The New Yorker

?Attila,” by Nell Freudenberger

“I’ll do anything,” Molly told Martha, “anything that doesn’t involve actually interacting with Mom.”

When the World Goes Quiet

“The Hearing Test” probes the inner life of a narrator stricken by sudden deafness.

An Exhausting Year in (and Out of) the Office

After successive waves of post-pandemic change, worn-out knowledge workers need a fresh start.

?The Ghosts of Gloria Lara,” by Junot Díaz

Truth is, I never could decide if my mother liked Mr. Wilson or not. I’m not sure she knew herself, not at that point. So what was it between th…

?Do You Love Me?,” by Hila Blum

“We are the parents of a missing person, but the kind no one around us can understand, not even us.”

Famous Quotes from Literature’s Greatest Detective Novels

“There is always a motive for any crime. Just earlier today I stole something because I forgot my wallet at home and I look great in yellow.” —S…

Crooks’ Mistaken Bet on Encrypted Phones

Drug syndicates and other criminal groups bought into the idea that a new kind of phone network couldn’t be infiltrated by cops. They were wrong…

A Long Life as a Disney Animator

For nearly seventy years, Burny Mattinson drew many of the studio’s best-loved characters.

J. M. Coetzee’s War Against Global English

What lies behind the celebrated South African writer’s decision to publish his latest novel in Spanish before making it available in English?

A Cult Classic of Extreme Isolation

In Marlen Haushofer’s novel “The Wall,” a woman finds herself alone and trapped in the Alps by an invisible barrier. But her new life has its up…

The Recipe Convention That Dooms Home Cooks

Countless cookbooks instruct readers to “season to taste,” but few of us know what we’re tasting for.

?House of Gucci,” Reviewed: Lady Gaga Steals a Style-Challenged Yarn of the Fashion World

In spite of his superb cast, Ridley Scott reduces a fascinating real-life story of family conflict, financial chicanery, and revenge to mere ane…

Lucian Freud and the Truth of the Body

The painter captured the imperfections of the flesh so completely that they became a kind of perfection.

Ruth, Frank, and Dario

“It had irritated her, Ruth told the friends, to find herself waiting for Frank to call.”

Sunday Reading: Manhattan Sketches

From The New Yorker’s archive: stories that showcase city life in its many dimensions.

How Pandemics Wreak Havoc—and Open Minds

The plague marked the end of the Middle Ages and the start of a great cultural renewal. Could the coronavirus, for all its destruction, offer a…

Is There Any Hope for the Hung Over?

Most potential cures for hangover—indeed, most statements about hangover—have not been tested.

Linda Boström Knausgård’s Post-“Struggle” IKEA Trip

After being depicted in books by her ex-husband, Karl Ove, the poet has written a pointedly short novel, and has a new boyfriend who asks her wh…