A writer’s careful, surprising attention
J. D. Daniels writes beautiful letters to no one. They aren't for everyone.
fiction
The coming-of-age novel comes of age
If old age is another country, three novelists are exploring not just the peaks and valleys but also the rough places in between.
Is Jamie Quatro’s novel really about marital infidelity?
Maybe Fire Sermon is more fundamentally a parable about religion.
A life worth living, but for how long?
In their new novels, Dara Horn and Chloe Benjamin play with themes of mortality and free will.
Marilynne Robinson's beautiful, cranky nonfiction
Robinson's essays are sometimes tedious. Yet they provide glimpses of the capacious faith undergirding her novels.
We asked some of our favorite novelists and poets to tell us about three recent works of fiction that speak to them in a deep way.
A fictional world where abortion and IVF are illegal—and the women who live there
Leni Zumas's novel makes a political point. More importantly, it cultivates empathy.
Catholic sisters and their difficult vocation
Alice McDermott ponders a mystery: How is it that women hear the calling and find the strength to love and support their neighbors?
What happens after you survive an apocalypse?
The lively dystopian worlds of Louise Erdrich and Kaethe Schwehn
The sparkle of James McBride's stories
Five-Carat Soul is filled with hilarious storytelling, unusual characters, and stark realities.