At New York Magazine, Russian-born Michael Idov reflects on the few years he returned to Moscow to edit the Russian edition of GQ, beginning in 2011. He was surprised by the culture of cynicism he encountered — a response to constant deceit and crushing autocracy under Vladimir Putin. And he wonders whether a similar lack of trust and sense of defeat are in store for the U.S. under Trump.
New York
Posted inEditor's Pick
Cat Marnell is Still Alive
An insightful profile of Cat Marnell, author of the new memoir, How to Murder Your Life, a writer and beauty editor perhaps best known for the self-destructive tendencies that cost her various high-profile jobs and landed her frequently in rehab. Author Emily Gould casts Marnell as more together than many give her credit for, and […]
Posted inEditor's Pick
Considering the Novel in the Age of Obama
Have “postmodern” and “postwar” have become outmoded as classifications for novels? Lorentzen suggests it’s more useful to look at trends in fiction relative to the administration they were released under. During Obama’s, he says, novelists looked to answer questions of authenticity. During Trump’s, he anticipates dystopian narratives.
Posted inNonfiction, Quotes
Elizabeth Gilbert on Putting Her Privilege to Work
Discussing how privilege factors into Gilbert’s story and success.
Posted inNonfiction, Quotes
How Author Helen DeWitt Uses Language to Address the Problems In Her Life
In New York magazine, Christian Lorentzen has an interview with Helen DeWitt, author of The Last Samurai and Lightning Rods. Owing to a combination of misfortunes, misunderstandings and publishing-related snags, the critically acclaimed novelist has been perennially broke. But, despite a history of brushes with suicide, she has a secret weapon against letting life’s problems get […]
Posted inNonfiction, Quotes
Can Clinton’s Campaign Take Control of the Narrative in Time?
Rebecca Traister’s profile of Hillary Clinton, written after unprecedented campaign access, tries to reconcile the stereotypes with the woman.
Posted inBooks, Nonfiction
Postwar New York: The Supreme Metropolis of the Present
Forty labor strikes on one day, French existentialists on the loose, and a 50-foot G.I. blowing enormous puffs of REAL smoke.
Posted inBooks, Nonfiction, Story
Postwar New York: The Supreme Metropolis of the Present
Forty labor strikes on one day, French existentialists on the loose, and a 50-foot G.I. blowing enormous puffs of REAL smoke.
Posted inNonfiction, Reading List, Top 5
The Top 5 Longreads of the Week
Our favorite stories of the week, featuring San Francisco Chronicle, The New Republic, The New Yorker, Wired and New York Magazine.
Posted inNonfiction, Reading List, Top 5
The Top 5 Longreads of the Week
The best stories of the week, as chosen by the editors of Longreads.