Readers respond to a guest essay about the continuing vitality of literary fiction. Also: Exxon vs. California; a Supreme ...

Have you ever wondered what it means when we talk about the ‘theme’ in a fiction text? In literature, theme is a word used to talk about the ‘big ideas’. This is different to the plot, which is what ...

Build your reading list with our weekly Books newsletter. Sign up today. Norwegian writer Torbjorn Ekelund’s new book is called In Praise of Paths, but in it he returns several times to our habit of ...

Where post-colonial theory holds a special place in the world of literature, post-colonial criticism – akin to analogous cultural studies – holds an exclusive viewpoint on literature and politics.

Lent is a time for forgoing worldly pleasures and opting to spend time in spiritual reflection and meditation. As Christians mark the period leading up to Easter — Ash Wednesday, which signals the ...

Ideas and themes once found only in science fiction are now a staple of films and novels. But not all writers dipping into the genre want to be associated with it. Rick Kleffel of member station KUSP ...

GUV:Hmm hmm. Yes. Yes. OK. Yep. So we’re saying revenge, isolation and fear are three key themes in Susan Hill’s The Woman In Black? (to Shane) Dane, you want to kick us off with the theme of revenge?

Nearly two years after the start of COVID-19 social-distancing protocols and lockdowns, the pandemic is still a thing we think about — and live with — daily. Its constant presence and the way it has ...

David Ulin may be incapable of seeing the big themes in Los Angeles literature (“Anthology, Like L.A., Goes Its Own Way,” Sept. 2), but that doesn’t mean they are not there. The major influence of ...

Reminiscing about the Dr. Seuss books we loved as children is usually a happy time for adults. We might remember first learning about equality in Horton Hears a Who! or getting starry-eyed about our ...