The loss of a loved one is one of the most devastating events in human life, and this is especially true when the loss is unexpected. Megan Devine discovered this when she witnessed the tragic drowning of her partner in the summer of 2009. In the wake of this traumatic accident, Devine realized that her [...]
There can be no doubt that Elena Ferrante’s Neapolitan Novels comprise one of the great literary masterpieces of the early 21st century. Even so, the end of this series left me numb, enervated to the point of apathy. It’s hard to tell if my reaction is the aberrant result of a desolate narrative’s collision with the very [...]
Claire North’s The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August is the fantastical tale of a man with a peculiar affliction––or a gift, depending on your point of view. Harry August is born a British citizen in 1919, lives an undistinguished life as a groundskeeper, and dies seventy years later. But instead of entering an afterlife or [...]