novelist and nonfiction writer "The Idiot;" The New Yorker
Elif Batuman is a novelist and a regular contributor to the New Yorker.
PROFILE
Elif Batuman
Guest
FROM Elif Batuman
Press Play with Madeleine Brand
'The Idiot:' A story of first love in college during the '90s In 1995, email was a relatively new and exciting way to communicate. In Elif Batuman’s first novel, ‘The Idiot,’ it’s through email that a Harvard freshman finds her first love -- and the limits of digital communication. As she navigates her feelings, she stumbles over herself, as we all do on the path to self discovery. Elif Batuman is author of the novel “The Idiot.” (photo by Beowulf Sheehan)
Recommended
Press Play with Madeleine Brand
Previewing James Comey's blockbuster testimony Former FBI director James Comey testifies Thursday in front of the Senate Intelligence Committee, but his opening statement has been released. In it, he says he felt pressured by Donald Trump to declare loyalty to him and publicly clear him of any wrongdoing in the Russia investigation.
Press Play with Madeleine Brand
How do Trump supporters feel about the Paris Accord? Globally and around the U.S., there are strong opinions whether or not the Paris Climate Accord is a good idea. The American exit is either a horrifying abdication of American leadership or a forceful and long overdue statement about U.S. sovereignty.
Press Play with Madeleine Brand
Why is Trump so behind on filling staff jobs, establishing concrete policies? Yesterday Donald Trump signed a “decision memo” to revamp the air traffic control system. But there was little legislative detail in the plan. There’s not much to other splashy announcements from the White House, including tax cuts and the arms deal with Saudi Arabia. And hundreds of positions are unfilled in federal agencies.
Bookworm
George Saunders: Lincoln in the Bardo (Part I) Lincoln in the Bardo dramatizes a grieving President Lincoln as he visits the grave of his beloved son Willie, who died at age eleven. In the novel, the buried dead believe they're not dead -- "they're sick and refer to their coffins as "sick boxes."