Do Not Deny Me
The stories in Do Not Deny Me, Jean Thompson’s new collection, are concerned with main characters whose lives are scraped bare, who live in a world flattened by boredom and…
Rumpus Original
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How To Be Inappropriate: A BookExpo America Guide
The first step in the modification of any behavior—inappropriate or otherwise—is to define said behavior. The purpose of this monograph, then, is not to advocate nor caution against any behavior…
Occupational Hazards by Jonathan Segura: An Ex-Girlfriend’s Review
I feel as if I've earned the right to review Occupational Hazards. Jonny and I have already loved and hated each other.
Six Feet Under
The protagonist of Jim Krusoe’s new novel looks for his mother—in the afterlife, or in Cleveland.
The Exile and the Nomad Are Cousins: The Rumpus Original Combo with Ana Menendez
Ana Menendez’s new novel, The Last War, deals with Iraq, infidelity, self-deception, and exile.
The Girlfriend Experience and Why We Are All in Grave Danger
Steven Soderbergh’s new movie combines porn’s storylessness with the brutality and bad improv of Reality tv, in an assault on complexity and honesty.
The Rumpus Interview With Karan Mahajan
Karan Mahajan discusses Family Planning, Indian literature, and the recent attacks in Mumbai.
Old Man Bar—A Special Memorial Day Essay
I sat there with an 8 ounce beer glass in the semi-dark in a long room cluttered with those often set apart from the herd, either because of their alcoholism—which…
The Last Book We Loved
We present to you all of the “Last Book I Loved” entries to date, a library of lovers, the anthology of all our little darlings. Indulge.
The Camera Never Lies
In Steve Amick’s new novel, desire is most effectively stoked by what you can’t see.
On Cat Power: It Must be the Colors
When I first started listening to Cat Power’s music, I was still with a man I very much loved. He played music, he was a music man, and for four…
The Solipsist and the Internet (a review of Helprin’s Digital Barbarism)
Exactly two years ago today, the New York Times published an op-ed about copyright by a novelist.