Dan Brown Meets Roland Barthes in ‘The Seventh Function of Language’
Laurent Binet's over-the-top amalgam of the airport conspiracy thriller and the French intelligentsia poses a simple question: can high theory be thrilling?
literary criticism
‘After Ireland’ Bridges the Gaps Between Ireland’s Official Languages
After Ireland considers the changing culture, the changing identity, and a fast-changing Ireland in the varied voices and languages of its literature.
So It’s About Time I Asked, Who Is Susan Sontag?
Susan Sontag: Essays of the 1960s & 70s and reflections on being under the influence of Camille Paglia.
On Saul Bellow’s Artful Two-mindedness
There may be simply too much to think about, but Saul Bellow certainly made a valiant effort over the course of his long career.
Unbuttoning America: A Biography of Peyton Place
With its frank discussions of poverty, sexuality, class and ethnic discrimination, and small-town hypocrisy, Peyton Place was more than a tawdry potboiler.
America Has a Fever and the Only Cure Is Poetry
Twenty Poems That Could Save America and Other Essays makes a compelling case that poetry is what America needs, so long as it’s the right kind of poetry.