Attention Must Be Paid To What 'The Salesman' Is Selling
A review of The Salesman, an Iranian film about a couple whose home life becomes unsettled while they're starring together in a production of Death of a Salesman.
Arts
'Perfect Little World' Imagines Family Drama Inside A Utopian Compound
Kevin Wilson's new novel is set on a state-of-the-art commune where children don't know who their biological parents are. Critic Maureen Corrigan says the book lives up to its title.
Doctor Considers The Pitfalls Of Extending Life And Prolonging Death
In Modern Death, Dr. Haider Warraich says a slow dying process, during which patients move in and out of hospitals or nursing homes, is a "very recent development in our history as a species."
A Sip Of History: The Hidden Wine Cellars Under The Brooklyn Bridge
The cool, dark caverns were a perfect place to store even the most delicate wines — and the income they generated helped offset construction costs of the massive 19th-century engineering project.
'This Is How It Always Is' Was Inspired By Its Author's Transgender Child
Still, Laurie Frankel says, her book is fiction. "The nice thing about my life is that it's pretty boring, which is really how you want your life to be — but not how you want your novel to be."
Lost In Whimsy, 'Perfect Little World' Spins Off Course
Kevin Wilson's new novel follows a pregnant teen who joins an experimental commune — but the characters in Perfect Little World never come alive, and the book suffers from an overdose of whimsy.
Kim Cattrall, More Than Just A Murder Victim In 'Witness For The Prosecution'
Cattrall — best known for her role on Sex and the City — plays a murdered socialite in a new TV adaptation of Agatha Christie's play. She says she wanted to open up the character and understand her.
'Caraval' Is A Dark Circus Where The Clowns Don't Like You
Stephanie Garber's quasi-historical young adult novel is one part amusement park, one part Venice and one part game show — but the ending is marred by a muddled message that leaves the story hollow.
Translating The Untranslatable: 'Between Dog And Wolf'
Russian author Sasha Sokolov wrote Between Dog and Wolf, which had been deemed untranslatable from the original Russian since 1980. Alexander Boguslawski translated the work to English in December.
With A Bevy Of Ads, Students School Us On All The Little Joys In Life
We asked listeners to write advertisements for all the wonderful things that can't be bought. Along the way, we discovered something delightful: Whole classrooms sent us their sales pitches.