Parul Sehgal

An Appraisal

Joan Didion Chronicled American Disorder With Her Own Unmistakable Style

The generation-defining essayist and novelist was preoccupied with mythos — and gifted at fashioning her own.

Revisiting a Utopian City With Fondness and Fury

In “Better to Have Gone,” Akash Kapur writes about Auroville, a community in India founded by a Frenchwoman, where Kapur grew up and met his future wife.

‘Pessoa’ Is the Definitive and Sublime Life of a Genius and His Many Alternate Selves

Richard Zenith’s biography of the Portuguese poet, critic, translator, mystic and giant of modernism is a perceptive reading of the eccentric man and his abundant work.

When the ‘Change of Life’ Means It’s Time to Change Your Life

For the restless heroine of Dana Spiotta’s novel “Wayward,” menopause is reason enough to re-evaluate everything.

Critic’s Notebook

Yes, No, Maybe So: A Generation of Thinkers Grapples With Notions of Consent

Recent novels, philosophical inquiries, young adult and romance fiction, films and television shows join a robust academic literature to explore the term and its limits.

19 Lines That Turn Anguish Into Art

Elizabeth Bishop was a master at containing and concealing emotion, but her extraordinary poem “One Art” is a moving testament to loss.

A Lucid, Literary Illustration of the Complex, Beautiful Work of Memory

In “A Sense of Self,” the psychiatrist Veronica O’Keane flashes narrative skill in exploring the science and mystery of memory.

One Irish Poet Looks Back Three Centuries to Find Obsession and Inspiration in Another

In “A Ghost in the Throat,” Doireann Ni Ghriofa combines essay, biography and autofiction in writing about (and translating) a passionate 18th-century lament.

‘Shape’ Makes Geometry Entertaining. Really, It Does.

In his new book, Jordan Ellenberg explains how geometric thinking can allow for everything from fairer American elections to better pandemic planning.

A New Book Thinks Clearly and Creatively About Violence Against Women

In “On Violence and On Violence Against Women,” Jacqueline Rose roves widely to consider sexual harassment, Harvey Weinstein, political power, contemporary fiction and more.