Linden Frederick paints realistic scenes of mysterious-looking buildings at twilight. About that time of day, Frederick says, “Somebody described it as the point where the dog becomes the wolf.” He’s particularly interested in the unglamorous stretches of the country that the economy has left behind. Looking at his paintings, you can imagine the kinds of… Continue reading Every Picture Tells a Story
Tag: Fiction
Ravening for Delight
H. P. Lovecraft’s tales of cosmic horror have long inspired obsessive fandom. His short stories, in the hundred years since they were first published, have extended their tentacular influence to Stephen King, Neil Gaiman, the Alien movies, Dungeons & Dragons, and beyond. Paul La Farge’s new novel, The Night Ocean, traces Lovecraft’s unusual friendship with a 16-year-old fan… Continue reading Ravening for Delight
Hilary Mantel Reimagines History
The novelist Hilary Mantel has definitively updated our idea of Henry VIII—and our notion of what historical fiction can be. In her stylistically daring and formally inventive novels “Wolf Hall” and “Bring Up the Bodies,” she focuses on a less well-known figure who’s always been depicted as kind of a weasel: Thomas Cromwell. He was the son of a blacksmith who… Continue reading Hilary Mantel Reimagines History