As one of the most important authors of the 20th century, Philip Roth managed not only to establish a name for himself but to continue growing as a writer while producing novels at a breakneck pace, turning out one every fall for the past five years. This week sees the publication of Roth's 31st novel,
Nemesis, a welcome addition to the uncharacteristically dark material he's been producing for the past several years. The story,
assumed by critics to be at least a partial reflection on Roth's own mortality, follows the unraveling of a PE teacher named Bucky Cantor in the mid-1940s. Though Cantor manages to dodge both military service and polio, he is unable to escape the resulting demons, and the result is some of Roth's most compelling work yet.
Nemesis
hits shelves on Tuesday, October 5.
Francisco de Goya, Jusepe de Ribera, and Bartolomé Esteban Murillo are known as some of the greatest draftsmen, having developed their own idiosyncratic work often characterized as "Spanish manner." And beginning this week, the Frick will examine their technique and approach, along with the 17th-century artists who came before them, with a new exhibition featuring more than 50 drawings from both public and private collections. Twenty-two of Goya's sheets, mostly from private albums, will, for the first time, be presented in the context of his drafting predecessors. The show is the first in New York devoted entirely to the tradition of Spanish draftsmanship.
The Spanish Manner: Drawings from Ribera to Goya opens at The Frick on Tuesday, October 5 .
With her breakout hit,
The History of Love Nicole Krauss proved herself to be one of the most sensitive and adept storytellers working today, earning word of mouth that shot her to the top of bestseller and "best of the year" lists alike. Her latest outing,
Great House, proves that her success was anything but a fluke, and once again sees Krauss effortlessly intertwining the stories of different characters as their paths move closer together, this time connected by a cumbersome desk that finds its way into their various homes. Easily one of the most anticipated books of the fall, Krauss doesn't disappoint.
Great House comes out on Tuesday, October 5.
From Kate Moss to Sarah Jessica Parker, the biggest names in fashion gathered during London Fashion Week to pay homage to the late designer Alexander (Lee) McQueen; but his longtime deputy Sarah Burton was preparing for the company's first important runway show without him. Burton took over as creative chief of the Alexander McQueen label after McQueen's suicide in February 2010 and will unveil the company's first complete women's wear collection at Paris Fashion Week. She worked under McQueen for 14 years, joining his label before she graduated from London's Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design. "I don't think anyone will be able to
keep up with McQueen," one fashion consultant told The Wall Street Journal. "I think it would probably be best to not try to compete with that." As crowds wait with baited breath to see what Burton has in store, she admitted she's not going to. "I can't try and pretend to be Lee," she admitted. "I don't think it has to have as much angst in [the collection]. I think it will become softer. There will always be this
McQueen spirit and essence."
The Alexander McQueen Spring/Summer 2011 collection will be unveiled at
Paris Fashion Week on Tuesday, October 5.
Let's be honest: Who among us has not looked at a fictional character and thought, 'I wish they could give me advice about my love life?' Even in the likely event that you haven't, the team behind
How I Met Your Mother is answering the call with another book penned by Neil Patrick Harris' character Barney Stinson, i.e. show writer Matt Kuhn. On the heels of the self-explanatory
The Bro Code and
Bro on the Go, we now have
The Playbook: Suit Up, Score Chicks, Be Awesome, which carries on the grand tradition of books like
The Game with questionable advice on winning over (or just getting into bed with) the woman of your dreams. Sure, the book is meant to be a joke, but when you think about its competition, could it really be any worse?
The Playbook: Suit Up, Score Chicks, Be Awesome
hits shelves Tuesday, October 5.
Will this year's World Series end up being a replay of last year's Phillies-Yankees face-off? Which A-list starlet will inevitably be sitting in the stands cheering on A-Rod? And seriously, is there an easier way to open peanuts? All these questions and more will get answered in the coming weeks as playoff season starts for Major League Baseball, meaning it's prime time to stock up on beer and snacks if you haven't already. With both the Phillies and the Yankees sitting at the top of their respective leagues, fans should brace themselves for a rerun of last year's World Series rivalry, but even if it's a new set of cities that end up temporarily hating each other this year, let's just agree that we can all come together around a collective love of Cracker Jacks.
MLB postseason games kick off on Wednesday, October 6.
When Pedro Almodóvar's 1988 film
Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown premiered at the New York Film Festival, the Spanish director became an instant international sensation. Now, the Oscar-nominated movie that brought him acclaim more than two decades ago is being reinvented for the stage and set to music. Broadway legend Patti LuPone,
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels star Sherie Rene Scott, Tony winner Brian Stokes Mitchell, and
South Pacific actor Danny Burstein have all signed on for this New York Broadway musical, along with some surprisingly reemerging '90s personalities—
American Idol Season One runner-up Justin Guarini and the beloved Grams from
Dawson's Creek, Mary Beth Peil. The musical, which opens in previews this week, centers on voiceover actress Pepa (Scott), whose life is complicated by her philandering lover Iván (Mitchell), the husband of Lucía (LuPone), who has been recently released from a mental institution. Now, for added crazy factor, throw in some Shiite terrorists, a mambo-loving cabbie, and some gazpacho soup laced with sleeping pills. How could that be anything but mmm mmm good?
Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown
opens in previews on Broadway at New York's Belasco Theater on Friday, October 8.
What does Barack Obama have in common with Mother Teresa… and Henry Kissinger? The Nobel Peace Prize, of course! The award, which has gone to a diverse range of leaders that includes Theodore Roosevelt, Kofi Anaan, and Aung San Suu Kyi, will be handed out to its 98th recipient this week, with an announcement on Friday. For interested parties not able to travel all the way to Oslo for the announcement, the ceremony will be streaming live from the
Nobel website and will include an interview with one of the committee members behind this year's decision. After a year of endless military conflict and a startling number of natural disasters, the award is the perfect opportunity to highlight the work of those who are working to tame the chaos rather than add to it—and some predict, Chinese writer and political activist
Liu Xiaobo, could do just that.
The 2010
Nobel Peace Prize will
stream live on Friday, October 8 at 9 a.m. GMT.
Thanks to Leonardo di Vinci's
Mona Lisa, the act of grinning has often been a topic of conversation in the medium of art. But this week, the American Visionary Art Museum takes a not so serious, but incredibly ambitious look at
What Makes Us Smile?, their new exhibit. The show begins at the entrance of the museum with a welcome mat that reads "SMILE," using the bristles of 7,000 toothbrushes. With the works of filmmaker John Waters,
Patch Adams,
PostSecret author Frank Warren, and many more,
The Simpsons creator Matt Groening helped curate a collection from those who have been known to make us beam in celebration of AVAM's 15th anniversary. In the exhibit, Groening and fellow curators, artist Gary Panter and AVAM founder Rebecca Hoffberger, examine the modern and historic uses of humor, which often leads to truths that wouldn't be spoken otherwise.
What Makes Us Smile?
opens at the American Visionary Art Museum in Baltimore on Saturday, October 9.
The 36th season of
Saturday Night Live came out swinging with alum and current
Parks and Recreation star Amy Poehler hosting, Katy Perry performing, and bevy of guest stars popping up—from
The Social Network star Justin Timberlake to fellow
SNL escapees Tina Fey and Jimmy Fallon to New York Gov. David Patterson. The sophomore episode brought Kanye West back in the spotlight and now, we have
Glee's Emmy-winning actress Jane Lynch hosting. The gig seems long overdue for Lynch, whose dry sense of humor from Christopher Guest films, such as
Best in Show, to a sexually harassing boss in
The 40-Year-Old Virgin, is perfect for the sketch comedy show. Mock musicals and slushee throwing are likely in store and maybe musical guest "Just the Way You Are" singer Bruno Mars, who was recently arrested for possession of cocaine—will poke fun at himself. Because nothing says funny like making fun of drug use—right, Lindsay Lohan?
Jane Lynch will host Saturday Night Live
on Saturday, October 9, along with Bruno Mars.
