Is Cohabitation the Feminist Future?
Stories about women living together are proliferating—and offering alternative visions to the nuclear family.
Books
Introducing The Atlantic’s expanded books coverage: essays, criticism, fiction, poetry, and recommendations from our writers and editors
Peter Hujar’s Photos Are All the Rage. He’d Be Shocked.
A new biography brings the late photographer’s relationship with the artist Paul Thek to vivid life.
If You Want a Better World, Act Like You Live in It
We’ve had Henry David Thoreau the environmentalist, the libertarian, the life coach. To understand his influence, think of him first as a dissident.
The Publishing Mystery That No One Wants to Talk About
A minimally speaking autistic man just wrote a best-selling book. Or did he?
The Paradox of Modern Medicine
Testing has become so advanced that doctors now miss important elements of diagnosis.
What To Read
See All
Eight of the Most Fascinating Biographies to Read
Each is animated by the author’s love—for their subject, for language, and for pushing the boundaries of what the genre can do.
Six Books That Simply Must Be Talked About
These six books demand discussion—with a pal, a date, or a book club.
Nine Books to Reset Your View of the World
Each of these titles will widen your perspective, offering you original insight and vision.
Seven Books to Read When You Have No Time to Read
These titles are worth picking up, even if you have only a moment to spare.
Newsletter
The Books Briefing
Our culture editors’ weekly guide to the best in books.
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Fiction
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Scars
A short story
Fortunes
A short story
The Honor of the Layward Brothers
A short story
We Are Not One
A short story
A Novel With a Secret at Its Center
Read Yiyun Li’s new book carefully, and you might glimpse its hidden message.
Red Bathrobe
A poem for Sunday
Six Books That Music Lovers Should Read
Because music is uniquely tied up with memory, the best writing about it inevitably gets personal.
Hilary Mantel’s Art Was Infused With Her Pain
The death of the British novelist is occasion to remember her genius as well as the chronic illness that shaped her work.
What Book Bans Take From Kids
Children can prepare for the ups and downs of life by reading about them: Your weekly guide to the best in books
Xinjiang Has Produced Its James Joyce
And he’s now sitting in a prison camp.
The Widow’s Elegy
A poem for Wednesday
The Banned Books You Haven’t Heard About
When a book gets censored, it feels good to assume its sales will increase. But that’s not the whole story.
Understanding Your Past Won’t Liberate You
Gwendoline Riley’s novels raise a skeptical eyebrow at the promise of redemption through unlearning past trauma.
Hens
Published in The Atlantic in 2009