David Sedaris swapped an elf gig for the Upper East Side. His new book shows what that cost his humor.
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‘Blitz and Beyond’ captures the 80s fashion and music scene that dressed a generation
Blitz and Beyond captures the New Romantics the way they actually lived it: raw, gorgeous, and gone before anyone caught…
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In ‘John of John,’ Douglas Stuart returns to familiar and fertile territory
Douglas Stuart's “John of John” delivers a quietly devastating portrait of a father and son who struggle to tell their…
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What is art? What is crime? Colson Whitehead’s ‘Cool Machine’ lets its characters argue it out
Ray Carney returns for one last job in 'Cool Machine,' Colson Whitehead's gritty, funny finale to the Harlem Trilogy.
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In Ann Patchett’s ‘Whistler,’ a chance reunion never finds its footing
Ann Patchett's 'Whistler' promises a complex reunion and settles for a horse that means everything and two people who mean…
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Roshan Sethi’s ‘The Simp’ turns Hollywood into one long audition
Roshan Sethi's "The Simp" offers sharp Hollywood satire and perceptive social commentary, though its story never fully delivers.
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What queer communities owe each other, according to Max Hovey
Max Hovey's "No Fats, No Fems" challenges queer communities to examine the prejudice within. A candid, thought-provoking debut worth reading.
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The truth about being queer in the 90s can’t be found in a history book
My Bad: A Personal History of the Queer Nineties and Beyond by Hugh Ryan is a reckoning with the reality…
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In ‘Pretend You’re Dead and I Carry You,’ falling apart is just the beginning
Julián Delgado Lopera's Spanglish novel follows a travesti father and his teenage daughter through grief, curses, and chosen family in…
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What the water holds in Jesmyn Ward’s ‘On Witness and Respair’
Jesmyn Ward's debut essay collection is luminous and at times repetitive, but essential reading on Black Southern life.
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