book review | The Smart Set

Tom McCarthy: Mr. Modular

Jared Marcel Pollen — Mon, 06 Dec 2021 12:30:00 +0000

We are not inclined to think of the book as technology. Indeed, it seems utterly foreign to our modern conception of tech, an antique thing in an age of silicon and diode light. But make no mistake: bound, linear text is a technological medium, as is the medium upon which it’s based — the phonetic […]

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An Elegy for the Working Class

Rhoda Feng — Mon, 22 Nov 2021 12:30:00 +0000

Before COVID drew a curtain over Broadway, the Public Theater in New York produced an improbable play about a real-life tragedy. Billed as a work of documentary theater, Coal Country told the story of a deadly explosion that tore a hole through the Upper Big Branch Mine and the lives of families in Montcoal, West […]

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Prevalent Protagonists

Lynn Levin — Fri, 18 Jan 2019 14:13:01 +0000

A master of the American short story, Richard Burgin has, over the years, haunted us with a range of lonely, neurotic, occasionally criminal, yet weirdly sympathetic characters. Now in A Thousand Natural Shocks, we have a collection of Burgin’s greatest hits plus a few new tales, thanks to the astute selections of editor Joseph D. […]

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Lost Time

Melinda Lewis — Fri, 11 Jan 2019 12:30:43 +0000

During an undergraduate English seminar, our professor got frank with us about her multiple miscarriages. It wasn’t completely out of sorts — the seminar was centered around the body and we had spent a lot of time with the concept of madness as elucidated by Elaine Showalter in The Female Malady. After more than 10 […]

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The Yunique Yuichi

Chris Mautner — Mon, 16 Oct 2017 11:30:12 +0000

No one on the globe is making comics like Yuichi Yokoyama. That seems like a foolish thing to say — after all, I haven’t tracked down every cartoonist on the planet to do a comprehensive compare/contrast analysis — but I feel like it’s a pretty safe bet nevertheless. Completely unconcerned with the conventional aspects of […]

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My Hero, Satan

Stephen Akey — Wed, 26 Oct 2016 12:00:56 +0000

My hero is fearless, proud, resolute, farseeing, self-sacrificing, and profoundly engaged in the struggle against tyranny and oppression. He’s also several hundred feet tall (when he wants to be), does celestial cartwheels when flying between the earth and sun, can turn into a cormorant when occasion arises, and despite his onerous responsibilities as a leader […]

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Jonathan Franzen is Worse Than Prison

Maren Larsen — Fri, 23 Oct 2015 15:56:45 +0000

If you were stuck in 23-hour daily lockdown in a federal prison, you might think a book would be a most welcome companion. You might think it would take a lot to make you despise that book. But Barrett Brown begs: “Stop sending me Jonathan Franzen novels.” (The Intercept) Imagine Gregor Samsa from The Metamorphosis. […]

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Vegetaballs

The Smart Set Staff — Thu, 01 Oct 2015 18:03:37 +0000

If you’ve lately been thinking about becoming a vegetarian, today might be just the day to make the switch. It’s World Vegetarian Day! In case you need just a bit more reason to give up bacon and steak, we brought back Stefany Anne Golberg’s piece on brutal vegetarianism. I offer an outline for an Eating […]

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The Wise Men (and Women!)

Jessa Crispin — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 16:12:43 +0000

Since the age of the Druids, bees have been a symbol of wisdom. The Greeks and the Celts used the symbolism as well, as did cultures in India and Egypt, Sumerian mythology, and Christianity. Bees were the symbols of sun gods, earth goddesses, and the Virgin Mary. In the Jewish story, Deborah — whose name […]

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Plotting Along

Jessa Crispin — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 16:12:43 +0000

Every year when the Orange Prize announces its longlist, or its shortlist, or its jury members, or an anniversary, or is mentioned in the press, people start to write long opinion pieces about the sad state of women’s fiction. This year’s award will be announced next week, and we’ve been enduring months of such complaints. […]

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