Bud Powell should be a household name
He cherished the few joys in his life and celebrated them through his innovative approach to the piano
Books and Arts
Thursday
Böcklin brings out the dead
A Swiss Symbolist haunted by the beyond
This month in culture: October 2024
Our staff picks what to watch out for this October
Monday
Twenty years on from Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell
Since its publication in September 2004, Susanna Clarke’s novel has sold millions of copies worldwide
Giles Milton retells the story of the Grand Alliance as a cinematic thriller
In the hands of a less skilled writer, The Stalin Affair could easily have been rather dull
The peculiar appeal of ‘sad-girl literature’
Prose style matters less than access to toxic love, pain and suffering… and a light smattering of suicide and violent death
Examining children’s literature and its enduring worth
One of The Haunted Wood’s great strengths is Sam Leith’s awareness of just how important children’s literature is
Creation Lake is one of the best books of the year
Creation Lake is a book about how humans deal with what is deemed to be Other
Jane Thynne pulls off a new kind of spy novel
Midnight in Vienna channels the ominous parallels between the present-day rise of fascism in Europe and America with what happened in 1938
In the studio with Merche Gaspar
‘People seek me out because I do things in a certain way’
The life of David Sylvester
The art critic was the master of being in the right place at the right time and with the right people
This month in culture: September 2024
What to watch this September
Thursday
A superbly written and insightful account of the contemporary American military
General McKenzie’s fine memoir is a rich and powerful testament to the qualities that our best military commanders bring to their service to the nation
A compelling and evocative biography of the redoubtable Mrs. Mandelbaum
Margalit Fox brings the period to life by providing sharply drawn cameos of a supporting cast of colorful characters
Pat Nixon, ambassador of goodwill
In a new biography of the former First Lady, Heath Hardage Lee attempts to uncover the real woman
James Shapiro’s timely account of the rise and fall of an influential public theater
The Playbook is a dramatic tale, full of overreaching ambition, dastardly plots, embattled heroes and last-minute reversals
A new and compelling study of the life of the iconic rebel Nat Turner
Anthony Kaye seeks to reframe the life of the famous slave rebel in the context of his religious beliefs
Devil in the detail
How do we recognize the real manifestation of evil in the world? Two new books set out to answer this question and prove that it is a timely one
The Jedermann, the myth, the legend
Adapting Hugo von Hofmannsthal’s play in Salzburg
A new adaptation of The Great Gatsby is enrapturing and impressive
The songs explode. The passion overwhelms. It’s opulent when it needs to be, fun when it needs to be, and intoxicating