Characters, as a rule, should possess agency. They must be capable of changing the course of the plot, of meeting conflict, or else they’re just...

There are novels, and there are anthropological studies, and then there are books that are a curious mixture of the two. Sometimes, they are fictional...

There are a few things in life that are supposed to be sacrosanct, and one of those things is that parents should love their children and devote themselves...

When we previously considered the role of narrative voice in fiction, we left out one of the biggies—one in which, if you think about it, there is...

Nora Ephron wrote her truth. She shared the daily horrors and joys of being a particular type of woman (opinionated, intelligent, neurotic, wanting her pie...

Maria Semple’s Where’d You Go, Bernadette is newly out in paperback, and the cover is emblazoned with reasons you should read it, but the one that sold...