Why Animal Narrators Are All the Rage
A new novel helps explain why so many storytellers enlist animal narrators to explore humanity.
Books
Introducing The Atlantic’s expanded books coverage: essays, criticism, fiction, poetry, and recommendations from our writers and editors
The Revelatory Cringe of Anthony Fauci
The private notes of the man who oversaw COVID policy are deeply embarrassing—and surprisingly instructive.
The Most Interesting Part of Your Life
Forget starting over. In Valeria Luiselli’s new novel, it’s the messy middle of life that counts.
What Truly Imaginative Fiction Can Do
Can a novel capture the shock of planetary instability?
Why So Much Millennial Fiction Is Boring
The generation’s novels tend to focus on the flatness of modern life—but alienation doesn’t have to be dull.
What To Read
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Six Books That Take You to Space
You won’t even have to leave your couch.
What to Read to Really Understand Music
These memoirs, primers, and histories make up a captivating syllabus that will help explain what you hear.
Read These Books by the Time You Graduate
“Figuring things out” is a lifelong endeavor, but these titles offer inspiration for young adults finding their way.
Seven Death-Defying Books for the Adventurous Reader
These titles will spirit you to some of the planet’s wildest landscapes, without making you leave your armchair.
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The Books Briefing
Our culture editors’ weekly guide to the best in books.
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Fiction
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I Heard You Singing
A short story
The Wisdom of Holden Caulfield
Beneath all the alienation, The Catcher in the Rye, which turns 75 this year, has a surprisingly hopeful—and ethical—outlook.
The Encounter
A short story
Dinah’s Hat
A short story
Kafka’s Most Entertaining Stories
The animal narrators in these works teach us something funny about human beings.
Why Animal Narrators Are All the Rage
A new novel helps explain why so many storytellers enlist animal narrators to explore humanity.
The Revelatory Cringe of Anthony Fauci
The private notes of the man who oversaw COVID policy are deeply embarrassing—and surprisingly instructive.
Independence Day
A poem
The Most Interesting Part of Your Life
Forget starting over. In Valeria Luiselli’s new novel, it’s the messy middle of life that counts.
The Bible Belongs in the Classroom
Everywhere you look in American history, you will find the language, stories, and concepts from the Old and New Testaments.
What Truly Imaginative Fiction Can Do
Can a novel capture the shock of planetary instability?
Why So Much Millennial Fiction Is Boring
The generation’s novels tend to focus on the flatness of modern life—but alienation doesn’t have to be dull.
A Novel About the Benefits—And Costs—Of Being a Rebel
Dave Eggers’s career has long balanced two major impulses. In his new book, he lets them wrestle on the page.
The Crisis That Novelists Can’t Handle
Amitav Ghosh believes that climate change requires rethinking the novel. His new work of fiction fails that standard.