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Open Letters Review

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Open Letters Review

Open Letters Review

An Arts & Literature Review

Open Letters Review

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May 11, 2025

Twist by Colum McCann

May 11, 2025/ Tom LeClair
Twist by Colum McCann

A review of the new book from novelist Colum McCann

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May 11, 2025/ Tom LeClair/
Twist, Colum McCann, fiction, contemporary fiction
April 06, 2025

Gifted & Talented by Olivie Blake

April 06, 2025/ Steve Donoghue
Gifted & Talented by Olivie Blake

The new novel from the author of “The Atlas Six”

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April 06, 2025/ Steve Donoghue/
Gifted & Talented, Olivie Blake, fiction, contemporary fiction
February 03, 2025

A Century of Fiction in the New Yorker, edited by Deborah Treisman

February 03, 2025/ Steve Donoghue
A Century of Fiction in the New Yorker, edited by Deborah Treisman

A gigantic anthology of New Yorker fiction in honor of the magazine’s 100th birthday

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February 03, 2025/ Steve Donoghue/
Deborah Treisman, A Century of Fiction in the New Yorker, fiction, contemporary fiction, The New Yorker, New Yorker fiction
January 31, 2025

Andromeda by Therese Bohman

January 31, 2025/ Steve Donoghue
Andromeda by Therese Bohman

A novel in which two members of a publishing house reflect on their work and life together

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January 31, 2025/ Steve Donoghue/
Andromeda, Therese Bohman, Marlaine Delargy, fiction, literature in translation, Swedish fiction, contemporary fiction
January 17, 2025

The Life Cycle of the Common Octopus by Emma Knight

January 17, 2025/ Steve Donoghue
The Life Cycle of the Common Octopus by Emma Knight

A novel in which a young woman seeks answers from an eccentric family

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January 17, 2025/ Steve Donoghue/
The Life Cycle of the Common Octopus, Emma Knight, fiction, contemporary fiction
January 15, 2025

Beautiful Ugly by Alice Feeney

January 15, 2025/ Steve Donoghue
Beautiful Ugly by Alice Feeney

A thriller in which the disappearance of a writer’s wife leads him to a mysterious island

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January 15, 2025/ Steve Donoghue/
Beautiful Ugly, Alice Feeney, fiction, contemporary fiction, thriller
January 12, 2025

My Darling Boy by John Dufresne

January 12, 2025/ Steve Donoghue
My Darling Boy by John Dufresne

A novel in which a father searches for his wayward son

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January 12, 2025/ Steve Donoghue/
My Darling Boy, John Dufresne, fiction, contemporary fiction
January 07, 2025

Another Man in the Street by Caryl Phillips

January 07, 2025/ Steve Donoghue
Another Man in the Street by Caryl Phillips

A lightweight new novel about ordinary people living in London

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January 07, 2025/ Steve Donoghue/
Another Man in the Street, Caryl Phillips, fiction, contemporary fiction
November 24, 2024

Orbital by Samantha Harvey & James by Percival Everett:

November 24, 2024/ Tom LeClair
Orbital by Samantha Harvey & James by Percival Everett:

Critic Tom LeClair reflects on two major prize-noticed new novels

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November 24, 2024/ Tom LeClair/
james, James, Percival Everett, Samantha Harvey, Orbital, fiction, contemporary fiction
August 01, 2024

City in Ruins by Don Winslow

August 01, 2024/ Ryan Davison
City in Ruins by Don Winslow

Don Winslow's incongruent last novel leaves us wanting a stronger exit.

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August 01, 2024/ Ryan Davison/
City in Ruins, Don Winslow, fiction, contemporary fiction
July 07, 2024

Parade by Rachel Cusk

July 07, 2024/ Steve Donoghue
Parade by Rachel Cusk

In Rachel Cusk’s new book, an artist turns his art on its head

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July 07, 2024/ Steve Donoghue/
Parade, Rachel Cusk, fictoin, fiction, contemporary fiction
May 09, 2024

The Angel of Indian Lake by Stephen Graham Jones

May 09, 2024/ Amberlee Venters
The Angel of Indian Lake by Stephen Graham Jones

Horror and horror movies intertwine in the new novel by Stephen Graham Jones

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May 09, 2024/ Amberlee Venters/
Stephen Graham Jones, The Angel of Indian Lake, fiction, contemporary fiction
May 03, 2024

The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley

May 03, 2024/ Joe Spivey
The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley

A review of Kaliane Bradley’s touted debut novel about a time-displaced Arctic explorer.

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May 03, 2024/ Joe Spivey/
The Ministry of Time, Kaliane Bradley, fiction, contemporary fiction
February 29, 2024

The Fury by Alex Michaelides

February 29, 2024/ Ryan Davison
The Fury by Alex Michaelides

An ultra-meta maybe-murder mystery with more trickery than infrastructure

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February 29, 2024/ Ryan Davison/
The Fury, Alex Michaelides, fiction, contemporary fiction
January 23, 2024

Beautyland by Marie-Helene Bertino

January 23, 2024/ Steve Donoghue
Beautyland by Marie-Helene Bertino

A novel in which a woman is woefully certain she’s an extraterrestrial emissary

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January 23, 2024/ Steve Donoghue/
Beautyland, Marie-Helene Bertino, fiction, contemporary fiction
January 17, 2024

The Waters by Bonnie Jo Campbell

January 17, 2024/ Steve Donoghue
The Waters by Bonnie Jo Campbell

In Bonnie Jo Campbell’s sumptuous new novel, the fates of a strange family of women and a small town intertwine

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January 17, 2024/ Steve Donoghue/
The Waters, Bonnie Jo Campbell, fiction, contemporary fiction
January 12, 2024

Inverno by Cynthia Zarin

January 12, 2024/ Steve Donoghue
Inverno by Cynthia Zarin

A novella about good phone manners

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January 12, 2024/ Steve Donoghue/
Inverno, Cynthia Zarin, fiction, contemporary fiction
January 11, 2024

This Plague of Souls by Mike McCormack

January 11, 2024/ Steve Donoghue
This Plague of Souls by Mike McCormack

The new novel — or a piece of one, anyway — from the author of “Solar Bones”

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January 11, 2024/ Steve Donoghue/
This Plague of Souls, Mike McCormack, fiction, contemporary fiction
December 14, 2023

The Best Books of 2023: Fiction!

December 14, 2023/ Steve Donoghue
The Best Books of 2023: Fiction!

The best novels of 2023!

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December 14, 2023/ Steve Donoghue/
Stevereads
The Best Books of 2023: Fiction, Best Fiction of 2023, fiction, contemporary fiction, The Bee Sting, Paul Murray, Small Mercies, Dennis Lehane, Mobility, Lydia Kiesling, Learned by Heart, Emma Donoghue, Western Alliances, Wilton Barnhardt, Terrace Story, Hilary Leichter, Tom Lake, Ann Patchettm, Wellness, Nathan Hill, The Vulnerabls, The Vulnerables, Sigrid Nunez, The Dissident, Paul Goldberg, Steve Donoghue
October 28, 2023

The Goodbye Cat by Hiro Arikawa

October 28, 2023/ Steve Donoghue
The Goodbye Cat by Hiro Arikawa

A collection of stories from the author of the beloved “The Travelling Cat Chronicles.”

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October 28, 2023/ Steve Donoghue/
The Goodbye Cat, Hiro Arikawa, Philip Gabriel, fiction, contemporary fiction, cats, Steve Donoghue, 2023
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Editors:

Steve Donoghue
Sam Sacks
Britta Böhler
____________________

Eric Karl Anderson
Olive Fellows
Jack Hanson
Jennifer Helinek
Justin Hickey
Hannah Joyner
Zach Rabiroff
Jessica Tvordi

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