Written Reviews

Naomi Alderman: “Soon and in Our Days”

May 29, 2013

Naomi Alderman’s “Soon and in Our Days” is the fourth story in Granta 123: Best of Young British Novelists 4. For an overview of the issue and links to my reviews of its other stories, please click here. This is the first piece so far that is a stand-alone story rather than an excerpt from a

Episode 8: Kingsley Amis’s The Alteration and The Green Man

May 28, 2013

This month, we are joined by Nick During of NYRB Classics to discuss Kingsley Amis’s novels The Alteration and The Green Man. We do apologize to you and to Nick, though, because for some reason only half of our discussion was recorded. Brian and I did get back together a few weeks later (finding time was difficult)

Akhil Sharma: “We Didn’t Like Him”

May 27, 2013

Click here to read the abstract of the story on The New Yorker webpage (this week’s story is available only for subscribers). Akhil Sharma’s “We Didn’t Like Him” was originally published in the June 3, 2013 issue of The New Yorker. Betsy I liked Akhil Sharma’s “We Didn’t Like Him,” whose setting is the land of death and what we do

2013 Man Booker International Prize Winner

May 22, 2013

They’ve just announced this year’s winner of the Man Booker International Prize: Lydia Davis I’m thrilled at this news. Not only is Lydia Davis one of my favorite writers, she is also a short story writer and a supreme translator (in fact, the only thing I have reviewed here from her is her translation of

Leandro Sarmatz: “The Count”

May 22, 2013

Leandro Sarmatz’s “The Count” (“O Conde”; tr. from the Portuguese by Peter Bush) is the ninth story in Granta 121: The Best of Young Brazilian Novelists. For an overview of the issue and links to my reviews of its other stories, please click here. This relatively short piece (only five pages) centers around Emil Fleischer, a Yiddish actor

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Episodes of The Mookse and the Gripes Podcast: discussions of books and authors, shaped by curiosity, rereading, and the pleasures of talking things through.

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