Understanding Your Past Won’t Liberate You
Gwendoline Riley’s novels raise a skeptical eyebrow at the promise of redemption through unlearning past trauma.
Book Review
The Diagnosis Trap
Doctors have their stories to tell about mental illness. But what about the stories we tell ourselves?
Ian McEwan’s Anti-Memoir
The author reflects on a charmed life—and all that could have gone wrong.
The Long Unraveling of the Republican Party
Three books explore a history of fractious extremism that predates Donald Trump.
Tearing Down the Myth of Paul Gauguin
Daisy Lafarge’s new novel makes it impossible to separate the art from the artist.
‘The Greatest Talker of His Time’
Felix Frankfurter was an eloquent liberal champion of judicial restraint. Is it time for a reappraisal?
The Dark Absurdity of American Violence
Jamil Jan Kochai’s story collection reveals the surreal farce of the War on Terror.
The Dark Side of American Cheerfulness
The shadowy history of a modest emotion
Mohsin Hamid’s Empty Parable
The author’s novel about race transformation fails to take an old idea to new places.
The Way We Talk About Nature Is Getting Weirder
A new book argues that giving space to strange phenomena helps us pay better attention to the crises of our time.