Ken Dodd, Stockhausen and Psycho: unlocking Paul McCartney’s musical genius
When I was asked to collaborate with the former Beatle on a book, I gained a unique insight into the creative process behind the band’s biggest hits, writes Pulitzer-prize winning poet Paul Muldoon
May 2016
Books blog
Follow the breadcrumbs: why fairytales are magic for modern fiction
Breaking the conventions of literary and genre storytelling, these narratives have appealed to writers from Angela Carter to Helen Oyeyemi
January 2016
A book to share
Forty Stories by Donald Barthelme – serious frivolity
To give somebody these genre-bending short stories is to bestow on them a new sense of fiction’s possibilities
December 2015
Books blog
Which books cheer you up?
Today is Winter Solstice, the shortest day of the year – so we’re on the look-out for books to beat the winter blues. Here are some that warmed us over at the Books desk. But what are yours?
January 2013
Tenth of December by George Saunders – review
Acclaimed for his stories of small-town America, Saunders' first collection for six years delivers all we expect, but nothing new, writes David Wolf
April 2009
Books blog
A brief survey of the short story part 16: Donald Barthelme
Chris Power: Too often dismissed a tricksy postmodernist, his stories pair their formal games with a powerful engagement with real life and an unforgettable wit
March 2009
From the New York Review of Books
How He Wrote His Songs
Review: Hiding Man by Tracy Daugherty That Daugherty has put the suspense to use is an amazing and rare accomplishment, says Lorrie Moore
June 2007
Books blog
Writing the American way
From Twain to DeLillo, when it comes to narrative prose, American novelists lead the field. The language of Shakespeare and Milton has evolved into a tougher, smarter beast on the other side of the pond.
