How Could You Like That Book?

Curiosities
November 13, 2015 | 1

“On the other hand, I do spend endless hours mulling over the mystery of what others like. Again and again the question arises: How can they?” Tim Parks asks us why we enjoy reading what we read at The New York Review of Books. For Millions readers’ favorites, check out October’s Top 10.

is an intern for The Millions. She is the managing editor of Concrete Literary Magazine at Emerson College, where she is pursuing a BA in Writing, Literature, and Publishing. She tweets at @Cara_DuBois.

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One comment:

  1. Tim Parks (“How Could You Like That Book?” NYR Daily, Nov 10, 2015) writes:

    “Could this be the function, then, or at least one important function of fiction: to make us aware of our differences? To have our contrasting positions emerge in response to these highly complex cultural artifacts? […]

    If this is the case, then, the important thing would be, first, really to understand one’s own reaction, to observe it with great care; and, second, to articulate it honestly, without any fudging for fear that others might disagree.”

    It makes me want to throw bags of cash at him.

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Curiosities

The Two Philip Roths

Curiosities
February 6, 2015

“As time passed, I realized the Philip Roth I’d known before the two documentaries we ended up doing was in the process of transformation. The Roth I’d known for many years was an obsessively committed writer who, in the terrifying limbo between one book and another, could fall victim to a storm of depression or be spent to the point of looking as if his blood had been drained from his veins… This Philip Roth seemed to be discovering new, unexpected pleasures in life, like spending time in bed reading in the morning or inviting friends to his home to share with him the meals prepared each night by his newly hired, young and lovely cook.” Livia Manera Sambuy writes about her friendship with Philip Roth for The Believer. Pair with Gabriel Roth‘s recent guide to “everything you need to know” about the elder Roth’s oeuvre.

Curiosities
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