winter: The US-Israeli war against Iran, far from encouraging a popular uprising, has strengthened the regime’s grip and set back the cause of Iranian freedom indefinitely. (Article)

Corey Robin. Nation, 05/11/2026: The Long Revolution: Will capitalism last forever? Review of: Capitalism: A Global History / Sven Beckert.

TLS May 15, 2026|No. 6405

Featured

Mary Beard (from the TLS current issue landing page). 05/12/2026: A Parthenon view?

Richard J. Evans. Anti-communist or antisemitic?: The ideology behind Hitler’s assault on the Soviet Union. Review of: World Enemy No. 1: Nazi Germany, Soviet Russia, and the fate of the Jews / Jochen Hellbeck -- The German-Russian Century: History of a tangled relationship / Stefan Creuzberger; translated by Elizabeth Janik.

Regina Rini. Main-character syndrome: Video games and political violence. Regarding: Games: Agency as art / C. Thi Nguyen.

Ed Vulliamy. ‘Send on anything human’: Previously unseen letters between Ezra Pound and Gladys Hynes. (Essay)

David Horspool. You say lee-do …: The rise, fall and survival of open-air swimming pools. Review of: Lido Land: How Britain learned to make a splash / Tom Fort (Apollo).

Literature & Bibliography

James Clackson. Paper trails: A six-volume collection of Latin papyri. Review of: Corpus of Latin Texts on Papyrus: Volumes I-VI / Maria Chiara Scappaticcio, editor (Cambridge University Press).

Daniel Wakelin. The very image: Making copies of medieval manuscripts. Review of: Facsimile: Making, likeness, and medieval manuscripts / Siân Echard (University of Pennsylvania Press).

Christopher Shrimpton. Let there be noodles!: Food, love and inequality in colonial-era Taiwan. Review of: Taiwan Travelogue / Yáng Shuāng-zi; translated by Lin King.

David Streitfeld. Doing it more than one way: Ursula K. Le Guin, science fiction sceptic of received wisdom. Review of: The Word for World: The maps of Ursula K. Le Guin / So Mayer and Sarah Shin, editors -- Searoad: Chronicles of Klatsand / Ursula K. Le Guin -- Ursula K. Le Guin’s Book of Cats / Ursula K. Le Guin -- So Far So Good: Final poems: 2014–2018 / Ursual K. Le Guin -- A Larger Reality / Ursula K. Le Guin; edited by Conner Bouchard-Roberts.

Samantha Ellis. Family fashionista: Family fashionista. Review of: Charlotte Brontë’s Life Through Clothes / Eleanor Houghton.

Belinda Jack. A scandalous life: George Sand knew sensationalism sold. Review of: Becoming George: The invention of George Sand / Fiona Sampson.

Stephen Romer. By the Left, march: Louis Aragon dedicated his talent to the Revolution. Review of: Essais littéraires / Louis Aragon.

Muriel Zagha. Hot billionaires and hankies: In praise of romantic fiction. Review of: Stories for Lovers / Lucy Evans, editor (British Library) -- In Love with Love: The persistence and joy of romantic fiction / Ella Risbridger.

Esmé O’Keeffe. Crows blacker than ever: A witch tries to hold her family together. Review of: The Witch / Marie NDiaye; translated by Jordan Stump.

Andrew Motion. This other reality: The climate crisis as a crisis of imagination. Review of: Ghost-Eye / Amitav Ghosh.

Rohan Maitzen. Make it go away: Estrangement and withholding in a suicidal country. Review of: The Things We Never Say / Elizabeth Strout.

Michael LaPointe. Story of their life: The fourth and final instalment of the Calloway saga. Review of: See You on the Other Side: A Novel / Jay McInerney (TLS has title as "See You" which I assume is simply poor copy editing, not unusual in the online issues, & not the UK title).

Lucy Scholes. In the soup: Novels of Iranian history in action. Review of: Women Without Men / Shahrnush Parsipur; translated by Faridoun Farrokh -- The Nights Are Quiet in Tehran / Shida Bazyar; translated by Ruth Martin.

Tyson Duffy. Words are mere bandages: A murky past binds two Iraqi exiles in America. Review of: Notes from a Lost Country / Sinan Antoon.

M.C. Words to the wise: Down among the mermaids, Russia’s problem with children’s books, Jane Eyre’s wisdom, American Shakespeare. (NB column)

Letters to the Editor. Beryl Bainbridge’s reputation, Sicily in the Risorgimento, Translating Brecht, etc.

In Brief Review of: Judas Goat: poems / Gabrielle Bates.

In Brief Review of: Goonie / Michael Mullen. (poems)

In Brief Review of: plastic: a poem / Matthew Rice.

In Brief Review of: La trama dell’invisibile / Anna Katharina Fröhlich (memoir of life with author/publisher Roberto Calasso).

In Brief Review of: Magic & Mechanics /Tom Conaghan, editor. "Magic & Mechanics contains six short stories, each followed by a Q&A hosted by the editor, Tom Conaghan. As its title suggests, the anthology is primarily concerned with craft." The 1st story is by George Saunders.

In Brief Review of: Maybe Even Happiness / Ludovic Bruckstein; translated by Alistair Ian Blyth. (stories)

Arts & Architecture

Emily May. Gesture politics: When mind and body work together. Review of: We Are Movement: Unlocking your physical intelligence / Wayne McGregor.

Leila Lois. Tableaux of heartbreak: Life, art and artistry combine in a retelling of a classic. Review of John Neumeier's: La Dame aux camélias, Paris Opéra Ballet, Palais Garnier, until May 23.

Francesca Tiana. Like a prayer: Religion and the supernatural suffuse a film about a pop icon. Review of the film Mother Mary.

Keith Miller. No buckle unswashed: John Vanbrugh and his creative relationship with Hawksmoor. Review of: John Vanbrugh: The drama of architecture / Charles Saumarez Smith & the concurrent exhibition: Vanbrugh: The drama of architecture, Sir John Soane’s Museum, London, until June 28.

Marden Nicholls. Costume dramas: Architecture as big city couture. Review of: Classicism and the Construction of Capital Cities: London, Athens and Rome in the nineteenth century / Richard Alston (Bloomsbury Academic).

Sophie Oliver. The treachery of images: The treachery of images. Review of the television series This Is Not a Murder Mystery, Channel 4/U and Drama.

Religion

Peter Marshall. Heresy hunter: Thomas Arundel, an archbishop who faithfully served his King. Review of: Archbishop, Chancellor, Kingmaker: A Life of Thomas Arundel / Chris Given-Wilson.

A.N. Wilson. Great bores of today: The current Pope is a perfect fit for the job, but is the new Archbishop? Review of: Peace Be with You!: My words to the church and to the world / Pope Leo XIV -- Archbishop Sarah Mullally: A biography / Andrew Atherstone.

Science, Technology, Natural History

Anna Machin. Ex machina: AI as a substitute for human love and connection. Review of: Love Machines: How artificial intelligence is transforming our relationships / James Muldoon -- The hidden dynamics of connection: The new science of interpersonal synchrony / Kate Murphy (Viking). This appears to be the UK edition of the US (Celadon Books): Why We Click: The Emerging Science of Interpersonal Synchrony.

In Brief Review of: Himmelsstriche: Vom Leben der Vögel und Überleben der Menschen / Bernhard Malkmus ( Matthes & Seitz). subtitle: the life of birds & the survival of humanity.

History, Politics, Society, & Culture

Rosa Andújar. Apollo’s arrows: Three ancient Greek accounts of plague. Review of: Encounters with the Plague in Homer, Sophocles, and Thucydides / Pantelis Michelakis (Oxford University Press).

Kate Cooper. Golden boys: Why the Romans made children emperors. Review of: The Importance of Being Gorgeous: Gender and Christian imperial rule in late antiquity / Susanna Elm.

Nicholas Guyatt. Top nation for now: Two general histories of the United States. Review of: A Short History of America: From Tea Party to Trump / Simon Jenkins -- Challenging the Myths of US History: Seven short essays on the past and present / Marc Egnal.

David Greenberg. All things to all people: California’s poor little rich governor. Review of: Young Man in a Hurry: A memoir of discovery / Gavin Newsom.

Ben Hutchinson. They’ll always have Paris: The Hôtel Lutetia in war and peace. Review of: Hotel Exile: Paris in the shadow of war / Jane Rogoyska -- Die Buchhandlung der Exilanten / Uwe Neumahr.

Owen Matthews. Flight from freedom: The making of Vladimir Putin’s Russia. Review of: The Descent: Witnessing Russia’s spiral into madness under Putin / Marc Bennetts -- The Return of Russia: From Yeltsin to Putin, the story of a vengeful Kremlin / James Rodgers (Yale University Press) -- The Closing of the Russian Mind: How Putin’s ideology took the nation hostage / Andrei Kolesnikov.

Tom Parfit. Messianic and neurotic: Taking the temperature of Russia at war. Review of: The Good Russian: In search of a nation’s soul / Jana Bakunina -- Volga Blues: A journey into the heart of Russia / Marzio G. Mian; translated by Elettra Pauletto.

George Szirtes. Budapest. (Essay)

Alev Adil. A question of belonging: The highs and lows of exile. Review of: Nation of Strangers: Rebuilding home in the 21st century / Ece Temelkuran.

Richard Sennett. Across the lines: Solidarity that transcends the like-minded. Review of: Solidarity: The work of recognition / Rowan Williams.

Cordelia Fine. SuperShe islands: Matriarchal societies around the world. Review of: Herlands: Lessons from societies where women make the rules / Megha Mohan.

Terri Apter. Women who kill: A study of female violence. Review of: Five Evil Women: Hindley, West, Wuornos, Homolka, Tucker / Joanna Bourke (Reaktion).

In Brief Review of: My Country, Africa: Autobiography of the Black Pasionaria / Andrée Blouin; in collaboration with Jean MacKellar.

In Brief Review of: HH: Helenio Herrera – Football’s original master of the dark arts>/i> / Richard Fitzpatrick (Bloomsbury).

Koji Suzuki, 1957–2026

Jeré Longman. NYT, 04/13/2026: Koji Suzuki, Sometimes Called the Stephen King of Japan, Dies at 68.

Koji Suzuki's LT page: https://www.librarything.com/author/suzukikoji-1

Charles McGrath. Hudson Review, Spring 2026: Too Much Is Not Enough. "Whatever happened to short biographies?" Ultimately, a review of: TRUE NATURE: The Pilgrimage of Peter Matthiessen / Lance Richardson.

May 2026 updates 10-16

Asian Review of Books May 16: Maithreyi Karnoor's Gooday Nagar stories -- May 15: Memory Museum stories by M Lin -- May 13: Ottoman-Habsburg rivalry history -- May 12: Jane Park's novel Inheritance >57 featherbear:

Atlantic May 14: summer reading -- May 13: influencers -- May 11: Bob Dylan & the Beatles; Caro Claire Burke's Yesteryear >60 featherbear:

fivebooks.com May 14: Walter Scott Prize for Historical novels shortlist -- May 13: best prophecy books by the woman who wrote the book on prophecy -- May 10: 5 Easter Island books >61 featherbear:

Guardian May 16: interview w/Doireann Ní Ghríofa -- May 15: Backtalker by Kimberlé Crenshaw; Cast Away by Francesca de Tores; roundup of best crime & thrillers -- May 14: Sasha Debevec-McKenney poetry collection Joy Is My Middle Name wins the Dylan Thomas Prize; Weimar; woman in her 70s who conducts her most intimate relationships through letters -- May 13: Tahmima Amam's Uprising -- May 12: Cal Flynn's Savage Landscape; Amanda Craig's High & Low -- May 11: gay love and loneliness in the Hebrides >56 featherbear:

LARB May 14: Underlake: aquatic Southern Gothic -- May 13: the anti-Sam Altman pontificates -- May 12: "A newly translated Montenegrin novel combines dashes of Kafka, Kadare, and early Kundera with a style that is all Stefan Bošković’s own;" Fanny Howe's posthumous epic poem -- May 11: the Eastern Front in WWII >63 featherbear:

LitHub May 15: Canterbury Tales re-told in Dan Simmons's Hyperion, w/allusions to the Keats poem -- May 14: hotwashing! -- May 13: Branwell Bronte; five books on memory; Declaration of Independence -- May 11: close reading >62 featherbear:

New Yorker May 12: Jill Lepore on history in textbooks in the Trump era -- May 10: Nicholas Dawidoff remembers reading to his dying mother >59 featherbear:

NYT May 16: abducted by aliens; unreliable narrator; Neil DeGrasse Tyson alien encounter novel -- May 15: fantasy & sci-fi horrors -- May 14: Buddha bibliography -- May 12: stalking the stalker in Nerve Damage; new Veronica Roth novel; AI for Good -- May 11: New Jersey's Little India; sketch artist creates an image for Amitav Ghosh's jacket cover; letting the forest breathe -- May 10: Look What You Made Me Do >58 featherbear:

PRoB May 15: excerpt from 1453 book on fall of Constantinople -- May 14: academic freedom needs shared governance; Konbit & Haitian revolution; what PRoB staff is reading from the Internet week 2 May -- May 13: Academic publishing in crisis?; collected poems of Larry Levis; excerpt from The Voice of Blood; long night of Europe >65 featherbear:

TLS May 15 >81 featherbear:

May index: >55 featherbear:
April index: >2 featherbear:

May Updates:
May 01-09 >73 featherbear:

New Websites Added This Week:
The Common Reader >75 featherbear:
Hedgehog Review >78 featherbear:
Hudson Review >83 featherbear:
Liberties >76 featherbear:
The MIT Press Reader >77 featherbear:
The Nation >80 featherbear:

April-June obituary index: >1 featherbear:

Obituaries added this week:
J.H. Prynne >74 featherbear:
Koji Suzuki >82 featherbear:

Owen Yingling. The New Critic, 05/11/2026: The Great Zombification. “And so perfect parallel constructions fill the lecture halls, the take-home tests, the school newspapers, and perhaps even the idiom of student chatter.”

Fran Hoepfner. Vulture, 05/15/2026: All the Hot Girls Will Be Reading John Steinbeck This Summer.

Steve Nadis. Aeon, 05/18/2026: Mathematics is out there.

Alex Bronzini-Vender. Washington Monthly, 05/19/2026: Fear and Loathing in Palo Alto. Review of: How to Rule the World: An Education in Power at Stanford University / Theo Baker.

May 2026 updates 17-23

Aeon May 18: foundations of mathematics >87 featherbear:

Asian Review of Books May 23: Questions 27 & 28 -- May 22: South Korea 1945-47 under the US government -- May 20: independent booksellers in China -- May 19: Sisters in Yellow by Mieko Kawakami >57 featherbear:

Atlantic May 23: college fun w/The Turn of the Screw -- May 19: Karen Tei Yamashita's Questions 27 & 28 -- May 18: Ada Ferrer's Cuban immigrant memoir; celebrating US 100th in 1876 >60 featherbear:

fivebooks.com May 22: Booker International shortlist & the winner -- May 18: books on 18th century figures >61 featherbear:

Guardian May 23: another Guardian list -- May 22: social realism & gothic horror -- May 21: Stephen Sondheim bio; Caribbean childhood novel -- May 20: romance for the terminally online; Art Cure -- May 19: frazzled teacher updates Miss Brodie; Shakespeare in translation -- May 18: making capitalism more humane; Smallie; Said the Dead (interview w/author 5/16) >56 featherbear:

LARB May 22: Black freedom dreams survey of the recent literature -- May 19: Ali Smith's Glyph; Indonesian author Eka Kurniawan’s new novel -- May 18: Gwendoline Riley's The Palm House >63 featherbear:

LitHub May 22: The End of Vandalism & coping with emotionally difficult periods in life -- May 21: transgender literary representation; Ed Simon on not being well read enough -- May 19: adapting Denis Johnson's Train Dreams for the screen -- May 18: the finicky English reader; Russian dissident literature >62 featherbear:

New Yorker May 23: Jack Kerouac remembered; Belle Burden memoir -- May 22: Good enough life -- May 20: new book of writing advice by Lucy Ives -- May 18: AI slop before AI >59 featherbear:

NYT May 23: suffering into art -- May 22: Mac Barnett gets blowback; new collection of David Sedaris essays; Kardashian scholar tells all -- May 21: pirated audiobooks on YouTube -- May 20: son & daughter of 60s radicals have new books; prize winning story written by AI?; fleeing the Cuban revolution; Ali Smith's Glyph -- May 19: Dog Days memoir; radicals on the run; falling in love with the classics; Mary Todd Lincoln bio; As a Man Thinketh thoughts -- May 18: Jessmyn Ward "respair"?; Ukraine War; freshman at Stanford University; romance writer dives into the Harlem Renaissance -- May 17: William Steig's Shrek creation; dual bio of Susan Sontag's "besties"; Hayden Panettiere memoir >58 featherbear:

PRoB May 21: what PRoB staff are reading in May wk #3; excerpt from: Billionaire Backlash -- May 20: Marxist conspiracy theorist; Alan Wald's Bohemian Bolsheviks -- May 18: Grand Rapids; excerpt from Jason Irwin born again memoir; excerpt from Christopher Hebert's Delivery novel >65 featherbear:

May index >55 featherbear:
April index >2 featherbear:

May updates
May 10-16 >84 featherbear:
May 01-09 >73 featherbear:

New Websites Added This Week:
The New Critic >85 featherbear:
Vulture >86 featherbear:
Washington Monthly >88 featherbear:

April-June obituary index >1 featherbear:

Patrick Ibber. Dissent, summer 2026: Which Way, Western Marxism?. Review of: Who Paid the Pipers of Western Marxism? / Gabriel Rockhill -- The Cultural Marxism Conspiracy: Why the Right Blames the Frankfurt School for the Decline of the West / A.J.A. Woods.

Susan Choi. Paris Review, 05/22/2026: Barthelme, the Houstonian. On Donald Barthelme.

Selen Ozturk. The Point, 05/21/2026: Common Readers: BookTok’s critical values. "I’ve passed enough “As Seen on TikTok” tables at otherwise cozily untrendy bookstores that I can no longer picture a solvent mass publishing industry without this app."

Public Books, May 2026

Geraldo Cadava. 05/27/2026: How Insects, Pathogens, and People Defied the US-Mexico Border. Review of: Deadly Divide: How Insects, Pathogens, and People Defied the Us-Mexico Border / Mary E. Mendoza (University of North Carolina Press).

Will McDonald. 05/25/2026: Douglas Stuart and the Struggle to Endure. Review of: John of John: a novel / Douglas Stuart.

Russell Samora. ThePudding, 05/2026 (?): Comparisons as Predictable as the Sunrise: An analysis of 200,000 similes from popular fiction.

TLS May 29, 2026|No. 6406

Featured

Mary Beard (from the TLS landing page). 05/26/2026: What makes a good translation?

Elif Shafak. Metalheads and quilters: ‘Aside from writing, what is your chief distraction, obsession or side-hustle?’ Writers at the Hay Festival reveal their private passions.

Dinah Birch. ‘I shall feel again, as soon as I dare’: Addictive anthologies of letters and diaries. Review of: A Literary Letter for Every Day of the Year / Liz Ison, editor -- The Writer’s Room: The hidden worlds that shape the books we love / Katie da Cunha Lewin -- Diaries of Note: 366 Lives, One Day at a Time / Shaun Usher, editor.

Gabriel Rolfe. Examining poets: J. H. Prynne and Geoffrey Hill’s clash over ‘hazards in rubric.’ (Essay)

Richard Davenport-Hines. The traitors: Cold War double agents, their lives and motives. Review of: Stalin’s Apostles: The Cambridge Five and the making of the Soviet empire / Antonia Senior -- A Woman Named Edith: Émigré, photographer, secret agent – the extraordinary life of Edith Tudor Hart / Daria Santini -- Master of Lies: How Anthony Blunt’s treachery shaped our world / Piers Blofeld (Quercus).

Literature

Harry Strawson. No place to hide: The instructive otherness of the ancient world. Review of: Talking Classics: The shock of the old / Mary Beard.

Suzi Feay. Forty shades of shame: Secrets, guilt and rage on a remote Scottish island. Review of: John of John / Douglas Stuart.

Tom Fleming. Public school villain: A criminal antihero who is both subversive and a snob. Review of: Raffles, Gentleman Thief / E.W. Hornung (Penguin Classics reprint).

Sophie Coulombeau. Coercive control: #MeToo meets the eighteenth-century novel. Review of: Courting Disaster: Reading between the lines of the Regency novel / Zoë McGee.

Clemmie Read. Tomorrow’s army: Sex, language and politics in late-1970s Pakistan. Review of: Rebel English Academy / Mohammed Hanif.

Stephen Henighan. Bond markets: Class tensions in Lahore. Review of: This Is Where the Serpent Lives / Daniyal Mueenuddin.

Nicholas Clee. Say no more: Recondite truths in an otherworldly Glasgow – and beyond. Review of: Boyhood / David Keenan.

W.J. Davies. Image vs. truth: A ‘necessary’ novel of violent masculinity. Review of: Malc’s Boy / Shaun Wilson (Conduit).

Kate McLoughlin. Silence and minutiae: Alienation and phantasmagoria in a hospital ward. Review of: The Shadow of the Object / Chloe Aridjis.

Anna Aslanyan. More than a drill: A female engineer is put in charge of an all-male rig crew. Review of: At Sea / Y. M. Abdel-Magied.

Sofia Cumming. Lost masterpiece: A collective portrait of German Jewry. Review of: The Effingers: A Berlin saga / Gabriele Tergit; translated by Sophie Duvernoy.

Tristram Fane Saunders. Monuments to something: The Michael Marks awards for poetry pamphlets. (Essay)

Costica Bradatan. Cruelty and silence: Politics, history and the harsh upbringing of a Nobel laureate. Review of: The Village on the Edge of the World: Writing and surviving Ceauşescu’s Romania / Herta Müller; translated by Kate McNaughton.

M.C. NB Column: Serpentine pad: A Commonwealth serpent, A Brexit symposium, A literary decimation.

In Brief Review of: Lost Lambs / Madeline Cash.

In Brief Review of: Light While There Is Light: An American history / Keith Waldrop (New York Review Books reprint).

In Brief Review of: Frogs for Watchdogs / Seán Farrell.

In Brief Review of: Little Castles of Bohemia: Prose and poetry / Gérard de Nerval; translated by Napoleon Jeffries.

Arts

Matthew Bown. Blue-sky thinking: Flowers, truces, multi-media shows: the Venice Biennale.

Maria Margaronis. Ghost in the machine: Gary Oldman as Beckett’s weathered, weary writer. Review of Samuel Beckett's Krapp’s Last Tape & Leo Simpe-Asante's Godot’s To-Do List, both at Royal Court Theatre, London, until May 30.

David Nowell Smith. In homage to the human voice: Louis MacNeice’s radio plays. Review of Louis MacNeice's The Dark Tower and More: Six classic full-cast BBC radio dramas, 517 mins. BBC Digital Audio.

Irina Dumitrescu. Afterthoughts: Burn Out: Secular and holy icons. (Essay: the Met Gala, Madonna, Leonora Carrington, & St Anthony)

Religion

In Brief Review of: End of Days: Ruby Ridge, the apocalypse, and the unmaking of America / Chris Jennings.

Science and Technology

Charles Foster. Stay forever wild: What trees can teach us. Review of: In Trees: An exploration UK subtitle: an exploration of ancient living wisdom, from wild branches to deep roots / Robert Moor (US publisher: Simon & Schuster; UK: Viking).

Matthew Cobb. Altering the grammar of life: The technological and ethical challenges of editing the genome. Review of: On the Future of Species: Authoring life by means of artificial biological intelligence / Adrian Woolfson -- What We Inherit: How new technologies and old myths are shaping our genomic future / Sam Trejo and Daphne O. Martschenko (Princeton University Press).

Andrew Scull. Institutionalized: The birthplace of neuroscience. Review of: Wired Together: The Montreal Neurological Institute and the origins of neuroscience / Yvan Prkachin (University of Chicago Press).

Carol Tavris. Feel-bad factor: The ‘evil twin’ of the placebo. Review of: This Book May Cause Side Effects US subtitle: The Curious and Dangerous Power of the Nocebo Effect, Placebo's Evil Twin UK subtitle: Why our minds are making us sick / Helen Pilcher (US publisher: Abrams Press; UK: Atlantic).

Camilla Nord. In defence of Sigmund Freud: An argument for psychoanalysis. Review of: The Only Cure: Freud and the neuroscience of mental healing / Mark Solms.

In Brief Review of: The 21st Century Brain: Cutting edge neuroscience to help us navigate the future / Hannah Critchlow (Torva).

History, Politics, Society, and Culture

Peter Frankopan. African genesis: Europe’s debt to the southern continent. Review of: Atlas’s Bones: The African foundations of Europe / D. Vance Smith.

Peter Thonemann. The first global village: Making ends meet in the Roman Empire. Review of: Surviving Rome: The economic lives of the ninety percent / Kim Bowes.

Seb Falk. Mind, body and medieval spirit: Historical insights into health and wellbeing. Review of: The Medieval Guide to Healthy Living / Katherine Harvey -- Self-Help from the Middle Ages: A journey into the Medieval mind / Peter Jones (Hutchinson Heinemann).

Mary C. Flannery. An equal footing: The practical wisdom of premodern textbooks. Review of: Learning to Talk Shop: Mercantile mischief and popular pedagogy in premodern England / Susan E. Phillips.

Naa Oyo A. Kwate. Trash into treasure: Sugar, slavery and the origins of rum. Review of: The Invention of Rum: Creating the quintessential Atlantic commodity / Jordan B. Smith.

Robert Mayhew. Revolutionary tolerance: The life of a prescient thinker, traveller and humanitarian. Review of: The Traveller: The revolutionary life of George Forster and his search for humanity / Andrea Wulf.

Talitha Ilacqua. Prophet of ugly modernity: The picaresque life of an antisemitic agitator. Review of: The First Fascist: The Life and Legacy of the Marquis de Morès / Sergio Luzzatto.

Miranda France. The chimes of Great Tom: Melvyn Bragg remembers his Oxford days. Review of: Another World: The Oxford years: A memoir / Melvyn Bragg (Sceptre).

Clare Griffiths. United, defeated: How government preparations doomed the general strike. Review of: Britain’s Revolutionary Summer: The general strike of 1926 / Edd Mustill -- Nine Days in May: The general strike of 1926 / Jonathan Schneer -- The Edge of Revolution: The general strike that shook Britain / David Torrance.

Toby Lichtig. Letter From: Herm. (Essay)

In Brief Review of: English Liberator: William Miller and the independence of Spanish South America / John Hemming.

Miscellaneous

Letters to the Editor. Ezra Pound and Gladys Hynes: Ezra Pound and Gladys Hynes, The Coming Storm, Tracey Emin’s forebears, etc.

In Brief Review of: On Friendship / Andrew O'Hagan.

In Brief Review: To See Beyond: Essays / Anna Badkhen (Bellevue Literary Press).

Sheila Liming. Yale Review, 05/26/2026: The End of Books: What happened when a dumpster arrived behind my university's library.

Ben Cobley. Unherd, 05/21/2026: Alasdair MacIntyre was right all along: His philosophy has new resonance.

NYRB June 11, 2026

Literature

Joanna Biggs. Enter Man: an exhilarating myth for men who need to be shuffled offstage. Review of: Helen of Nowhere / Makenna Goodman -- The Shame / Makenna Goodman.

Christopher Byrd. The Other in the Mirror: In Mathias Énard’s many novels, encounters between cultures can lead to transformation—and peril. Review of: The Deserters / Mathias Énard, translated from the French by Charlotte Mandell -- Zone / Mathias Énard, translated from the French by Charlotte Mandell, with an introduction by Brian Evenson -- Street of Thieves / Mathias Énard, translated from the French by Charlotte Mandell -- Compass / Mathias Énard, translated from the French by Charlotte Mandell -- Tell Them of Battles, Kings, and Elephants / Mathias Énard, translated from the French by Charlotte Mandell -- The Annual Banquet of the Gravediggers’ Guild / Mathias Énard, translated from the French by Frank Wynne.

Arts

Zadie Smith. Art for Our Sakes: Why should we go on making things? (Essay/Lecture)

Martin Filler. Tunnel of Love: The Met’s new Tristan und Isolde was a vocal triumph for Lise Davidsen and Michael Spyres, but Yuval Sharon’s staging only fitfully captured the essence of Wagner’s masterpiece. Review of: Tristan und Isolde, an opera by Richard Wagner, directed by Yuval Sharon, at the Metropolitan Opera, New York City, March 9–April 4, 2026 -- A New Philosophy of Opera / Yuval Sharon -- The Appian Way: Adolphe Appia and the Scenography of Modern Architecture / Ross Anderson, edited by Thomas Weaver.

Sanford Schwartz. The Fairy-Tale Hour: An exhibition of Paul Klee’s late works focuses on his depictions of the atmosphere of violence and intimidation in Germany after the Nazis came to power. Review of Paul Klee: Other Possible Worlds, an exhibition at the Jewish Museum, New York City, March 20–July 26, 2026. Catalog of the exhibition by Mason Klein, with contributions by Pamela Kort and Fabienne Eggelhöfer.

Clair Wills. Mighty Real: Tracey Emin’s art has often tackled taboo subjects, including rape, abortion, and sexual abuse, but her multifarious works are always bracingly antitherapeutic. Review of: Tracey Emin: A Second Life, an exhibition at Tate Modern, London, February 27–August 31, 2026. Catalog of the exhibition edited by Maria Balshaw, Alvin Li, and Harry Weller.

Walker Mimms. Human Stamps: The young artist Emily Kraus is preoccupied with the question of whether a machine can serve the same purpose for an artist as her own unconscious. Review of: Emily Kraus: In Relation, an exhibition at Luhring Augustine, New York City, April 11–June 13, 2026.

Carolina A. Miranda. The Best Philosophers: Magdalena Suarez Frimkess, a ceramicist with the inclinations of a Pop artist, has spent decades tapping unlikely sources for inspiration. Review of Magdalena Suarez Frimkess, an exhibition at David Zwirner, Los Angeles, April 11–May 22, 2026.

Science and Technology

Jonathan Mingle. Our Climate’s Wild Card: Methane’s part in the climate crisis remains largely overlooked, even though it is responsible for 30 percent of all global warming to date, and despite the fact that it’s still possible to purge it from our skies. Review of: Into the Clear Blue Sky: The Path to Restoring Our Atmosphere / Rob Jackson.

M.W. Feldman & Jessica Riskin. Not in Your Genome: Generations of “sociobiologists” have tried and failed to argue that genetic analysis offers the key to understanding social inequality. A new book fares no better. Review of: The Social Genome: The New Science of Nature and Nurture / Dalton Conley.

History, Politics, Society, & Culture

David W. Blight. Dreams of Our Nation: Historians must not cede the study of how Americans understand their cacophonous nation to advocates of “patriotic” history. Review of: American Visions: The United States, 1800–1860 / Edward L. Ayers -- A Great Disorder: National Myth and the Battle for America / Richard Slotkin.

Neal Ascherson. Hitler’s End: After the fall of Berlin the Soviets concealed their discovery of Hitler’s remains, leaving the Western Allies scrambling for evidence that he was dead. Review of: The Long Death of Adolf Hitler: An Investigative History / Caroline Sharples.

Suzy Hansen. Made in the USA: Pete Hegseth is the product of an essentially American ethos—which means we have no choice but to ask what to do with him, and what to do with ourselves. Review of: In the Arena: Good Citizens, a Great Republic, and How One Speech Can Reinvigorate America / Pete Hegseth -- American Crusade: Our Fight to Stay Free / Pete Hegseth.

David Cole. The Second ‘Redemption’: The Supreme Court’s decision in Louisiana v. Callais deals a fatal blow to the Voting Rights Act, using reasoning that Congress rejected more than forty years ago. (Article)

Benjamin Nathans. Navalny’s Unfinished Work: In his posthumous memoir, Alexei Navalny’s utopian vision of “the Beautiful Russia of the Future” remains strangely detached from history. Review of: Patriot: A Memoir / Alexei Navalny, translated from the Russian by Arch Tait with Stephen Dalziel.

Quinn Slobodian. Damming the Big Ocean: explains how the US came to rely on its economic arsenal, but stops short of a complete assessment of the unreliable tactic and its often devastating consequences. Review of: Chokepoints: American Power in the Age of Economic Warfare / Edward Fishman.

Rumaan Alam. On the Road: Hu Anyan’s memoir about delivering packages in Beijing is disarmingly direct about the human cost of modern logistics. Review of: I Deliver Parcels in Beijing / Hu Anyan, translated from the Chinese by Jack Hargreaves.

Aeon May 2026

Dorion Bandy. 05/29/2026: Artist of sympathy and cruelty: Mozart’s genius lay in writing music of such power that he could draw his audience into morally wrenching predicaments.

Eliane Glaser. 05/28/2025: Flickering Enlightenment. "Attacked by the Left and Right, the Enlightenment can only be saved through use of its greatest legacy: permanent critique."

Robert Daley, 1930-2026

Robert D. McFadden. NYT, 05/26/2026: Robert Daley, Multifaceted Author of ‘Prince of the City,’ Dies at 96. "He wrote 31 books, often drawing on his experiences as a pro football publicist, a foreign correspondent and a gun-toting spokesman for the N.Y.P.D."

"Robert Daley, a prolific author whose novels and nonfiction explored the grit and perils of police work, pro football, racecar driving and other subjects that drew on his life as a New York Giants publicist, a New York Times foreign correspondent and a gun-toting New York Police Department spokesman, died on Tuesday in the Bronx. He was 96.

"Mr. Daley wrote 31 books, an adventurer’s shelf that included works on bullfighting, deep-sea treasure hunts and horse racing, with connoisseur passages on opera and wine. Many of his books were translated into other languages and were popular in Europe. His specialty as an author was New York cops: as guardians of the streets, as investigators, as assassination victims, as corrupt rogues.

"His best-known work was “Prince of the City: The True Story of a Cop Who Knew Too Much” (1978). It recounted the case of Robert Leuci, a bribetaking New York police detective who, after being caught, went undercover and exposed corruption among fellow officers in an elite narcotics unit. His evidence led to 52 indictments and a skein of prison terms.

"The book was adapted into an acclaimed 1981 film of the same name directed by Sidney Lumet and starring Treat Williams. It was one of six of Mr. Daley’s books that became movies or television treatments.

"In his most visible role, Mr. Daley was the Police Department’s deputy commissioner for public affairs for a year, in 1971-72. ... He had a staff of 35, a radio car and drivers around the clock. He was often among the first at crime scenes, ducking under yellow tapes to examine evidence like a detective. He spoke freely to reporters, often to the dismay of detectives and Commissioner Patrick V. Murphy, who had appointed him.

"Commissioner Murphy asked him to resign over “differences of opinion” on policy, and Mr. Daley walked away in May 1972 with his licensed revolver and with some documents that had crossed his desk, along with his own voluminous notes. A year later, he published “Target Blue: An Insider’s View of the N.Y.P.D.,” a memoir of his turbulent tenure.

"“Daley is an incurable romantic with a warped view of his own place in history,” Mary Perot Nichols wrote in a review of the book in The Times. “He is the first public relations man in the Police Department’s history to conceive of himself as the tail that wags the dog.”

"Many of Mr. Daley’s later novels were set against a New York criminal justice background, including “Year of the Dragon” (1981), about gangs in Chinatown (a 1985 film adaptation starred Mickey Rourke); “Tainted Evidence” (1993), about a prosecutor’s case against a cop-killer (Mr. Lumet’s 1996 film version was retitled “Night Falls on Manhattan”); and “Wall of Brass” (1994), about the murder of a police commissioner.

"Robert Blake Daley was born in Manhattan on May 10, 1930, one of four children of Arthur and Elizabeth (Blake) Daley, who was known as Betty. His father was a Pulitzer Prize-winning sports columnist for The Times. Robert graduated from Fordham Preparatory School in 1947 and Fordham University in 1951.

"After a year in the Air Force, he became the Giants’ first publicist and, for six seasons, promoted a team that included Frank Gifford, Charlie Conerly, Sam Huff and Kyle Rote, and won the National Football League Championship in 1956.

"During the Giants’ off seasons, Mr. Daley traveled in Europe and wrote freelance sports articles for The Times. In 1956, he helped cover the Winter Olympics in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, and later the Grand Prix races. His first book, “The World Beneath the City” (1959), grew out of a Times Magazine article about utility lines, water mains, subways and wriggling creatures under the streets and sidewalks of New York.

"In 1959, Mr. Daley joined the Times staff, and for six years was a correspondent in Europe and North Africa, covering sports and general news in 16 countries. Based in Nice and later in Paris, he wrote about French forces fighting in Algeria and Tunisia, horse racing in Ireland, food and wine in the Soviet city of Volgograd (formerly Stalingrad) and life on the Volga, Europe’s longest river.

"His last novel, “The Red Squad” (2013), explored the sinister world of the Police Department’s Bureau of Special Services and Investigations, which in the 1950s pursued suspected Communists, sometimes trampling rights and destroying careers.

“Most writers spend most of their lives locked in small rooms typing, and they don’t get paid very much,” Mr. Daley noted in an introduction to his second memoir, “Writing on the Edge: The Ups and Downs of a Freelance Career” (2014). “I refused to live like that. Throughout, I have tried to manage my career in a different way, call it my way if you like.”"

Robert Daley's LT page: https://www.librarything.com/a/15428391/Robert-Daley

Claudia Grigg Edo. Granta, 05/28/2026: Therapy as Re-Reading.

Maureen Duffy, 1933-2026

Ella Creamer. Guardian, 05/28/2026: ‘True trailblazer’: British author and activist Maureen Duffy dies aged 92: Duffy wrote novels, plays and poetry, campaigned for gay rights, and was a ‘tireless advocate’ for authors’ rights.

Maureen Duffy's LT page: https://www.librarything.com/a/16697/Maureen-Duffy

David Henderson, 1942-2026

Alex Williams. NYT, 05/27/2026: David Henderson, Innovative Poet and Hendrix Biographer, Dies at 83. "Part of the Black Arts Movement of the 1960s, he went on to reclaim a leading musician of the psychedelic era as a distinctly African American artist."

David Henderson's LT page: https://www.librarything.com/a/5196884/David-Henderson

Ed Simon. Hedgehog Review, 05/28/2026: How Many Divisions Has the Pope? "On Magnifica humanitas and encyclicals in history."

May 2026 updates 24-31

Aeon May 29: Mozart's operas & the subtext to the music -- May 28: Flickering Enlightenment >99 featherbear:

Asian Review of Books May 31: Mamta Kalia's Rat Race -- May 30: Mohamed Mansi Qandil's Country Doctor's Tale (novel set in upper Egypt in the 1980s) -- May 29: Xuela Zhang's poetry collection To Compare -- May 28: No Man River Vietnamese historical novel -- May 27: the last queen of Bengal & (also) a female impersonator -- May 26: a parable for ordinary people >57 featherbear:

Atlantic May 27: books for young adults to read for young folks "on the cusp of adulthood" -- May 24: Terry Pratchett; new book on the Kardashians >60 featherbear:

fivebooks.com May 31: 8 finalists for the George Orwell fiction prize -- May 29: Zoroastrianism -- May 27: Cal Flynn's must read novels of summer 2026 -- May 25: addiction books >61 featherbear:

Guardian May 31: Guardian Top 100 origin story; Maggie O'Farrell on her new novel Land -- May 29: best recently translated fiction; shadow of the past in Derry as comedy; books in Virginia Evans' life -- May 28: Ben Rhodes on great speeches; lust at first sight; Black British music -- May 27: Hum wins prize; Doonesbury & Trudeau; deepfake sex tape novel; Google searches; Leila Slimani interview -- May 26: Emily Wilson essay collection; Missouri Williams' Vivisectors -- May 25: Billion Years of Sex Difference; Ann Patchett's Whistler -- May 24: Tahmima Anam on the inspiration for her novel Uprising >56 featherbear:

LARB May 30: Lena Dunham memoir -- May 29: city planning -- May 28: 2 books on China's recent past; Sangamithra Iyer discusses strategies for living ethically -- May 27: aesthete Pavel Pavlovich Muratov in Italy -- May 26: Natalie Adler's novel about the New York East Village during the AIDS crisis; translation of an Ecuadoran shamanistic novel by Mónica Ojeda -- May 25: Karen Solie's Wellwater poems -- May 24: ghosts of the Ottoman past >63 featherbear:

LitHub May 26: DIY reading plan; podcast on Song of Solomon >62 featherbear:

New Yorker May 29: new book says: "it’s time to embrace A.I. on your own terms" -- May 25: a dog's gaze; Lewis & Clark >59 featherbear:

NYT May 31: Uncle Remus novel; 4 new crime fiction novels -- May 30: Girl's Girl by Sonia Feldman; novel about clones & immigration -- May 29: Jill Biden memoir -- May 28: summer nonfiction; Veronica Roth interview -- May 27: Cambridge spies; Jorie Graham's new poetry collection; TikTok & books -- May 26: global American revolution; Chinese family in South Dakota w/magic realism; Vivisectors campus novel; sequel to Midnight Library -- May 25: Trudeau & Doonesbury; national holidays & race -- May 24: 2 books on the books in Marilyn Monroe's life >58 featherbear:

PRoB May 29: Ed Simon on lessons from the Humanities; Pope vs Techbros; on the Guardian's Besties -- May 28: introduction to Charlottesville; excerpt from struggle against apartheid book; what PRoB staff are reading on the Internet -- May 27: human life on Mars -- May 25: Ben Jonson's space opera; a commencement address for English literature majors! >65 featherbear:

Public Books May 27: Deadly Divide -- May 25: John of John >93 featherbear:

TLS May 29 >95 featherbear:

Yale Review May 26: library books to the dumpster >96 featherbear:

May index >55 featherbear:
April index >2 featherbear:

May updates
May 17-23 >89 featherbear:
May 10-16 >84 featherbear:
May 01-09 >73 featherbear:

New websites added this week
Dissent >90 featherbear:
Granta >101 featherbear:
Hedgehog Review >104 featherbear:
NYRB June 11 >98 featherbear:
Paris Review >91 featherbear:
The Point >92 featherbear:
ThePudding >94 featherbear:
Unherd >97 featherbear:

Obituaries added this week:
Robert Daley >100 featherbear:
Maureen Duffy >102 featherbear:
David Henderson >103 featherbear:
Edgar Morin >106 featherbear:

April-June obituary index >1 featherbear:

Edgar Morin, 1921-2026

Adam Nossiter. NYT, 05/30/2026: Edgar Morin, ‘Grandfather’ of French Intellectuals, Dies at 104. "A former member of the Resistance, he went on to a career spanning eras and disciplines. His books and pronouncements carried moral authority."

"Mr. Morin’s death was confirmed by the French president, Emmanuel Macron, who saluted him in a post on X as a “soldier of the Resistance, fighter and free spirit, a defender of nature and humanity,” and called him “humanism personified.”

"He was the last survivor of a generation of intellectuals shaped by their experiences during the Nazi occupation of France during World War II, giving his books and pronouncements a distinct moral authority in his country. Until his death, Mr. Morin’s voice and his presence on France’s intellectual stage remained constants.

"His passage through, and engagement in, the previous century’s most turbulent moments gave him a credibility matched by few. “He is the grandfather of all the French,” the newspaper Libération wrote of him in a profile celebrating his 100th birthday in 2021, “the memory of the preceding century.”

"His last book, one of nearly 120 he wrote or co-wrote, was just published. His first, published nearly 80 years ago, was a keen-eyed portrait of Germany reduced to rubble by the war.

"In between, he published dozens of works — of autobiography (he was one of his own favorite subjects), anthropology, sociology, philosophy, epistemology, cinema studies, biology, ecology, history and political science. The torrent of books was testimony to one of his favorite doctrines: Academic disciplines should converge toward synthesis. “I’ve never understood why all this knowledge should be cloistered off,” he once told a television interviewer.

"Though few of his works were translated into English, he was widely followed in the Mediterranean world and in Latin America, where university research centers have been named for him.

"There is no equivalent in America: Mr. Morin traversed much of the 20th century and a quarter of the 21st as both participant and critical observer. First, he was a teenage antifascist in 1938, helping put together packages of food and clothing for Spanish Republicans. Then, hunted by the Nazis during the war, he was in overlapping Resistance networks with the writer Marguerite Duras and the future French president François Mitterrand.

"Though he held an official position at the French National Center for Scientific Research after 1950, he became a stubborn critic of the succeeding fashions and “isms” that swept over French academic life in the 1960s, ’70s and ’80s: structuralism, Maoism, Marxism and deconstruction. This opposition limited his appeal on American campuses.

"A Jew who was skeptical of Zionism, he told a television audience he was “outraged by the fact that those who represent the descendants of a people who were persecuted for centuries for religious or racial reasons” had, after the massacre of Oct. 7, 2023, “engaged in a real massive slaughter on the populations of Gaza.”

"Mr. Morin sometimes complained that few people had actually read what he considered his major work, “La Méthode” (“Method,” not translated, 1977-2004), a six-volume philosophical treatise on knowledge, the nature and meaning of thinking, and a “meditation” on “what it means to be human,” the philosopher Roger-Pol Droit wrote in Le Monde in 2001. The work is about “the organization of reality, its nonlinear advancement, and its recursiveness,” Mr. Droit wrote in 2004.

"Mr. Morin’s account of his break with the Communists, six years after the war’s end, “Autocritique” (1959, not translated) was called “the best and perhaps the most influential autobiography by an ex-Communist intellectual” by the historian Tony Judt in his book “Past Imperfect.”

"Two years later, inspired by his own academic studies on film culture, he teamed up with the ethnographic filmmaker Jean Rouch and interrogated people on the streets of Paris and elsewhere in France, asking whether they were happy.

“Chronique d’un été,” or “Chronicle of a Summer,” is disarming in its goal of effacing the significance of the filmmaker by making sure the spectator never forgets his presence. Writing in The New York Times in 2013, the critic Dave Kehr observed that “the influence of ‘Chronicle of a Summer’ can be felt in practically every fiction film with a pretense to realism.”

"Edgar Nahoum — he later adopted his Resistance pseudonym, “Morin” — was born on July 8, 1921, in Paris, the son of Vidal Nahoum, a Jewish immigrant from Thessaloniki, Greece, who owned a women’s clothing store, and Luna Beressi.

"He attended schools in Paris, reading voraciously. His mother died when he was 10, a shock he later described as formative. After the Germans invaded in June 1940, he took refuge in the unoccupied southern zone of France and became a student at the University of Toulouse.

"He joined the Resistance, informally, at the beginning of 1942, distributing tracts in the streets of Toulouse and Lyon, joined the Communist Party while underground, and took an active role in the liberation of Paris, explaining in his autobiography that he was reluctant to execute two suspected traitors, as he was ordered. “The vanquished deserves compassion,” he told Le Monde, “because he is humiliated.”

"After the war, he earned bachelor’s degrees in history, geography and law from the University of Paris, but he later wrote (in “Mes Démons,” 1994, not translated) that “those four years of war, defeat, occupation, resistance” were “my real school years.”"

Edgar Morin's LT page: https://www.librarything.com/a/16354/Edgar-Morin

June 2026 Index

American Scholar >115 featherbear:
Asian Review of Books >113 featherbear:
Atlantic >109 featherbear:
Boston Review >134 featherbear:
fivebooks.com >119 featherbear:
Guardian >108 featherbear:
Hedgehog Review >116 featherbear:
LARB >110 featherbear:
LitHub >122 featherbear:
New Yorker >111 featherbear:
NYRB June 11 >98 featherbear:
NYT >114 featherbear:
The Point >121 featherbear:
PRoB >118 featherbear:
Public Books >117 featherbear:
The Republic of Letters >112 featherbear:

Guardian June 2026

Joyce Carol Oates, interviewer Zoe Williams. 06/22/2026: Richer than Musk: Joyce Carol Oates on her 88 years of watching, writing, feeling and loving.

Dorian Lynskey. 06/22/2026: The real price of artificial intelligence: A vivid and entertaining polemic on the economics of the tech revolution, filled with righteous ire. Review of: The Reverse Centaur’s Guide to Life After AI: How to Think About Artificial Intelligence Before It’s Too Late / Cory Doctorow.

Lara Feigel. 06/22/2026: A hare mends the pain of baby loss. Review of the forthcoming: The Leveret: A Novel / Anna Goldreich (Bloomsbury Publishing).

Dorian Lynskey. 06/22/2026: From Burma to Big Brother: George Orwell’s best books – ranked! "From frontline reporting to a trailblazing comic novel and a prophetic dystopia, which of Eric Blair’s books is the best?"

M. John Harrison, interviewer Chris Power. 06/21/2026: M John Harrison: ‘If we met a real alien we’d have no clue what they thought.’ "At 80, SF author M John Harrison is producing some of his best work. He talks about finding his voice, alien intelligence and the advice from Iain Banks that still spurs him on."

Candice Carty-Williams, interviewer Emma Loffhagen. 06/20/2026: Candice Carty-Williams: ‘People feel very attached to Queenie.’ "The breakout success of her debut created a publishing scramble for Black writers, but has that appetite for diversity endured? Carty-Williams talks about wanting to quit the TV adaptation, why now is the perfect time for her sequel." With reference to: Queenie & the forthcoming Queenie Is Working on It: A Novel.

Lucy Webster. 06/19/2026: A revelatory new history: This study of the struggle for rights includes incredible personal stories that we should all be more familiar with. Review of: Disability: A History of Resistance / David Turner.

Laura Wilson. 06/19/2026: The best recent crime and thrillers – review roundup. The best list: The Pinnacle by Abir Mukherjee; A Violent Masterpiece by Jordan Harper; Murder on the Red River by Marcie R Rendon; The Devoted: A Novel by Catherine Cho; The Repentants by Kate Foster.

Daisy Hildyard. 06/18/2026: A sparkling, subversive debut: With its echoes of Miranda July’s All Fours, this tragicomic tale of an American woman’s illicit romance is also a gripping murder mystery. Review of: A Little Bit Bad: A Novel / Cassandra Neyenesch.

Rachel Clarke. 06/17/2026: Why everything you think you know about longevity is wrong. Review of: Morbid: Debunking Modern Longevity Science / Saul Justin Newman. "Is Japan really full of centenarians? And what about ‘blue zones’? A brilliant skewering of ageing secrets and lies."

Charles Arrowsmith. 06/17/2026: Coming to terms with a brother’s death: In the latest autofictional instalment of his family saga, the French writer makes sense of his sibling’s violent homophobia and short life. Review of: Collapse: a novel / Édouard Louis, translated by Tash Aw (Harvill).

Steven Poole. 06/16/2026: Can the ideal society ever exist?: This fascinating intellectual history of imagined paradises takes us from Thomas More to Ursula K Le Guin. Review of: The Uses of Utopia / Joad Raymond Wren (Allen Lane).

Christopher Shrimpton. 06/16/2026: Vivid portrait of a monumental American: The life of the Brooklyn Bridge’s chief engineer inspires this multifaceted novel. Review of: Wash / Erica Wagner (Salt), author of: Chief Engineer: Washington Roebling, The Man Who Built the Brooklyn Bridge.

Diana Hadden. 06/16/2026: The last day of maternity leave is a comic rollercoaster. Review of: Natural Disaster: A Novel / Lisa Owens.

Zadie Smith et al. 06/13/2026: What to read this summer by Mark Haddon, Samantha Harvey, Zadie Smith and more.

Lisa Allardice. 06/12/2026: ‘Failure was my thing’: Women’s prize winner Virginia Evans on her long journey to success. For "a warm-hearted weepy with a sprinkling of gentle humour": The Correspondent / Virginia Evans.

Kathryn Hughes. 06/12/2026: Swift, Gay and Pope’s season in the sun: A historian makes the case that a meeting of minds in 1726 changed the course of English literature. Review of: The Twitnam Summer: Friendship, Satire and the Writing of Gulliver’s Travels / Hester Grant (William Collins).

Ruth Ozeki. 06/12/2026: The books in my life: Ruth Ozeki: ‘All my books are an attempt to recreate Charlotte’s Web.

Lisa Tuttle. 06/12/2026: The best recent science fiction, fantasy and horror – review roundup. The best list: Not With a Bang by Temi Oh; Tillinghast by Clare Cavenagh; Atomic Coffin by Benedict Anning; The Unicorn Hunters by Katherine Arden; Bad Things Happen Here by Mark Morris.

Anjali Joseph. 06/11/2026: Will-they-won’t-they in a skilful theatrical romance. Review of: Frida Slattery As Herself / Ana Kinsella.

Melissa Albert. 06/10/2026: No fairytale: what happened to the real children behind fiction’s best-loved characters? "Peter Pan, Christopher Robin and Alice in Wonderland … being the star of a classic story might seem like a dream, but there’s a dark side, argues the author of The Children."

Dina Nayeri. 06/10/2026: Iran’s recent history explained. Review of: Stolen Revolution: Betrayal and Hope in Modern Iran / Bozorgmehr Sharafedin and Yeganeh Torbati.

Madeleine Feeny. 06/10/2026: A wild journey through the 80s LA porn scene. "A young woman begins a career in the adult industry while, 30 years later, her friend tries to find out what happened to her, in an addictive, twist-filled story." Review of: Lovers XXX / Allie Rowbottom.

Michael Faber. 06/09/2026: Near-future visions from an SF master. Review of: The End of Everything / M. John Harrison.

John-Baptiste Oduor. 06/09/2026: A serious study of the spectacular. Review of: Flamboyance: The Art of Burning Brightly / Jack Parlett (Granta).

Patrick Freyne. 06/09/2026: ‘Nobody is pretending to like my work because of my fresh-faced good looks’: the pros of being a debut novelist at 51. Regarding: Experts in a Dying Field / Patrick Freyne, age 51 (Penguin Sandycove).

Christobel Kent. 06/08/2026: Fun in the Tuscan sun. Review of: Villa Coco / Andrew Sean Greer.

Joe Moran. 06/08/2026: Are we raising a bookless generation?: This clarion call about the loss of delight and safety in children’s lives is also a reminder of the sheer magic of reading. Review of: A British Childhood: How Our Children Live Now / Frank Cottrell-Boyce (Picador).

Olivia Lang. 06/07/2026: ‘Far right groups prey on it’: Olivia Laing on the weaponisation of loneliness. "A decade after The Lonely City was first published, the writer reflects on what’s changed – and how the feelings that drove them to write their bestseller are key to understanding our turbulent politics."

Guardian Staff & contributors. 06/06/2026: Readers’ top 100 novels of all time.

Richard Luscombe. 06/05/202: Unseen Edith Wharton short story is published more than a century later. "The Men Who Saved the World, the Pulitzer winner’s lost manuscript found in Yale archives, appears in Strand magazine."

Rishi Dastidar. 06/05/2026: The best recent poetry – review roundup. The best: Haunting the Black Air by Anthony Joseph (Bloomsbury); Selected Poems by Leontia Flynn (Carcanet); Sparrow on the Rooftop by Rachel Long (Chatto & Windus); You Must Live: New Poetry from Palestine, edited by Jorie Graham; Melete by Jennifer Lee Tsai (Bloodaxe); Somebody Should Have Pressed Record by Galia Admoni (Strange Region).

Sam Leith. 06/05/2026: Intriguing fairytale of creativity’s dangers. Review of: The Children: A Novel / Melissa Albert.

Nick Bartlett. 06/04/2026: An 18th century explorer far ahead of his time. Review of: The Traveller: The Revolutionary Life of George Forster and His Search for Humanity / Andrea Wulf.

Emma Loffhagen. 06/04/2026: Women’s prize-shortlisted portrait of patriarchy’s horrors: the violence of male entitlement is embodied in the charismatic son of a Mississippi pastor, in a sharp portrait of cruelty and inheritance. Review of: Dominion: A Novel / Addie E. Citchens.

Blake Morrison. 06/03/2026: An odd man out: The critic’s memoir’s is a portrait in determination to go against the grain and ‘pursue a life in words and ideas.’ Review of: Ambivalence: an education / Brian Dillon.

James Ellroy, interviewer David Smith. 06/03/2026: James Ellroy: ‘It’s satanic to me, the dependency people have on computers.’ Regarding also his new Red Sheets: a novel / James Ellroy.

Ioan Marc Jones. 06/02/2026: I devoured classic novels as a teenager. In a world of distractions, can I relearn how to read them? "In less than a decade, surrounded by screens, I lost my ability to read some of the best books ever written. But, inspired by the Guardian’s 100 best novels list, I was determined to get it back."

Alexis Petridis. 06/02/2026: A heartbreaking portrait of George Michael. Review of: Tonight the Music Seems So Loud: The Meaning of George Michael / Sathnam Sanghera.

Sarah Moss. 06/02/2026: A darkly funny near-future dystopia. Review of: My Only Boy / Rosa Rankin-Gee (Scribner).

Melissa Harrison. 06/01/2026: An ambitious story of mapmaking in Ireland. Review of: Land: a novel / Maggie O'Farrell.

Christian House. 06/01/2026: ‘Nothing is too much for a child’: the Norwegian books for kids tackling taboo topics from IVF to incest. "In the Nordic country, books covering subjects such as childbirth and sex have become bestsellers among younger readers – and an export hit. Behind their success lies a unique philosophy of childhood learning."

Atlantic June 2026

Helen Lewis. 06/22/2026: Paradise Revisited: What Darwin saw in the Galápagos. Regarding Charles Darwin.

Lily Meyer. 06/18/2026: A Close-Up Look at the Waste of Modern Life: A new memoir by a Montreal garbageman shows the actual work of cleaning up the world’s junk. Review of: Trash!: A Garbageman's Story / Simon Paré-Poupart.

Gal Beckerman. 06/15/2026: The Theory That Explains Trump’s UFC Fight: By staging a “spectacle of excess” on the White House lawn, the president expressed the violent essence of his worldview. Analyzing the event based on Mythologies / Roland Barthes.

Justin Swanberg. 06/15/2026: Nathaniel Hawthorne’s American Horror Story. "The author wrote a tale that challenged the nation’s founding myths. Then it disappeared." Regarding My Kinsman, Major Molineux / Nathanial Hawthorne.

Adam Kirsch. 06/15/2026: What AI’s Style Tells Us About It: The rise of machine writing is a great opportunity for literature.

Susan Tallman. 06/13/2026: A Canvas as Big as the Country: Don’t ask what Frederic Church’s massive, immersive landscapes mean. Just look. Review of: Glorious Country: How the Artist Frederic Church Brought the World to America and America to the World / Virginia Johnson.

Alexandra Oliva. 06/12/2026: Six Books That Take You to Space: You won’t even have to leave your couch. The 6: Contact / Carl Sagan -- Dawn / Octavia E. Butler -- Singer Distance / Ethan Chatagnier -- Providence / Max Barry -- If We Cannot Go at the Speed of Light / Kim Choyeop, translated by Anton Hur -- The Zoologist’s Guide to the Galaxy / Arik Kershenbaum.

Jacob Brogan. 06/11/2026: The Work That Goes Into ‘Effortless’ Style. Review of: Villa Coco: A Novel / Andrew Sean Greer.

Hillary Chute. 06/09/2026: Marjane Satrapi’s Rebellious Life. "The author of the best-selling graphic memoir Persepolis, who died last week, made defiance into a lifelong project."

Gal Beckerman. 06/08/2026: The Two Kinds of American Patriotism. Review of: To Love a Country: The Problem of Patriotism in America / Dominic Erdozain.

Rob Wolfe. 06/05/2026: The Violent Beating That Reshaped America. "Two books about the 1856 caning of a senator show how words can incite violence—and also help defeat it." Regarding: Charles Sumner: Conscience of a Nation / Zaakir Tameez -- The Man Behind the Cane: Preston Brooks, Political Violence, and the Road to the Civil War / Paul Quigley.

Honor Jones. 06/04/2026: The Surprising, Liberating History of Marriage: To find a future for the institution, Stephanie Coontz turns to its wildly varying past. Review of: For Better and Worse: The Complicated Past and Challenging Future of Marriage / Stephanie Koontz.

Walt Hunter. 06/04/2026: The Death of the Reader: AI has already changed writing. Now the technology is changing what it means to read.

Juliet Izon. 06/04/2026: What to Read to Really Understand Music: These memoirs, primers, and histories make up a captivating syllabus that will help explain what you hear..

Judith Shulevitz. 06/02/2026: Where Dogs Go On With Their Doggy Life: Why are there so many canines in fine art?. "In 1997, Jacques Derrida held a seminar on the experience of seeing himself being seen by his cat as he stood naked before her. Published as a book during the aughts, the lecture became a key part of a revisionist philosophy of the human-animal interaction." Review of: The Dog's Gaze: A Visual History / Thomas W. Laqueur.

Hillary Kelly. 06/02/2026: The Art of the Joyful Tearjerker. Review of: Land: a novel / Maggie O'Farrell.

Julius Taranto. 06/01/2026: The Plight of the Radical’s Children. Review of: The Hill: a novel / Harriet Clark.

LARB June 2026

Bradford Nordeen. 06/22/2026: Traces of Looking and Feeling: A George Whitmore reissue translates the historical feeling of queer coming-of-age in the 1950s for contemporary readers without slipping into exploitation. Revisiting: Nebraska / George Whitmore.

Nyuol Lueth Tong. 06/21/2026: How Does a Country Sound?: Reading Robert Frost in a newly independent South Sudan. (Essay)

Arjun Appadurai. 06/20/2026: The University as Giant App: a shockingly frank look at a campus that is as tightly governed as a Siberian labor camp—one perhaps designed by Sergey Brin. Review of: How to Rule the World: An Education in Power at Stanford University / Theo Baker.

Richie George. 06/20/2026: The End of What World? "Diving into the archives, Richie George highlights a review of African science fiction that imagines bold futures, unrestrained by the limitations hindering solipsistic SF from the Global North."

Liz Cettina. 06/19/2026: Disappearing Scrapbooks: The fate of Willa Cather’s archives, real and fictional.

Ann de Forest. 06/18/2026: What the ‘Footprint’ Forgets. Review of: Footprint: Four Itineraries / Radhika Subramaniam (np).

Jenessa Abrams. 06/16/2026: Trauma Is a Narrative Problem. Review of: Dog Days / Emily LaBarge.

Eric Gudas. 06/15/2026: Exquisite Objects, Exquisite Creature: On Barbara Pym’s reissued novel of desire, aging, possession, and antiques. Regarding: The Sweet Dove Died / Barbara Pym. NYRB Classics.

Krzysztof Pelc. 06/10/2026: Fakes of the Future: Literary credibility in the age of AI.

Edna Bonhomme. 06/09/2026: Looking Backward, Looking Outward. Review of: The Snakes That Ate Florida / Ian Frazier.

Kyle Francis Williams. 06/09/2026: Is There Such a Thing as Death? Review of: Earth 7: a novel / Deb Olin Unferth.

Conor Williams. 06/08/2026: Friendship as a Way of Life: Art, love, and a dense web of friendships in a double biography and richly textured history of Downtown Manhattan from the 1960s to the ’80s. Review of: The Wonderful World That Almost Was: A Life of Peter Hujar and Paul Thek / Andrew Durbin.

Mitchell Abidor. 06/07/2026: Long Live Poetry: Three new books by and about Romanian poet Paul Celan demonstrate that he was a problematic figure in many ways. Review of: Paul Celan: A Life / Anna  Arno. Translated by Soren Gauger -- Letters to Gisèle / Paul Celan. Translated by Jason Kavett -- Conversation in the Mountains: Collected Prose of Paul Celan / Paul Celan. Translated by Rosmarie Waldrop.

Emmett Rensin. 06/03/2026: A Better World Is Not Possible: Did the Weather Underground have a point? Review of: Dangerous, Dirty, Violent, and Young: A Fugitive Family in the Revolutionary Underground / Zayd Ayers Dohrn.

Grace Linden. 06/02/2026: Get Rid of the Question Marks. Review of: My Year in Paris with Gertrude Stein / Deborah Levy.

Sophia Richardson. 06/01/2026: Off, and Back On, with Her Head. Review of: The Beheading Game / Rebecca Lehmann ("debut novel gives Anne Boleyn a new lease on decapitated life")

New Yorker June 2026

Jessica Winter. 06/19/2026: J. D. Vance’s Contemptuous Conversion Memoir. Review of: Communion: Finding My Way Back to Faith / J. D. Vance.

Joshua Rothman. 06/19/2026: Are Dads Getting Better?: At times, the question seems less about parenthood than about our views of men in a shifting world. Review of: Dad Brain: The New Science of Fatherhood and How It Shapes Men's Lives / Darby Saxbe.

Hannah Gold. 06/17/2026: A Trollish New Campus Novel Hates Students and Professors Alike. Review of: The Vivisectors: A Novel / Missouri Williams.

Molly Fischer. 06/15/2026 (06/22/2026 print): When Did White-Collar Work Start to Look So Bleak?: In the nineteen-eighties, an office job promised security and fulfillment. For graduates starting careers today, the prospect is often tinged with dread. Omnibus survey of: How to Start: Discovering Your Life's Work / Jodi Kantor -- Yuppies: The Bankers, Lawyers, Joggers, and Gourmands Who Conquered New York / Dylan Gottlieb -- Fear of Falling: The Inner Life of the Middle Class / Barbara Ehrenreich -- Mutiny: The Rise and Revolt of the College-Educated Working Class / Noam Scheiber -- The Time Bind: When Work Becomes Home and Home Becomes Work / Arlie Russell Hochschild.

Alex Ross. 06/15/2026: Jürgen Habermas Defended Reason in a Darkening Age. "The great German philosopher, who died in March, understood how much depended on a principled public sphere." Touchstone: Jürgen Habermas.

Michael Luo. 06/14/2026: How Did American Christianity End Up Like This?: History helps explain the particular faith that now rules our religious marketplace. Review of: A God-Shaped Nation: Five Hundred Years of Religion in America / Brook Wilensky-Lanford -- Chosen Land: How Christianity Made America and Americans Remade Christianity / Matthew Avery Sutton -- One State Under God: A History of Religion in Texas / Joseph L. Locke (University of Texas Press).

Joshua Rothman. 06/12/2026: Are Americans Too Old? Review of: Gerontocracy in America: How the Old Are Hoarding Power and Wealth—and What to Do About It / Samuel Moyn.

Jessica Winter. 06/12/2026: Why “Book-Shaming” Won’t Solve the Children’s Literacy Crisis. "The nation’s official advocate for children’s books says most of them are “crud.” But matters of literary quality don’t explain why kids aren’t reading."

Katy Waldman. 06/10/2026: Did a Chatbot Write a Prize-Winning Story? Does It Matter?: If the possibility that one or more of the winners of the Commonwealth Short Story Prize was A.I.-generated chills us, it may be because of what it reveals about human writing.

Rachel Syme et al. 06/10/2026: What We’re Reading This Summer: Pocket Reads: New Yorker writers name their favorite short books. The list: The Girls of Slender Means / Muriel Spark -- 1967: How I Got There and Why I Never Left / Robyn Hitchcock -- The Captain's Daughter / Alexander Pushkin; translated by Robert and Elizabeth Chandler (New York Review Books edition) -- My Family and Other Animals / Gerald Durrell -- Wigs on the Green / Nancy Mitford -- A Way of Life, Like Any Other / Darcy O'Brien -- Great Granny Webster / Caroline Blackwood -- Ballerina (The Margellos World Republic of Letters) / Patrick Modiano; Mark Polizzotti (Translator) -- Sojourn / Amit Chaudhuri.

Amy Davidson Sorkin. 06/09/2026: What Jill Biden Doesn’t Say in Her White House Memoir. Regarding: View from the East Wing: A Memoir / Dr Jill Biden.

Adam Gopnik. 06/08/2026: Did a Rowdy English Nobleman Mastermind the American Revolution? Review of: Radical Duke: How One Aristocrat-and the American Revolution-Transformed Britain / Danielle Allen.

Jay Kaspian Kang. 06/02/2026: Can A.I. Produce Writing That We Actually Want to Read? "I recently created a simple test, which convinced me that the answer is no."

Katy Waldman. 06/01/2026: Maggie O’Farrell and the Art of Inventing the Past. Review of: Land: a novel / Maggie O'Farrell.

Rachely Syme. 06/01/2026: The Star-Crossed Recluse Who Brought Astrology to the Masses. Review of: Follow the Signs: Searching for Linda Goodman, America’s Forgotten Astrology Queen / Courtney Ann LaFaive.

Becca Rothfeld. 06/01/2026: Why the American Novel Refused to Grow Up. "For the critic Leslie Fiedler, the country’s best and worst fiction was shaped by visions of escape from society—and therefore from maturity." Regarding: Love and Death in the American Novel / Leslie A. Fiedler.

Louis Menand. 06/01/2026: What Did “Lady Chatterley” Liberate? "Once outlawed as obscene, D. H. Lawrence’s novel was meant to heal the world’s sickness about sex. Instead, it mattered most as a legal milestone, a pop-culture shorthand, and a meme." Review of: Lady C: The Long, Sensational Life of Lady Chatterley's Lover / Guy Cuthbertson (Yale University Press). Touchstone: Lady Chatterley's Lover / D.H. Lawrence.

The Republic of Letters and Nick Mamatas. The Republic of Letters, 05/30/2026: How Publishing Actually Works: It's Not a Pretty Picture.

Asian Review of Books June 2026

Susan Blumberg-Kason. 06/20/2026: “Leave and Come Back” by Lavanya Lakshmi. Review of: Leave and come Back / Lavanya Lakshmi (Pamela Dorman Books).

Vikram Zutshi. 06/19/2026: “Approaching the Buddha” by Hao Sheng. Review of: Approaching the Buddha: Transmission and Transformation / Hao Sheng, editor. ("based on the Xuzhou Collection, a dazzling array of ceremonial objects assembled by an anonymous collector and housed at the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston. For students of the dharma, these images are alive, living transmissions rather than decorative relics.") (Yale University Press)

Kateryna Shabelnyk. 06/17/2026: “Shift” by Cho Yeeun. Review of: Shift / Cho Yeeun; translation, Yewon Jung (Honford Star).

Peter Gordon. 06/16/2026: “On Thin Ice” by Charlie Walker. Review of: On Thin Ice: An Explorer's Memoir of Siberia, Surveillance and Survival / Charlie Walker (Duckworth Books).

Susan Blumberg-Kason. 06/13/2026: “Babylon, South Dakota” by Tom Lin. Review of: Babylon, South Dakota / Tom Lin.

Kateryna Shabelnyk. 06/12/2026: “Swell” by Son Bo-mi. Review of : Swell / Son Bo-mi; translation Janet Hong.

Peter Gordon. 06/10/2026: “The Man Who Stole the Gods” by Matthew Campbell. Review of: The Man Who Stole the Gods / Matthew Campbell.

Mahitosh Gopal. 06/09/2026: “Fortress of the Forgotten Ones” by Fahmida Riaz. Review of: Fortress of the Forgotten Ones / Fahmida Riaz; translator Sana R Chaudhry.

Susan Blumberg-Kason. 06/06/2026: “The Perilous Life of Jade Yeo” by Zen Cho. Review of the novella The Perilous Life of Jade Yeo / Zen Cho (Asterism Books).

Thảo Tô. 06/05/2026: “The Unrepentant” by Sharmini Aphrodite. Review of: The Unrepentant: Short Stories / Sharmini Aphrodite.

Peter Gordon. 06/03/2026: “America, but Bigger” by Mark Kawar. Review of: “America, but Bigger” by Mark Kawar. Review of: America, but Bigger: Near-Annexations, from Greenland to the Galapagos / Mark Kawar (Atmosphere Press).

Jonathan Han. 06/02/2026: “Night Train” by Xu Zechen. Review of: Night Train / Xu Zechen; translator Jeremy Tiang.

NYT June 2026

Dwight Garner. 06/22/2026: The End of the World Doesn’t Have to Feel Like the End of the World. Review of: THE EMERGENCY PLAYBOOK: A Bunker-Free Guide to Disaster Preparation / Amy Edelman and Chris Begley.

Elisabeth Egan. 06/21/2026: After 40 Years, a Tenacious Lifeguard Still Swims Against the Tide. Profile of the author of: Lifeguard: A Love Story / Janet Fash w/Clio Chang.

Monte Burke. 06/20/2026: Could ‘A River Runs Through It’ Have Been a Hit Today? "The autobiographical novella, first published 50 years ago, arguably created a new type of guy: the literary fly fisherman." Touchstone: A River Runs through It and Other Stories / Norman Maclean.

Stephen Marche. 06/20/2026: Why Is It So Bad to Let A.I. Do My Thinking for Me? Review of: THE REVERSE CENTAUR’S GUIDE TO LIFE AFTER AI: How to Think About Artificial Intelligence — Before It’s Too Late / Cory Doctorow.

A.O. Scott. 06/19/2026: Did Movies Ruin Everything?: How the film writer David Thomson found himself in a lover’s quarrel with cinema — and America. Regarding A Sudden Flicker of Light: A Revisionist History of Movies / David Thomson.

Fintan O'Toole. 06/18/2026: ‘We Need Plot Twists’: Behind the Scenes of Trump’s Second Term. Review of: REGIME CHANGE: Inside the Imperial Presidency of Donald Trump / Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan.

Dana Goldstein. 06/18/2026: How New A.I. Apps Are Making Student Cheating Undetectable. "Big tech companies and small start-ups are using social media to hype new tools that allow students to trick teachers and A.I. detectors."

Mattie Kahn. 06/16/2026: Women’s Writing Was Once as Ephemeral as Breast Milk. Review of: PRESENCE: A Hidden History of the Female Body / Erin Maglaque.

Rand Richards Cooper. 06/16/2026: From Joyce Carol Oates, a ‘Frenzy’ of Fear and Foreboding. Review of: THE FRENZY: Stories / Joyce Carol Oates.

Junot Díaz. 06/16/2026: Will It Take Superpowers, Spirits and Reincarnation to Save the Planet? Review of: GHOST-EYE / Amitav Ghosh ("Fascinating if overstuffed").

Robert F. Worth. 06/15/2026: They Blew Up the Nord Stream Pipeline. Some Call Them Heroes. Review of: THE NORD STREAM CONSPIRACY: The Inside Story of the Explosions That Shook the World / Bojan Pancevski.

Alexandra Jacobs. 06/14/2026: A Spunky History of Newspapers Adds Color to the Black and White. Review of: EMPIRE OF INK: The Printers, Rogues, and Radicals Who Invented the American Newspaper / Alex Wright.

Lauretta Charlton. 06/13/2026: Richard Pryor’s Daughter Grapples With a Flawed Father and a Hateful Word. Review of: SOMETHING WE SAID: Richard Pryor, a Notorious Word, and Me / Elizabeth Stordeur Pryor.

Alanna Bennett. 06/13/2026: A Polyamory Novel Full of Chaos and Illicit Desire. Review of: THEY ALL FALL IN LOVE AT THE END / Haili Blassingame.

Mikkel Rosengaard. 06/13/2026: Madeline Cash Isn’t Playing Around. Or Is She? "Her debut novel taps into a microgeneration’s blurring of performance and reality." Profile of the author of Lost Lambs (reviewed 01/13/2026 HERE).

Dustin Illingworth. 06/12/2026: This Novel Feels Like a Hallucination. That’s the Point. Review of: AS IF / Isabel Waidner.

John Williams. 06/12/2026: Congrats, They Just Finished Oxford. Oops, the Economy Crashed. Review of: DRAYTON AND MACKENZIE / Alexander Starritt.

Edward Dolnick. 06/11/2026: Mission Accomplished: Kill the Nazis, Save the Statues. Review of: THE AMERICAN SCHOOL OF SPIES: The Archaeologists Who Fought the Nazis and Saved the Treasures of Ancient Greece / Stephan Talty.

Sadie Stein. 06/11/2026: Who Was Emily Brontë? We’ll Never Know. Review of: THIS DARK NIGHT: Emily Brontë, a Life / Deborah Lutz.

Ruth Ozeki e-mail interview. 06/11/2026 (print: 6/14): By the Book: Ruth Ozeki Was a Little Too Young to Read Norman Mailer. "She wanted to learn about pyramids, and ended up with hallucinatory sex scenes. Her new book is a provocation: Just what genre is it anyway?"

J.D. Biersdorfer. 06/10/2026: How Many Drunk Bostonians Did It Take to Win the Revolutionary War? Review of: COCKED AND BOOZY: An Intoxicating History of the American Revolution / Brooke Barbier.

Tim Teeman. 06/10/2026: How Laverne Cox Slayed Her Demons: With Grit and Glamour. Profile regarding Transcendent: A Memoir / Laverne Cox.

Vauhini Vara. 06/10/2026: Humans vs. Bots — Who Does the Em Dash Better? (Essay: "Chatbots are appropriating our most common rhetorical tics. Yet when it comes to language, human creativity can’t be beat.")

William T. Vollmann. 06/09/2026: James Ellroy’s New Novel Is a Clash Between Cops and Communists: Set in 1962 Los Angeles, “Red Sheet” follows the murder and mayhem behind a “mini Red Scare.” Review of: RED SHEET: a novel / James Ellroy.

David Gates. 06/09/2026: A Political Satire Flounders in a Time of Satire-Proof Politics: Washington insiders scheme to replace the president with a religious professional wrestler. Review of: RASPUTIN SWIMS THE POTOMAC / Ben Fountain.

Dwight Garner. 06/08/2026: This Garbage Collector Loves His Job but Has a Few Bones to Pick. Review of: TRASH!: A Garbageman’s Story / Simon Paré-Poupart.

Alexandra Jacobs. 06/07/2026: Dave Eggers Returns to Form in ‘Contrapposto.’ Review of: Contrapposto: A Novel / Dave Eggers.

Emmett Lindner. 06/06/2026: An Edith Wharton Story Is Published About 100 Years Later. "The short story, which is set during World War I, is believed to have been printed for the first time on Friday. The story is thought to have been written no earlier than July 1918."

Amelia Nierenberg. 06/06/2026: ‘Could Love Be Freer?’: A Tale of Polyamory, in Literature and Life. Profile of Danish writer Linea Maja Ernst, whose debut novel is now available in translation: Waist Deep: A Novel / Linea Maja Ernst; translator Nicolette Sherilyn Hellberg (S&S/Summit Books).

Lincoln Michel. 06/06/2026: Earth Is Done For. ‘Earth 7’ Is About What’s Next. Review of: EARTH 7 / Deb Olin Unferth.

Hugh Eakin. 06/05/2026: In the Chaos of War-Torn Cambodia, He Saw Opportunity. Review of: THE MAN WHO STOLE THE GODS: A True Story of War, Obsession, and a Global Art Conspiracy / Matthew Campbell.

Stuart Emmerich. 06/05/2026: On a Seductive Sojourn in Italy, Can He Stay Unseduced? Review of: VILLA COCO / Andrew Sean Greer.

Dylan Loeb McClain. 06/04/2026: The Scandal That Roiled the Chess World in 2022. Review of: CHECKMATE: Genius, Lies, Ambition, and the Biggest Scandal in Chess / Ben Mezrich.

Elisa Gabbert. 06/03/2026: How Poets Went From Describing Art to Personally Admiring It: The form known as ekphrasis — or poetry about art — has taken a turn toward the individual. Our columnist asks what it means.

Jennifer Szalai. 06/03/2026: Meet the Astounding Teenager Who Sailed the World With Captain Cook. Review of: THE TRAVELER: One Man’s Quest for Humanity From the South Seas to Revolutionary Paris / Andrea Wulf.

Blair Braverman. 06/03/2026: A Tale of Shipwreck and Adventure on the High Seas. Review of: THE WRECK OF THE MENTOR: A True Story of Death, Despair, and Deliverance in the Age of Sail / Eric Jay Dolin.

Katie Rogers. 06/02/2026: In Her Memoir, Jill Biden Is a Watchful Spouse Who Didn’t Always Speak Up. Regarding: View from the East Wing: A Memoir / Dr. Jill Biden.

Hamilton Cain. 06/02/2026: Go West, Young Neurodivergent Man. ("an autistic trapper on an odyssey during the California gold rush.") Review of: WHAT CAME WEST / Josh Weil.

Reza Aslan. 06/02/2026: The Many Revolutions That Almost Freed Iran. Review of: STOLEN REVOLUTION: Betrayal and Hope in Modern Iran / Yeganeh Torbati and Bozorgmehr Sharafedin.

Fiona Mozley. 06/02/2026: Maggie O’Farrell Draws a New Map of 19th-Century Ireland. Review of: LAND: a novel / Maggie O’Farrell.

Dan Festerman. 06/02/2026: His Grandfather Was a Spy. Obviously, He Wrote a Novel About It. Review of: THE FIRE AGENT / David Baerwald.

Dwight Garner. 06/01/2026: Inside the Mind of the ‘Man Who Read Everything.’ Review of: THE MAN WHO READ EVERYTHING: The Literary Letters of Harold Bloom / edited by Heather Cass White.

Trevor Jackson. 06/01/2026: How the Gilded Age Economy Broke the World. Review of: 1873: The Rothschilds, the First Great Depression, and the Making of the Modern World / Liaquat Ahamed.

Helen Schulman. 06/01/2026: Ann Patchett’s Latest Reunites a Woman and Her Stepfather After 40 Years. Review of: WHISTLER / Ann Patchett.