Grandpapa England
/In The King's Speech, King George V is depicted as a fanatical tyrant; but his legacy is one of dignified flexibility in the face of revolutionary changes, and his temperament may have helped save the monarchy
Read MoreWhen the Sewing Needles Dropped
/Anne Roiphe was raised in privilege, educated at Smith, and joined in marriage to a successful playwright; her new memoir reveals how painfully constricting that life came to be.
Read MorePros Take On the Cons
/A con man, an ambitious office boy, and two Mormons--it sounds like the set-up to a punch line. But is the joke on Broadway? Our theater critic examines the "why" of musicals, the limits of Harry Potter, and the perfidy of Canada.
Read MoreMemo to a Colleague
/Is Marjorie Garber's defense of literary studies balm to the beleaguered English professor's soul? Not yet, anyway.
Read MoreOn the Scent: The Odorants in Deodorants
/Our resident nose sniffs those most populist of perfumes: the ones we rub under our arms. Join her on a guided tour through the pharmacy aisle.
Read MorePost-Communist Literature or How to Cure Baldness
/Walking talking cats? mysterious birthmarks? ancient secrets? Bogdan Suceava takes us to a strange place (Romania, present day) in his newly translated novel.
Read MoreInvisible Man
/The omissions in Javier Marías's beguiling, enigmatic novels are just as important as what appear on the page, and two newly translated books are marked by this juggling of the known and the unknown.
Read MoreBright Sparkling Speeches
/Francis Spufford's new story collection blends fact and fiction to explore the truths and towering delusions of the Soviet economic system--and its production model, the American fast food chain.
Read MoreAs Crazy Quentin Knows
/Frame narratives, rags-to-riches angles, gender-swapping, the wages of grief, and .... love. Yes, we're talking about a video game, specifically Dragon Age 2.
Read Morelaying down record player
/A conversation with cover artist Julie Schustack about LA, worlds under glass, Frankenstein devices, and building a house just to take it apart.
Read MoreThe Tiger Whelp
/Tea Obreht's "The Tiger's Wife" is one of the most heralded fiction debuts of the season. Kevin Frazier weighs the switch-ups of its tone against the beauties of its prose.
Read MoreMay 2011 Issue
/“Music Box Toaster” by Julie Schustack
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