The Conundrum of Lucian Freud’s Portraits
How to assess an artist who was ruthless—and revealing—in work and life
Book Review
An 18th-Century Birthing Scam
Dexter Palmer’s third novel, about a fantastical medical hoax, doubles as an exploration of the age-old desire to believe the unbelievable.
Jefferson’s Doomed Educational Experiment
The University of Virginia was supposed to transform a slave-owning generation, but it failed.
Margaret Atwood Bears Witness
Over the course of her writing career, she has explored the power and limits of personal testimony in times of crisis.
The 19th-Century Feminist Novel Pushed Out of the Russian Canon
Karolina Pavlova’s A Double Life examines internalized oppression—and insists on the independence of the unconscious mind.
Thomas Edison’s Greatest Invention
It wasn’t the light bulb or the phonograph or the moving picture—or anything tangible. It was a way of thinking about technology.
Ways of Being
Three new books explore the variety of transgender experiences.
Debbie Harry Stares Back
The Blondie singer’s memoir, Face It, wryly recounts making the most of being ogled.
Deborah Levy’s Disorienting, Captivating Fiction
The British novelist’s wry books veer from concrete realism to fractured blends of dream and memory.
Neil Young’s Boring, Prophetic Message to Readers
The musician wrote his new book, To Feel the Music, the same way he makes records—according to a highly evolved aesthetic of half-assedness.