New Fiction by Joy Williams—Saidiya Hartman Retells the History of Black Life—Martin Amis

Plus: the trends behind the fifty best-designed books of the year. View in browser | Update your preferences Fiction “Nettle” “He was no longer a child, scorched with sickness, a beloved. He was someone else, someone with no one.” By Joy Williams Fiction “Chaunt” If you liked “Nettle,” we think you will enjoy this story, from 2018. By Joy Williams Life and Letters Life and Letters How Saidiya Hartman Retells the History of Black Life The scholar’s provocative writing illuminates stories that have long gone untold. By Alexis Okeowo Essays & Criticism Books Martin Amis’s Turn to Autofiction The author’s new novel is not just drawn from his own life but structured with freewheeling digressions that mimic the experience of remembering the past. By Giles Harvey Judging a Book by Its Cover Who Isn’t a Sucker for a Foldout? The National Book Foundation’s Lisa Lucas and two fellow-jurors gather to discuss the fifty best-designed books of the year. By Katy Waldman More from The New Yorker The Current Cinema “Martin Eden” Lurches with Salty, Oceanic Appetites In a cooped-up age, the great escapes and far-off horizons of Jack London’s fiction feel resonant. By Anthony Lane A Critic at Large Rita Indiana’s Songs for the Apocalypse On her new album, the Dominican musician and novelist transforms this miserable moment into something defiant and danceable. By Daniel Alarcón This e-mail was sent to you by The New Yorker. To insure delivery, we recommend adding newyorker@newsletters.newyorker.com, to your contacts, while noting that it is a no-reply address. Please send all newsletter feedback to tnyinbox@newyorker.com. For more from The New Yorker, sign up for our newsletters, shop the store, and sign in to newyorker.com, where subscribers always have unlimited access. Contact us with questions. View our Privacy Policy Unsubscribe Copyright © Condé Nast 2020. One World Trade Center, New York, NY 10007. All rights reserved.