Posts by author
Jake Slovis
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A “Voiceless” India
For the New York Times, Aatish Taseer argues that English has left Indian literature “voiceless,” as writers are often asked to produce work with western audiences in mind: India, if it is to speak to itself, will always need a lingua…
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Rationalizing Friendship
At the Guardian, A.D. Miller wonders why writers struggle to describe the “bonds” of friendship in fiction. What he finds is that close friendships are often difficult to “rationalize” because they limit access to common literary tropes: Friendship denies writers the…
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The Mystery Of Misleading Titles
For the Guardian, Moira Redmond considers the prevalence of “misleading” book titles. The article references a number of well-known texts including Marilynne Robinson’s Housekeeping, which Redmond suggests is “sublimely about non-housekeeping.” However, Moira argues that “allusive titles” are not without merit: “They can be intriguing…
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Camus And Orwell’s Hypothetical Coffee Date
In 1945 George Orwell was scheduled to meet Albert Camus at a café in Paris. However, Camus became ill and the two authors never met. Now, for the Los Angeles Review of Books, Matthew Lamb speculates what might have happened had the…
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Sex Novels in Public Places
For The Millions, J.C. Hallman shares his experience listening to the audiobook version of Nicholson Baker’s phone sex novel Vox in public places. What Hallman learns is that while the book might have incited “disgust” from reviewers upon its release in 1992, the…
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Mario Vargas Llosa: Artist or Politician?
In advance of the release of Mario Vargas Llosa’s new book The Time of the Hero, Thomas Mallon investigates the relationship between the Noble Prize-winning author’s work and the political movements of his native Peru. The article focuses on Llosa’s realist style…
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Ishiguro Doesn’t Take Breaks
For the Telegraph, Gaby Wood speaks with Kazuo Ishiguro about his new release The Buried Giant. The novel is Ishiguro’s first book in ten years, however the author has not been taking a “break,” working hard to find a project that was “good…
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The Multitalented Victor Hugo
Although Victor Hugo is best known for his novels, the author had an avid interest in the visual arts as well. However, Hugo didn’t publish his visual artwork, fearful that his drawings might interfere with his literary projects. According to…
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Agatha Christie Was a Good Pen Pal
Agatha Christie was never shy to reply to her fan mail, and now the notable crime writer’s letters will be collected and published in celebration of her 125th birthday. The collection will not only feature Christie’s letters, but also the original…
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Stop Worrying About What Comes Next
At The Millions, Jonathan Russell Clark analyzes several last sentences from well-known novels by Hemingway, Tolstoy, Morrison, and Roth. He pays particular attention to the craftsmanship necessary to write these sentences, and considers how last sentences work to reinforce larger themes within…
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The Unhappy Marriage Rule
For the New York Times‘s Bookends column, authors Charles McGrath and Leslie Jamison share their thoughts about what they perceive to be the best portrayals of marriage in literature. While McGrath argues that the more interesting literary marriages tend to be unhappy…
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The Freedom of Fiction
At Booth, Susan Lerner interviews Jonathan Franzen about a range of subjects including the influence of the YA novel, social media, and the different “forms of exploration” associated with essays and fiction. On the latter subject Franzen says: I think fiction…