The novelist on his latest work, an 800-page tribute to the American author Stephen Crane, and why the greatest writers are monomaniacsPaul Auster is in bed. We’re speaking on the telephone and it’s in his bedroom that his reception is best. “I much pr…
The Morning Star by Karl Ove Knausgård review – bloated and inconsequential
His fondness for pulverising detail has always been divisive; here it fatally undermines his return to the novelTo me, a passage from Karl Ove Knausgård’s 2004 novel A Time for Everything has always seemed illustrative of his approach:the fact that the…
…interwoven appreciation of the neural function with literary commentary
What Is Literature For? – A Symposium on Angus Fletcher’s “Wonderworks” (LARB): Three reviews of Wonderworks (two glowing, one scathing) and a reply by the author. Erik J. Larson: “All of this tech-talk injected into literature would seem superficial,…
How to Be an Antiracist author Ibram X Kendi awarded MacArthur ‘genius grant’
Writers Daniel Alarcón and Reginald Dwayne Betts have also been named on the list of 25 new fellows to receive $625,000 from the foundationThe bestselling historian Ibram X Kendi has been awarded a $625,000 (£460,000) MacArthur “genius grant” for his w…
Chronicles from the Land of the Happiest People on Earth by Wole Soyinka review – a vast danse macabre
The Nigerian writer’s first novel in nearly 50 years is a vivid, shocking story of political corruption in a country much like his homelandWole Soyinka’s new novel tells the multidimensional story of a secret society dealing in human parts for sacrific…
Wole Soyinka: ‘This book is my gift to Nigeria’
The Nobel laureate has produced plays, poems, essays and even inspired a pop duo but he hasn’t written a novel for nearly half a century – until nowAt 87, Wole Soyinka is a Nigerian icon. His plays have been performed around the world, his poems anthol…
Dinner Party: A Tragedy by Sarah Gilmartin review – family’s subtle poison
A finely observed Irish debut about a monstrous mother and dysfunctional siblings Kate slips away during a family dinner to throw a perfect baked alaska in the bin. “The freezer door was left open,” she lies to the gathered guests – her brothers Peter …
The climate crisis has made the idea of a better future impossible to imagine | Ian Jack
Despite all the analogies for this possibly terminal emergency, it is unlike anything that has come beforeWriting in 2003, the American environmentalist Bill McKibben observed that although “some small percentage” of scientists, diplomats and activists…
sign read: “PERMANENTLY CLOSED.” The lock on the door was busted.
Two short, bittersweet scifi stories about people changing their journeys. “Personal Trainer” by Meg Elison has a new way to exercise and a new kind of hammock to relax in. “Wait Calculation” by Derrick Boden has political intrigue aboard a generation …
Dune review – David Lynch’s intergalactic epic shoots for the moon
There are moments of dreamlike brilliance in this extravagant fable of imperialism – provided you can stay awake to see themWith Denis Villeneuve’s new adaptation of Dune almost upon us, here is a chance to revisit David Lynch’s ill-starred attempt fro…