John Updike published his first book review in this magazine in the September 16, 1961, issue, at the age of twenty-nine. The book under consideration was, somehow fittingly, “Parodies: An Anthology from Chaucer to Beerbohm—And After,” by Dwight Macdonald. Over the next forty-seven years, he surveyed vast tectonic plates of world literature; he was hungry to know it all. In keeping with his intense curiosity was a corresponding generosity toward anyone who dared to grapple with, for lack of a better word, the human condition. He had ideas about what book reviewing should be. I came across them some twenty years ago, looking through one of his books, “Picked-Up Pieces” (1975), in The New Yorker’s library, and they stayed with me:
Mary Hawthorne is a former member of The New Yorker’s editorial staff.
Books & Fiction
Short stories and poems, plus author interviews, profiles, and tales from the world of literature.
Annals of Gastronomy
Mastering the Art of Making a Cookbook
Working with Julia Child and a host of author-chefs, the editor Judith Jones transformed American kitchens.
By Adam Gopnik
Postscript
Alice Munro Reinvigorated the Short Story
Working with the author, who has died, at ninety-two, was both a thrill and a lesson in intentionality.
By Deborah Treisman
Under Review
The Best Books We’ve Read in 2024 So Far
Our editors and critics review notable new fiction, nonfiction, and poetry.
By The New Yorker
Poetry Podcast
Amy Woolard Reads Charles Wright
The poet joins Kevin Young to read and discuss “Via Negativa,” by Charles Wright, and her own poem “Late Shift.”