Beyond all its virtuosity and shine, James Merrill’s writing style always had a canny, wry and often mensch-like grasp of human nature.
Literature
Posted inArts & Culture, Books
Review: Tola Rotimi Abraham traces interior universes in her debut novel
Tola Rotimi Abraham is from Lagos, Nigeria. She writes this, her debut novel, with one foot placed in the intimate and communal confines of Lagos and the other inside her characters’ heads.
Posted inArts & Culture, Books
Review: A murder mystery with a twist of Greek tragedy and myth
Alex Michaelides’s new novel is a taut and diligently plotted detective story, entertaining as well as readable in a single sitting.
Posted inArts & Culture, Books
Review: How to apply principles of economics to parenting
Emily Oster’s new book wades through the data on questions relevant to many parents of school-age kids. But the book is less about the data itself and more about how to frame decisions on these topics and others in the most effective, logical and efficient way.
Posted inArts & Culture, Catholic Book Club
Love him or hate him, Jonathan Franzen sparks conversation
Jonathan Franzen remains among the select few novelists who can vie for a Pulitzer Prize and the top spot on best-seller lists every time out of the gate. His new novel might win him both.
Posted inArts & Culture, Of Many Things
A literary garden: Welcome to Fall Books 2021
Twice a year we publish an extra issue of America dedicated to books and all things literary; one in planting season and one at harvest time.
Posted inArts & Culture, Last Take
Saints and sinners alike: My Catholic upbringing in Las Vegas
I have spent my entire career attempting to pay homage to (and in a deeper sense, to keep alive) all the incredible characters of my Catholic-kid-in-Las Vegas life.
Posted inArts & Culture, Books
The grace of a good priest: Neil Connolly and the South Bronx’s resurrection story
Angel Garcia tells the story of the Rev. Neil Connolly, a priest with a deep faith in his parishioners, who carried their faith from the mountains of Puerto Rico to the streets of the Bronx.
Posted inArts & Culture, Books
Review: Has the Catholic Church in Ireland learned anything from the testimonies of abuse survivors?
In his portrait of a once ultra-devout country undergoing rapid spiritual decline, Derek Scally paints a vivid picture of Irish indifference toward the church.
Posted inArts & Culture, Books
Review: Fame, fortune and falls from grace in the 1960s music scene
In his new book, British novelist David Mitchell affirms the irreducible and vivifying goods of the human soul.