American Literature
Bret Easton Ellis — the enfant terrible who finally grew up
How he at last lived up to his promise
Remembering an “effervescently affable man”
Kurt Vonnegut at 100
Medicalising art
Literature needs better friends
In arcadia ego
Finite life and Infinite Jest
Size isn’t necessarily substance
Gatsby aside, F. Scott Fitzgerald — the Jazz-Age chronicler — is dispensable
Bad bets by the Booker
In 2021, is the state of the Booker still “not serious stuff”?
Ripley returns
Rejoice, Ripley is back! But why are we so drawn to Patricia Highsmith’s anti-hero?
A nuclear nothing?
Is Russia’s new nuclear doctrine hot air, or an explosive new factor in world affairs?
BoJo’s Life of Johnson
Exclusive extracts of perhaps the best autobiography by a former Conservative prime minister called Boris
Riddle of the Pylons
Intrigue, invasion and romance blossom in Lincolnshire
Embrace your inner exile
How can we appreciate art in alienating times?
The odd world of Peter Oborne
How has a far-sighted conservative commentator fallen so far?
The price of victory
Benjamin Netanyahu has won battles, but there is no foreseeable end to the war
Stubbs at flay
His controlled charnel house gave the painter a peerless understanding of horses
Hatred without end
A year on from October 7th, mutual dehumanisation and refusal of moral responsibility characterises our “debate” over the Gaza war
The attractions of extremes
Are we going to become ever more passive consumers of other people’s thoughts and memories?
The professional classes don’t understand manual work
They cannot understand distinctions between different kinds of labour
The case for duelling
A Modest Proposal: If yes to assisted suicide, then why not duelling?
