Is the age of reading over? Some thoughts on a perennial brouhaha
While a solid argument can be made that the novel has lost its cultural centrality in the 21st century, that does not mean no one is reading anymore.
31 Days of Stories 2025, Day 2: “The Real Thing” by Henry James
The story is on one level a comedy of manners; on another, it is a careful and cutting critique of capitalism.
“Anyhow, he gives large parties”: On the centenary of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby
In Gatsby, we find the apotheosis of Fitzgerald's novelistic voice.
Laugh lines: Robert Plunket’s debut novel, long out of print, features one of the most venal, amoral, shallowest protagonists in recent American literature
One characteristic of Elliot that is most telling is also the one that may be least apparent on a cursory read.
31 Days of Stories 2020, Day 7: “The Puppet Motel” by Gemma Files
A modern-day ghost story, Gemma Files's literary chiller is a masterpiece of atmospheric dread.