IRON KINGDOM
A bookish 15-year-old stumbles into weight training and body building, and undergoes a metamorphosis from twerp to titan, learning a lot about himself along the way.
William Giraldi is author of the novels Busy Monsters and Hold the Dark, and is a contributing editor at The New Republic. His newest book is a memoir, The Hero's Body.
They’re Baaack
At times of unease, we turn to sci fi, so it’s no surprise that The X-Files is back for six new episodes, spreading its odd gospel of old myths in alien clothing.
GAME OF CLONES
Every author welcomes praise, but what’s a writer to do when readers persist in comparing him to an another author he’s not even that crazy about?
Useless
In the wake of the Santa Barbara shootings, a father asks if we will persist in our apathetic handwringing until our own children are the victims.
In an age of inane Twitter commentary, “likes,” and instant publication, one of the few critics standing athwart our culture and writing serious criticism is James Wolcott. A salute to his new collection of essays by William Giraldi.
Terry Eagleton
William Giraldi on how critic Terry Eagleton escaped his Marxism long enough to write a book about reading that’s well worth reading.
Awfully Worded
Evil, senseless, silver linings—these are the words we tossed around last week. But William Giraldi asks: what do we really mean by them?
PURSUIT
What if what we’re seeking should be the pursuit of happiness? William Giraldi on America’s unhappy quest.
Last month when William Giraldi negatively reviewed a new novel, he found himself in the midst of a storm about the role of criticism today. Here, he explains what critics should be doing.
For a generation Lionel Trilling was the only critic that mattered as a new book by Adam Kirsch explains. By William Giraldi.