Dickens
-
The Rumpus Interview with Imbolo Mbue
Imbolo Mbue discusses her debut novel Behold the Dreamers, teaching herself how to write a novel, and the price of the American Dream.
-
Daddy Wasn’t There
Anyone who made it through high school English can probably recall reading a story or two about young protagonists finding themselves in the absence of parental guidance. From whence does this orphan trope come? And why? Is this what all…
-
The Unfolding of a Hidden Design
Plot has lost its prestige. Fighting against what he perceives as a changing of values in the modern novel, John Mullan writes an ode to plot, from the masterworks of Dickens and le Carré to the serialized TV dramas we…
-
Wires Crossed
By this point, the relationship between books and television is complicated enough to merit its own Netflix series. Or its own book. Or maybe both: Like lovers who share an apartment, they’ve started speaking and looking alike.
-
Rewrite, Reboot, Remix
Rewriting the classics has become a stale and risk-averse strategy. But that shouldn’t spoil the fun of our larger culture of remixing.
-
A Novel Throwback
Back in April, the Washington Post suggested magazines should return to the days of Dickens and serialize novels again, recommending that the Paris Review lead the charge. Now, the Paris Review has answered the call by serializing Chris Bachelder’s new novel,…
-
The Rumpus Interview with Paul Griner
Paul Griner talks about his newest novel, Second Life, his just-released story collection Hurry Please I Want to Know, putting real life into fiction, and whether creative writing can be taught.
-
The Novel’s Lack of “Tension”
In the Washington Post, Hillary Kelly argues in favor of bringing back the serialized novel.
-
Word of the Day: Horometry
(n.); the art, practice, or method of measuring time by hours and subordinate divisions; the art or science of measuring time; from the Greek hora (“time” or “season”) + metron (“measure”) With them who stood upon the brink of the…
-
Paying Attention to the Short Story
The Telegraph’s Sam Baker says that the short story is experiencing a resurgence, both in the United States and Great Britain, thanks to technology. Suddenly, after years out in the cold, the short story finds itself a perfect fit for…
-
A Responsibility to the Classics
We’ve all got those books we’ve been meaning to read. Whether we heard about them yesterday, or saw them in a bookstore window a couple of months ago, or we can’t quite remember when but someone told us about something…
