How Lore Segal Saw the World in a Nutshell
Whether in novels or her long-running book group, the émigré author, who died this week at 96, was driven by empathy above all.
Melania Really Doesn’t Care
Her new memoir is a master class in how selective attention and empathy can insulate someone from the pains that trouble the rest of us.
The Woman Who Would Be Steinbeck
John Steinbeck beat Sanora Babb to the great American Dust Bowl novel—using her field notes. What do we owe her today?
Six Books That Feel Like Watching a Movie
Writing can share the thrill of movies by dissolving the physical limitations of the page.
Alan Hollinghurst’s Lost England
In his new novel, the present isn’t much better than the past—and it’s a lot less sexy.
In Defense of Marital Secrets
Lauren Elkin’s Scaffolding suggests that total honesty can take a relationship only so far.
When a Friendship Changes Forever
Lauren Groff captures the precise moment when someone realizes their memories are theirs alone.
A Naked Desperation to Be Seen
In books about the aftermath of October 7, Israelis and Palestinians seek recognition for their humanity.
Expat Elegy
A poem for Sunday
The Knausgaard Book That Deserves More Attention
The author’s exploration of the art of Edvard Munch is moving and worthwhile.
You Are Going to Die
Oliver Burkeman has become an unlikely self-help guru by reminding everyone of their mortality.
Yuval Noah Harari Wants to Reclaim Zionism
Around the anniversary of October 7, a conversation about Israel, pain, and peace with the author of Sapiens
The Enlightenment Is Just One Side of the Story
In her latest novel, Olga Tokarczuk champions a world governed by myth, not reason.
Mutation: Factor V
A poem for Wednesday
The Journalist Who Cried Treason
Craig Unger’s career was nearly destroyed when he investigated a possible election conspiracy. Three decades later, he says he’s got the goods.
Knausgaard Gave You All the Clues
In his latest novel, the extreme realist dips into fantasy—and taps into the human hunger for meaning.
Amber
A poem published in The Atlantic in 2005
Millennials Are Worrying About Getting Old. Gen X Can Relate.
Despite the dichotomies pitting them against each other, more connects the generations than divides them.
Five Books That Conjure Entirely New Worlds
The best-written stories can make readers feel as if they have passed through mundane states of being and been brought over to another universe.
Malcolm Gladwell, Meet Mark Zuckerberg
The writer’s insistence on ignoring the web is an even bigger blind spot today than it was when The Tipping Point came out.