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Washington Square News

Books

An illustration of a female with green eyes lays down on white bedding. There is a pink frame around the image.

Review: ‘Cleopatra and Frankenstein’ tackles love and loneliness

NYU alum Coco Mellors’ “Cleopatra and Frankenstein” is a complex narrative of love, loss, trauma and companionship.
Aarna Dixit, Contributing Writer Mar 27, 2023

The recently released "Cleopatra and Frankenstein" by NYU alum Coco Mellor has taken social media by storm, particularly TikTok, where a hashtag for the book has garnered more...

An illustration of two women’s faces overlaid upon one another, with two pairs of half-closed lips visible. There are also illustrated black text bubbles, which read, “Closer baby closer,” and “Poems,” along with a white text bubble which reads “Savannah Brown.”

Review: The pain and beauty of modern intimacy in ‘Closer Baby Closer’

Savannah Brown’s third poetry collection is an exploration of the existential horror of knowing and being known. Fittingly released on Feb. 14, Brown’s newest title contains her most intimate work yet.
Stephanie Wong, Film & TV Editor Feb 14, 2023

Savannah Brown is 26 years old, and has already accumulated an impressive literary career. From her first collection, “Graffiti,” which features poems about adolescent fears,...

The cover of the book “I’m Glad My Mom Died” is centered in frame. Pink text against a light yellow background reads “I’m Glad My Mom Died.” The author’s name, “Jennette McCurdy,” is pink and outlined in black. At the center of the cover is a portrait of actor Jennette McCurdy, whose hair is tied up into a ponytail. She wears a pink dress and holds a pink urn against a pink background.

Review: ‘I’m Glad My Mom Died’ offers a new take on memoirs

“iCarly” comedian Jennette McCurdy lays everything bare in her debut novel.
Madeline Kane, Staff Writer Nov 4, 2022

Content warning: This article discusses eating disorders and sexual, physical and emotional abuse. Although broken interpersonal dynamics may be common when it comes to child...

Author Suad Amiry talks with Columbia University professor Edward Said in front of a classroom full of people at the Barnard Center for Research on Women in Columbia University.

Review: Suad Amiry’s ‘Mother of Strangers’ powerfully portrays Palestinian life

Based on a true story, “Mother of Strangers” tells the devastating love tale of Subhi and Shams in Jaffa during the end of British rule in Palestine.
Yezen Saadah, Staff Writer Oct 31, 2022

“Mother of Strangers: A Novel,” by Palestinian writer and architect Suad Amiry, powerfully portrays Palestinian life during the British Mandate — the period between 1918...

An illustration of the covers of three books by Deborah Levy against a light blue background. From left to right: “The Man Who Saw Everything,” “Hot Milk,” “An Amorous Discourse in the Suburbs of Hell.”

Reading Guide: Fall in love with Deborah Levy

Deborah Levy’s writing has the bittersweet simplicity of Hemingway and the intriguing strangeness of Murakami with a key element both authors lack: well-developed female characters.
Audrey Abrahams, Contributing Writer Oct 28, 2022

Deborah Levy’s fiction is bewitching and addictive. If schoolwork is leaving you with little free time, Levy’s short books are quick but impactful reads that are worth sparing...

Two feminine-presenting robotic figures pose against a light blue background.

Review: ‘Klara and the Sun’ examines humanity through the eyes of a machine

Kazuo Ishiguro's eighth novel explores individuality and human complexity through the unique perspective of Klara, an artificially-intelligent robot.
Rylee La Testa, Staff Writer Oct 4, 2022

Kazuo Ishiguro’s novel “Klara and the Sun,” the NYU Reads selection for the class of 2026, centers Klara — a curious and observant robot companion built to cure children...

A close-up shot of author Kazuo Ishiguro.

Q&A: Kazuo Ishiguro on Joni Mitchell, ‘War and Peace’ and the future of storytelling

Abby Wilson, News Editor Oct 4, 2022

Kazuo Ishiguro — winner of the 2017 Nobel Prize in Literature — is an author, musician and screenwriter who was born in Nagasaki, Japan, and raised in Britain. From “The...

An illustrated portrait of author Calum McCann in a black shirt and blue blazer against a light orange background.

Q&A: Colum McCann says ‘storytelling is the most democratic thing that we have’

In his novel “Apeirogon,” National Book Award winner Colum McCann writes about Palestine, and Irish literature beyond Ireland.
Natasha Roy, Contributing Writer Sep 29, 2022

Spoiler warning: This article may include spoilers for “Apeirogon.” Colum McCann is an Irish writer based in New York City. In 2009, he won the National Book Award for his...

Against a light purple background lie pink headphones, a yellow backpack, a pair of black boots, two books and a picture.

Staff Recs: Back to school

The Arts Desk spotlights some of their favorite artworks dealing with the highs and lows of college life.

School is back, the semester is anew. Perhaps you’re still not in the mood for four-hour lectures, bulky worksheets or reading theory. If that’s the case, we’ve got you covered...

An illustration of a baby lamb against a brown background.

Review: ‘Lapvona’ encapsulates abject apoliticism

As Ottessa Moshfegh’s trademark gallows humor grows formulaic, her newest novel does little more than snicker at a group of Slavic peasants.
Natasha Roy, Contributing Writer Sep 7, 2022

Everything about Ottessa Moshfegh’s newest novel, “Lapvona,” is noncommittal. It is set in a vaguely medieval era, in a vaguely Eastern European village, and espouses a completely...

A middle-aged woman holding the hand of a boy in the middle of a desert.

Review: In ‘Time is a Mother,’ Ocean Vuong explores grief through the prisms of time and space

Published on April 5, 2022, Ocean Vuong’s new collection of writing situates the death of his mother within the remnants of memory and the potential of language.
Katherine Williams, Contributing Writer May 2, 2022

“I used to cry in a genre no one read,” Ocean Vuong writes in “Time is a Mother,” his most recent collection of poetry and prose. One of the most critically acclaimed contemporary...

An illustration of a person wearing a black dress and black shoes, standing on what appears to be a piece of lined paper, looking out into a black abyss in which a pair of white eyes stares out.

Review: ‘In the Margins’ imagines writing without writers

Elena Ferrante’s new craft-based book demands that contemporary literature rely only on the merits of its prose.
Lillian Lippold, Contributing Writer Apr 18, 2022

As soon as any writer has made it in the literary scene, it seems that they immediately come out with a book about writing. From Stephen King to Ursula K. Le Guin, these works...