Jonathan Franzen’s latest novel is a religious experience — radically so
Over the span of five novels, dropped every five years or so like stepping stones into the river of our national zeitgeist, Jonathan Franzen has taught his readers what to expect from him. His mode is so consistent that it’s become a brand: the granular depiction of domestic life filtered, via happenstance and the mechanics of plot, through the cultural concerns of whatever historical moment in which the book was written.
What brings us closer to Andre Gregory is what keeps us apart
Andre Gregory’s latest work is a memoir in the same way that “My Dinner With a Memoir” was a dinner.
Aaron Sorkin’s moralizing liberal fantasy betrays the real ‘Chicago 7’
“The Trial of the Chicago 7” turns out to be a passionate defense of the system its heroes are committed to overthrowing.
Can a white American Jew write a persuasive novel about Peru?
“You have to make sure that you are not substituting your voice and perspective for those of the people who really live these histories.”
Wallace Shawn Knows Exactly Who His Audience Is: You
In Wallace Shawn’s “Evening At The Talk House,” only a thin line separates characters from their audience.
Mr. Robot
‘Mr. Robot’ evokes the economic and culturally diverse reality of present-day New York City better than any art out there, in any form.
This is The Way We Need To Live in Trump’s America
The world is a broken place — Joshua Furst explains how we need to live in it.
Finding Beauty in ‘Indecent’ — a 110-Year-Old Play Set in Jewish Brothel
“Indecent,” based on controversial Sholem Asch play “God of Vengeance” has opened at the Vineyard Theater, exploring the greatest achievement and greatest failure in the history of Jewish theater. Joshua Furst weighs in.
Geeking Out on Primo Levi — and Elena Ferrante — With a Master Translator
Primo Levi’s complete works have recently been republished in a massive three-volume set overseen by master translator Ann Goldstein. Joshua Furst and Goldstein talk Levi’s relationship with his Jewishness and the difficulties of the act of translation itself.
When Art Poses a Challenge to the Orthodox
The Jewish Museum’s “Unorthodox” exhibition comprises 55 artists from a variety of cultural backgrounds. According to Joshua Furst, it also offers a rebuke and a challenge to mainstream Jewish thought.