• books

    Mysterious Michiko Startles Readers with a Rhyme

    Famously harsh New York Times book critic Michiko Kakutani has clearly taken a liking to prolific New Yorker writer and "Deadline Poet" columnist for The Nation Calvin Trillin's latest political book: apparently moved to write a poem, she reviewed it in verse. You know, in the style of his book, also written in verse! "Trillin recounted this all with verve and élan/Charting the candidates’ every slogan and plan." Check out the excerpt—and then you can turn the table and judge her poetic efforts. More »

    2:25 PM on Fri Nov 21 2008
    By Sheila
    1,185 views, 59 comments

    Most discussed mathnet: Who, not whom. How off-pissing, Kakutani. more »

  • greatly exaggerated reports

    Times Misreports Death -- In A Novel

    (Disclaimer: Spoilers related to the Philip Roth novel Indignation ahead.) Oct. 2, Philip Roth will jump readers to the end of his new novel Indignation. On WNYC, the writer will explain how, if you read to the end of his book, you find that the narrator Marcus Messner is not, in fact, dead, but merely in the midst of a morphine hallucination of his own death. This contradicts both reviews of the book in the Times, one by Michiko Kakutani, the other in the Sunday Book Review. In so doing, it begs the question: Did those reviewers bother to read the book all the way to the end? More »

    1:57 AM on Fri Sep 26 2008
    By Ryan Tate
    1,569 views, 11 comments

    Most discussed oneinsixbillion: So its like Jacob's Ladder? more »

  • books

    Who's Afraid of NYT Book Critic Michiko Kakutani?

    The Pulitzer-winning book critic for the New York Times, Michiko Kakutani, has been in the news this week: she was called "the stupidest person in New York City," by author Jonathan Franzen, presumably because of her negative review of his memoir. (Norman Mailer called her a "one-woman kamikaze" who "disdains white male authors," but he was afraid of intimacy.) The Guardian's book blog offers a field guide to this "reclusive," mysterious critic: More »

    12:25 PM on Thu May 1 2008
    By Sheila
    4,130 views, 23 comments

    Latest by CopyofBlueboy: For the record, I had no problem with her when I worked in publishing. She was actually really supportive and more »

  • books

    Who Does Jonathan Franzen Think is the "Stupidest Person in NYC"?

    Why, it's Michiko Kakutani, fiction critic at the New York Times, of course! As a general rule, authors do tend to think the "stupidest people in the city" are the ones who reviewed their books negatively. (It's just one of those things.) In Franzen's case, it was her review of his memoir The Discomfort Zone that really set him off: "In the case of this book the author's self-involvement not only makes for an incredibly annoying portrait, but also funnels the narrative into a dismayingly narrow channel." Regardless of quality, it hurts more than usual when someone criticizes your memoir. It's not like saying, "I don't like your characters." It's more like, "I don't like your life." (That said, there are just some things that should not be published.) [NY Observer]

    11:01 AM on Tue Apr 29 2008
    By Sheila
    2,362 views, 32 comments

    Latest by beat royalty: "One day, I saw a young, heavyset woman wrapped in a small blanket with nothing underneath. Another day, I more »

  • the final chapter

    'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows' Reviewed And Revealed

    The New York Times joins the crowd of those breaking Scholastic's embargo on revealing anything about Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. In a review in today's paper, book critic Michiko Kakutani limns the final volume of the Potter series, and, presumably inadvertently, reveals a major plot point. It's kind of amazing. More »

    10:20 AM on Thu Jul 19 2007
    By abalk
    40,610 views, 74 comments

    Latest by Scout: I'm just amazed that the they were able to rewrite and reprint the ending of the book and insert those more »

  • the trouble with critics

    Michiko Kakutani Unabashedly Limns Again

    As Galleycat recently Michiko Kakutani has been in a cheery mood of late, overusing "stunning" and "dazzling" on two novels already this month! But other bad habits seem to die considerably harder. From the second sentence of her review of Don DeLillo's Falling Man:
    His novels, from "Players" and "White Noise" through "Libra" and "Mao II" and the remarkable "Underworld," not only limned the surreal weirdness of the waning years of the 20th century, but somehow also managed to anticipate the shock and horror of 9/11 and its darkly unspooling aftermath.
    Whether or not you agree with Dennis Loy Johnson's famous defense of Michiko's limning, by this point, would it kill her to toss us an "outlined" once in a while? A "sketched?" A "delineated"? We would totally settle for a "portrayed!" —Emily

    1:03 PM on Wed May 9 2007
    By Emily Gould
    339 views, 9 comments

  • femiladyism

    Leslie Bennetts: 'Times' Lady Coverage Is 'Wretched'

    What do Motoko Rich, Janet Maslin and Michiko Kakutani have in common? They're all part of a sinister conspiracy against women in general and woman author Leslie Bennetts in particular. In a letter on the HuffPo, the ten-year vet of the Times takes issue with yesterday's Times article suggesting that maybe women don't want to read books about the whole working mother dilemma. She notes that her own book, The Feminine Mistake, has already moved more copies than several other titles to which it is compared and then likens herself to critically-injured New Jersey governor Jon Corzine. But wait, there's more! More »

    12:23 PM on Thu Apr 26 2007
    By abalk2
    3,109 views, 12 comments

    Latest by Fishman: What's she complaining about, everybody knows People replaced the Times as the periodical of record for women years ago, only more »

  • new york times

    Your Sunday 'Times' Timesaver Guide

    It's going to be a warm and sunny weekend, which is a good thing considering that you're not going to be indoors reading the Sunday New York Times. If the Big Three sections (Arts, Books, Mag) are any indication, you'll quickly scan the sports scores and then head out to the park for some ultimate frisbee or whatever. So now we will helpfully describe to you, rapid-fire, what you'll be skipping over so you can sound all smart next week. You're welcome! More »

    2:28 PM on Fri Apr 20 2007
    By abalk2
    2,695 views, 7 comments

    Latest by herzen: can bruni perform the heimlich maneuver on balk to dislodge vachon's dick from his trachea? more »

  • new york times

    Secret Workings Of 'Times' Book Review Exposed!

    In a talk at Harvard on Tuesday, Barry Gewen, an editor at the New York Times Book Review since the early 90's, revealed a steaming heap of heretofore unknown and as-of-yet unreported details about the Book Review's inner workings. The reason for his trip, he said, was to correct some misconceptions among the largely academic audience about how the Review is assembled. "We're thought to have agendas, we're thought to be out to get people," he said. "I hope by the end of this talk I'll have persuaded you that none of that is the case." More »

    2:06 PM on Sat Feb 24 2007
    By Choire
    7,565 views, 11 comments

    Latest by Trackback: On Paper Cuts, The New York Times' book blog, Barry Gewen writes about Mark Bowden's recent Atlantic's article about more »