Getting laughs and pathos from the same work of fiction is a hard thing to do. Adam Wilson’s previous book, Flatscreen, did so regularly, with wry observations juxtaposed with a real sense of loss. As good as that book was, his new collection What’s Important is Feeling, is even better — bleak scenarios and economic anxiety coexist with awkward sex, failed relationships, and barely sublimated loathing. Wilson is excellent at finding the pathos of characters one wouldn’t normally find empathy for: […]
Afternoon Bites: Writers’ Bad Dates, Jenny Offill Interviewed, New Papercuts, Poetry from Aaron Burch, and More
Reading for a snowy afternoon: a long interview with Jenny Offill, thoughts on literary romances, new music from Papercuts, a Milwaukee’s Best-referencing poem from Aaron Burch, and more.
Afternoon Bites: Murakami’s Jazz Club, Chris Abani, Watching the Pixies, Richard Ayoade’s Dostoevsky Adaptation, and More
This afternoon: Roxane Gay on Jenny Offill’s new novel, visiting the site of Haruki Murakami’s jazz club, a trailer for a new Dostoevsky adaptation, watching the Pixies when sick, and more.