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'The World Is a Narrow Bridge' Is a Metaphysical Pilgrimage for Our Time

If Pratchett and Gaiman's Good Omens is an artifact of '90s apocalypse hullabaloo notable for its wry wit, petty divine figures, and surrealistic flourishes, then The World Is a Narrow Bridge plays a similar role in our angst-ridden, oversaturated media landscape/world of 2016 and beyond.

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Can't Stop, Won't Stop: The Maximalist Thrills of 'Black Leopard, Red Wolf'

The mythical Africa of Marlon James' bloody new surrealist fantasy epic, Black Leopard, Red Wolf, terrifies as much as it bewitches.

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Joseph Scapellato's 'The Made-Up Man' Brings Forth 21st Century Absurdism

In rendering his most avant-garde characters as members of a kind of self-help conspiracy in The Made-Up Man, Joseph Scapellato offers not an update but a revision of absurdism, and as such, many social phenomena ripe for satire get off easy.

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Michael Donkor Brings Forth the Power of Women in 'Housegirl'

Michael Donkor's Housegirl, a PopMatters' pick, is a strong debut novel about traditional changes and personal awakenings.

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On the Queer Millennial Greenlandic Novel, 'Last Night in Nuuk'

Niviaq Korneliussen's third novel, Last Night in Nuuk, tackles homophobia, coming out, millennial malaise, finding love, being a shit friend, and so much more.

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Fracturing to Survive in Tanya Tagaq's 'Split Tooth'

Inuk musician/writer Tanya Tagaq's first novel, Split Tooth, tells a magical, fucked-up story about teenage girls' adolescence in the Arctic.

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'Vita Nostra' Is a Tantalizing Fantasy That Forces Us to Question Our Own Humanity

Sergey and Marina Dyachenko's Vita Nostra is a mysterious Ukrainian sci-fi / fantasy / fairy tale whose unsettling questions will linger.

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Markus Zusak's 'Bridge of Clay' Respects a Young Person's Desire for Agency

Considering its YA audience, Markus Zusak's Bridge of Clay is a superb and accessible gateway to developing critical literacy skills.

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The Spirit Is Weak in 'The Gypsy Moth Summer'

Whereas many readers will savor the natural fecundity, The Gypsy Moth Summer struggles in almost every other aspect.

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'Milkman' Is a Rich Read about Violence and Silence

For a book so full of coded language, innuendoes, gossip, and rumors, Anna Burns' award-winning Milkman is perhaps really about silence.

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Tommy Orange's Debut, 'There There', Signals an Exciting New Era for Native American Fiction

There There positions Orange as the luminary who will reignite the Native American literary movement.

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Alyson Hagy's 'Scribe' Is Gloriously Artful, but Something Is Missing

Hagy's new novel, Scribe, a beautiful work clearly rooted in the ethos of the Program Era, seems the very example of a return to the bourgeois novel of art for art's sake.

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Short Stories: Parties

Five memorably unique parties presented by Katherine Mansfield, Banaphool (tr. Arunava Sinha), Joshua Ferris, Nina McConigley, and Kirsten Valdez Quade.

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'The Blurry Years' Captures the Intricacies and Nuances of Adolescent Girls

Eleanor Kriseman gets good mileage out of her protagonist, who runs the gamut of trying experiences and emotions in The Blurry Years.

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Reading 'Paradise Rot' Will Leave You Feeling Woozy

Jenny Hval is writing for the senses, conjuring with almost nauseating accuracy sensations both mundane and extraordinary.

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Jeffrey Eugenides' 'Fresh Complaint': Visions of Life, Love, and Desire

Fresh Complaint is a strong short story collection that will complement fans of Eugenides's novels and introduce another generation to his humorous, profound, humane worlds.

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Pop Ten

The 70 Best Albums of 2018

Jackie Chan's 10 Best Films

The 100 Greatest Alternative Singles of the '80s: Part 1: 100 - 81

The 10 Best Indie Rock Albums of 2018

The 25 Best Electronic Albums of 2018

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