Books
The Meaning of Slaughterhouse-Five, 50 Years Later
In the time since the publication of Kurt Vonnegut’s seminal novel, the work has never gotten old and it’s never waned in energy.
The Books Briefing: As the Good Book Says
Your weekly guide to the best in books
The Careful Craft of Writing Female Subjectivity
Territory of Light, Yuko Tsushima’s story of a single mother navigating ’70s Japan, exploded notions of autofiction by women as simply memoiristic.
How to Write Poetry About Conflict
In the late ’70s, Carolyn Forché traveled to El Salvador on the eve of its civil war, knowing little about the country. Crucially, she understood how little she knew.
The Books Briefing: The Literary Transformation of Climate Change
Your weekly guide to the best in books
The Art of Navigating a Family Political Discussion, Peacefully
It works best when both sides really try.
In his work for The Atlantic, W. S. Merwin often wrote about time slipping away and goals remaining just out of reach.
W. S. Merwin’s Poems of Ethical Care
The Pulitzer Prize–winning poet, who died last week at 91, found an enduring language to express his anguish at what human exploitation has done to the world.
I Spent My Life in Newsrooms—But in My Novels, Reporters Aren’t the Heroes
Journalists are in the business of finding facts and telling secrets, and these aren’t the acts that move a story of Washington intrigue forward.
How The Very Hungry Caterpillar Became a Classic
Eric Carle’s colorful story about metamorphosis remains a staple of baby showers and classroom bookshelves 50 years after its release.
Amy Hempel Is the Master of the Minimalist Short Story
Amy Hempel’s best short stories reveal how rich spareness can be.
The biology of mental illness is still a mystery, but practitioners don’t want to admit it.
Watching a neurosurgeon at work is awe- and cringe-inducing.
How Climate Change Has Influenced Travel Writing
A new book from Barry Lopez underscores how the genre has evolved as planetary conditions have worsened.
The Books Briefing: It Ain’t Over Till It’s Over
Your weekly guide to the best in books
The Curious Power of Giving Book Characters the Same Name
Leo Tolstoy did it. So did Gabriel García Márquez and the Tintin comics. Sometimes, the unusual literary device can amplify a story’s meaning tremendously.
The Books Briefing: What We Read About When We Read About Sports
Gooooooooooal! Your weekly guide to the best in books.
Introducing The Masthead’s new monthly book club.
The celebrity poet Letitia Elizabeth Landon mesmerized a 19th-century public with hints of dark secrets.
How Conflicts End—And Who Can End Them
A new book about the Troubles in Northern Ireland is a detective story about an unsolved murder. It’s also an examination of the cost of achieving peace.