Literature

Literary Desire

After being displaced by detachment and suspicion, aesthetic pleasure may be making a comeback in criticism. Continue Reading »

27 Jul 2017

Theology of the Booty

by Eve Tushnet

Carmen Boullosa’s They’re Cows, We’re Pigs transforms a pirate adventure into a gripping meditation on utopia, embodiment, and brotherhood. Continue Reading »

24 Jul 2017

Books Versus Screens

by K. E. Colombini

Does the rise of screens spell extinction for books? Continue Reading »

12 Jul 2017

Befriending Geoffrey Chaucer: A Review

by Doug Sikkema

Amidst Chaucer's satire lies a profound vision of the Church for the Church. Continue Reading »

5 Jul 2017

The Summer Reading List

by George Weigel

In honor of classic Catholic education, some summer reading possibilities. Continue Reading »

28 Jun 2017

The Universal Russian Soul

by Nathan Nielson

Hidden beneath contemporary Russian nationalism is an old aspiration to embrace all humanity. Rekindling it will soften Russia’s presence on the world stage. Continue Reading »

6 Jun 2017

“All my brothers went West and took up land, but I hung on to New England and I hung on to the old farm, not because the paint mine was on it, but because the old house was on it—and the graves.” That’s what Silas Lapham tells a Boston journalist in the opening scene of William Dean . . . . Continue Reading »

1 Jun 2017

Slouching Toward Vegas

by Richard T. Whittington

In South and West, her newly published notes from 1970, Didion checks into a series of motels on her trek across the Gulf South, a region sunk in history. Continue Reading »

9 May 2017

Empson in the East

by David Bentley Hart

The Face of the Buddhaby william empsonedited by rupert arrowsmithoxford, 208 pages, $49.95 William Empson (1906–1984) was not, as he is frequently said to have been, an “important critic,” but only because there is no such thing. By the same token, neither was he a unicorn, a square circle, . . . . Continue Reading »

1 May 2017

Disincarnate Christ

by Gabriel Torretta

Silence by shūsaku endōforeword by martin scorsesepicador, 256 pages, $16 Silencea film directed by martin scorseseparamount, 161 minutes, $19.99 Vincent Shiozuka’s life was a failure. Raised Christian in Japan, he fled to Manila in 1614 to avoid the growing Christian persecution in his native . . . . Continue Reading »