Jenny Offill, Dept. of Speculation
Dept. of Speculation by Jenny Offill My rating: 3 of 5 stars This acclaimed 2014 novel of marriage, motherhood, and adultery is a perfect expression of the fictional and even … Continue reading
Jens Peter Jacobsen, Niels Lyhne
Niels Lyhne by Jens Peter Jacobsen My rating: 4 of 5 stars This 1880 Danish novel was once immensely influential: it and its author were cited or praised by Hermann … Continue reading
William Faulkner, Go Down, Moses
Go Down, Moses by William Faulkner My rating: 4 of 5 stars Go Down, Moses (1942), though not always grouped with Faulkner’s indisputable masterpieces, is nevertheless one of his most … Continue reading
Iris Murdoch, The Bell
The Bell by Iris Murdoch My rating: 4 of 5 stars The Bell is Iris Murdoch’s fourth novel. I had never read the celebrated 20th-century British philosopher and novelist before … Continue reading
Jerzy Kosinski, The Painted Bird
The Painted Bird by Jerzy Kosiński My rating: 3 of 5 stars This 1965 novel is a text so overwhelmed by its various contexts that it is almost impossible to … Continue reading
Lisa Halliday, Asymmetry
Asymmetry by Lisa Halliday My rating: 3 of 5 stars The jacket copy of this fascinating 2018 debut novel—back cover and both flaps—informs us no less than four times that … Continue reading
Gerald Murnane, The Plains
The Plains by Gerald Murnane My rating: 3 of 5 stars Gerald Murnane is in vogue. Every few years, it seems, a new writer or handful of writers is coronated in … Continue reading
Q, Conspiracy, and the Novel; or, Why Portraits and Ashes Should Be Your Summer Read
Readers who perceive an esoteric subtext to my writing and who therefore keep a paranoiac tally of my cryptic allusions will recall that I have mentioned the “Q” or “Qanon” … Continue reading
Gore Vidal, The City and the Pillar
The City and the Pillar by Gore Vidal My rating: 3 of 5 stars A little over a decade and a half ago, Gore Vidal was one of the most … Continue reading
Cormac McCarthy, The Crossing
The Crossing by Cormac McCarthy My rating: 3 of 5 stars The Crossing (1994) is the follow-up to All the Pretty Horses (1992) and the second part of Cormac McCarthy’s … Continue reading
