Books & Fiction: How Viet Thanh Nguyen Turns Fiction Into Criticism

Plus: Jia Tolentino on “The Life of the Mind”; A. E. Coppard’s forgotten stories; and new poetry from Emily Jungmin Yoon and Gregory Pardlo. View in browser | Update your preferences Books How Viet Thanh Nguyen Turns Fiction Into Criticism With “The Committed,” the novelist establishes himself as a conscience of American literature. By Jonathan Dee Essays & Criticism Under Review The Depressive Realism of “The Life of the Mind” Christine Smallwood’s début novel inhabits the abyss between what we think about and what we actually do. By Jia Tolentino Second Read A. E. Coppard’s Obtuse Male Protagonists The author’s marvellous, forgotten tales often center on a man’s inability to see into the heart of the one he loves. By Russell Banks Persons of Interest Alena Smith’s Subversive “Dickinson” The show seemed like a modern riff on a beloved poet. After two seasons, it looks more like a radical reading of the poems themselves. By Katy Waldman Books Briefly Noted “Nuestra América,” “Nobody’s Normal,” “Bina,” and “Popular Longing.” Newsletters Sign Up for the New Yorker Recommends Newsletter Discover what our staff is reading, watching, and listening to each week. Poetry Poems “Related Matters” “These days, everything feels like the end.” By Emily Jungmin Yoon Poems “Allegory” “I’d like to think / that, freed of self-hype, he realized his mask was not a shield.” By Gregory Pardlo The Writer’s Voice The Writer’s Voice: Fiction from the Magazine Souvankham Thammavongsa Reads “Good-Looking” The author reads her story from the March 1, 2021, issue of the magazine. On This Day Books John Steinbeck’s Great American Novel A 1939 review of “The Grapes of Wrath,” by John Steinbeck—who was born a hundred and nineteen years ago today—explores the novel’s radical depiction of life along Route 66. By Clifton Fadiman More from The New Yorker Performance Acting Black and White Onscreen Race as a performance in “Passing” and “The United States vs. Billie Holiday.” By Hilton Als The New Yorker Documentary Caring for Plants, and a Marriage, in “Noble Planta” Listening to your plants may be easier than listening to your loved ones, a short documentary about a long partnership, suggests. By Nathan Burstein You're receiving this e-mail because you signed up for . Was this e-mail forwarded to you? Sign up. Unsubscribe | Manage your e-mail preferences | Send newsletter feedback | View our Privacy Policy Copyright © Condé Nast 2021. One World Trade Center, New York, NY 10007. All rights reserved.