In Defense of Marital Secrets
Lauren Elkin’s Scaffolding suggests that total honesty can take a relationship only so far.
Latest
Mikael Siirilä Rachel Kushner’s Surprising Swerve
She and her narrators have always relied on swagger—but not this time.
Illustration by Sarah Mazzetti When Victimhood Takes a Bad-Faith Turn
Wronged explores how the practice of claiming harm has become the rhetorical province of the powerful.
Illustration by Najeebah Al-Ghadban. Source: Getty. The Woman Who Made America Take Cookbooks Seriously
Judith Jones edited culinary greats such as Julia Child and Edna Lewis—and identified the pleasure at the core of traditional “women’s work.”
Landon Nordeman / Trunk Archive When Your Every Decision Feels Torturous
Neel Mukherjee’s new novel explores the reality that no choice—particularly as a parent—is perfect.
Illustration by Matteo Giuseppe Pani. Source: Getty. The Impossible Fight to Live the Life You Want
In Lisa Ko’s ambitious, messy novel, characters go to extreme lengths in search of a purposeful existence.
Illustration by Najeebah Al-Ghadban for The Atlantic Lunch at the Polo Club
A short story
Martin Parr / Magnum A Grim View of Marriage—And an Exhortation to Leave It
This American Ex-Wife vividly describes the liberating power of a divorce but falters when it tries to persuade readers to follow suit.
Arsh Raziuddin The Perfect Antidote to an Age of Angsty Literature
The spiky, unsentimental writings of Diana Athill refuse to romanticize emotional discontent.
Steve Pyke / Getty The Joyful, Punk World of Plant-Based Eating
Alicia Kennedy’s new book is a paean to a life without meat. But she’s driven more by curiosity than a desire to convert her readers.
Illustration by Molly Fairhurst for The Atlantic
