Books Briefing
Our culture editors’ weekly guide to the best in books. Sign up for the newsletter here.
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David Avazzadeh / Connected Archives The Place of Politics in Fiction
Should novelists write the world as it is or as it should be?
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Lawrence Alma-Tadema / Buyenlarge / Getty A Delightfully Frenetic Cult Classic
Chloe Caldwell’s Women revolves around a life-altering yet toxic affair.
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Illustration by Jonelle Afurong / The Atlantic. Sources: … Thinking About Divorce in a New Way
Haley Mlotek’s new memoir finds a fresh way to talk about the dissolution of a marriage.
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Jakub Schikaneder / Fine Art Images / Heritage … The Fantasy of a More Neighborly Past
Sun City offers evidence that Americans’ widespread isolation began long before they became absorbed in their phones.
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Heritage Images / Getty A New, Unbearably Honest Kind of Writing
Two authors’ memoirs attempt to communicate intensely isolating experiences to readers.
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Illustration by Matteo Giuseppe Pani / The Atlantic. … Why Contemporary Fiction Loves Analog Tech
In Catherine Airey’s new novel, a young person’s curiosity about a life lived without social media or streaming is deployed to superb effect.
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Illustration by Akshita Chandra / The Atlantic. Source: … What to Read in the Face of Disaster
Can any writer offer useful wisdom when ash rains over a metropolis?
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Fine Art / Getty How Does a Real Person Become a Character?
Two novels take different approaches to bringing the dead back to life.
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Silver Screen Collection / Getty Why We Celebrate When Copyright Expires
Every January 1 in the Books department, we like to make an extra toast for a concurrent holiday: Public Domain Day.
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DeAgostini / Getty How ‘the End’ Helps Us Find New Beginnings
Contemplating death at the start of a new year
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Illustration by The Atlantic. Source: Getty. The Art Monster Under the Bed
Ella Baxter’s new novel reminds us that mediocrity is far more common than genius.
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Illustration by Ben Kothe / The Atlantic. Sources: … ‘It’s One of Those Infinite Time-Loop Situations You Might Have Heard About’
Solvej Balle’s series of novels brings up questions about physics, sustainability, and, yes, the meaning of life.
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Illustration by Ben Kothe / The Atlantic. Source: … In Defense of Lists
’Tis the season for best-of coverage.
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Illustration by The Atlantic. Sources: Achisatha Khamsuwan / … How Gen Z Came to See Books as a Waste of Time
Young people might be responding to a cultural message: Reading just isn’t that important.
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Michael Ochs Archives / Getty What a 16-Year-Old Doesn’t Yet Know
Cher’s memoir is a valuable document of a young girl thrust into the adult world.
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Ernst Haas / Getty What the Internet Age Is Taking Away From Writers
Authors tirelessly self-market online, but I find myself wishing that they still had the option to disappear.
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Illustration by The Atlantic. Source: Historic Collection / … The Century-Old Book With a Message for This Season
Thomas Mann’s The Magic Mountain offers a unique antidote to contempt and despair.
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Evgeny Feldman / AP What Americans Should Read Before the Election
Alexei Navalny’s memoir, in particular, reminds readers how crucial the freedoms to vote and dissent are.
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Illustration by Matteo Giuseppe Pani / The Atlantic The Least-Loved Type of Memoir
Political autobiographies are usually dreck, but some rise above their genre.
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Illustration by The Atlantic. Source: Getty. Who Owns an Idea?
Cases of loose inspiration or coincidental convergences in art can be fascinating, because they force us to rethink what originality really means.
