New Fiction by Margaret Atwood—Wesley Brown’s “Tragic Magic”—Charlotte Brontë

Plus: Susan Abulhawa’s “Against the Loveless World,” and Hilton Als on Alice Neel. View in browser | Update your preferences Fiction “Old Babes in the Wood” “My heart is broken, Nell thinks. But in our family we don’t say, ‘My heart is broken.’ We say, ‘Are there any cookies?’ ” By Margaret Atwood This Week in Fiction Margaret Atwood on Loss and Memory The author discusses “Old Babes in the Wood,” her story from the latest issue of the magazine. By Deborah Treisman Fiction “Ladies’ Lunch” If you liked “Old Babes in the Wood,” we think you will enjoy this story, from 2017. By Lore Segal Newsletters Sign Up for The New Yorker’s Food Newsletter Get essays on food, restaurant reviews, and notes for the kitchen, all delivered to your in-box. Essays & Criticism Second Read The Vital Wisdom of Wesley Brown’s “Tragic Magic” The 1978 novel, championed by Toni Morrison, is a vibrant riff on Blackness, manhood, and jazz. By Ismail Muhammad Under Review Rewriting the Story of the Palestinian Radical In “Against the Loveless World,” Susan Abulhawa presents a tale that has less to do with ideology than with the way love binds us to land. By Rozina Ali On This Day Books The Sublimely Inaccurate Portrait of the Brontë Sisters Charlotte Brontë, at 21 years old, showed all the signs of a young writer’s frustration: she was angry at herself for remaining unknown and angry at the world for its reluctance to know her. The author was born on this day in 1816. By Peter Ackroyd More from The New Yorker The Art World Alice Neel’s Portraits of Difference A retrospective at the Met shows the artist’s deep feeling for all that she is not. By Hilton Als The New Yorker Interview Liz Phair’s Songs of Experience The singer-songwriter talks about getting older, reaching into the past for her new record, and her home town of Chicago. By Amanda Petrusich You're receiving this e-mail because you signed up for Books & Fiction from The New Yorker. 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.