Randon Billings Noble

5/7/18

The personal is political in Michelle Tea’s raw new essay collection

In previous memoirs like The Chelsea Whistle and How To Grow Up, Michelle Tea brilliantly captured the seething…

12/4/17

<i>The A.V. Club</i>’s favorite books of 2017

The A.V. Club’s favorite books of 2017

Something about this year made reading books feel not just crucial, but a little bit transgressive. Maybe it’s the…

2/20/17

From Victorian England to the Women’s March, women taking to the street is political

Flâneuse is a book about a woman walking through cities. But it is also about reading and writing, seeing and being…

10/10/16

Not all is as it seems in Margaret Atwood’s earthy adaptation of <i>The Tempest</i>

Not all is as it seems in Margaret Atwood’s earthy adaptation of The Tempest

Hag-Seed is the latest offering from Hogarth Shakespeare, a series that takes Ben Jonson’s quote “He was not of an…

9/12/16

A fetus narrates Ian McEwan’s retelling of <i>Hamlet</i>

A fetus narrates Ian McEwan’s retelling of Hamlet

The title Nutshell comes from Hamlet: “Oh, God, I could be bound in a nutshell and count myself king of infinite…

6/27/16

<i>The Taming Of The Shrew </i>retelling <i>Vinegar Girl</i> could use more of the original’s bite

The Taming Of The Shrew retelling Vinegar Girl could use more of the original’s bite

Anne Tyler’s Vinegar Girl is a retelling of Shakespeare’s The Taming Of The Shrew, the latest in the Hogarth…

5/9/16

Louise Erdrich’s LaRose is everything you want a novel to be

Louise Erdrich’s latest novel, LaRose, begins with tragedy: Landreaux Iron, an Ojibwe man, is carefully stalking a…

3/28/16

A Loaded Gun takes aim, but Emily Dickinson can’t be pinned down

Readers who are familiar—very familiar—with Emily Dickinson will find much to ponder in Jerome Charyn’s A Loaded…

2/1/16

My Name Is Lucy Barton is quiet, powerful, and elusive

My Name Is Lucy Barton begins by looking back: “There was a time, and it was many years ago now, when I had to stay…

1/11/16

In Navel Gazing, Michael Ian Black takes a hard look at the middle-aged body, and laughs

Who wants to read a book that examines someone’s belly button lint? If it’s Michael Ian Black’s—whether or not…

12/14/15

Mad Men Unzipped reports on—but doesn’t control—the conversation

When you put “Unzipped” in a title, you promise something sexy, something not often seen, something that could be…

12/9/15

Our favorite books of the year

After a stellar year for the written word, The A.V. Club provides some of our favorite books for your consideration…

12/3/15

The latest adaptation of Frankenstein fails to bring the original creature to life

The movie Victor Frankenstein opens with the line “You know the story.” But do you? Mary Shelley’s novel has been…

9/21/15

Cat Is Art Spelled Wrong explores the cat videos you spend so much time watching

On the back cover of Cat Is Art Spelled Wrong is a tweet by Joyce Carol Oates, riffing on Allen Ginsberg’s poem Howl:

9/14/15

Fates And Furies explores marriage with a satisfying, unsettling story

I read Fates And Furies in a day. I meant to read maybe a chapter or two, but I read all the way though until nearly…

8/17/15

Dear Mister Essay Writer Guy takes questions from writers to instruct and amuse

The very first page of Dear Mister Essay Writer Guy acknowledges a reader’s potential uncertainty and sets the tone…

5/4/15

The Argonauts interrogates identity in a smart blend of theory and story

I knew the myth about Jason and the Argonauts and their quest for the Golden Fleece, but I didn’t know anything…

3/9/15

Ongoingness marks The End Of A Diary but embarks on a new way of thinking

Sarah Manguso’s new book Ongoingness: The End Of A Diary is both about and not about a lot of things: birth,…

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