Lately, I’ve noticed a pattern in the novels I gravitate toward: the women at the centre of them are exhausted. Not poetically exhausted, but clinically, emotionally and sometimes strategically depleted. They’re overworked, undernourished, overstimulated or simply done with pretending life is manageable. But strangely, I find them compelling. Ottessa Moshfegh’s narrator in My Year of… Continue reading Why we’re obsessed with Exhausted Women in fiction
A house in Northern Massachusetts, with its vast and domineering landscape, is the prime mover of Daniel Mason’s ecological fiction North Woods. From this yellow home, constructed prior to the American War of Independence, the natural world unfolds and transforms the lives of its inhabitants. A Puritan couple, a passionate apple farmer and his life-bonded… Continue reading The Second Coming, again and again and again in North Woods
From Nazi Germany to the Pinochet regime in Chile, the burning of books has been a potent symbol of authoritarian control, cultural repression, and the systematic elimination of dissent. While the act of burning books might seem extreme, it is a deliberate and strategic move by fascist regimes to consolidate power and eliminate any threats… Continue reading Why fascists burn books — a history of censorship and control
Frankenstein, or, The Modern Prometheus, is an 1818 novel by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley. Set in the late 18th century, it follows scientist Victor Frankenstein’s creation of life and the terrible events that are precipitated by his abandonment of his creation. It is a Gothic novel in that it combines supernatural elements with horror, death and… Continue reading Frankenstein — how Mary Shelley’s sci-fi classic offers lessons for us today about the dangers of playing god
“In Book IX, Milton presents Adam and Eve’s harmonious relationship with the natural world as the clearest symbol of their prelapsarian innocence”. In light of this comment, and with close reference to relevant contexts, discuss Milton’s presentation of nature in Paradise Lost Book IX. Throughout Paradise Lost, the reader is made aware of Milton’s tendency… Continue reading Nature and nocuousness — an exploration of Milton’s presentation of prelapsarian Adam and Eve
The United States has become a nation divided over important issues in K-12 education, including which books students should be able to read in public school. Efforts to ban books from school curricula, remove books from libraries and keep lists of books that some find inappropriate for students are increasing as Americans become more polarised… Continue reading Is book banning in the US unconstitutional?
The social psychologist Jonathan Haidt’s new book The Anxious Generation delivers an urgent call for action. Haidt argues that the evidence is in. Teenagers’ widespread use of smartphones is causing a mental health crisis. Individual, collective and legislative action is required to limit their smartphone access. Haidt begins his book with an allegory. Imagine someone… Continue reading Have smartphones created an ‘anxious generation’? Jonathan Haidt sounds the alarm
James Joyce’s Ulysses, which turned 102 last February, is now central to the literary canon and features on university literature courses around the world. However, it was not always as revered as it is now. In fact, it was banned as obscene before it was first published as a complete novel, regarded as a work… Continue reading Why Ulysses was banned for being obscene
Secrecy has become as important for corporations as transparent and taxable profits used to be, according to Raymond W. Baker in his new book Invisible Trillions. Global capitalism, he argues, operates beyond the rule of law. This contributes to extreme inequality that threatens liberal democracy. Deals in the financial secrecy system account for half of… Continue reading Invisible Trillions — global capitalism operates beyond the rule of law and threatens democracy
A cultural critic rails against a society that worships celebrity and prizes images over ideas. A progressive intellectual attacks the dominance of corporate elites. A curmudgeonly academic condemns his society’s ignorance of its past and the dumbing down of public education. A psychologically astute writer explores the conflicts eddying around gender and sexuality. Who are… Continue reading Seer of the selfie — in the culture of narcissism, Christopher Lasch excoriated his self-absorbed society
