In our afternoon reading: talking books with Fernanda Melchor, Jonathan Howland on writing, and more.
Morning Bites: Ursula Villarreal-Moura’s Recommendations, Cookie Mueller’s Books, Ta-Nehisi Coates on Tony Judt’s Writings, and More
In our morning reading: book recommendations from Ursula Villarreal-Moura, Ta-Nehisi Coates on the work of Tony Judt, and more.
Morning Bites: James McBride on NYC, Maud Newton on “The Noble Hustle,” Norman Lock, Hilton Als and “All That Jazz,” and More
Maud Newton on the latest from Colson Whitehead, interviews with Norman Lock, Julia Fierro, and James McBride, thoughts on Sophie Calle’s latest work, photos of North Brother Island, and more.
#tobyreads: On the Aesthetics of Absence — Doubles and Disappearances from Calle, Bioy Casares, Blackwell, Davis, and Chaix
There’s something uneasily evocative about a character defined by their absence. In the novel I’m working on now, I’m trying to summon up one of the central characters via the narratives of others, and it’s not an easy task. When this is done well, it can be breathtaking: consider Michael Kimball’s Dear Everybody, in which the assemblage of the novel turns the (offscreen) character into as vividly rendered a figure as the book’s ostensible protagonist. The books discussed this week make […]