Is a Kevin Spacey comeback possible?
The actor is not going to disappear into the shadows quietly
Books & Arts
The value — and worthlessness — of contemporary art
Should you spot a binder full of explanatory word salad at the entrance to an art exhibition, take it as a red flag
Once Upon a One More Time is pat, prepackaged feminism
Authorized by Spears herself, the show revamps the tale of Cinderella, weaving in Britney’s own repertoire of songs
A diverting but unsurprising new history of the Astor clan
There is a fine, perceptive book to be written about the Astors and their influence, but Astor: The Rise and Fall of an American Fortune is not it
Bernie Taupin is more than just ‘Elton John’s lyricist’
The songwriter’s book is free of sentimental clutter, but it would take a heart of stone not to be moved by the takeaway message
An admirable but flawed new biography of George Eliot
The Marriage Question shows us a woman fragmented
Emily Carroll’s new graphic novel plays on our deepest fears
A Guest in the House is a beautifully plotted study of the madness of isolation, steeped in the tropes of fairy tale and horror
Taylor Lorenz is optimistic about the internet
Extremely Online is mostly a story about money
Christopher Rufo’s new book is impressively erudite
America’s Cultural Revolution marks Rufo as an important, deeply knowledgeable thinker
The lamentable rise of VFX in horror films
CGI is no substitute for glue, tape and ketchup