The Deflowered Revolutionary
<p>Nobel Prize winner Mario Vargas Llosa’s new novel, <i>The Dream of the Celt</i>, tells the story of Roger Casement—Irish diplomat, humanitarian, sexual predator—and his shocking fall—and why he deserves to be remembered.</p>
Without God But With Style
The Almighty made only occasional appearances at the contrarian's send-off. Max McGuinness salutes a writer and a revolutionary.
Was It That Way?
In his compelling new book about the Soviet Union, Francis Spufford blends fiction and history. Max McGuinness questions why historians have overlooked the historical imagination.
Letter from a Young Contrarian
A young contrarian, Max McGuinness, salutes a brilliant conversationalist, prodigious smoker, with surprisingly bourgeois virtues.
Can the Author Survive the Internet?
This past weekend the London Review of Books celebrated its 30th anniversary with a panel on the future of the author—and why Andrew Sullivan may give up his blog.
Alternative Irish Classics
Have you read Finnegan’s Wake? Well, then, you’re ready for these unjustly overlooked Irish writers. Max McGuinness on the greatest alternative Irish writers.