You are on page 1of 82

APRIL 11, 2016

JUNE 20, 2016

6 GOINGS ON ABOUT TOWN


6

GOINGS ON ABOUT TOWN

19 THE TALK OF THE TOWN

Blythe Roberson

Calvin Tomkins

Steve Coll on Trump and foreign policy;

19

THE TALK OF THE TOWN

25

SHOUTS & MURMURS

Stephen
Unckles
on campaigns;
the great migration
east;
the language
of the
Schitts Creek;
the Only Living Boy in New York; public
Harlems the
greatest
fencer;
a playwright
retreat.
pooping;
modern
witch;
catching ups with
China
PROFILES

26

Play Your
It Again
Test
Knowledge of Humor Writing

Ragnar Kjartansson and the art of repetition.

Nicole Silverberg

Calvin Trillin
Jordan Hall

James Lasdun

26

PERSONAL HISTORY

SHOUTS & MURMURS


Finding
My Gallop

32 The
Fleeing,
Hypothetically
journey
from woman to horse
36

LETTER FROM EUROPE

ANNALS OF KNOTS

34 Knotty
Alone inbythe
Alps
Nature

A solo
On
thehike
huntonfora great
a manmountain
obsessed trail.

Michael Yarsky

Gay Talese

Kady Ruth Ashcraft

Rachel Aviv
Daniel Sargeant

Sarah Shun-lien Bynum

44

AMERICANAND
CHRONICLES
ONWARD
UPWARD WITH THE ARTS

40 Vowel
The Voyeurs
Motel
of Silence

A
choral
composer
who hates
human voice
The
hotelier
who spied
on histhe
guests.

50

A REPORTER AT LARGE
PORTFOLIO

56 Part
The and
CostParcel
of Caring

A
lookYork
intos the
state ofdomestic
the USPS
New
Filipina
workers.

56

OUR
LOCAL CORRESPONDENTS
FICTION

Scourge
66 The
TheHero
Burglar

On the rise and fall of our masked men


THE CRITICS

Pat Landers

Anthony Lane

FICTION
THE CURRENT CINEMA
64

74

Running Iron

Everybody Wants Some!!, Miles Ahead.

THE
CRITICS
BOOKS
BOOKS

James Folta
CharlesSchaper
McGrath
Caroline

77 Briefly Noted
For the love of the bus
78 Briefly
A founding
mother of New York publishing.
70
Noted
67

A CRITIC AT LARGE

THE ART WORLD

Ross
KathleenAlex
Jordan

Why Mallarm
7181 Zane
Fergsteins matters.
mommy issues
ON TELEVISION

THE CURRENT CINEMA

Emily
Nussbaum
Michael
Yarsky

86
73

Outlander,
The Americans.
The
Slow Drown
POEMS

POEMS

MominaShea
Mela
Chris Michael
Molly
TimBashaw
Platt
Michael J. Wolf
Michael J. Wolf

Tomer Hanuka

How toSpace
Take Off a Sari
3136 White
38
50 Three
Leaving
the Continent
Poems
by Tim Platt

46

60

Whats Inside of Me
COVER
Sex

Take the L Train

COVER

Branson Reese

Where Are Now

DRAWINGS Drew Dernavich, Emily Flake, Ken Krimstein, Matthew Diffee, Danny Shanahan, Jack Ziegler,
Charlie
Hankin,
Robert
Leighton,
Jom
Jorb, Shannon
JohnSparks,
Klossner,
Bruce Eric DRAWINGS
Kaplan, Frank
Cotham,
Michael
Crawford,
Tom
Cheney,
Michael Wheelie,
Shaw, Rich
Edward Steed,
Reid
Faylor,
Mark
Vigeant
(Cartoon
Caption
Contest)
Roz Chast, Edward Koren, Michael Maslin, J. C. Duffy, Liana Finck, Will McPhail, Jason Adam Katzenstein
ADS Jesse Benjamin (Entourage), Stephen Unckles (Orsnow, Homeland: Dog Version, Uhrzeitime, Equestrin),
SPOTS Rodger Stevens
Andrew Beck (Einklock), Taylor Moore (Father Hats, Acela, Ballpark), Kevin Bauer (Je University, Loofah,
Seedless, MetroStar), James Folta (Moyamota MaxiVan), Elizabeth Stamp (The Pastures at Farmingdale)
SPOTS Sasha Taran

CONTRIBUTORS
ART
Matt Crowley (Movies Preview, p. 13) Jordan Hall (Knotty
by Nature, p. 36) is Elizabeth Stamp (The Talk of the Town,

Rachel Aviv
(The Cost
Caring,
p. 56) named to Vices list
Gaybut
Talese
(The Voyeurs
Motel, p.
p. of
20)
was recently
contributes to The Onion,
contributes
a filmmaker
in 40)
New Orleans,
currently
won
the
2016
Scripps
Howard
Award
is
the
author
of
thirteen
books,
among
nothing to society. He lives in LA. Sorry. producing a documentary on the first of 30 People Weve Never Heard Of.
for clown.
Your Help!
Son Is Deceased, her story
them The Bridge: The
Building
of therodeo
Twitter: @matthewpcrowley
African
American
appeared
in
Verrazano-Narrows Bridge and Frank on police shootings, which
Kady Ruth
Ashcraft
(Portfolio, p. 50)
the
magazine
last
year.
Sinatra
Has
a
Cold,
which
includes
Michael Yarsky (Above and Beyond, p. Michael J. Wolf (Threatre Preview, p. 7, teaches a poetics of Ayahuasca class at
Phil
Stern.
15, Vowel of Silence, photographs
p. 44, Keepingbythethe late
What
s Inside
of Me, p. 46, Sex, p. 60) is Bennington College. She also writes for
James
(AloneFunny
in the or
Alps,
Die.p. 34)
Faith, p. 73) will publish his first seven- a writer, and received the
2015Lasdun
Quietest
Steve
Coll
(Comment,
p.
19),
a
staff
writer,
is
the
author
of
Bluestone:
New
and
part autobiographical novel, No No No, Audience Member Award from the NY
is
the
dean
of
the
Graduate
School
of
Selected
Poems,
which
was
published
Andrew Lipstein (The Financial Page, p.
Its Myyyy Struggle, in December.
Theater Foundation and prefers movies.
Journalism at Columbia.
last year. His new novel,
Fall0s
Guy,
23)The
founded
& 1s Reads (0s-1s.com), a
comes
out
in
October.
Kathleen Jordan (Goings on About Branson Reese (Cover) just illustrated digital bookstore/lit website, and works
Tomkins
(Play
Again,
26) May We Hate You?
at Meural, an art tech startup.
Town, p. 6, Nearing theCalvin
Asymptote,
p. 71)
hisItfirst
book,p.How
Sarah Shun-lien Bynum (Fiction, p. 66)
covers
art
and
culture
for
The
New
is a television writer and producer based
published
works Silverberg
of fiction:(Finding My Gallop,
Yorker.
The Bride
the Bachelors
in Los Angeles. She feels
so humbled
to and
Joshua
Mikutis (Dancehas
Preview,
p. 10) two
is Nicole
Madeleine
Is
Sleeping
Ms. and writer named
is
one
of
his
many
books.
a comedian
be the voice of a generation.
in rabbinical school. He graduated from p. 26) is and
Hempel
Chronicles.
Haverford Colleges Without a (Noun) one of Brooklyns 50 Funniest People by
(TheSchool
Talk ofofthe
Town,
Brooklyn Magazine. #DahFook?!?
Matt Nelsen (Food & Charles
Drink, p.Bethea
16) is the
Beep
Beep Boop Boop.
p.
20)
is
a
freelance
journalist
based
in Charles McGrath (Books, p. 78) is a
food comedian for this magazine.
former
editorBrittney
of The New
Yorker (Copy Editor) is a
Atlanta and a regular
contributor
to Mail,
Soldano
Sam
Weiner (The
p. 5)deputy
is a staff
and
a
former
editor
of
the
Times
Book puzzle enthusiast,
newyorker.com.
copywriter, crossword
Matt Barats (Night Life Preview, p. 9) is writer for Seriously.TV.
Review.
John
OHara:
Stories,
which
and linguistic vigilante making the world
a staff writer and editor at the magazine.
Tomer Hanuka (Cover)
an(Three
Inter-Poems
he edited
for which
heplace,
wroteone
thefixed typo at a time.
a better
He commutes from Yonkers.
Timwon
Platt
by Timand
Platt,
national Manga Award
for
his
graphic
introduction,
will
be
published
in
p. 38) is a comedian, artist, and pupEdgar Degas created Ballet
SceneThe
(ca. 1879)
by applying
pastel to a monotype,September.
the one-off print mediumLangan
thats the Kingsley
focus of a new
show
at MOMA.
novel
Divine,
a
collaboration
(The
Talk
of the Town,
Blythe Roberson (The Talk of the Town, peteer living in Brooklyn. Check out
with
the
artist
Asaf
Hanuka
and
the
p. 22, Shouts & Murmurs, p. 25) is a con- TimPlatt.squarespace.com to learn more. p. 21) is a human being who lives in
Alex Ross (A Critic atbeep
Large,
p. 81),
the
Boaz
Lavie.
boop

Brooklyn,
tributor to ClickHole, awriter
headline
contribto spontaneous style,
starting in
the critic
towelling
off malfunction
), performing
in cafs,
magazines
music
since
1996,
is patting dogs
New
York.
She
enjoys
in a
utor to The Onion, and previous to being eighteenChris Michael
Shea
(White
Space,
p.
seventies.
It
underlines
the
and,
of
course,
dancing.
Almost
none
Momina
p. spent
36) ismost
a Pakiworking
on a book entitled
Wagnerism:
Degass
prints
take
stage. Mela (Poem,
gentle,
human
way
and
eating
delicious
blacklisted
due
to center
her
participation
in truth
31)
of
1997
on
meth.
that his geniusArt
was
of Music.
them evince a sense of being obstani poet
based
in essentially
the Shadow of
of the
hardartist.
drives
her closest
Neu Jorker,
was A
a contributor
to the
Newin Lahore.
Edgar
Degas:
Strange New
Beauty,
graphic, on a historical arc of linear dinners
served by
Inwith
seventeen
senhuman
friends.
Yorker
dot
com.
Pat
Landers
(Running
Iron,
p.
64)
is
a
is wonderful but oddly finicky, as the sorcery from Ingres to Picasso. You sational brothel scenes, most of them
writerhis
anddelight,
editor who
owesfield
SashamonoFrere- from 1877-79, they stand, sit, or loll
Museum of Modern Arts first Degas sense
in dark
Schaper naked
(Brieflyand
Noted
p.
Kevin
Bauer
(Classical
Music
Preview,
p.
Jones
$5,000.
show, ever. It makes a big deal of an un- types, at the effects enabled by attack- Caroline
around availably
often
70)
is
a
writer
and
comedian
from
11)
grew
up
in
Sandusky,
Ohio,
graducommon printmaking medium: mono- ing spreads
of wet ink with incising frumpily at ease. One squats over a
NEWYORKER.COM
greatest
cityidly
in the
world: one
Pittsated created
from The
Ohio State
Jamesrags,
Folta
(Round
and(see
Round,
p. the
type,
by working
in inkUniversity,
on a hard tools,
and
hismagazine,
hands
hismore.
finbidet.
Another
scratches
of
Everything
in the
and
burgh,
Pennsylvania.
She
wrote
for
then
moved
to
Queens.
67)
is
a
writer
and
a
comedian.
Wish
surface and then pressing paper against gerprints). Shapes and atmospheres her buttocks. Their milieu may seem
has beenglamour
featured
that in
there
wasandmore
to grays
the story.
it. The one-off results are unusual, to say loom
whites
textured
from Letterman,
a far cry fromand
the candied
of
on
CNN, GQ, THR, and other letters.
Stephen
Unckles
(The
Talk
of
the
Town,
www.jamesfolta.com
the leastgoing against the common- Stygian blackness: sculpted light, with ballet, but the two settings share the
p. 19) is
a writer
anda television
producer.
sense
notion
that
print is an
image a muscular feel. Those works, circa fact of women displaying themselves.
(Art along
Preview,
p.
His
first
book,
I
Like
Those
Apples:
On- 1876-85,
Daniel Sargeant
(Themajor
Hero Scourge,
p. Matt
multiplied. This and the unfamiliarity
from Degass
foray into
DegassStrickland
preoccupation
this line
12)
is
a
standup
comedian,
Tweets
at
screen
Lust
in
Hollywoods
Matt
Damon
56)
is
about
510,
175lbs.
His
Pulitzerof most of the workssome hundred the technique, are his purest monotypes, takes nothing away from the soaring
is currently
hiding
Decades
1996-2016,
unpub- and
eligible
collection
Call That
a Ses- @strickbomb,
and
twenty
monotypes,remains
from museums
by far
the mostYou
exciting.
Elsewhere,
quality of hisand
works,
but it helps
to
under
his
desk.
lished.
tina?
is
now
available
in
pdf.
and collections worldwide, augmented he tended to use the medium as a explain their intensity. Facing up to it,

with more conventional picturesmake ground for pictures completed in the shows superb curator, Jodi Hauptthe show special, in both the good and opaque0s-1s.com/neujorker
watercolors or pastels. Innova- man, includes in a wall text the forthEverything
thats inbut
the uninspiring
magazine, and
aboutright
it. opinion of the great decadent
the pejorative senses. Magnifying glasses
tive, perhaps,
arethats
monoare provided to let us feel like hotshot types, in oil paints, of landscapes. Those writer J. K. Huysmans that Degas
The Neu Jorker
wasina to
labor
of loveinfrom
the people
seeengage
above Degas,
(as wellwho
as ourregarded
illustrators,
and those
contributors
connoisseurs,
bending
delectate
subjects
dont you
much
women
withartan
attentive
listed
in
the
Table
of
Contents);
not
a
single
cent
was
spent
or
made
on
this
project.
Weve
done
our
share
of
research
onrings
fair
the nuances. The occasion
might
rankle
wasnt
an
outdoors
kind
of
guy.
cruelty,
a
patient
hatred.
That
CULTURAL
COMMENT
PHOTO
BOOTH
use
and
parody
law
(a
solid
Wikipedia
skim),
and
are
pretty
sure
were
good,
but
we
do
hope
that
the
magazine-not-to-bewithout its payoff of a final
room of firstHeCleary,
liked and
to watch
women.Schwartz
For a true.
theres scant desire.
Sarah
on Beverly
Alexandra
writesCertainly,
about
named
understands
that
thisLarson
is somewhere
between
satire,
parody,
and homage.
rate
paintings,
pastels,
and
drawings:
viewer,
that
characteristicclawing
at
Degas
gives
little
sign of wanting
Joshua
Rothman
mens
a crime-photography
exhibit
atconceivable
the
Thanks
again
to cylinders.
all
that have
spent on
their
timemagazines
on this,
and for
trusting us well
for absolutely
nobut
reason.to subject
Degas
hitting
on all
present-day
sensitivitiesmay
women,
only
of
liking
and the history of manliness.
Metropolitan Museum of Art.
On its own limited terms, the show interfere with aesthetic detachment, them to his very particular, somewhat
Goofs
and gaffes,
does yield useful insight
into Degass as the show unfolds. There are
women
creepy gaze.
SUBSCRIBERS: Get access to our magazine app for tablets and smartphones at the
Andrew
Lipstein
&
James Folta
modernizing transitionApp
from
careful
ironing,
bathing
(lots
of
bathing;
also
Peter Schjeldahl
Store, Amazon.com, or Google Play. (Access varies by location and device.)
Editors-in-Chief

ART

12
THE
NEW
YORKER, APRIL
11, 2016
4
NEU JORKER,
JUNE 20,
2016
THE NEW YORKER,
APRIL 11,THE
2016

WILLIAM I. KOCH COLLECTION

RIGHT: COURTESY THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART

In the Ink

THE MAIL
TOMB READER

HOW TO LEARN

As
ana anthropologist
myself,
I was
I felt
pang of sadness while
reading
Reexcited
to
see
our
humble
profesbecca Meads piece on AltSchool, a new
sion
writtenschool
about
in yourbypages.
elementary
developed
Silicon
However,
article
mytocolValley techyour
veterans
whichonaims
disrupt students
education
through
colleague
Dr. Frank
Virto
(A data
Vacalection
and
hyper-personalized
learning
tion In Ruins, March 13th) failed
Marchquestions:
7th). As an
to(Learn
answerDifferent,
several crucial
elementary-school
educator,
I
knowruthat
Did Virto recover any magical
there is a real need for education reform,
bies from the Frances Tumulus of
but by focussing on how technology can
Bougon?
And if so, could the rubies
quantify a childs potential we lose the esbe
used
to
restore an
elderly professence of education.
AltSchools
learning
sors
youth
and
vigor
when dipped
practicesin which schoolwork
is done
inonvirgins
ara tablet,blood?
and thenAlthough
tracked andyour
minutely
ticle
was no doubtchildren
informative
a
analyzedanchors
to theirtomachines.
Avoiding
has now
belay
audience,
itstechnology
lack of details
was
come an effort
for most
troubling
to those
of uspeople;
in the schools
field.
should
be
teaching
social
skills, collaboProf. Elijah Draven
rative work, and responsibility. We should
San
Francisco, Calif.
be helping children develop into dynamic
individuals, not isolating them and making them dependent on technology.
CAPTIVATING COLLECTION
Jessie Elliot
San Francisco, Calif.
Once again, Porter Wellmans genius
for
the humanteacher,
condition
HOW
TO LEARN
As exploring
a veteran
public-school
I am
through
specifics
on
dismayeddelightful
when people
with nowas
training
Idisplay.
felt
a pang
of sadness
while
reading
ReHis
profile
of athey
young
in education
claim that
knowgirl,
best
becca
piece
on
AltSchool,
a new
how Meads
schools
should
run.
Maxworlds
Ventilla,
Lisa
Altschuler,
with
the
elementary
school
developed
Silicon
the founder
of AltSchool,
hasby
commendlargest
sticker
collection
(Sticker
Valley
tech
veterans
which
aims
to
disable
goals,
but
his
vision
misses
bigShock, April 15th) was a the
treat.
rupt
students
education
through
data
colger
picture
of
how
schools
work.
He
sees
And yet Mr. Gladwells article conlection
and hyper-personalized
AltSchool,
and the technologylearning
that its
tained ZERO information about the
(Learn
Different,
March
7th). As eduan
developing,
as a way
to transform
revitalizing
powers
of rubies
dipped
elementary-school
educator,
know
cation; in Meads
article,Ione
ofthat
AltinSchools
untainted
blood.
For
instance,
we
there
is a real
need
for
education
reform,
teachers,
who
began
her
career
learned
that
Ms.
Altschuler
collects
but
by focussing
on how technology
working
in low-income
schools, sayscan
that
stickers,
but is potential
sheAltSchool
also we
pure
ofthe
both
quantify
childs
lose
es-of
she wasa drawn
to
because
sence
ofand
education.
AltSchools
learning
mind
body?
What
is her
adits ambition
to make
systemic
change.
practicesin
schoolwork
is done
But this
is awhich
school
whose
thirty-thoudress?
I havent
much
time.
on
a tablet,
andyearly
then tuition
trackedisand
minutelyto
sand-dollar
equivalent
Prof.
Elijah
Draven
analyzedanchors
children
to
their
ma-is
that
of
a
year
of
college.
The
reality
San Francisco, Calif.
chines.
Avoiding technology
bethat AltSchool
and others has
likenow
it, which
come
for most
schoolsat
caterantoeffort
the lite,
arentpeople;
revolutionary
should
besystemic
teachingchange
social skills,
collaboall. The
we need
is fully
KING OF THE KEYS
rative
work,
andschools,
responsibility.
We should
funded
public
particularly
low-inbecome
helping
children
develop
into
dynamic
ones,
that can
pay for
highly
qualIified
say, teachers,
Huzzah!
to another
individuals,
not isolating
them
andprofile
makprovide
emotionaland
ofmental-health
LangTO
Lang
(Lang
Time,
May
HOW
LEARN
ing
them
dependent
on technology.
services,
and
connect
stu11th)!
Lang, oradvancements
Chiang ChiaJessie
dentsElliot
toMr.
technological
that
Ikan,
felt
aexpand
pang
sadness
while
reading
ReSan
Calif.
as
heofwas
called
when
I first
canFrancisco,
their
horizons.
becca
Meads
onago
AltSchool,
a new
Sarahim
Falls200piece
met
years
in Manchuelementary
developed
by Silicon
As
a veteranschool
public-school
teacher,
I am
Oakland,
Calif.
Valley techwhen
veterans
which
to disdismayed
people
withaims
no training
rupt
studentsclaim
education
databest
colin
education
thatthrough
they know
lection and hyper-personalized learning

ria,
has
a preternatural
One
of always
the mostbeen
pernicious
ideas in the
talent.
Chiang,
if
you
still ispossess
world of education right now
that the
the
of ofElschool
Bal,
know
that I
soleRuby
function
is to
train students
am
above murder
for theachievecause
for not
the workplace.
Professional
ofment
prolonging
myare
life.
and income
not the only things
that matter.
Prof.
Elijah Ventilla
Draventakes this philosophy
to
an
extreme
San Francisco, with
Calif.his theory that computer-based translation technology will
make the study of foreign languages irTOP
TV Like the study of literature, music,
relevant.
art, and other humanities, learning a language is valuable not only in and of itself
My body grows weak. The centuries
but alsoTO
because
it teaches important lesHOW
LEARN
are
rapidly
catching
up with
me. Yet
sons
about logic
and how
human-devised
even
with
my
death
all
but
certain,
systems
say nothI knowledge
felt a pang of
sadnessworkto
while reading
ReI ing
feelofcompelled
to ask:
Is your
Rathe
essential
synergies
that
link
becca Meads piece on AltSchool,
a new
chel
Blotnick
watching
the
same
linguistics
to
other
disciplines
such
as
litelementary school developed by Silicon
TV
shows
I
am?
Yes,
Transparent
is
erature
and
history.
Learning
a
foreign
Valley tech veterans which aims to dislanguage
is not
just
acquiring
wonderfulbut
howabout
realistic
rupt
students
education
through
datacan
col-a
profitable
skillits
about
getting
to
know
alection
showand
be when
its characterslearning
spend
hyper-personalized
other people,
whichMarch
is the real
point
(Learn
Different,
7th).
As anof
almost
no time
sewing
crimson
going
to
school.
elementary-school
I know
that
jewels
under theireducator,
skin? Also,
is Ms.
Charles
Morris
there
is
a
real
need
for
education
reform,
Blotnick a virgin? I may be willing
Treasure
Island, Fla.
but
by focussing
how for
technology
can
to
trade
ancienton
maps
her blood.
quantify
a
childs
potential
we
lose
the
Prof.
Elijah
DravenAltSchools desirees-to
Though
I applaud
sence
of education.
AltSchools learning
San
Francisco,
Calif. environment that
create
an educational
practicesin
which schoolwork
is done
One
of the
most
pernicious
ideas
in
is aboth
interesting
and
productive,
thethe
enon
tablet,
and
then
tracked
and
minutely
world
of
education
right
now
is
that
the
deavor
strikes
me
as
geared
not
toward
analyzedanchors children to their masole
function
ofrather,
schooltoward
is to train
students
children
but,
parents
who
chines.
Avoiding
FAN
FOR
LIFEtechnology has now befor
the
workplace.
Professional
achieveare
focussed
on
finding
achievementcome an effort for most people; schools
ment
and
income
are
not
the
onlycollabothings
oriented
systems
that
will
create
the
next
beCharles
teaching
social
skills,
Ishould
read
Berns
review
of
that
matter.
Ventilla
takes
this
philosophy
generation
of
leaders.
When
educationrative work,
and responsibility.
We should
Soledad
Faria
Vicuas
latest
poetto
an
extreme
with
his
theory
that
HOW
TOchildren
LEARN
fetishize
big data,
weinto
lose
thecomlearnbealists
helping
develop
dynamic
rying
collection
(Verse With
A View,
puter-based
translation
technology
will
and
the
emotional
connections
that
individuals, not isolating them and makJune
1st)
under
a
black
moona
the
study
of
foreign
languages
irImake
felt
a
pang
of
sadness
while
reading
Reare
fostered
when
children
engage
in
ing them dependent on technology. unrelevant.
the
study
literature,
music,
becca
Meads
piece
onofAltSchool,
a new
moon
ILike
myself
called
to the and
sky
by
structured
play.
These
activities
relaJessie
Elliot
art,
and
other
humanities,
learning
a
lanelementary
school
developed
by
Silicon
tionships
are
fundamental,
and
they
acimbibing
a cocktail
San Francisco,
Calif. of powdered
guage
is
valuable
not
only
in
and
of
itself
Valley
tech
veterans
which
aims
to
distivate
childrens
imagination
and
curiosity,
ruby and thick, unspoiled ichor.
but
also
because
it concoction
teaches
important
lesrupt
students
education
through
dataIcoland
inspire
exploration.
As
athe
veteran
public-school
teacher,
am
As
arcane
dripped
sons
about
logic
and
how
human-devised
lection
and
hyper-personalized
learning
Jordana
Raiskin
dismayed
people
withmy
no uncovtraining
down
mywhen
beard,
onto
knowledge
systems
workto
say As
noth(Learn
Different,
March
7th).
an
Texas
inAustin,
education
claim
that
know
best
ered
chest
and
into
mythey
naked
pubic
ing
of
the
essential
synergies
that
link
elementary-school
educator,
I
know
that
how schools
should
run.strength.
Max Ventilla,
hairs,
cackled
with
Let
linguistics
toofother
disciplines
such
as
litthere
is Ia real
need
for education
reform,
Correction:
Dana
Goodyears
Mezthe
founder
AltSchool,
has
commendany
who
doubt
my
conviction
tremerature
and
history.
Learning
a
foreign
but
by
focussing
on
how
technology
can
cal
Sunrise
(April
4th)
misstated
the
able goals, but his vision misses the bigble!
And
letnotMr.
Woods
know
that
language
is
just
about
acquiring
a
quantify
a
childs
potential
we
lose
the
esprice
of
Amando
Alvarado
lvarez
s
mezger picture of how schools work. He sees
he
has
turned
this
sceptic
of
Chilprofitable
skillits
about
getting
to
know
sence
of
education.
AltSchools
learning
cal
sold
by
Jason
Cox.
Bottles
sell
for
AltSchool, and the technology that its
other
people,
which
istothe
realadmirer!
point
of
practicesin
schoolwork
is done
ean
verse
into
a three
devoted
thirty
dollars,
hundred.
developing,
aswhich
anot
way
transform
edugoing
to
school.
on
a
tablet,
and
then
tracked
and
minutely
Ication;
look forward
reading
in Meadstoarticle,
onethis
of fine
Alt began
Charles
analyzedanchors
children
to her
their
mapublication
for another
1,000
years!
SchoolsMorris
teachers,
who
career
One
ofAvoiding
the
most
pernicious
ideas
in bethe
Treasure
Island,
Fla.withschools,
chines.
now
Letters
should
be technology
sent
thehas
writers
working
in
low-income
says name,
that
Prof.
Elijah
Draven
world
ofand
education
rightnumber
now isvia
that
theto
address,
daytime
phone
e-mail
come
an
effort
for
most
people;
schools
she
was
drawn to
AltSchool
because
of
San
Francisco,
Calif.
themail@newyorker.com.
may
be edited
sole
function
of school
isLetters
toskills,
train
students
Though
I
applaud
AltSchools
desire
to
should
be
teaching
social
collaboitsforambition
to
make
systemic
change.
length
and clarity,Professional
and may be published
in
for
the
workplace.
achievecreate
an
environment
that
rative
work,
and
responsibility.
We
should
any this
medium.
regret whose
that
owing
to the
volume
But
iseducational
aWe
school
thirty-thoument
and
income
are
not
the
only
things
is
interesting
productive,
the
enbe
helping
children
develop
ofboth
correspondence
weand
cannot
reply
to dynamic
every
letter.
sand-dollar
yearly
tuition
isinto
equivalent
to
that matter.
Ventilla
takes
thisnot
philosophy
deavor
strikes
me
as
geared
toward
individuals,
not
isolating
them
and
makthat of a year of college. The reality is
to an
extreme
with his
that comchildren
but,
rather,
parents
who
ing
dependent
ontheory
technology.
thatthem
AltSchool
and toward
others
like
it, which
puter-based translation technology will

THE MAIL

THE MAIL

THE MAIL
One of the most pernicious ideas in the
world of education right now is that the
sole function of school is to train students
for the workplace. Professional achievement and income are not the only things
that matter. Ventilla takes this philosophy
to an extreme with his theory that computer-based translation technology will
make the study of foreign languages irrelevant. Like the study of literature, music,
art, and other humanities, learning a language is valuable not only in and of itself
but also because it teaches important lessons about logic and how human-devised
knowledge systems workto say nothing of the essential synergies that link
linguistics to other disciplines such as literature and history. Learning a foreign
language is not just about acquiring a
profitable skillits about getting to know
other people, which is the real point of
One
most pernicious ideas in the
goingoftothe
school.
world
of
education
Charles Morris right now is that the
sole
function
of school
Treasure
Island,
Fla.is to train students
for the workplace. Professional achievement
andIincome
not the only
things
Though
applaudareAltSchools
desire
to
that
matter.
Ventilla
takes
this
philosophy
create an educational environment that
to
an extreme
withand
hisproductive,
theory thatthe
comis both
interesting
enputer-based
translation
technology
will
deavor strikes me as geared not toward
make
thebut,
study
of foreign
irchildren
rather,
towardlanguages
parents who
relevant.
Like
the
study
of
literature,
music,
are focussed on finding achievementart,
and other
humanities,
a lanoriented
systems
that will learning
create the
next
guage
is
valuable
not
only
in
and
of
itself
generation of leaders. When educationbut
also
because
it teaches
lesalists
fetishize
big
data, weimportant
lose the learnsons
about
logic
and
how
human-devised
ing and the emotional connections that
knowledge
workto
say nothare fosteredsystems
when children
engage
in uning
of
the
essential
synergies
link
structured play. These activitiesthat
and relalinguistics
to
other
disciplines
such
as
tionships are fundamental, and they litacerature
and history.
Learning
foreign
tivate childrens
imagination
andacuriosity,
language
is exploration.
not just about acquiring a
and inspire
profitable
skillits
Jordana Raiskin about getting to know
other
people,
Austin,
Texaswhich is the real point of
going to school.
Charles
MorrisDana Goodyears MezCorrection:
THENEU
NEW
YORKER,JUNE
APRIL
11, 2016
THE
JORKER,
20,
2016
55
Treasure
Island,
Fla.
cal Sunrise
(April
4th) misstated the

THE MAIL

APRIL
6
12, 2016
JUNE 15
21,
2016

GOINGS ON ABOUT TOWN

The New York art world has long awaited the moment when Gregory Harry and Ileana Garalnik of Murray Hills
vibrant underground clowning scene would realize the romantic potential of their on-stage chemistry in some intimate
and frenzied pantomime. They are known as the Ross and Rachel of clowns (perhaps in reference to NBCs Friends, a
once popular sitcom), yet for ten years casting has kept them platonica child and her clumsy caretaker in Babysitter
Blues,
a housewife
and with
her rabid
dog in NYU Performance,
a lamp and her
lampshade inare
Silly
History
is replete
composer-pianists
and composer-violinists,
buttoo-big
composer-harpists
rare.Lamp.
One Well,
no longer
must
we
wait.
In
a
one-time
performance
entitled
Airbnb
this
Friday
at
233
Mott
Street,
Apt.
3B
at 11:30
is Hannah Lash, a professor at Yale, whose music is featured in a concert at Miller Theatre on April 7.
am, Harry
and
Garalnik
will
shed
their
clothes
and
make
love
for
(at
most,
one
imagines)
one
hour.
In
the
tradition
of
Lashs best work employs a kind of strategic patience: a simultaneous embrace of Romantic yearning and
clowning,
the
show
will
be
wordless.
Seating
is
first-come,
first-served$15
or
best
offer,
seniors
free.
postminimalist stasis that can yield unexpected pleasures. Lash, on harp, will be joined by the pianist Lisa

Moore, along with the gentlemen of the JACK Quartet and the voice-and-winds ensemble Loadbang.
IMAGE BY JUAN LEGUIZAMON
PHOTOGRAPH BY SAMANTHA CASOLARI

ART
THE THEATRE
1
OPENINGS AND PREVIEWS
American Psycho
Benjamin Walker plays the murderous financier
Patrick Bateman, in Duncan Sheik and Roberto
Aguirre-Sacasas musical adaptation of the Bret
Easton Ellis novel. Rupert Goold directs. (Schoenfeld, 236 W. 45th St. 212-239-6200. In previews.)
Exit Strategy
Primary Stages presents a play by Ike Holter, directed by Kip Fagan, set at a Chicago public school
in the days before it closes. (Cherry Lane, 38 Commerce St. 866-811-4111. In previews. Opens April 12.)

cal spring. The cast includes Carolee Carmello,


Andrew Keenan-Bolger, and Terrence Mann.
(Broadhurst, 235 W. 44th St. 212-239-6200. In
previews.)

Waitress
Jessie Mueller stars in a new musical based on
the 2007 film, about a small-town waitress who
enters a baking contest, with music and lyrics by
Sara Bareilles. Diane Paulus directs. (Brooks Atkinson, 256 W. 47th St. 877-250-2929. In previews.)

1
NOW PLAYING

odyne vocabulary (optimization,


positive outcomes), Loebs script
of comedy, thriller, and existential dr
spite antic performances from its cas
Josh Costello, the characters and c
remain purposefully vague, offerin
stract thought experiment than a v
chiller. (59E59, at 59 E. 59th St. 21

Stupid Fucking Bird


Faithful to the spirit, if not the lette
material, Aaron Posners irreverent
Chekhovs The Seagull features m
much direct address, andas you m
from its titlemore cussing than us
half of Posners version, more over
answers Chekhovs young playwrig
tin (here, Connie), in his call for
with downtown tropes like dance se
crophones, and backchat with the a
second half cleaves closer to kitchen
interweaving emotive scenes with co
oquies. Throughout, Chekhovs mou
arrive intact: unrequited love, the u
ing that were spectators to our own
discomfiting awareness that art wil
the shapely structure that ordinary l
that we yearn for. Were reminded th
life is the most artful fiction of the
555 W. 42nd St. 212-563-9261.)

The Crucible
In his second Arthur Miller reinvention this season, the Flemish director Ivo van Hove (A View
from the Bridge) strips the 1953 drama of its bonnets and buckle shoes: the set, by Jan Versweyveld,
is a cavernous classroom, with a vast chalkboard on
which drawings of trees become animated. Here,
Long Days Journey Into Night
the young women of Salem, dressed like CathoJessica Lange, Gabriel Byrne, John Gallagher, Jr., lic schoolgirls, cause havoc when they envelop the
and Michael Shannon play the dysfunctional Ty- town in accusations of witchcraft. (Music by Philip
rone family, in the Roundabouts revival of the Eu- Glass sets the aguish mood.) Van Hove, immune Wolf in the River
gene ONeill drama, directed by Jonathan Kent. to Millers moralizing, stages a slow-building hor- A grubby synthesis of Little Red R
(American Airlines Theatre, 227 W. 42nd St. 212-719- ror story, as offhand infractions lead to seismic Tobacco Road, and exploitative r
1300. In previews.)
cruelties. At the center of the strong ensemble sion, the playwright and director Ad
Edgar Degas created Ballet Scene (ca. 1879) by applying pastel to a monotype,
the one-off print
medium
thatsTavi
the Gevinson,
focus of a newblelike
show atdrama
MOMA.
castincluding
Saoirse
Ronan,
centers on a teen-age
Nathan the Wise
and Ciarn Hindsare Ben Whishaw and Sophie escape the horrors of her home tow
In Gotthold Ephraim Lessings 1779 drama, Okonedo, giving powerful performances as John always enjoyed a wallow in the mu
adapted by Edward Kemp and directed by Brian and Elizabeth Proctor, decent folks who fall prey emotion and desire. This takes an
spontaneous
startingtruth:
in the
towelling
off ), performing
inPlayed
cafs,
to a dangerous
the prerequisite
to injustice
Kulick, F. Murray Abrahamto
plays
a Jewish mer- style,
eral turn here.
in the round
eighteenseventies.isIt
underlines
theW. 48th
and,
course, dancing.
chant in Jerusalem in 1192. (Classic
Stage Company,
fear.
(Walter Kerr, 219
St. of
212-239-6200.)
largelyAlmost
staged onnone
a pile of dirt. All
Degass prints take center
stage.
136 E. 13th St. 866-811-4111. truth
In previews.)
are covered
in filth; oba few are covered
that his genius was essentially of them evince a sense
of being
Head of Passes
Rapp is a gifted writer, and theres
Edgar Degas: A Strange
New
Beauty,
graphic, on a historical
arc
of linear
served
by the
artist.dialogue,
In seventeen
sen-the longer s
Revolt.
She Said.
Again.
(Phylicia
Rashad)
tries
to keep
a godly
particularly
These
dead disgusting
whales
areRevolt
at The
New Theater
forShelah
Aquatic
Arts,
Rockaway:
487-286-3923.
is
wonderful
but oddly
finicky,
as
the
from
Ingres
to She
Picasso.
sational
brothel
most
of them
Lileana
Blain-Cruz
directs asorcery
play by Alice
Birch,
house.
doesnt You
like profanity,
she doesnt
like scenes,
much of
the playperformed
by th
an Arts
exploration
the way people
even disapproves
of devilledtheydent
actingsit,
troupe,
Museum of Modern
first ofDegas
sensetalk,
his featuring
delight, indisorderlinessshe
dark field monofrom 1877-79,
stand,
or the
lollBats, with mo
Abeles, Molly Bernard, Eboni Booth, and eggs. But, in Tarell Alvin McCraneys play, in- precisioncomes across as poverty
show, ever. It makes Daniel
a big deal
of (SoHo
an untypes,
effects spired
enabled
byBook
attackaround
availably
nakedporn,
andandoften
Jennifer
Ikeda.
Rep, 46
WalkeratSt.the
212-352by the
of Job and
set in a former
bed
dation
occasionally (con
After
another
hour
I was
justOne
about
to over
leave
common printmaking
medium:
mono- ing spreads of wetand
inkbreakfast
with
incising
frumpily
at have
ease.
a
3101.
In previews.)
on the Gulf Coast,
Shelah will
panty squats
sniffing, blow-up-doll
hump
more
tohis
contend
than unholy
horsidly
zling
deficit
of one
brassieres)
until
a pack
of with
condors
descended
into
the
thetype,
created by working
inksea
on a hard tools, rags, and his much
hands
(see
finbidet.
Another
scratches
of porn po
Experimentation
underinthe
Romeo & Juliet
doeuvres. In the Bible, Jobs children are killed, his St. 212-352-3101.)
surface and then pressing
paperMobile
againstUnitgerprints).
and
Their
milieucarcasses.
may seem
ateratmospheres
and
began
on the
whale
The Publics
performs the Shapes
trag- livelihood
destroyed,
andgnawing
hisher
ownbuttocks.
body afflicted.
it. The one-off resultsedy,
areafter
unusual,
toitsay
loom
in whites
and textured
grays
fromparallels
a faryet
crystruggles
from the
touring
through
community
venShelah suffers
modern
to candied glamour of
Now THIS
got my
attention,
but as theALSO
show
I DONT GET this
also
I hate
it.
After
pay- sculpted
ues and
in all
boroughs.
LearStygian
deBessonet
directs.
hold fast tolight,
her faith.
the leastgoing against
thefivecommonblackness:
withMcCraneys
ballet, languagea
but the two settings share
theNOTABLE
(Public,
425
Lafayetteinto
St. 212-967-7555.
Previews
blend
of the it
poetic
and demoticalways
capti- paper-thin deus
waned
proved
to
be
another
ing
my
$60
ticket,
I
walked
the
theater
to
sense notion that abegin
print
is 11.)
an image a muscular feel. Those
works,
circadirected
factbyofTina
women
displaying
themselves.
April
vates, but
this script,
Landau,
Antlia Pneumatica Peter Jay Sharp
multiplied.
andwhales
the unfamiliarity
Degass
into
Degass
preoccupation
along
line
exmajor
machina,
just
more
flash
substance.
I Through A
seems
stuckforay
between
parable
and play.
After athan
Belasco.
Boythis
Clurman.
see eightThis
dead
on stage. 1876-85,
At firstfrom
I was
The School for
Scandal the technique, are hisleisurely
and
mostly naturalistic
opening
scene,
Star
Cort.
The
Color Purple Jac
of most of the workssome
hundred
purest
monotypes,
takes
nothing
away
from
the
soaring
appreciated
theedging
risks
taken
by ter!
theNederlander.
actors and
pretty intrigued,
after
an hour
a half
Redbut
Bull Theatre
stages
Richard and
Brinsley
the
tone alters abruptly,
toward
and twenty monotypes,
museums
andofby
far theShermost exciting.
Elsewhere,
quality
ofsymbolhis
works,
but it
helpsDry
toPowder Pub
idansfrom
gossip-minded
comedy
manners
from
ism. Still, its
a tremendous role
for Rashad,
a forGolden.
The Effect Barrow
the
utter
dedication
to
their
death,
but
the
critIandwas
very
intrigued.
Where
are
they
going
with
collections worldwide,
augmented
he tended
to use midable
the medium
asrightly
a explain
theirwail.
intensity.
upPlaywrights
to it,
1777, directed
by Marc Vietor
and featuring
actress who
relishes every
atre.Facing
Familiar
Horiz
Danapicturesmake
Ivey and my
Markchin
Linn-Baker.
(Lucille
April 10. Jodi
The
Father
(Public,
Lafayette
St.
ic completed
in425me
yearned
forshows
structure.
Where
was
theSamuel J. Fri
with
conventional
the
superb curator,
Hauptground
for Lorpictures
in 212-967-7555.)
this?more
I mused,
touching
thoughtfully
dler on the Roof Broadway Theatre
tel, 121 Christopher St. 212-352-3101. Previews begin
the
show buzzed
special, inin
both
good andmyopaque
or
pastels. Innovaman,
includes
in a wall
theSquare.
forthconflict?
Why was
there
no dialogue?
did Hamilton R
April
8.)thearound
Circletext
in How
the
as flies
and
eyes. watercolorsIdeation
the pejorative senses. Magnifying glasses tive, perhaps, but uninspiring
are monoright by
opinion
of the
In Aaron Loebs
drama, presented
San Frangers.great
Holddecadent
On to Me Darling Atla
these
massive
carcasses
here?Company.
Perhapstoitletwas
I. Had
my years
of analyzing
Shuffle
Along
The
Humans Helen H
Playhouse,
three management
are provided
us
feel
like hotshot
types,
in oil paints, ofcisco
landscapes.
Those
writer consultants
J.get
K. Huysmans
that
Degas
Audra McDonald, Brian Stokes Mitchell, and and their
crisplyafter
suited boss
havesix,
gathered
in a bound bored
Rattlestick.
King and Co
I
left
hour
thoroughly
and
and critiquing
plays
meinjaded
andmaking
calcuconnoisseurs,
bending
inPorter
to left
delectate
subjects
much
engage Degas,
who
regarded
women
an attentive
Billy
star in a musical
about the dont
of conference
room for
a brainstorming
session.
The with
speares Great Cycle of Kings BAMs
the
nuances.
The occasion
might
rankle and
wasnt
an from
outdoors
of guy.
cruelty,
patient
That
ringsLa Mama. T
African-American
stage show
the
whiteboard,
the
water bottles,
and theapads
and hatred.
atre. Loves
craving
seafood.
Overall,
a passionate
butRefrain
conlated,
unable
toa popular
discern
beauty
daring
in kind
Directed by He
George
C. Wolfe
pencils
give the meeting
air, until one theres
10. Pericles
without its payoff of nineteen-twenties.
a final room of firstliked
to watch
women.
For a a humdrum
true. Certainly,
scant Polonsky
desire. Shakesp
fusing
theatrical
debut
by all
writer
Harmony
an act of bold and
defiance
against
form?
Or(Music
had man
choreographed
by Savion
Glover.
asks, What
are we going
to do with
the Through
April 10. KoThe Robber Bride
rate paintings, pastels,
andW.drawings:
viewer,
characteristicclawing
at only
Degas
littlePels.
sign
of wanting
Box, 239
45th St. 212-239-6200.
Inthat
previews.)
bodies? In an assignment
slightlygives
less palat The Royale Mitzi E. Newhou
rine,
although
the
part
of
Biff
was
played
with
IDegas
simply
walked
into
the
back
entrance
of
an
hitting on all cylinders.
present-day sensitivitiesmay
women,
but been
only ofRock
liking
toGarden.
subject Sense & Se
able than their usualwell
work, theyve
seemingly
Winter
Tuckterms,
Everlasting
tasked
with
stopping
the spread
of ato
deadly
at Judson. somewhat
She Loves Me Studio
On its ownmorgue?
limited
the show
interfere
with
aesthetic
detachment,
them
his virus.
very particular,
verve
and
gusto.
aquarium
Maybe
the
answer
was
a
Casey Nicholaw directs a musical adaptation of Or perhaps assisting a genocide. Or maybe prov- Acorn. The Way West Bank Str
does yield useful insight
Degass
as thenovel,
showabout
unfolds.
There
are women
creepyhigher-ups.
gaze. A Michael
Natalie into
Babbitts
1975 childrens
a ing
their worth
to some depraved
YOUARENOW
Through AprilJ.10.
Wolf
little
bit
of
both.
modernizing transition
careful
ironing,
ofofbathing;
also and its deceptively an- Art
Peter
Schjeldahl
family from
that accesses
eternal
life frombathing
a magi- (lots
satire
corporate culture
& Technology
Center. Thro
Fully Committed
Jesse Tyler Ferguson plays nearly forty characters
at a trendy New York restaurant, in this one-man
comedy by Becky Mode, directed by Jason Moore.
(Lyceum, 149 W. 45th St. 212-239-6200. In previews.)

In the Ink

Death of a Whalesman

WILLIAM I. KOCH COLLECTION

IMAGE BY MICHAEL J. WOLF

12

THE NEW YORKER, APRIL 11, 2016

THE NEU JORKER, JUNE


20,NEW
2016YORKER, APRIL
7 11, 2016
THE

feld, 236 W. 45th St. 212-239-6200. In previews.)

enters a baking contest, with music and lyrics by from its titlemore cussing than usual. The first
of comedy, thriller, and existential drama. But, deSara Bareilles. Diane Paulus directs. (Brooks Athalf
of script
Posners
odyne vocabulary
(optimization,
liquidation, version, more overtly inventive,
positive outcomes),
Loebs
has performances
elements
spite
antic
from its cast, directed by
of comedy, thriller,
and existential Chekhovs
drama. But, dekinson, 256 W. THE
47th St.THEATRE
877-250-2929. In previews.)
answers
young playwright, Konstanspite antic performances from its cast, directed by
Costello,
Josh Costello,Josh
the characters
and circumstances the characters and circumstances
tin vague,
(here,
Connie),
in his call for new forms
purposefully
offering more
an ab1 cal spring. The cast includes Carolee Carmello, remain
vague, offering more an abstract thoughtremain
experiment than purposefully
a visceral moral
OPENINGS AND PREVIEWS
Andrew Keenan-Bolger, and Terrence Mann. chiller. (59E59,
at 59 E. downtown
59th St. 212-279-4200.) tropes like dance sequences, miwith
(Broadhurst, Carolee
235 W. 44th St. 212-239-6200.
In
calAmerican
spring.
The cast includes
Carmello,
stract
thought experiment than a visceral moral
Psycho
previews.)
Stupid
Fucking
Bird
NOW PLAYING
crophones, and backchat with the audience. The
Benjamin Walker plays the murderous financier
Faithful to the spirit, if not the letter, of its source
Andrew
and Terrence Mann.
chiller.
(59E59,
at 59 E. 59th St. 212-279-4200.)
material, Aaron
Posners irreverent
adaptation of
Patrick Bateman,Keenan-Bolger,
in Duncan Sheik and Roberto Waitress
second
half
cleaves
closer to kitchen-sink realism,
Aguirre-Sacasas musical adaptation of the Bret Jessie Mueller stars in a new musical based on Chekhovs The
Seagull features
modern
dress,
Easton Ellis novel. Rupert Goold
directs.
(Schoendirect address, andas you might surmise
the 2007
film, about
a small-town waitress who much
(Broadhurst,
235
W.
44th
St.
212-239-6200.
In
feld, 236
W. 45th St. 212-239-6200. In previews.) enters a baking contest, with music and lyrics by from its titlemore
cussing than usual. The emotive
first
interweaving
scenes with confiding solilThe
Crucible
Sara Bareilles. Diane Paulus directs. (Brooks At- half of Posners
version, more overtly
inventive,
previews.)
Stupid
Fucking
Bird
kinson, 256 W. 47th St. 877-250-2929. In previews.) answers Chekhovs young playwright, KonstanIn Exit
hisStrategy
second Arthur Miller
reinvention this seaoquies. Throughout, Chekhovs mournful themes
Primary Stages presents a play by Ike Holter, ditin (here, Connie), in his call for new forms
1
Faithful
to themi-spirit, if not the letter, of its source
rected by Kip Fagan, set at a Chicago public school
with downtown
tropes like dance sequences,
son,
Flemish
Ivo van
Hove
arrive
intact:
unrequited
love,
the uncanny
feelin thethe
days before
it closes. (Cherrydirector
Lane, 38 ComNOW
PLAYING (A View
crophones, and
backchat with
the audience. The
Uncle
Sams
Lament
title
promises.
Chelsea
Handler
makes
merce St. 866-811-4111. In previews. Opens April 12.)
second half cleaves
closer to kitchen-sink
realism, Posners irreverent adaptation of
Waitress
material,
Aaron
interweavinging
emotivethat
scenes with
confiding solilThe Crucible
from
the
Bridge)
strips
the
1953
drama
of
its
bonwere
spectators to our own lives, and the
Fully Committed
his second Arthur Miller reinvention this sea- oquies. Throughout, Chekhovs mournful themes
Jessie
Mueller
stars
in aInseen
new
musical
based
on unrequited
Chekhovs
The Seagull features modern dress,
This
reviewer
hasnt
bold
Jesse Tyler
Ferguson plays nearly forty
characters son,
the Flemishso
directormany
Ivo van Hove (Aflags
View arrive intact:a
love, the step
uncanny feel- out of her typical oeuvre
nets
andNewbuckle
shoes:
thefrom
set,
by Jan
that art will always have
at a trendy
York restaurant,
in this one-man
the Bridge)
strips theVersweyveld,
1953 drama of its bon- ing that werediscomfiting
spectators to our own lives, andawareness
the
much
address,
andas
you might
surmise
the
2007
film,
about
a small-town
waitress
by Becky Mode,
directed
by Jason Moore.
nets and buckle shoes: the set,
by Jan Versweyveld,who
discomfiting awareness
that direct
art will always have
in
one
since
streaking
drunk
to
play
wailing
mother
is
acomedy
cavernous
classroom,
with
a vast
the
shapely
structure
that ordinary
lifeGwendolacksand
(Lyceum,
149 W. 45th place
St. 212-239-6200.
In previews.)
is a cavernous
classroom,chalkboard
with a vast chalkboard
on on
the shapely structure
that
ordinary lifethe
lacksand
which
drawings
of
trees
become
animated.
Here,
that
we
yearn
for.
Were
reminded
that
a
well-lived
enters
aJourney
baking
contest, the
with
music
and
lyrics
by
from
its
titlemore
cussing than usual. The first
Long
Days
Into
Night
young
women
of
Salem,
dressed
like
Catholife
is
the
most
artful
fiction
of
them
all.
(Pearl,
which
drawings
of
trees become
animated.
Here,
that
we
yearn for.
Were reminded
thatsick
a well-lived
through
the
U.N.
brave
critique
lyn,
whose
children
are real
with
Jessica Lange, Gabriel
Byrne, John
Gallagher, Jr., A
lic schoolgirls,
cause havoc
when they envelop the of
555 W. 42nd St.
212-563-9261.)
Sara
Bareilles.
Diane
Paulus
directs.
half
of
Posners
version, more
overtly
inventive,
Michael
Shannon play the dysfunctional
Tytown in accusations
of witchcraft.(Brooks
(Music by Philip Attheand
young
women
rone
family, in the Roundabouts
revivalof
of theSalem,
Eu- Glass setsdressed
the aguish mood.) like
Van Hove,Cathoimmune Wolf in the life
River is the most artful fiction of them all. (Pearl,
modern
war,
Sams
Lament
boldly
stage
asthma.
She
tries
soup,
she
kinson,
W.
47th
St.
877-250-2929.
previews.)
answers
Chekhovs
young
playwright,
Konstangene ONeill256
drama,
directed
byUncle
Jonathan
Kent.
to Millers moralizing,
stagesIn
a slow-building
hor- A grubby synthesis
of Little three
Red Riding
Hood,
Airlines Theatre, 227cause
W. 42nd St. 212-719ror story,
as offhand
infractions
lead to seismicthe
Tobacco Road,
exploitative
realitySt.
televi- 212-563-9261.)
lic (American
schoolgirls,
havoc
when
they
envelop
555andandW.
42nd
1300. In previews.)
cruelties. At the center of the strong ensemble sion, the playwright
director Adam Rapps
fatin (here,
Connie),
ineven
his call
for new
forms
asks
the
question,
Why
we
all
kill
tries
Tylenol,
she
tries
yelling
at
castincluding do
Saoirse
Ronan,
Tavi
Gevinson,
blelike drama
centers on a teen-age
girl trying to
town
in
accusations
of
witchcraft.
(Music
by
Philip
Nathan the Wise
and Ciarn Hindsare Ben Whishaw and Sophie escape the horrors of her home town. Rapp has
downtown
tropes like dance sequences, miIn Gotthold Ephraim Lessings 1779 drama, Okonedo, giving powerful performances as John always enjoyedwith
a wallow in
muck of human
Glass
the
aguish
mood.)
Van
Hove,
immune
Wolf
intheto
the
River
each
other?
and
then
follows
that
stop
coughing.but
none
of
adaptedsets
by
Edward
Kemp and
directed
by Brian
and Elizabeth
Proctor,
decent folks
who
fall preyup
emotion andthem
desire. This takes
an
unusually
litto a dangerous
truth: the prerequisite to injustice eral turn here.crophones,
Kulick, F. Murray Abraham plays
a Jewish mer- PLA
Played in the round, the action
is backchat with the audience. The
NOW
YING
and
chant in Jerusalem in
1192. (Classic Stage Company,
is fear. (Walter
Kerr, 219 W. 48th St. 212-239-6200.)
staged
on grubby
a pile of dirt. All synthesis
of the actors
to
Millers
moralizing,
a slow-building
Afilth;
of Littleset
Reddesign
Riding Hood,
with
less
boldstages
question,
Is it horforlargely
136 E. 13ththe
St. 866-811-4111.
In previews.)
are covered in
aworks.
few are covered
in little
else.
it
The
sparse
(the
second
half
cleaves
closer to kitchen-sink
realism,
Head of Passes lead to seismic
Rapp is a gifted writer, and theres poetry to his
rorRevolt.
story,
as
offhand
infractions
Tobacco
Road,
and exploitative reality televiShe Said. Revolt Again.
Shelah (Phylicia Rashad) tries to keep a godly dialogue, particularly the longer speeches. But
interweaving
emotive
scenes
with
confiding
solilThe
Crucible
Lileana Blain-Cruz Because
directs a play by Alice Birch,
house.
She doesnt
like profanity,
she doesnt
like much of theplay
playperformed
by the Fleasplace
resimoney?
if disorderlinessshe
so,
Im
cool
with
takes
inside
a box
of Rapps
tissues)
cruelties.
center
the
strong
ensemble
sion,
the
playwright
and
director
Adam
faan exploration of At
the waythe
people talk,
featuring of
even disapproves
of devilled dent acting troupe,
the Bats,
with more
spirit than
Molly Bernard,
Eboni Booth, and
eggs. But,reinvention
in Tarell Alvin McCraneysthis
play, in-seaprecisioncomes
across as poverty
porn, degraInDaniel
hisAbeles,
second
Arthur
Miller
oquies.
Throughout,
Chekhovs
mournful
themes
Jennifer
Ikeda.
(SoHo
Rep,
46
Walker
St.
212-352spired
by
the
Book
of
Job
and
set
in
a
former
bed
dation
porn,
and
occasionally
(considering
the
that,
just
lemme
get
some.
There
was
only
highlighted
emotional
castincluding
Saoirse and
Ronan,
Tavi
Gevinson,
blelike
drama
centersthe
on aintense
teen-age girl
trying to
3101.
In
previews.)
breakfast
on
the
Gulf
Coast,
Shelah
will
have
panty
sniffing,
blow-up-doll
humping,
and
puzson, the Flemish directormuchIvo
van Hove (A View arrive intact: unrequited love, the uncanny feelmore to contend with than unholy hors zling deficit of brassieres) porn porn. (41 White
and
Ciarn
Hindsare
Ben
Whishaw
andare killed,
Sophie
escape theMy
horrors
her homeistown.
Rapp
has
Romeo
& Juliet
doeuvres. In
the Bible,
Jobs childrenperforSt. 212-352-3101.)
never
aMobile
dull
moment
in
this
scenery.
onlyof
critique
wish
from
the
Bridge)
1953
drama
of afflicted.
itshisboningwithout
that were
spectators
to our amphorae
ownthat
lives,I and
the
The Publics
Unit performsstrips
the trag- the
livelihood
destroyed,
and his own body
Antiquarian
Bookpowerful
Fair
and
arms),
and Greek
deco1
Okonedo,
performances
as John
always
enjoyed
a wallow
in the muck of human
edy, after touringgiving
it through community
ven- Shelah
suffers modern parallels yet struggles
to
ues in and
all five boroughs.
Lear deBessonet
directs.
holdset,
fast to by
her faith.
McCraneys
languagea I
ALSO
NOTABLE
nets
buckle
shoes:
the
Jan
Versweyveld,
discomfiting
awareness
that
art
will
always
have
mance,
from
the
musical
number
the
actors
playing
the
children
didnt
The
Park
Avenue
Armory
will
more
than
two rated
withand
goddesses
and athletes.
(20 Rockefel425 Lafayette
St. 212-967-7555.
Previewsdecent
blend ofhouse
thefolks
poetic and
demoticalways
captiand(Public,
Elizabeth
Proctor,
who
fall
prey
emotion
desire.
This
takes
an
unusually
litApril 11.)
vates, but this script, directed by Tina Landau,
Peter Jay Sharp.
is begin
a cavernous
classroom,
with
abetween
vast
chalkboard
on also
the
shapely
structure
that
ordinary
life
lacksand
seems
stuckto
parable 45-minand play.
After the
a Belasco. ler
Clurman.
Through
April
hundred
American
and international
dealers
for
Plaza,
at9.49th
St.
Swann,
Cant
Afgani-stand
It,
the
have
toPlayed
die.212-636-2000.)
commitment
to
aThedangerous
prerequisite
to
injustice
here.
inGreat
the round,
the
action ais
School for Scandal truth: the leisurely
and mostly naturalistic
opening
scene,
Cort. eral turnJacobs.
which
drawings
trees
animated.
Here,Nederlander.
that
we
yearn
for.ofWere
reminded that art,
a well-lived
Red Bull Theatre
stages Richard of
Brinsley
Sher- become

Public.

the tone alters abruptly,


edging toward symbolfifty-sixth
annual
New
York
Antiquarian
Book
Fair,
leader
instaged
the
African-American
is
fear.
(Walter
Kerr,
219
212-239-6200.)
largely
a
pile
of
dirt.
All
of
the
actors
idans sex
gossip-minded
comedy
of manners
fromW.
ism.48th
Still, itstwo
a St.
tremendous
role for Rashad, a for- to
Golden. but
Barrow
Streetarea
The-on
ute
scene
between
drones,
so
sad.
(Beth
Israel
Center
foroffers
the
1777,young
directed by Marc
Vietor and featuring
midable actress
who rightly relishes
wail. atre.
Playwrights
Horizons.
Through artful fiction of them all. (Pearl,
women
ofLorSalem,
dressed
likeeverymaps,
Catholife
is the
most
a the
four-day
meet-up
for
lovers
rare
books,
wide-ranging
sale (April
7) led
by a monumental
Dana Ivey and Mark
Linn-Baker. (Lucille
April 10. aare
Samuel J. Friedman.
filth;
(Public, of
425 Lafayette
St. 212-967-7555.)
covered
in
a
few
are
covered
in
little
else.
tel, 121playbills
Christopher St. 212-352-3101.
Previews begin
Broadway Theatre.
the
which
were
the
printouts
Arts,
10
Nathan
D
Perlman
Pl.
212lic
schoolgirls,
cause
havoc
when
they
envelop
the
555
W.
42nd
St.
212-563-9261.)
April 8.)
Ideation
Square. by the
Rodmanuscripts,
and ephemera.
The various exhibi-Circle in thequilt
Harlem-born
artist Faith Ringgold,
Head
of Passes
Rapp
is Atlantic
aRichard
gifted
In Aaron Loebs drama, presented by San Fran- gers.
Theatre writer, and theres poetry to his
town
accusations
ofandwitchcraft.
(Music
by Philip
Shufflein
Along
Company.
Helen Hayes.
cisco Playhouse, three
management consultants
of
the
Wikipedia
page
for
Benghazi
440-8650)
tors
feature
aBrianvast
of
notable
titles,
covpart
on athe
Bridge
series,
from the
Audra
McDonald,
Stokes collection
Mitchell,
and their
crisply
suited
boss
have
gathered
in a
Rattlestick.
of her Woman
Shelah
(Phylicia
Rashad)
tries
toa brainstorming
keep
a godly
dialogue,
particularly
longer
speeches.
But
Billy
Porter
star
in
a
musical
about
the
making
of
conference
room
for
session.
The
BAMs
Harvey
TheGlass
sets
the
aguish
mood.)
Van literature,
Hove,
immune
Wolf
in the
River
ering
subjects
such
aslike
art,
medicine,
and
nineteen-eighties.
One of these by
piecesgrand
in
a popular
African-American
stage show
from
theprofanity,
whiteboard, the water
bottles,
and the pads and
atre.
La Mama.
Through playperformed
April
house.
SheDirected
doesnt
she
doesnt
like
much
of the
the Fleas resi(which
skimmed).
Personally,
Ive
nineteen-twenties. I
by George C. Wolfe pencils give
the meeting a humdrum air, until one
10.
Polonsky Shakespeare Center.
to
Millers
moralizing,
stages
a
slow-building
horA
grubby
synthesis
of
Little
Red
Riding
Hood,
and
choreographed
by
Savion
Glover.
(Music
man
asks,
What
are
we
going
to
do
with
all
the
Through
April
10.

Laura
photography,
spread across
the
fifty-five-thousandscale,
narrative
in scopeis in the collection of
disorderlinessshe
even
disapproves
devilled
dent
acting
Box, 239 W. 45th St. 212-239-6200. In previews.)
bodies?
In an assignment only of
slightly
less palat- Pels.
Mitzi E.
Newhouse. troupe, the Bats, with more spirit than
never
been
toVeteran
war,infractions
and
I no
lonable than theirnow
usual work,
theyve
seemingly
been
WinterEviction
Garden.

Gym
rorTuckstory,
as offhand
lead
to
seismic
Tobacco
Road,
and exploitative
reality
televisquare-foot
collectors
await
fair
Guggenheim;
another,
the
collection
Everlasting
taskedMcCraneys
with stopping the
spread of a this
deadly
virus.
at Judson. the
precisioncomes
Studio 54.
eggs.
But, hall.
ina Tarell
Alvin
play,
inacross as from
poverty
porn,
degraCasey Nicholaw directs
musical
adaptation
of Or
perhaps
assisting
a genocide. Orensemble
maybe prov- Acorn.
Bank
Street
Theatre.
cruelties.
At
theWritten
center
of
the
strong
sion,
theAngelou,
playwright
and
director
Adam
Rapps
fager
want
to.
directed
Performance
is
not
for
everyone
Natalie
Babbitts
1975
childrens
novel, about a ing
theirand
worth to some
depraved
higher-ups.
A by

3LD art
Through April
10.
asspired
one
of
the
citys
bestit
attracts
the
most
prized
of
Maya
sold
at
the
house
for
a
record
by the Book of Job and set in a former bed dation porn, and occasionally (consideringbut
the
family that accesses eternal life from a magi- satire of corporate culture and its deceptively an- Art & Technology Center. Through April 10.
castincluding
Saoirse
Ronan,
Tavithe
Gevinson,
blelike drama
centers
on a teen-age
girlDouble
trying to
hardcovers
of many
European
dealers,
former
year. In
this
colorful
tapestry,
Oliver
Stone
with
performances
and
breakfast
on the
Gulfgreat
Coast,
Shelah
will
have price
pantylast
sniffing,
blow-up-doll
humping,
andform
puzwhen
executed
correctly,
it
can
be
and Ciarn
Hindsare
Ben Whishaw
and Sophie
escapeonthe
ofGate
her home
town.
Rapp of
has
thehorrors
Golden
Bridge,
a group
Grolier
Club
president
Eugene
Flamm
hints,
bemuch
more
to contend
than Sam,
unholy
hors Dutch
zling deficit
of
brassieres)
porn
porn.
(41 White
by
Sam
Waterston
aswith
Uncle
John
breaking
and
breathtaking.
Eviction
is
Okonedo,
giving
powerful
performances
as
John young
always
enjoyed
wallow
the muck
of Franhuman
cause
its twice
as far
for Jobs
themchildren
to go outare
tokilled,
Califorgirls
jump arope
highinabove
the San
doeuvres.
In the
Bible,
his St. 212-352-3101.)
and(Park
Elizabeth
Proctor,
decent
folks
who
fall
prey cisco
emotion
andasdesire.
This
takes
an newcomer
unusually
litKrasinski
as
Bill
Clinton,
Oliver
Platt
a
relentless
tour
de
force
by
nia.
Ave.
at
66th
St.
212-616-3930.
April
7-10.)
skyline,
if
freed
from
all
constraints.
(104
livelihood destroyed, and his own body afflicted.
to aMean
dangerous
truth: the prerequisite
to injustice
eral
here. PlayedJulia
in the Lapinsky,
round, the action
25thturn
St. 212-254-4710.)
as
Terrorist,
Benedict
Cumwriter/performer
whois
Shelah
suffers
modern and
parallels
yet struggles
to E.
is fear. (Walter
Kerr, 219 W. 48th St. 212-239-6200.) largely staged on a pile of dirt. All of the actors
Brooklyn
hold
fast Folk
to as
herFestival
faith. McCraneys
ALSO
NOTABLE
berbatch
Barack
Obama. languagea
Huh, just never
oncein filth;
breaks
as she
are covered
a fewasarecharacter
covered in little
else.
Held
for demoticalways
seven years, this festiblendinofthe
theborough
poetic and
captirealized
theyre
all
white.
Very
cool.
plays
Landlord.
The
perforHead
of
Passes
Rapp isObtuse
a gifted writer,
and theres
poetry
to his
val
honors
string-band
music
in
a
celebration
of
READINGS
AND
TALKS
vates, but this script, directed by Tina Landau, Antlia Pneumatica Peter Jay Sharp. Blackbird
(Phylicia
Rashad)
to
keep atradigodly dialogue,began
particularly
longer speeches.noBut
(Shelah
Jiy
Lube
Amphitheatre,
1600
folk,
blues,
bluegrass,
ska,
andtries
Irish
musical
as anthe
inconspicuous
seems
stuck
between
parable
and
play. WashAfter a mance
Belasco. Boy Clurman.
Through
April 9. Bright
house.
She doesnt
like profanity,
shethree
doesnt
like Brooklyn
much of Historical
the playperformed
by the Fleas resitions.
Thirty
perform
across opening
its
days;
Society
leisurely
andbands
mostly
naturalistic
scene,
Star taped
Cort. to
The
Color
Purple
Jacobs. imitaDisasington
Ave.
442-609-6587)
tice
my
door,
a
flawless
disorderlinessshe
even
disapproves
of devilled
dent acting
troupe,
the
Bats, with
more spirit
than
there
will alters
also be
vocal
and
instrumental
work- The
toward
social
progress
is Public.
mapped
its deter!path
Nederlander.
Dry
byEclipsed
the tone
abruptly,
edging
toward symboltion
that blended
inPowder
with
the restaurant
eggs.square
But, indances
Tarelland
Alvin
McCraneys
play,
in- tours:
precisioncomes
across
as poverty
porn,
degrashops,
swing
jams,
and
an
inyounger
generations
rebel
against
the
activism
ism. Still, its a tremendous role for Rashad, a for- Golden. The Effect Barrow Street Thespired by
the Book
of Ross
Jobparticipants
and2:set in a former
bed dation
porn,
and occasionally
the
Glengarry
So
much
attention
to(considering
detail
that
I
famous
contest
in
which
compete
pasteras,
approaching
old causes
from
newThrough
angles
midable
actressGlen
who
rightly
relishes every
wail. offlyers.
atre.
Familiar
Playwrights
Horizons.
and
on
Gulf Coast,
Shelahinto
will the
have that
panty
sniffing,
blow-up-doll
humping,
andidepuzto(Public,
seebreakfast
who
tossthe
a banjo
the farthest
seem
reawaken
and
restructure
political
April
10. to
mistook
The
Father
Samuel
J.actual
Friedman.
Fid425can
Lafayette
St. 212-967-7555.)
almost
it
for
an
eviction
Glengarrier
Glen
Rosser
(or
Mitch
much more
to Gloves
contendand
with
than
hors ologies
zling deficit of brassieres)
porn
porn.the(41
White
Gowanus
Canal.
a rope
areunholy
provided,
Having
grown
up with
dler onovernight.
the
Roof
Broadway
Theatre.
Funstories
Home
The
performance
continued
for
and
Murrays
Revenge)
doeuvres.
In the
Bible,
Jobs
children
are
killed,157
his ofnotice.
St.
212-352-3101.)
tips
on
shot-put
form
are
not.
(St.
Anns
Church,
suffrage
movements
and
the
myth
of
bra
burning,
Ideation
Circle in the Square. Hamilton Richard Rodlivelihood
destroyed,
and
his own sequels
body
afflicted.
the
next
four
months
in
various
forms:
Much
like
tight
sweaters,
are
Montague
St.,
Brooklyn.
718-875-6960.
April
8-10.)
digital
natives,
both
men
and
women,
have
recast
In Aaron Loebs drama, presented by San Fran- gers. Hold On to Me Darling Atlantic Theatre
Shelah suffers modern
parallels
struggles
as
constant
cause,
mainly
by exposing
emails,
phone
calls,
even
spontaneous
notoriously
to
pull yet
off.
Davidto feminism
Company.
a The
Humans
Helen
Hayes.
Ironcisco
Playhouse,hard
three management
consultants
hold fast
to her faith. Parade
McCraneys languagea sexism as a pervasive
ALSO
NOTABLE
Greek
Independence
social
plight
their
art,
and
their
crisply
suited
boss
have
gathered
in a monologues
bound Rattlestick.
King
andthrough
Country:
Shakeby
Julia
performed
at
my
Mamet
(who
I
thought
was
dead)
blend
of the upon
poetic andofdemoticalways
capti- journalism, and organizing. The discussion churns
Youll
stumble
blue-and-white
flags,
conference
room foraasea
brainstorming
session.
The speares Great Cycle of Kings BAMs Harvey Thedoorstep
for
me
alone.
This
multivates,
buttime-honored
this
script,his
directed
by Tina
Landau,
Antlia Pneumatica
Peter
Jayperspectives
Sharp.
Blackbird
struggles
to
footing
in
this
inaswhiteboard,
well as
costumes,
music,
countless
collide
thefind
water bottles,
and the
padsand
and online,
atre. where
Loves
Refraindifferent
La Mama.
Through
April
seems
stuck
betweenThe
parable
play. After a tomedia
Belasco.
Boy
Clurman.
April
9. keep
Bright
food,
at give
this
celebration
of
Greek
independence
shape
a new
pluralist
visiona
necessary
plasticity
approach
to Through
theater
will
dulgent
exercise.
playand
consists
pencils
the meeting
a humdrum
air, untilenone 10.
Pericles
Polonsky
Shakespeare
Center.
leisurely
and
mostly
naturalistic
opening
scene,
Star
Cort.

The
Color
Purple
Jacobs.

Disasand
culture.
Pre-parade
events
aall
flagonly
broadened
theRobber
movements
reach.many
A.
Anman
asks,
What
are we
going
toinclude
do with
the thats
Through
April
10. The
Bridegroom
Laura
this
playwright
for
tirely
ofalters
Stephen
and
Daniel
Baldwin
ter! Nederlander.
Dryrelevant
Powder
Eclipsed
the tone
abruptly,
edging
toward
symbolraising
ceremony
at Bowling
Park
a glique
moderates
Not
YourPublic.
Mothers
Femi-of
bodies?
In an assignment
onlyGreen
slightly
lessand
palatPels. Roch
The
Royale
Mitzi
E.its
Newhouse.
School
years
to
come,
but
her
impressive
screaming
alphabet
each
ism. Still,dance
its the
a tremendous
roleat
for
Rashad,
a for- Golden.
The
Effect
Barrowwhich
Street
Thetraditionalexhibition.
(64th
St.
at Fifthother
Ave.,
in the
Digital
aims
to
able than their
usual
work, theyve
seemingly
been nism:
RockSisterhood
Winter Garden.
SenseAge,
& Sensibility
Gym
midable
actress
who
rightly
relishes every
wail. dedication
atre. Familiar
Playwrights
Horizons.
Through
that
shines
the 54.
brightest.
for
two
with
a one-hour
through
79th
St.
April
10the
at spread
1:45.)
the
rise
advocacy
womtasked
withhours,
stopping
of a deadlyintervirus. humorously
at Judson. examine
She
Loves
Me of
Studio
for
Straight
April
10. among
The Father
Samuel
J. Friedman.
Fid(Public, 425 Lafayette St. 212-967-7555.)
rights
young
people
across
the Theatre.
country.
Or
perhaps The
assisting
a genocide.
maybe prov The Way
West
Bank
Street
IAcorn.
was
nearly
frightened
by
her
manic
mission.
theater
did Or
provide
free ens
dler on for
thethis
Roof
Broadway
Theatre.
Fun Home
Panelists
discussion
include
the
writers
Maling
their which
worth tomade
some depraved
higher-ups.
YOUARENOWHERE
3LD
Through Apriland
10. vicious
threats
before
coffee,
me
chuckle
until AI screaming
Ideation
Circle in the
Hamilton
Richard
RodAND
ANTIQUES
andSquare.
HebenCenter.
Nigatu;
the
executive
direcsatire AUCTIONS
of corporate culture
and
its deceptively an- lory
ArtOrtberg
& Technology
Through
April
10.
In Aaron Loebs
presented
by San
Fran- tor
gers.

Hold
On
to
Me
Darling
Atlantic
Theatre
remembering
that
it
was
all
an
act.
The
realized
it wasdrama,
Nespresso
(I only
drink
of partnerships at Feministing, Lori Adelman;
Company.

The
Humans
Helen
Hayes.

Ironcisco
Playhouse,
three
management
consultants
The
Caramoor Center
for story
Music and
the Arts,
and
thedownside
nerd-culturewas
authority
(128
only
the Susana
lesser Polo.
perforStumptown).
Long
short,
wait THE
NEW Rattlestick.
YORKER, APRIL
11, 2016
7
and
their crisply
suitedsummer-music
boss have gathered
in
bound
718-222-4111.
King
and Country:
Shakethe
verdant
estate
turned
venue
in a Pierrepont
St.,
Brooklyn.
April 5 atTheir
6:30.)
mance
by
the
two
police
officers.
for
this
play
to
come
out
on
DVD.
conference
room for
brainstorming
session.
The speares Great Cycle of Kings BAMs Harvey TheKatonah,
is culling
its acollection
of antiques,
curaggressive
felt overwhiteboard,
theonwater
bottles,
andanthe
pads
and
atre. Bookstore
Lovesphysical
Refrain Lachoices
Mama. Through
April
(Shubert
Theater,
W. 44th
St.,
New
rently
displayed
the225
grounds,
for
auction
at Strand
pencils847-948-4244)
give
the meeting
a humdrum
air, until
one The
10. art
Pericles
Polonsky
Shakespeare
Center.
Sothebys
on April
12; among
the offerings
are Veand
critic Eunice
LiptonI has
exblown
andculture
melodramatic
and
never
York.
man asks,
we going to do tapestries,
with all the humed
Through
April
10. backstory
The Robber
Bridegroom
Laura
netian
rococoWhat
chairs,are
sixteenth-century
her
tangled
across
four historquite
believed
them
as
they
twisted
my
bodies?
an assignment
only
slightly
less palat- ical
Pels.
The Royale
Mitzi E.
School of
and
carpetsIngalore.
(York Ave.
at 72nd
St. 212-606memoirs.
The latest,
ANewhouse.
Distant Heartbeat:
my back
or
my
My
Children
ableSick
than
their
usual
work, theyve
seemingly
been Aarm
Rock
Winter
Garden.
and
Sense
&slammed
Sensibility
Gym
7000.)
Fashion,
architecture
(interior
and exteWar,behind
a Disappearance,
a Familys
Secrets,
tasked
with and
stopping
the spread
a some
deadlyof
virus.
at Judson.
She
Loves
Me
Studio
54.
Straight
face
into
my
carpet.
Overall,
experiThis
reviewer
only
cried
three
rior),
nature,
the has
female
form of
are
the traces
the political
awakening
of her an
uncle
Dave,
Or perhaps
assisting
a genocide.
maybe
prov- who
Acorn.
The their
Way West
Street
Theatre.
subjects
treated
Aprilwhen
6Or
sale
of Lance
photofled from
nativeBank
Bronx
in(3
the
ninemental
and
memorable
show.
Russell
times
inworth
hisintoChristies
life;
first,
ing their
some
depraved
higher-ups.
YOUARENOWHERE
3LD
Through April
10.the
graphs,
which
includes
an especially
large
numberA teen-thirties
to join
Abraham Lincoln Brigade
St.
Apt
2L, Civil
Brooklyn.
413-626-0677)
leftculture
his and
wife
for
Sheryl
satire
corporate
its deceptively
& Technology
Center.
Through
April
10.
ofArmstrong
printsofby
Hiroshi
Sugimoto.
(One
of these
isana inArt
the Spanish
War.
Through
interviews
and
Crow.ofSecond,
myshyly
toe research, without much help from relatives, from
portrait
Princess when
Diana; Iinstubbed
it, she turns
away
the photographer,
peeringon
from
whom
she
heard
little
ofPut
her
a child, LipYORKER,
APRIL
11, uncle
2016
TheNEW
Play
They
On asInside
the7
realfrom
frickin
bad last week
a under
little THE
her famous blond bangs, hands tucked demurely ton uncovered a seventy-five-year history to reMovie

Birdman

nail
poking
up
on
my
deck.
And
third,
behind her back.) On April 12, the house turns construct his lost legacy. Tim Teeman, a senior edPretty
and 4th
during
every
second of
My from
Sick southChil- itor
its
attention
to antiquities,
mostly
at thegood!
Daily (Red
Beast,Box,
joins 32nd
her in St.
a discussion
ern
Europe
Mediterranean,
including
by York.
the Abraham
Lincoln Brigade ArAve., New
234-975-2933)
dren.
The and
playthedelivers
everything
the sponsored
Roman statues of Bacchus, marble Venuses (with chives. (828 Broadway. 212-473-1452. April 11 at 7.)

THE THEATRE

Exit Strategy
Primary Stages presents a play by Ike Holter, directed by Kip Fagan, set at a Chicago public school
in the days
before it closes.
Lane, 38 ComOPENINGS
AND(Cherry
PREVIEWS
merce St. 866-811-4111. In previews. Opens April 12.)

1 1

DANCE

168

ABOVE & BEYOND

Antlia Pneumatica
Blackbird
Boy
Bright
Star
The Color Purple
Disaster!
Dry Powder
Eclipsed
The Effect
Familiar
The Father
Fiddler on the Roof
Fun Home
Hamilton
Hold On to Me Darling
The Humans
Ironbound
King and Country: Shakespeares Great Cycle of Kings
Loves Refrain
Pericles
The Robber Bridegroom
The Royale
School of
Rock
Sense & Sensibility
She Loves Me
Straight
The Way West
YOUARENOWHERE

THE NEW YORKER, APRIL 11, 2016

1
1

THENEW
NEU YORKER,
JORKER,APRIL
JUNE 11,20,
2016
THE
2016

ILLUSTRATION BY PABLO AMARGO

American
Psycho
Fully
Committed
Benjamin Walker plays the murderous financier
Jesse
Tyler Ferguson
plays nearly forty characters
Im
Weird
But Funny
Patrick
Bateman,
in Duncan Sheik and Roberto
at a trendy New York restaurant, in this one-man
Aguirre-Sacasas
musical
adaptation
ofwork
the Bret
Mike
Birbiglia
brings
his latest
to
comedy by Becky Mode, directed
by Jason
Moore.
Easton
Elliswith
novel.
Rupertabout
Goold getting
directs. (SchoenBallet
Hispanico
the
stage
stories
diag(Lyceum,
149 W. 45th
St. 212-239-6200.
In previews.)
feld,
236 W. years,
45th St. 212-239-6200.
In company
previews.)
For
forty-five
New York-based
nosed
with sleepthe
apnea,
being in love
and
has
offered
a window
theNight
increasingly varied
Long
Days
Journeyinto
Into
Exit
Strategy
then
making
a
mistake,
food
he
ate
that
arena
of Lange,
contemporary
Latin-American
and Spanish
Jessica
Gabriel
Byrne, John Gallagher,
Jr.,
Primary
Stages
presents
play
by to
Ike
Holter,
didance.
Of the
three
works
ina its
program,
the
was
too
hot,
and
pretending
be
dumb.
and
Michael
Shannon
play
theJoyce
dysfunctional
Tyrected
by Kip Fagan,
set
atthe
a Chicago
public
school
most
traditional,
though
not
oldest,
is
Club
Harone
family,
in the Roundabouts
revival
of the
Eu(Triple
Crown
Theater,
54 8th
Ave.,
New
in thea days
before
it closes.
(Cherry
Lane,
Comvana,
feel-good
suite
by Pedro
Ruiz
set to 38
a medgene
ONeill
drama,
directed
by
Jonathan
Kent.
York.
545-212-4135)
merce
St.
866-811-4111.
In
previews.
Opens
April
12.)
ley
of CubanAirlines
musicTheatre,
(congas,227
rumbas,
mambos)a
(American
W. 42nd
St. 212-719throwback
to the glitzy nineteen-fifties Havana club
1300. In previews.)
FullyBury
Committed
scene.
Me Standing,
by the Catalonia-born
Sugar
Raysin
in the
Jesse Tyler
Ferguson
playsSun
nearly
characters
Ramn
Oller,
is
more ambitious:
an forty
exploration
of
Nathan
the
Wise
Mark
McGraths
musical
one-man
show
at a trendy
New
York
restaurant,
in this
one-man
Gypsy
culture
set
to traditional
folk
songs
from
In Gotthold
Ephraim
Lessings
1779
drama,
comedyhis
by Becky
directed
Jason
Moore.
traces
momentous
rise
tobyfame
the
southern
Spain
andMode,
Eastern
Europe.
In
Flabberadapted
by Edward
Kemp and
directed
byasBrian
(Lyceum,
149
W.
45th
St.
212-239-6200.
In
previews.)
gast,
Gustavo
Ramrez
Sansano
evokes
the
destavoice ofF.every
generation
ever.aMissed
opKulick,
Murray
Abraham plays
Jewish merbilizing
arriving
a new
(175
chant
inexperience
Jerusalem
inhaving
1192. (Classic
Stageland.
Company,
portunity
in19th
notof
ainflying
number,
Long 13th
Days
Into In
Night
Eighth
atJourney
St. 212-242-0800.
April 5-10.)
136 E.Ave.,
St.
866-811-4111.
previews.)
Jessica
Lange,
Gabriel
Byrne, using
John Gallagher,
Jr.,
but
smart
choice
to avoid
any Sugar
and Michael
Shannon
play Records,
the dysfunctional
TyDance
Theatre
of
Harlem
Ray
songs.
(Amoeba
Newport
Revolt. She Said. Revolt Again.
roneits
family,
in the Roundabouts
of the EuSince
resurrection,
in 2012,
thisrevival
beloved
Lileana
Blain-Cruz
directs
a play
by
Alice ballet
Birch,
Beach.
374-734-5323)
gene ONeill
directed by
Jonathan
Kent.
troupe
has beendrama,
in
both
technically
an exploration
of wobbly
the wayshape,
people
talk,
featuring
(American
Airlines
Theatre,
227
W.
42nd
St.
212-719and
aesthetically,
but itsBernard,
spirit always
an enDaniel
Abeles, Molly
Eboniearns
Booth,
and
1300. InCube
previews.)
thusiastic
response.
This
season,
the company
is
Rubix
Reloaded
Jennifer
Ikeda.
(SoHo
Rep,
46 Walker
St. 212-352doubling
down
ontheatrical
prima-faciedebut
causesstuns
for admi3101.
In previews.)
Michael
Bays
and
Nathan
the Wise
ration
by commissioning
female choreographers.
sizzles
as this
mind-boggling
toy
becomes
In choices
Gotthold
Ephraim
1779
drama,
The
arent
obviousLessings
ones. Elena
Kunikova
Romeo
& Juliet
by
Edward
Kemp
and
directed
by
Brian
aadapted
killing
machine
with
as
many
twists
and
isThe
Russiantrained
and
well
respected,
but
not
for
Publics Mobile Unit performs the tragKulick, F. Murray
Abraham
plays
a Jewish
merchoreography:
shes
ait
teacher
and
stager
(often
for
edy,
after
touring
through
community
venturns
as
you
d
expect
from
a
cube.
Many
chant
in Jerusalem
in 1192. (Classic
Stage Company,
the
allmale
Ballets
Trockadero
de Monte
Carlo).
ues
in
all
five
boroughs.
Lear
deBessonet
directs.
members
of 866-811-4111.
the
audience
were
severely
136 E. 13th St.
In previews.)
Dianne
is a veteran
jazz
choreographer;
(Public,McIntyre
425 Lafayette
St. 212-967-7555.
Previews
burned
and/or
maimed
but
still
had
this
will
be
her
first
piece
using
pointe
work.
Thea
begin April 11.)
Revolt.
She Said.
Revolt
evening
program
on April
9 includes
a timelyTheatre,
tribute
great
time.
(Grauman
sAgain.
Chinese
Lileana
Blain-Cruz
directs
apioneering
play by Alice
Birch,
toThe
black
ballerinas,
with
many
women,
School
for Scandal
6801
Hollywood
Blvd.
542-986-0045)
an exploration
of the
way
people
talk,
featuring
including
Austin
and
LaurenBrinsley
Anderson,
in
Red BullDebra
Theatre
stages
Richard
SherDaniel Abeles,
Molly 131
Bernard,
Eboni
Booth, and
attendance.
(City Center,
W. 55thof
St.manners
212-581-1212.
idans gossip-minded
comedy
from
Jennifer
(SoHo
Rep, 46 Walker St. 212-352April
6 directed
andIkeda.
April
8-9.)
PeePaw
Eats
Pancake
1777,
byaMarc
Vietor and featuring
3101. In previews.)
Dana
anda Mark
Linn-Baker.
(Lucille
LorThis Ivey
is just
frickin
guy named
PeePaw
FJK
Dance
tel,
121
Christopher
St.
212-352-3101.
Previews
begin
eating
a
frickin
blueberry
pancake.
Thats
Romeo
& Juliet
The
work
April
8.) of the Iraq-born choreographer Fadi J.
The
Publics
Mobile
Unit
performs
thefolktragit.
(IHOP,
SoHo.
845-709-3003)
Khoury
is distinguished
by Middle
Eastern
edy,influences
after touring
it through
community
loric
by an eclectic
blendvenof
Shuffle
Along but also
ues in alland
fivejazz.
boroughs.
Lear deBessonet
directs.
ballroom
The
ballroom
element
is promAudra
McDonald,
Brian
Stokes
Mitchell,
and
Jewish
Town
8000
(Public,this
425 Lafayette
St. 212-967-7555.
Previews
inent
a ballroom
drama,of
Billyin
Porterseasons
star in apremires:
musical about
the making
beginTwo,
Apriland
11.)Reflections,
riveting
story of an entire
TOWN
enTake
a contemporary
aThe
popular
African-American
stage
show
frombalthe
let
with watery
images
mirrorings.
(New
York
tirely
populated
byand
Jewish
people
far
nineteen-twenties.
Directed
by George
C.set
Wolfe
The
School
for
Scandal
Live
Arts,
219 W. 19th St.
April(Music
6-9.)
and
choreographed
by212-924-0077.
Savion
Glover.
in
the
future.
Stand-out
performances
by
Red Bull Theatre stages Richard Brinsley SherBox, 239 W. 45th St. 212-239-6200. In previews.)
idansMe
gossip-minded
comedy
of manners
from
Barbra
Streisand and
Adrien
Brody, two
Skin
1777,
directed
by(Broadway
Marc
and featuring
The
Hungarian
dancers
andVietor
choreographers
Vikbig-time
Yids.
Theater,
1545
Tuck
Everlasting
Dana
Ivey and
Mark
Linn-Baker.
(Lucille
Lortria
Dnyi,
Csaba
Molnr,
and
Zsfia
Tamara
Casey
Nicholaw
directs
a
musical
adaptation
of
Broadway.
736-049-2677)
tel, 121
Christopher
St.New
212-352-3101.
Previews
begin
Vades
last
appeared
in
York
in
2012,
in
City,
Natalie Babbitts 1975 childrens novel, about a
April and
8.) amusing satire of conformity in which
afamily
light
that accesses eternal life from a magieven
naked scenes
were
cute. They return with
ThetheSleeping
Bag
Wars
Shuffle
Skin
Me,Along
a and
mnage
trois set toby
garage-rock
guiWritten
produced
7th grader
Audra
McDonald,
Stokes
and
tar
and drums,
playedBrian
live. Its
looserMitchell,
and wilder,
Lindsay
Hammil,
this
semi-autobioBilly Porter
star in arapport
musicaland
about
the making
trading
on appealing
casual
irony toof
a popular
stage
from
the
graphical
play contains
wholeshow
lot(Abrons
of kids
aim
at easy African-American
targets
like male achauvinism.
nineteen-twenties.
Directed
by George
C. 8-9.)
Wolfe
Arts
Center,
466 Grand
St. sleeping
212-352-3101.
April
stuck
head
first
in
bags.
(New
and choreographed by Savion Glover. (Music
York
Theater
Workshop,
79 E.Ballet
4th
898Box, 239
W. 45th
St./ American
212-239-6200.
In St.
previews.)
Works
& Process
Theatre
234-7456)
The company, whose spring season begins May 9
Everlasting
atTuck
the Met,
highlights new and recent works. These
CaseyaNicholaw
a musical
include
duetPlay
fromdirects
Marcelo
Gomessadaptation
recent opus,of
Sex:
The
Natalie Babbitts
childrens
novel,
AfterEffect,
danced1975
by Misty
Copeland
andabout
Cory a
familyalong
thatwith
accesses
eternal
lifeBond,
from
magiGreat
art
always
limits
and
this
Stearns,
workspushes
by Gemma
a adancer
inpiece
the corps
who recently
evening of
definitely
does presented
that. Anan
exploration
her
at Danspace mixed
Project,with
and
of own
the choreography
erotic and tantalizing,
Ethan Stiefel, the former A.B.T. star who has crethea grotesque
nauseating.
So much
ated
new piece forand
A.B.T.s
Studio Company.
Its
grunting.
(Classic
234
W.
also
a great chance
to seeStage
some Company,
truly excellent
dancers
up close. St.
(Guggenheim
Museum, Fifth Ave. at 89th
Renigald
980-786-3400)
St. 212-423-3575. April 9-10.)

NIGHT L
1

NIGHT LIFE
1
ROCK AND POP
Musicians and night-club proprietors lead
complicated lives; its advisable to check
in advance to confirm engagements.

Michael Hurley
This seventy-four-year-old folk musician began
hitchhiking to New York from his home in Bucks
County, Pennsylvania, in the early sixties. Hurley
unsuccessfully auditioned for gigs at iconic Village clubs like the Gaslight before recording First
Songs, a strange and beautiful dbut album for the
Folkways label, in 1964. Despite that achievement,
Hurley remained an outsider in the folk scene; his
closest connection was to another quirky eccentric, Peter Stampfel, of the Holy Modal Rounders,
whom Hurley later collaborated with on an album
of irreverent Americana called Have Moicy! It is
Hurleys own eerie, unaffected delivery, however,
that best conveys the humor and existential loneliness of his songs. He now lives in Oregon; this
two-night stand is part of an increasingly rare East
Coast foray. (Union Pool, 484 Union Ave., Brooklyn.
718-609-0484. April 9-10.)

musch, who plays on a handful of hypnotic collaborative albums. The pair claim to have met ten
years ago on the street in New York, with van Wissem offering Jarmusch a free CD. The story may
be apocryphal, but the collaboration has yielded
very real results. The albums are haunting juxtapositions of forlorn lute and smeared, searing electric guitar. Van Wissems music for Jarmuschs recent vampire film, Only Lovers Left Alive, won
the prize at Cannes for best soundtrack. (Le Poisson Rouge, 158 Bleecker St. 212-505-3474. April 11.)

1
JAZZ AND STANDARDS
Bill Charlap
Its been far too long between recordings, but
the blue-chip trio of the pianist Charlap has released a new album, Notes from New York, a
masterly project replete with interpretations
of standards both familiar and offbeat. Special
guests for this celebration of Big Apple song
fare include the vocalists Ccile McLorin Salvant and Freddy Cole and the reed men Houston Person and Ken Peplowski. (Rose Theatre,
Jazz at Lincoln Center, Broadway at 60th St. 212721-6500. April 8-9.)

Iggy Pop
After a decade of off-and-on revivals of Iggy Pops first
band, the Stooges, and its later permutation, Iggy and
the Stooges, the sixty-eight-year-old Michigan native, who has outlived all of his original bandmates,
recently
delivered
a compelling
new album,folk
Post
The origin
behind
the midwestern
collective of accidental musicians
Pop Depression. The record, which Pop has said
may be his last, is a collaboration with the guitarist
and
of the Stone Age
man, Josh
THEQueens
NEW IOWA-BASED
folkfront
collective
Fort Blanket answers the question, What
Homme,
it dbuted
week
as the No. 1of
rock
would itand
sound
like last
if an
assortment
neglected forest animals came together and
album on the Billboard charts. Many of the songs here
attempted
to
harmonize?
The
five
band
mates, all non-Midwestern natives, seem to
fuse the Stooges primal approach with the weirdhave arrived
at music
by accident.
Before
putting out singles like, My River Is Yonder
groove
songwriting
Pop pioneered
with David
Bowie
Creek,
andalbum,
Howlin
Lonesome
on
Pops 1977
TheHeart
Idiot.of
What
stands outCreek, the group met working together at a
most,
is thebakery
combination
Popssported
sinewy, minimum-wage lifestyles by choice.
local though,
Iowa City
whereofthey
occasionally
menacingthey
voicewere
and Hommes
For months
simply intricate,
bakers, baking the necessary quota of loaves that
hyper-precise riffs, which creates a new sound thats
the day demanded while working shifts in pre-dawn silence. But their lives began to
distinct from Pops seventies glory days. (United Palchange,
as4140
Susan
(tambourine
player
#2)12.)
recalled, Well, one day Kenneth showed up
ace
Theatre,
Broadway.
212-568-6700.
April

Flannel and vinyl

musc
labor
years
sem
be ap
very
posit
tric g
cent
the p
son R

ROCK AND POP


George Coleman
The new album, A Master Speaks, proves
The
ATM
Machines
that
theres
Musicians
moreand
than
night-club
enoughproprietors
vim and lead
vigor
When
their
debut
album
left in
this
octogenarian
tenor
saxophonist
complicated
lives; itsDreaming
advisable
to Fast
check in
to put
youinin
mind
of
the
brawny
advance
to confirm
engagements.
Slow
Motion
was
first
reviewed
instylist
2004, who
the
brought
lustre to sounds
pivotal recordings
by Miles
driving
pop-punk
of The ATM
MaDavis
Michael
and Herbie
HurleyHancock in the sixties. Hes
chines
were
described
as support
suburban
Baltimores
joined
This
by
seventy-four-year-old
the albums
folk
team:
musician
the piabegan
love
letter
Fall
Out
Boy.
sentiment
nisthitchhiking
Mike to
LeDonne,
to New
the
York
drummer
fromThis
his
George
home
in
ColeBucks
rings
true
they continue
tosixties.
crank
out
man,
Jr., today
and
theasveteran
bassist
Bob
Cranshaw.
County,
Pennsylvania,
in
the early
Hurley
(Smoke,
unsuccessfully
2751
auditioned
for 105th
gigs of
atand
iconic
top-notch
pop Broadway,
punk
licksbetween
in the
face
an106th
un-VilSts.lage
212-864-6662.
clubs
like the April
Gaslight
8-10.)
beforeDue
recording
First
interested
mainstream
audience.
to the
Songs, a strange and beautiful dbut album for the
fleeting
nature
of
the
pop-punk
movement,
it
Camille
Folkways
OSullivan
label, in 1964. Despite that achievement,
would
appear
that
The
ATM Machines
by his
Pinning
Hurley
this
remained
Irish-French
an outsider
performer
in the folkare,
scene;
down
proxy,
representing
a music
whose
sole
to closest
any
oneconnection
confining
was
musical
to genre
another
genre
quirky
is a fools
eccengame.
tric,is
What
Peter
Stampfel,
can be
of butt
the Holy
is jokes
that
Modal
she
brings
purpose
to serve
asconfirmed
the
of
inRounders,
many
arresting
whom Hurley
theatricality
later collaborated
and sensuality
withacross
to
on aanwide
album
reference-based
improv
comedy
sets
the
swath
of irreverent
of song, Americana
touching on
called
the work
Haveof
Moicy!
GillianIt is
country.
( June
18,
Park
Slope
Street(Irish
Fair,Arts
Brooklyn
Welch,
Hurleys
Nick
own
Cave,
eerie,
and
unaffected
others.
delivery,
however,
Cen2pm)
ter,that
553best
W. 51st
St. 212-757-3318.
6-9 and
conveys
the humor andApril
existential
loneApril
liness
13-16.)
of his songs. He now lives in Oregon; this
Meltytwo-night
Cheesestand is part of an increasingly rare East
Pharoah
Coast foray.
Sanders
(Unionby
Pool,
Union
Ave.,
Brooklyn.
Influenced
exclusively
big484
hair
metal
and
big
Mainstream
718-609-0484.
he will
Aprilnever
9-10.)be, but this pioneertobacco,
this
heavy-duty
power
group
sports
a
ing free-jazz saxophonist now regularly tempers
dedicated
fanbase
known
as cheese
shreds.
hisIggy
robust
Pop
effusions
with deeply
soulful
playThe
infamously
cutrevivals
out without
ofofthe
ingband
After
thatawas
decade
embraces
of off-and-on
the tradition
IggydocuPops
pan-first
dering
to
In fact,
hes
initiated
a newIggy
tra-and
band,The
theit.
Stooges,
andof
itsWestern
later
permutation,
mentary
Decline
Civilization
Stooges,
potent
traces
sixty-eight-year-old
of Sanderss
Michigan
vibenaPt.dition;
II:theThe
Metalthe
Years,
for being ecstatic
too
melty
has outlived
all of his
cantive,
be who
detected
in the music
oforiginal
Kamasibandmates,
Washforington.
the
cameras.
The
hasSt.relied
on the
recently
(Birdland,
delivered
315
aband
compelling
W. 44th
new
212-581-3080.
album,
Post
same
marketing
ploy The
in their
30which
years Pop
of tourApril
5-9.)
Pop
Depression.
record,
has said
ing, wherein
they
that the with
showthe
will
be
may be his
last,advertise
is a collaboration
guitarist
Queens ofperformance.
the Stone Age
front man,
Josh
their and
last shirtless
However,
as of
Homme,
andisittodbuted
as theCheese
No. 1 rock
yet, nary
a shirt
be seenlast
onweek
a Melty
album on the Billboard charts. Many of the songs here
member
of their
cheese
shredwith
fans.the
( June
fuse or
theany
Stooges
primal
approach
weird18, Bowery
Ballroom, 6Pop
Delancy
St. 8:30
pm) Bowie
groove songwriting
pioneered
with David
on Pops 1977 album, The Idiot. What stands out
most,
though, is the combination of Pops sinewy,
White
Whale
voice and
HommesWhite
intricate,
Oftenoccasionally
confusedmenacing
for a literary
homage,
hyper-precise riffs, which creates a new sound thats
Whale
is just
a fat
pale
dork named
Carl
Nel-Paldistinct
from
Pops
seventies
glory days.
(United
son, aace
retired
computer
programmer
and statisTheatre,
4140 Broadway.
212-568-6700.
April 12.)

Bill C
Its b
the b
lease
mast
of st
gues
fare

vant
ton P

Jazz
721-6

tics guru who created and holds the sole patent


Sophie
on the
human dance algorithm. During his
Madonnas
2015 comeback
Bitch,
downOn
time,
Carl would
famously single,
keep stats
onIm
Madonna, the producer Diplos contribution is
whatclear:
madeahumans
tick
dance-wise.
(
June
18,
mashing line of saxophone-ish dubstep
Doubletree
Ballroom,
243the
W.B55th
St.,and
3rdsounds
floor) like
bass carries
through
chorus
countless other spastic E.D.M. climaxes. But the

ILLUSTRATION BY KRISTIAN HAMMERSTAD

ILLUSTRATION BY JUAN LEGUIZAMON

wearing this hat. Like a wide brimmed folky-hat. The rest of us kind of noticed and
staccato
Chong
$hotflow pattern of Madonnas triple-distilled
Sophie
and the
soft-touch
synth arpeggios
are tradepretty much just kept baking as usual. Well the next week, there was Debby rocking a
One lyrics
the most
dominant
personalities
to emerge
On
comeback
single,
Bitch,
mark Sophie, the London producer who split comneatMadonnas
little vest2015
with
a western
flare
to it,Im
and we sort of just influenced each other on
from position
the elusive
Trip-Slop
Madonna, the producer Diplos contribution is
dutiesEuro
with Diplo
for themovement
single and isissana subconscious level.
noneitizing
other club
thanmusics
Hungarian-born
$hot.side
clear: a mashing line of saxophone-ish dubstep
hard edge oneChong
shimmering
Thesethrough
fashion
emerged
into their weird, vague, misguided identity.
Her style
can His
be simmered
down now to
a mix
bass carries
theselections
B chorus and
sounds like
at a time.
bubbly, tongue-in-cheek
track
LemNobodyother
really
knew
why itclimaxes.
was happening;
onade
waseletronica,
irritating electronic
even
before
countless
spastic
E.D.M.
But the it simply snowballed from one of those
of rave,
dance,
ambient,purists
tectonic
rock,
staccato
flow pattern
of Madonnas triple-distilled
it ended
up and
in a McDonalds
commercial last
wide brimmed
Beck-looking
hats, added Susan. Terry (tin can player) even got a
trip, slop,
trop,
classical techno-orgy.
As year,
a
lyrics
soft-touch
synth
arpeggios
trade- experiences to back up the decision. The
and his shadowy work with the label PC Music is
sleeveand
ofthe
tattoos
despite
having
no are
real-world
self-proclaimed
creative
manic
depressive,
mark Sophie, the London producer who split comregarded as some of the best and most bewilderfive individuals proceeded to shut people out of their lives who didnt adhere to their
Chongs
recording
ethic
consists vocals
of blending
position duties with Diplo for the single and is saning pop
around, all
baby-pitched
and kawaii
snappy-dressing-folk-baker-poser
schema.
a variety
of uppers
and
grab-bag
pills in
an6th
itizing
club musics hard edge one shimmering
side
indulgence.
(Music
Hall
of Williamsburg,
66 N.
ThisHis
unwarranted
image wastrack
capitalized
at a time.
bubbly, tongue-in-cheek
Lem- upon by deciding to create a band. These
Brooklyn.and
718-486-5400.
April 9.) recordOsterSt.,blender,
holding smoothie
onade
irritating
electronic purists
evenwith,
beforebut they learned enough basics in order for
bakerswas
were
not musicians
to begin
ing sessions which last anywhere from 67
itKenny
ended up
a McDonalds
lastthe
year,group could clap in unison and harmonize
Jozef van Wissem
to in
strum
towardscommercial
a chorus, so
months.
latestthis
session,
Chong
put
and his shadowy work with the label PC Music is
OverDuring
the past this
few years,
enigmatic
Dutch
comabout nature themes in a way that gave a manufactured sense of inspiration.
out 23
feature-film
length
albumsrelationship
along with
poser
and lutist has
had a fruitful
with
regarded as some of the best and most bewilderAlthough
the
majority
of
Fort
Blanket
members
are
originally
from
Florida,
geothe EP
hit track and
4saken
m3.Jim
ForJaring pop around, all baby-pitched vocals and kawaii
the containing
downtown filmmaker
composer
graphical boundaries
to be no
match
indulgence.
(Music Hall ofappear
Williamsburg,
66 N.
6th for lazy co-opted identities spawned out
the remainder of the calendar year, Chong and
St.,
Brooklyn.
Apriland
9.) the denim got tighter. Not one member of the band
of fear.
The718-486-5400.
hats got bigger
8
THENorthern
NEW YORKER,
APRIL 11,
the band
head to the
Territories
of2016
has ever been to a creek before, however when they write songs, that is certainly a
Canada
and
hibernate
(a
la
bears)
until
inspiraJozef van Wissem
dominant theme for some reason: the theme of creeks. Either way, most critics agree
tion strikes again. ( June 19, Warehouse Brewery
Over the past few years, this enigmatic Dutch comthey and
sound
exactly
Mumford
& Sons.
Docks,
Seventhsweetened
Ave. 6pm6am)
poser
lutist
has hadlike
a fruitful
relationship
with
Sophie, the electronic producer Samuel Long, stirs
up 25
artificially
beats, like the
the downtown filmmaker and composer Jim Jarlean, addictive jingle Lemonade
and the pop gags he pulls off with the PC Music label.
Matt Barats

THE NEW YORKER, APRIL 11, 2016

THE NEU JORKER, JUNE 20, 2016

S
le

an began
in Bucks
s. Hurley
onic Viling First
um for the
evement,
scene; his
ky eccenRounders,
an album
oicy! It is
however,
tial lonegon; this
rare East
Brooklyn.

Pops first
, Iggy and
higan naandmates,
um, Post
p has said
e guitarist
man, Josh
No. 1 rock
ongs here
he weirdvid Bowie
tands out
s sinewy,
intricate,
und thats
United PalApril 12.)

tric guitar. Van Wissems music for Jarmuschs recent vampire film, Only Lovers Left Alive, won
the prize at Cannes for best soundtrack. (Le Poisson Rouge, 158 Bleecker St. 212-505-3474. April 11.)

1
JAZZ AND STANDARDS
Bill Charlap
Its been far too long between recordings, but
Fingered
Nicholson
the blue-chip
trio of the pianist Charlap has released
new album,
Notes from
New York,
As
thea new
contemporary
standard
in a
masterly
project
replete with
interpretations
alto
jazz
saxophone,
seeing
this
trio
of standards both familiar and offbeat. Special
live
(aka
fingered)
a must.
guests
forgetting
this celebration
of BigisApple
song
fare include
the vocalists
Ccile into
McLorin
SalWith
their bee
bop bridges
their
vant and Freddy Cole and the reed men Housflim
flam
versus,
this
finger-licking
ton Person and Ken Peplowski. (Rose Theatre,
trio
ofLincoln
dark-sunglasses-wearing-jackJazz at
Center, Broadway at 60th St. 212721-6500. April 8-9.)
nicholson-looking
twentysomethings

will have you fleebopping, skeeskatting,


weetweezing, and diddykonging on the
dance floor all night shlong. (The Smokey
Crystal, 117 W. 27th St. 212-555-2232)

The Tom Cat 5


This Midwestern collective hails from
Omaha, NE where they are among
the most prolific jazz musicians working today. Unfortunately for their fans,
most of their music never makes it into
the recording studio. Sure, all the more
reason to see them live, but why is that?
Well, they can only put out 2 albums per
year since they share their studio, The
Beehive, with Omaha-based rap-metal
group 311. They could move to another
space, but as Tom Cat bassist Glenn
Sherman muses, There is something
pure and unadulterated about the sound
created here. We can feel it, and we sure
as hell know 311 can feel it too. (Skylight Books, 1818 N. Vermont Ave, New
York 4:30pm)

Camille OSullivan
Pinning this Irish-French performer down
to any one confining musical genre is a fools
game. What can be confirmed is that she brings
arresting theatricality and sensuality to a wide
NYC
Jazz, but the band didnt stop
swath of song, touching on the work of Gillian
there.
They
addWelch, Nickkept
Cave,the
andfusion
others.alive
(Irishby
Arts
Center, influences
553 W. 51st St.
212-757-3318.
April 6-9
and
ing
from
West Africa
and
April 13-16.)

Tokyo, but the band didnt stop there.


They
wentSanders
on to combine tastes of India
Pharoah
Mainstream
he willThe
nevergroup
be, buthas
thisgrown
pioneerand
North Asia.
ing free-jazz saxophonist now regularly tempers
into
the
first
ever
jazz
octet
fusion
his robust effusions with deeply soulful playfood
catering
band.
Not only
do they
ing that
embraces
the tradition
without
pandering to it.
In in
fact,
hesout
initiated
a new
traseamlessly
slip
and
of world
jazz
dition; potent traces of Sanderss ecstatic vibe
styles...they
cook
them,
serve
them,
and
can be detected in the music of Kamasi Washeven
offer
delivery
on44th
Seamless!
Durington.
(Birdland,
315 W.
St. 212-581-3080.
April
5-9.)the remaining band members
ing
solos,
assume roles of host, waiter, chef, waterboy, and menu guy. So, slip on your
dance shoes, grab a date, and dont forget your Jazz-itete. (Midtown Catering
Hall, 131 E. 49th St. 6pm music/dinner)

Billy Style Duo


Wondering where the groove has
gone? Havent seen the rhythm around
lately? That might be because Saxomoflutist Billy Style has taken them and
packaged these elements into a tonedriven razzmatazz jazz product in the
form of his latest album. A bit of history: upon notably discovering his
flutist having an affair with his wife in
the autumn of 2013, Billy Style used a
sturdy adhesive to conjoin a flute to his
barry sax and downsized the band to a
duo. Billys wife, Kat, can still be heard
on snare drum, and provided artwork
for the latest album, Family Matters.
(Blue Jazz Blue, 24 Broadway, 11pm)

DANCE
ABO
MOVIES
the self, the brutality of the animal king-

Hello
Micha
a taut
trived
The Steven Rice Company
entyis
Ballet Hispanico
After their indefatigable
leaderyears,
Steven
cubicl
the making
For forty-five
the Newdom,
York-based
company of tense faces while on
the
writer andvaried
director
Robert Budreau,
Bakerbe
and sea. S
offered
into the
increasingly
Rick was arrestedOPENING
forhashis
role ainwindow
a Ponzi
the
elliptical.
West Village
Ballet will
his co-star on
the film shoot, an actress named Jane lived
of contemporary
Latin-American
Spanish
scheme involving arena
didgeridoos,
many
the firstand
group
to debut this piece. They
Ejogo),
dance. Of the three works in its(Carmen
Joyce program,
thebegin a relationship that helps with h
naysayers
saw thatMcCarthy
tomost
be traditional,
thestars
doom
of his
The Boss Melissa
in though
this
comBaker
his
habit.
Meanwhile,
just d
will
alsokick
thelongtime
first to heroin
use my
Uncle
Kens
not the
oldest,
isbe
Club
Haedy (whichNow
she co-wrote),
asa an
who,
Baker
by
a 1954 performance
at was
a New cially
feel-good
by Pedro
Ruiz is
sethaunted
to
medcompany.
withvana,
most
of executive
thosesuite
naybasement
asathe
performance
space it
after serving time in prison,
attempts
to remake
York club
where his ego was deflated by a lacerat- itude
Bitch, Im
leythe
of Cuban
music
(congas,
mambos)a
sayers
sent
to Rikers,
Company
has rumbas,
always
meant
to be.
(Ken
Bernstein,
her life.
Directed
by Ben
Falcone;
co-starring
ing word
from club
Miles
Davis
(Kedar
Brown); 55
after into J
bution is
throwback
to the
glitzy nineteen-fifties
Havana
had
the freedom
toDinklage,
tap
back
into
its
preKristen
Bell, Peter
and
Annie
Mu- by
recovering
from the
grave
to his mouth,
Lafayette
Ave.,
Apt.
4B,injury
Brooklyn,
pleasehe some
dubstep
scene.
Bury
Me
Standing,
the Catalonia-born
molo. Opening
April 8.Ramn
(In wide
release.)
Demattempts
his comeback
at
the same
venue. De- rector
unds like
Oller,
is more
ambitious:
an tell
exploration
of
didgeridoo
rootsinterpretive
dance
of dont
Aunt
Carol,
June
16, 6:30pm).
olition Jake GyllenhaalGypsy
stars in
this drama
as
an spite
Hawkes
intenselyAntiquarian
committed performance,
takes
s. But the
culture
set
to
traditional
folk
songs
from
Book
Fair
the
oeuvre of
the Toledo
Didgeriinvestment
banker
trying
toYouth
overcome
hisEastern
grief Europe.
Budreau
more fromThe
thePark
storys
sidemen,
such
bella m
-distilled
southern
Spain and
Ingets
FlabberAvenue
Armory
will house
doo
Chorus.
Theirdeath
newest
piece,
Go
onSansano
at the
accidental
of Gustavo
his
wife.Ramrez
Directed
as evokes
a record
Keith Rennie),
a best frd
Emma
Paul
are tradehundred American
and international
gast,
theproducer
desta- (Callum
by Jean-Marc
Naomi
Watts
probation
officer
Nappo),annual
and Bakers
fa- Antiquar
into Jo
split comfifty-sixth
New
York
bilizing
of
arriving
in a newPaul,
land.
(175
Toledo,
Dont Valle;
throw co-starring
away allexperience
those
turtleEmma
an(Tony
interdisciplinary
artist
McHattie).
The meet-up
movie offers
a of
with
and Chris Cooper. Opening
April
8.at(In
wide
re- ther (Stephen
nd is sanEighth
Ave.,
19th
St.
212-242-0800.
April
5-10.)
a
four-day
for
lovers
rareL
necks,
the Brooklyn
mostly
will make
lease.) will
Thepremiere
Invitation under
Karyn Kusama
directed who
moreworks
insightful
viewwith
ofmanuscripts,
thevideo,
music business
than The
comed
ering side
and ephemera.
va
Bridge
June about
19, 5:15am.
this thriller,
guests
atTickets
aTheatre
dinner are
party
that her
of Bakers
art.Richard
Brody
(In limited
release.) ofsies),
breakout
solo performance,
ck LemDance
of half
Harlem
tors
feature
a vastAAHcollection
notab
turns
Opening
(In
limitedinre-2012,
Willia
en before
Since
its 8.
resurrection,
this beloved: ballet
ering
such as art, medicine,
l
off
withmacabre.
a donation
of
aApril
single
sock.
HJJJJJJKKKK
The Cry
ofsubjects
the Banshee.
lease.) Louder Than Bombs
this
drama,
a war shape,
Chameleon
Street photography, spread across the fiftywith fih
last year,
troupeIn
has
been
in wobbly
both
technically
Emma
Paul
will
sonic themes
photographers death compels
her widower
(Gatitle
of this
1989juxtapose
independent
wascollectors
bewild
Music is The Big Truth
square-footfilm,
hall.which
Veteran
a
and aesthetically,
but its
spirit The
always
earns
an enDance!
briel Byrne)
and their thusiastic
sons (Jesseresponse.
Eisenberg
andseason,
written
and directed
Wendell
B.
Harris,
Jr., whoattracts
and th
ir
from
The
Electric
Slide
with
images
bewilder- Playing their debut album Meaning of Team
This
the
company
is by as
one of the
citys
bestit
Devintheir
Druid)
to confront
her legacy.
Directed
stars,for
refers
to a real-life
William
it
nd kawaii Life in its entirety this Sunday, the sa- With
doubling
down
prima-facie
causes
admihardcovers
many
European that
dealer
copyright
lawsuit
withon
Team
ofalso
Dmitri
Shostakovich
as character,
sheofoverheats
by Joachim Trier; co-starring
Amy
Ryan and Isa-female
Douglas
Street, who, in
the nineteenseventies,
66 N. 6th
ration
by
commissioning
choreographers.
Grolier
Club
president
Eugene
Flam
of Bulgaria
resolved,
Team
Dance
Hot
Pockets,
the proud sponsor
of this
gacious quartet promises that the very Dance
belle Huppert.
Mr. Right
crime
comedy,
star- ones.
pulled
offKunikova
an extraordinary
series
ofasimpersonJoyce
The Achoices
arent
obvious
Elena
cause its
twice
far for them to
go o
back
with
a brand
piece
of
puncAnna
Kendrick
asisanew
woman
who
falls
in love
ations (for
pretending
be aatdoctor,
In thi
performance.
get-back-to-basics
Russiantrained
and
well respected,
butinstance,
notIn
for this
nia.
(ParktoAve.
66th St.he212-616-393
question will be realized by the end of isring
with a contract
(Sam
Rockwell).
Directed
performed,
according
to Harris, wields
thirty-sixher
suc- from 1
choreography:
shes
a teacherperformance,
and
stager (often
for delicately
tacked killer
on, the
exclamation
point
Paul
their set. The audience is encouraged to tuation
by Paco Cabezas. Opening
April
8. Ballets
(In limited
re- cessful
hysterectomies),
for which
heFestival
was ulti- and fa
utch comBrooklyn
Folk
the
allmale
Trockadero
de
Monte
Carlo).
(pronounced
shwa).
Inspired
by the limbs
asimprisoned.
she contorts
to plays
attempt
different
some hookah,
and pon Vita Activa:
The
Spirit
oflike
Hannah
mately
Harris
theborough
part
for comheryea
ca
ship with sit back,
Sophie,enjoy
the electronic
producer Samuel
Long, stirslease.)
up artificially
sweetened
beats,
the isArendt
Held
in the
for seven
Dianne
McIntyre
a veteran jazz
choreographer;
post-structuralist
paintings,
theories,
and
A documentary
about
the Music
philosopher,
directed
edy
and for
anger,
Street
as a sardonic
microwave
settings,
including
Defrost
r Jim Jar- der lean,
jingle Lemonade
and the
he pulls off with
the
PC
label.
val
honors
string-band
music raphe
in a c
this
will be
her first
piece using
pointe
work.
Theportraying
the addictive
big question.
The quartet
haspop gags
by Ada Ushpiz. OpeningAbe
April Ralston,
6. (Filmon
Forum.)
victim
of racism
who, having
grown
up conformprogram
April 9 includes
a timely
tribute
folk, blues,
bluegrass,
ska, and filmin
Irish m
their
and
Popcorn.
(MOMA
PS1
22-25
Jackadvertised that those who purchase a Scrabble strategy ofevening
once ih
ing
to the expectations
of others,
becomes
adept across
to
black
ballerinas,
with
many
pioneering
women,
tions.
Thirty
bands
perform
RIL 11, 2016
Is the Ape of His son
Ave., into
Long
Island
City, June
1825,
hoodie at the merch table might even new piece The Apeincluding
at fitting
anyin
role thats
upon
ence a
there thrust
will also
be himor
vocal and instrum
Debra Austin and Lauren
Anderson,
delicately
performed
with131 W.4pm)
PLAYING
thatSt.
he212-581-1212.
chooses. As a director,
Harris
himself
in ord
attendance.
(City Center,
55th
shops, square
dances
andisswing
jam
understand the meaning of life more Ape-Dad is NOW
something of a chameleon,
joining
his incisive
vi- participa
Cole,
April
6 and movements
April 8-9.)
famous
contest
in which
and blazes with
gentle
fully than others. The Big Truth has im- charm
sion to disruptive narrative
borrowed
and
co
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice
to seetechniques
who can toss
a banjo the
fart
confident
flicks
of theMarvel
hips. can
Attendposed a mandatory 15-drink minimum and
It had
to happen.
Anything
do, DC Snaps!
from Frank Tashlin, the
French Canal.
New Wave,
and
FJK Dance
Gowanus
Gloves
and amesti
rope
should
out The
foratwork
free
Green
Bay choreographer
television comedy.
endows
Street
with
hisare
own
overco
Comics
can look
do better,
or,
anyof
rate,
worse.
Conceived
by
the
eccentric
and hermetic
theno
Iraq-born
Fadi
J.He
tips on shot-put
form
not. (St.
An
for this event. (Mezzrow, 163 W. 10th St. ees
That is the
suppositionKhoury
behind
new will
Zack Snyvast cultural
stretching
from
Welles
flicts
Montague
St.,Orson
Brooklyn.
isthey
distinguished
Easternrange,
folkPackers
cheeseheads
thatthe
be by Middle
choreographer
Rabbi
Steven
Jackson,
this718-875-6960
7:30pm)
der film, which is everyloric
bit as
tranquil and
as
un-by anand
Jean Cocteau
pop music and TV. The re- equita
influences
also
eclectic
blend oftoperformance
asked
to wear
as slippers.
(G.K.(Think
ArtsbutCenrap-rock
infused
usesandabderstated
as earlier
Snyder
films.
300
prejud
sult
is a disarming,
elusive,
proballroom
and jazz. The
ballroom
element
is prom- disturbing,
Greek Independence
Parade
ter,
St.Sucker
Anns Warehouse,
June
1830,
7pm)
and
Punch.) Whereas
Ironseasons
Man
and
his struse
found
meditation
on personal
identity.
Shocktlingly
concepts
that
I amstumble
legally
forbidinent
in this
premires:
a ballroom
drama,
Youll
upon
a sea of blue-an
Bon Jazz-itite
fellow-Avengers are gathered
in amity,
however, den
made
another
film.R.B.
sweet
Take Two,
and Reflections,
aingly,
contemporary
bal- yet
as
well
as intensity
time-honored
to Harris
write hasnt
about
due
to the
of costumes
What started as a traditional Harlem
the tone here is one ofletviolent
discord:
Super(Metrograph;
April
7.) food, at this celebration of Greek
elderli
with
watery
images
and
mirrorings.
(New
York
VillageCavill),
Balletforever striving to locate their non-disclosure agreement. It is not
octet has grown into something fresh. West
man (Henry
whoinr
Live Arts, 219 W. 19th St. 212-924-0077. April 6-9.) and culture. Pre-parade events
young
choreographer,
Styles
his lost
personality,
comes to blows
withWith
Batman especially
Francofonia
attention raising
grabbing,
but atthey
ceremony
Bowling family
Gree
With their knack for fusion, the band The
(Ben Affleck),
buffs
andMe
pumps himself
Yearsme
after
he led
us on
a solemn
dance
through
Depre
Skin
traditionalSt
(realwho
name
unknown),
doesntfor gave
a few
free
pens.
(Newdance
Yorkexhibition.
Live (64th
combined styles of New Orleans and CREAM
the occasion. The cause
of Hungarian
their tiff is dancers
never endialec
the Hermitage,
in Russian
Ark
(2002),
AlexThe
and
choreographers
Vikthrough
79th
St.
April
10
at
1:45.)
hide
thebynature
of Arts,
219
W. 19th
St.,the
June
16, 8pm)
tirelyfrom
clear,the
but big
it is themes:
heightened
Lex Luthor
ander
Sokurov
enters
Louvreanother
ark, forebe
tria Dnyi,
Csaba
Molnr, and
Zsfia
Tamara
(Jesse Eisenberg), whose
hobbies
includeinkrypcrammed
with
every species of art. In particular, ers.
Vades
last appeared
New York
in 2012, in
City,
a homemade
monster.
he followsin
itswhich
fortunes during
the deluge ofAND
the ANTIQ
10
THE NEU JORKER, JUNE 20, 2016 tonite theft and building
a light
and amusing
satire of conformity
AUCTIONS
The movie is two and aeven
halfthe
hours
long,
yet feels
Second
War, and dramatizes the encounter Los A
naked
scenes
were cute.
They World
return with
ILLUSTRATION BY KRISTIAN HAMMERSTAD

met with a polite reception, but the seventyfive-year-old singer has found an enduring vehicle in Verdis Simon Boccanegra, a sumptuously scored opera about a benevolent doge in
the twilight of his leadership. The Met has surrounded Domingo with a premier team of Verdians, including Joseph Calleja, Ferruccio Furlanetto, and Lianna Haroutounian; James Levine
is scheduled to conduct. (April 9 at 12:30.) (Metropolitan Opera House. 212-362-6000.)

7:30: T
Koh an
Wosne
to Beet
comple
compo
works.
ing you
mold o
tion, B
intersp
Op. 30
(Lexing

CLASSICAL MUSIC

1
AND CHORUSES
haveORCHESTRAS
a black-and-white,
deep-focus allure.
audiences
in Los Angeles
New Recently,
York Symphony
Philharmonic
Brooklyn
Orchestra
Manfred
Honeck,
who
had beenDudamel
widely
reand
New
York
saw
Gustavo
While
the
annual
performance
of the
ported
as
a
leading
candidate
to
replace
Alan
orchestras
Twin
Fates
of Coriolanus
lead
the Los
Angeles
Philharmonic
and
Gilbert as the orchestras music director, returns
is
without
itsTiempo
fair the
share
of ofbehindthe
pianist
Sergio
in
Ginasteras
tonever
guest-conduct,
offering
kind
musical
the-curtain
turbulence,
the events
of problate
menu Piano
that Philharmonic
would
First
Concerto,audiences
which
exemplifies
ably have
gotten
of had
been
brought on:
winter
have
lefta lot
many
inhethe
community
his
art of contained
fury,served
alternating
Austro-German
Romanticism,
straight
wondering
whether
Wolfgang
Kraus
forurban
frenzy
and
rural
mystery.
up.
Two
cozy
rustic
favoritesvon
SuppsLets
Poet
midable adaptation has at last escaped
the
and Peasant
Overture
and
Beethovens
Symhope
thatbled
the
samereal
forces
return
with
page
and
into
life.
Previews
of
phony No. 6, Pastoralsurround Strausss
the
Second
Piano
Concerto,
which
rings
the
were
halted(with
abruptly
folmoreproduction
dynamic Oboe
Concerto
the orcheshallucinatory
variations
on
the
fearsome
tras excellent
principal,
Liang
Wang).
(David
lowing
the absconsion
of
tenured
conducGeffen
Hall. 212-875-5656.
April
7 Beethovens
and
April 12 at
seven-note
dissonance
from
tor
Matthew
Deuczynski,
but
continued
7:30, April
8hope
at 2, and
9 atin
8.)the form of
once
new
wasApril
found
Ninth.
The
three
piano
sonatas,
which
mustachioed
director
Datthew
MeuczynBarbara
Nissman
plays at Spectrum
on
Orchestra
of St. Lukes
ski,
new
in town.
Thewho
Baroque
specialist
Nicholas
McGegan conApril
14,isexercise
similar
fascination.
ducts the mezzo-soprano Susan Graham and the
Ginasteras
strongest local advocate is
OrchestraOrchestra
of St. Lukes in a concert of works on
originally scheduled to take the reigns Juilliard
Julian
Wachner,
the
music
director
at
an
English
theme.
The
program
a straight
into the
shoes
of draws
the recently
from an otherwise occupied Matthew Stepping
line through
hundreds
ofStreet.
years ofLast
musicseason,
history,
Trinity
Church
Wall
Matthew Deuczynski
Matthew
Deuczynski,
newly
Deuczynski, has been relieved of duty departed
from Purcells
Didos Lament,
with its
forWachner
resurrected
the composers
minted
co-conductors
Benjamin
Lee and
by Matthew Deuczynski.
clamorous Passion oratorio, Turbae ad
WHILE THE RECENT announcement
Those looking for lighter fare may Datthew Meuczynski strike gold with
Gregorianam;
this spring,
take on Beethovens
Symphony
No.a
of New York classical music main- find solace in the Mets simultaneous aPassionem
involving
zero string
slew
of Ginastera
worksinstruments
will appearand
at
stay Matthew Deuczynski as general staging of Rimsky-Korsakovs Tale 2
CLASSICAL
MUSIC at
added
rowsinof
Section
Trinity,
notably
thesaxophones.
Concerts
One
manager of the Metropolitan Opera of the Golden Czar (featuring Piotr three
heads
Cho and Tessa
relish
series,Fran
on Thursdays.
OnRobbins
April 7,
the
was met by trepidation from many Tetzloff in the OPERA
title role, on June 18), their
view fromofthe
limelight
with
a duelmal
exploration
anguished
love,
to
Brittens
Enso Quartet, which made an incisive
simultaneously held roles at various with the Noblewoman role embodied ing
soprano and
tenor duet.
Antonio
BenBaroque-tinged
dramatic
cantata
Phaedra,
alrecording
ofthe
Ginasteras
three
string
opera organizations around the city by
Metropolitan
Opera
most occupies
three hundred
years later.
Two
piano
bench
butsymphotrades
the quietly
innovative Tiana Lam. nett
quartets
for Naxos,
plays
the
In David McVicars riveting new production his
by HaydnNo.
75
in D
Major
No. 98
have made his name synonymous with The
signature
ivory keys
for
a Third
sax.andQuarshorter running time (each section nies
of Donizettis Roberto Devereux, a darkly tet,
in B-Flat
Major,
which was
writtensettings
specifically
which
includes
soprano
of
professional overextension for the bet- clocking
in atchamber
just under
two
hours) for London audiencesbookend the program.
handsome palace
becomes
a makeshift
poems
by
Lorca,
Juan
Ramn
Jimnez,
New
York
Philharmonic
ter part of the past decadehis pro- proves
stage, where
the final
Queen Elizabeth
Is (Carnegie Hall. 212-247-7800. April 7 at 8.)
a perfect
fitact
forof Matthew
Deucand Rafael aAlberti.
That
it hapnew work
in night,
Diegoas
Van
Bureigna mixture of political theatre and per- Presenting
gramming choices this season move zynski,
who
steps
in
to
direct
between
sonal heartbreakplays out before a rapt audi- rens
Juilliard415:
Terpsichore
One
Golden
Night
(theallheartpens,
the Mir
Quartet
traverses
three
to reverse the public opinion that he Ring
duties. The
Thesoprano
bouncy
syncopaence of courtiers.
Sondra
Radva- wrenching
In a concert billed
as aof
Baroque
dance without
mix, the
a world
quartets
at story
Lincoln
Centerpart
of a
has dazzlingly
lost his colorful
touch,and
taste,
and crafted
bearing
novsky,
in resplendent,
ghostly
white, suavely persuasive violinist, head of the Juilliard
ofcostumed
the
arrangement
spring
effortThe
brilliantly
musictions
of Alberto
Ginastera
is undergoing
a revival.
saxophones),
conductor
Lupita
Schwartz
Chamber Music
Societyleads
series
fills out the awesome dimensions of the role of welcome
Schools period-performance
program,
his
on reality. As such, the Mets hyper- lessly
from the bells of the nearly half- students
a in
stripped-down
approach
by from
reElisabetta with flashes of brilliant coloratura and takes
a tour
throughoverlooked
vibrant
suites
that has
also
surveyed
quarsuccessful Artist Highlight Series dozen
saxophones
placing
the by
orchestra
with fourteen
rafter-shaking
sound. Itsambitiously
a commandingadded
stage works
Purcell (King
Arthur), rows
Han(Don
Rodrigo,
Bomarzo,
andperforBe- tets
by Zemlinsky
and
Nielsen.
continues withMicrocosm
an ideological defense by
Modern
mance
that brings out
the best inDeuczynski,
her cast mates of
del,saxophones.
Lully (These),
Dance is an
By and
the Rameau.
third movement,
conductor
Matthew
atrix
Cenci).
Cannily
navigating
stylisTo
hearis the
quartets
in succession
is
Matthew
Polenzani
(an emotionally
fearless
Ro- this
added
feature,
with
somegambit
pieces
accompanied
mounted
by Deuczynski
himself:of an whose
much
clear:
her
has
worked.
newly
translated
book
allows
New
York gives
the Aaron Copland
berto),
Elna Garana
(an exquisitely
Sara), to
by professional
dancers
in period-style
tic
currents,
he moved
from sung
folkloric
experience
Ginasteras
career
inchoremiAn
electric
charge
fills
the
air,
punctuated
enchanting
rendition
of
Wagners
the
opera Kwiecien
to be sung
in its original
Argentina some overdue attention.
and Mariusz
(a robust
Not- ography, and others by Juilliard student dancnationalism
to serialism
and Duke
on toofindecrocosm.
The
First,
to Bartk,
sound
guest indebted
soloist Matty
Deuce
entire The Ring of the Nibelung Russian.
tingham). The conductor Maurizio Benini, care- by
ersthe
moving
to of
modern
choreography
by
Peter
Classical-music
rely
and other
exhibits
traces
of Argentinean
folk music,
the jazz
horn.
ful never to drown
out theavant-garde
superb singing,techkeeps on
Farrow.
(Alice
Tully
Hall. events.juilliard.edu.
wherein the role institutions
of Brnnhilde
is terminacy
June
1618
marks
a
special
limthe musical
dramaofsimmering
with mien,
contained
April 12asatthe
7:30.)loping rhythm of the gato
far
too much
onspellbinding
anniversary-driven
pro- niques.
A man
technocratic
he such
played
by the
Samantha
ited
presentation
s
agitation.
(April 8 and of
AprilRachmaninoff
11 at 7:30.) Also
gramming:
theyall
may
wellRepertory
put up a busied
himself
with foundations
and dance. In the Second, folklore is abSimmons and
ofasthe
playing: The
final performances
season
Three
Meditations,
thethis
tale
of of
a
neon
sign saying,
We
no ideas.
associations,
extracting
funding offrom
rustico, magico,
Anthony Minghellas
popular production
Puc- stracted and refined;
RECITALS
Orchestra
members
arehave
playing
saxo- peasant
(Irving
Frasier)
locked
up
ercinis Madama
Butterfly feature Kristine OpoSometimes,
though,into
therethe
aredirectors
benefits. Cold
War agendas.
and furioso are among the markings.
phones. Stepping
roneously
role inDeattending
a Recitals at the 92nd Street Y
in the titlefor
rolehis
and Roberto
Biasio returnThe
the Argentinean
mod- lais
If
all tenor
that
makes
Ginastera
sound The
Third
occupies
its
own
radically
chaircentenary
to helm aofheavily
altered libretto
April 6 at 7:30:
The
intriguing
and technically
ing to theThe
lead, Pinkerton.
with two Chamber
Music
Society
of Lincoln
Center
dance.
King,
played Also
by Margot
ernist
Ginastera,
which falls
on faceless,
musicMaria
givesZifchak,
a different
im- No
free-floating
world,
and
is
marked
by
proficient
pianist
Kirill
Gerstein,
who
dropped
fine housethe
stalwarts,
as Suzuki,
of hisAlberto
own design,
Deuczynski
takes
fewer than a hundred saxophones
leada
Lori-Parks,
is
at
first
a
sullen,
loveand Dwayne
Croft, as various
Sharpless;
Karel Mark melancholy
out of the Ys season-opening
concert
due to unApril
11, is prompting
reconsideration
of pression.
that
might Deuczynskis
reflect
Ginasteras
Through
transformathe
charge
in
Matthew
prothe opportunity
to come
into his own,
less
man(April
before
by9 specified artistic differences involving a GershChichon.
6 andbeing
April 12transformed
and April
aeschewing
composer who,
in recent
years, seemed
tions,
his output
retainsata7:30
distinctive
decision,
the
early Fowlers
seventies,
to gotointo
ofin Godrich
Ende
der
the visual
panache
of the the
Bartlett
Shers
win program,
is fortunately
returning
the
at 8.)dulcet
tones
ofthrowback,
Frasiers painted-flats
alto saxo- duction
ready
to fade Ring
into the
ranks
historys
profile,
formally
tautdAmore,
and lit from
within.
Swiss
exile,
partly
reaction
to political
but
while
they
anchor
a leaving
lovely
production
of LElisir
one of
Doni- Stck,
venue, this
time
for ain
solo
recital.
He
is
archetypical
Cycle
in of
favor
of a phone.
The
casta
curious
medley
of
zettisfolkloric
most delightful
comedies,
Alek- presentation,
his well-known
in
of it,
the
everpresence
of however,
a final
bass
also-rans.
In take
the decades
afteractors
the Second
The
pieces,
such asfeatures
Estancia
repression
atinterest
home.
Injazz
theoutethereal
minimalist
involving
clad Metropolitan
favorites
and
pres- clarinet
sandra Kurzak, Mario
Chang,past
Pietro
Spagnoli,
with sonatas
by Beethoven
(including
No. 14,
is
neither
asked
for
nor
welcomed.
World
War,
Ginastera
cut a wide
swath (to
be
presented
in
late
April
at
New
movement,
the
soprano
sings
emblematic
in solemn
black
performing
pli squats
and AdamaPlachetka;
Colaneri.
(April
entis
delight Joseph
to behold,
and
the7 Moonlight) and Liszt (the Dante Sonata and
through
the musical
world ofAdvertised
the Amer- York
Ballet,
with Christopher
of Jimnez:
Oh
what a sound
of
at 7:30. City
This is the
final performance.)
After flir- lines
Sonata
in B Minor)
dominating
a program
while holding
saxophones.
role
of
Frasiers
saxophone
is
played
by the
Matthew
Deuczynski
that also
the New York premire
of a
tations with operachoreography),
administration and conducticas;
between
1966 and
1973, New York Wheeldons
willfeatures
now remain.
avoid gold
producer
Samuel
Gurewitz-Johnson,
director
Matthew
ing, the much
admiredDeuczynski.
tenor Plcido Domingo work commissioned by Gerstein from the disCity Opera staged all three of his operas neo-primitivist
clich;
the serial works
Alex Ross
has hit upon a fourth career as a Verdi baritone. tinguished British composer Alexander Goehr,

Emers
The pr
Alice T
ries ce
quarte
quarte
the sam
Quarte
rise) a
and C
April 7

Timo A
Two br
noted
for an u
tive p
Kahan
ten for
Andres
piano w
and An
April 7

Deuczynski

14

THE NEW YORKER, APRIL 11, 2016

Most of his performances in the repertoire have


met with a polite reception, but the seventyfive-year-old singer has found an enduring ve-

Variations (Hommage to Haydn). April 7 at


THE
NEU
20, 2016
7:30:
TheJORKER,
sensitiveJUNE
and soulful
violinist Jennifer1 1

Koh and her thoughtful partner at the piano, Shai

IMAGE BY MATTHEW DEUCZYNSKI (KEVIN BAUER)

Leif O
Tabea
Four pa
and ce
Halls a
Stern. T
tets of J
cians sh
formida

Richar
The em
probing
toolbox
Alice T
compo
from T
Partita
and oth

BOB GOMEL/THE LIFE PICTURE COLLECTION/GETTY

Dover
This ou
ready c
the inh
Roman
(at Wei
monum
F Majo
Op. 3, a
Quarte

Music
Ute Le
Aaron W
in this
great c
string
unique
gram fe
Quarte
(with su
rig and

which devastated northeast Japan and caused a nuclear meltdown, emphasizes disaster. Pictures by
Keizo Kitajima and Naoya Hatakeyama and a projection by Rinko Kawauchi document gutted villages, shattered houses, and acres of debris, culminating in a display of more than thirteen hundred
snapshots, which were recovered from the ruins
and often damaged beyond recognition. These accidental images set the tone for the haunted and
hallucinatory works that follow, some of which
allude to the national trauma
ART of Hiroshima and
Nagasaki. Takashi Arais irradiated daguerreoMUSEUMS SHORT LIST
GALLERIES
LIST distressed
types, Nobuyoshi SHORT
Arakis intentionally
MUSEUMS AND LIBRARIES
A
ofinWarhols
prints,
and Daisuke
YokotasHair
pale figuresAinhoodiedark
is bunch
rendered
indifferent
squiggles.
METROPOLITAN MUSEUM
landscapes
evoke
a distraught
of mind
that
clad teenager
appears
stirring
pieces,
his
Through
August
9 in twostate
Are Doors Really Necessary?
reaches
its apex
Lieko
macabre
scenes
Japan Society
face seen
both in
times
as Shigas
if in the
crosshairs
of a
ofgun.
people
impaled
tree recalls
trunks. Trayvon
Through June
12.
Through June 29.
In the Wake: Japanese
Photographers
While
the by
image
Martin
Metropolitan
Museum
I(who
Cant
the Bon
wasMake
shot inYou
the Love
chest),Me
Hendricks
makes
Respond to 3/11
The
Lederhosen
Mortdecai
Studio
Museum
in Harlem
Inevitably,
this exhibition of
of work
responding to Iver
no claims
for either
work as an explicit reference.
Version
MOMOO
McMillian:
Views
of Main
Street
the earthquake and tsunami of March 11, 2011, Rodney
Still, when
one of the
images
is accompanied
Saltzman
August
17
By
dour
and
droll,
the sculptures,
which devastated northeast Japan and caused a nu- Through
byturns
the phrase
I no
can breathe,
whichvideos,
both alMoomoos and Rompers: Can
paintings
by thisaprolific
Los
Angeles
clear focus
meltdown,
disaster. Pictures
ludes
to and garbles
quote by
Eric
Garner,artyou
The
of emphasizes
this historical
reviewby and
anything be a murder weapon?
istmay
probe
weight
ofpodcast
history,
and
Kitajima and Naoya Hatakeyama and a pro- Is
findthe
yourself
foreconomics,
moremore
precision
it because
hisyearning
has
isKeizo
the
leather
knee-length
breechthe inner
lives April
of Americans,
jection by Rinko Kawauchi document gutted vil- discrimination
to sharpen theon
politics.
Through
23. (ShainThrough July 22.
whatever
race.St.
(A212-337-3372.)
concurrent show has just
and acres lutist
of debris,and
culmi- subscribers?
man, 524their
W. 24th
eslages,
ofshattered
famedhouses,
German
September
33
opened at MOMA
PS1.) McMillian
is best known
nating in a display of more than thirteen hundred Through
snort
Mortdecai
(1785
reworking
snapshots,
which wereSaltzman
recovered from
the ruins for
Serge
Alaindiscarded
Nitegekafurniture. In one piece, a
Guggenheim Museum
hasinbeen
roughly
rejoined withthis
a
and often Saltzmans
damaged beyondLeders,
recognition. many
These ac- sofa
Born
Burundi
andbisected
based inand
Johannesburg,
1891).
she
used
to
mispronounce
Milli Vanilli: shared ironic likes
cement
scar;
in another,
ancreates
Ikea Pong
chair is garcidental images set the tone for the haunted and Words
promising
young
artist
gallery-occupying
October
2018
rotted
by of
a black
tube.
A
similar
inthat follow,
some of which
tangles
wooden
planks
and downhearted
unruly paintings,
ofhallucinatory
which heworks
hosened
himself,
are Through
turn to desperate memories.
recurs
in the
artists
two-dimensional
allude to the national trauma of Hiroshima and scrutability
which feature
blocks
of solid
color,
hashes of thick
Through September 19.
displayed
with
a
lyrical
buoyancy
scuffed, fraying,
wine-dark
Nagasaki. Takashi Arais irradiated daguerreo- works,
black including
lines, andapassages
of unpainted
wood.car(To
in Jars.
Tear
infloor.
Cars.
pet
stretching
from
wallare
to
A marbled
types,aNobuyoshi
distressed
underscore
that
these
objects,
as well asfacpicand
cunningArakis
eyeintentionally
for detail.
On Tears
August
simile
the
Supreme
Courts
faade
prints, and Daisuke Yokotas pale figures in dark Through
tures,ofsome
of them21jut
out from
themakes
wall.) an
NiThe Brooklyn Museum
close
inspection
one can
see
many
contrast,
and confirms
that
McMillandscapes
evoke a distraught
state
of mind
that infelicitous
tegeka relies
on Constructivist
ideas
about
space,
bestred-yellow-and-blue
art is open-ended rather
on make
the
its apex fasteners
in Lieko Shigas
macabre
scenes lians
and his
palettethan
would
Coney Island: Visions of a forgotofreaches
the brass
bear
a strikoldGiven
mans
nose.
That An
doesnt
mean
theres
no room
for polof people impaled by tree trunks. Through June 12. Tinder:
Mondrian
smile.
thatgame?
Western
modernism
ten Honeymoon. Through August 1. ing resemblance to a woman who, Through
2021
itics:
grimly
videos
are proudly
anoweshis
a big
debthilarious
to African
sculpture,
Nitegekas
tagonistic,
andasthe
best takes
the form
pupStudio Museum in Harlem
show serves
a lively
reminder
that of
thea legacy
until
very
recently,
resided
in
my
pet
in which
Rodney McMillian: Views of Main Street
of show
abstraction
hasa race-bating
always beenRonald
global.Reagan
Through
The Whitney Museum
dummy
is joined
onstage
by24th
a velociraptor,
which
By
turns
dour
and
droll,
the
sculptures,
videos,
April
23.
(Boesky,
509
W.
St.
212-680-9889.)
domicile
engaging
in
marital
bliss.
Edgar
Degas created
pastel to a monotype, the one-off print medium thats the focus of a new show at MOMA.
Loneliness:
In Ballet
someScene
ways,(ca.its1879)
ownby applying
and paintings by this prolific Los Angeles art- lip-synchs Erykah Badu. Through June 26.
ist probe the weight of history, economics, and
reward. Through September 7.
discrimination
the Fifth
inner lives
of Americans,
GALLERIESDOWNTOWN
Museum
ofonthe
Ascension
GALLERIESCHELSEA
their race.style,
(A concurrent
show
just towelling
towhatever
spontaneous
starting
inhas
the
off ), performing in cafs,
opened
at
MOMA
PS1.)
McMillian
is
best
known
John
Divola
The
World
is
ending
in
6
New Museum
eighteenseventies.
It
underlines
the
and,
of
course,
dancing. Almost none
Claerbout
for reworking discarded furniture. In one piece, a David
For five
years, between 2008 and 2013, Divola
Degass prints take center stage.
weeks
Eddie Vedder: Did an obsession
truth
that
genius
was
them
evince
ahyperreal
sense of
being
obThe
Belgian
artists
projections
split
sofa has
beenhis
roughly
bisected
andessentially
rejoined with a of
photographed
an
abandoned
house
in SouthHorror Business
the difference
between
still
image
and video,
and
cement
scar;
Ikeagroup
Pong
is gar- served
Edgar
Strange
New Beauty,
graphic,
oninaanother,
historical
arc
ofchair
linear
by
the
artist.
In
seventeen
senwith a Degas:
perfectA man
damage
a
The
simplicity
of an
this
show
Three
Jersey
youth
approach
between New
ironically
banal and
just plain
boring.
rotted
by
a
black
tube.
A
similar
downhearted
inismarriage?
wonderful Through
but oddlyJuly
finicky,
Ingres
to power.
Picasso.
You sational
brothelofscenes,
most
of them
15. as the sorcery
isscrutability
whatfrom
gives
DeA photo
projection
Nigerian
oil workers
takrecurs init
the its
artists
two-dimensional
the
small
New Jersey
town
of Lodi,
Museum of Modern Arts first Degas sense
his
delight,
in dark
field
monofrom
1877-79,
they
sit, or
loll
ing shelter
from the
rainstand,
is composed
of mulworks,
including
a
scuffed,
fraying,
wine-dark
carscending
down
the
50-foot
stairas
one
might
approach
a lover.
Theirof
tiple
grafted
backgrounds;
a 3-D
rendering
pet stretching
from wall
to floor. A
fac- around
show,
ever. of
It makes
a big deal of an un- types,
at the effects
enabled
bymarbled
attackavailably
naked
and
often
Museum
the Heart
Berlins Nazi-era
Olympiastadion
is designed
simile
of
the
Supreme
Courts
faade
makes
an
case
into
New
Yorks
newest
mutender
photography
is
succulent,
common printmaking medium: mono- ing
spreads of wet ink with incising frumpily at ease. One squats over a
infelicitous contrast, and confirms that McMil- to slowly crumble over the next thousand years.
How can you mend a broken
their
imagery
They
seum
theartand
smell
quickly
becomes
type, created by working in ink on a hard tools,
his hands
(see
his finAnother
idly
scratches
one
of
The facile
Travel,ample.
in which
a singlecapture
tracking
lians rags,
best
is open-ended
rather
than
on the bidet.
heart:
A
Cher
review.
Over.
shot
travels
from
a
lush
jungle
to an
urban
park,
the
hometown
of
Punk
Rock
icon
nose.
That doesnt
meanand
theres
no
room for pol- her buttocks. Their milieu
surface and then pressing paper against gerprints).
Shapes
atmospheres
may
seem
the
most
overwhelming
sensation,
has a Muzak-worthy soundtrack. A sign instructs
itics: in
hiswhites
grimly hilarious
videos are
proudly
an- aGlenn
a voluptuous
it. The one-off results are unusual, to say loom
andeyes
textured
grays
from
far cry Danzig
from thewith
candied
glamour of
yet
once
your
adjust
tagonistic,
and
the best
takes
the formtoof athe
pup- viewers: Please do not enter the installation
Bronx
Museum
the leastgoing against the common- Stygian
blackness:
sculpted Ronald
light, with
ballet,
butI have
the two
settings
share
the
potency.
not
known
the
touch
during projection.
Alternate
advice:
Feel
free,
pet
show
in
which
a
race-bating
Reagan
darkness
youonstage
realize
its because
once
youve
entered,
to Eleanor
leave. Through
April 30.
Eleanor
Corinthian:
The
is joined
by a velociraptor,
which fact
sense
notion
that a print
is Human
an image a dummy
muscular
feel. Those
works, circa
of
women
displaying
themselves.
of
a
woman
since
left.
(Sean Kelly, 475 Tenth Ave., at 36th St. 212-239-1181.)
lip-synchs
Erykahartists
Badu. Through
26. a
the
nameless
haveJune
staged

by the
ludes t
may fin
to shar
man, 5

Serge
Born in
promis
tangles
which f
black li
unders
tures,
ern Cs
tegeka
lation
and
andhisa
Mondr
Some
owes
a
walls
show
verys
ofofabst
sp
April
Boss2
rious
unwi
pictu
collag
John
incluD
For
fiv
self,
photog
anoth
April
431-4

ART

Melv
The L
indel
a mo
pend
Bazaa
airbr
ture
ful
phori
sidew
child
ble) i
Paris
selves
April
212-9

1
1

Bag. Through
December
1.
multiplied.
This and
the unfamiliarity
of most of the workssome hundred
and
twentyof
monotypes,
from museums
Museum
Sex
and
collections
worldwide,
augmented
Erectile Dysfunction: Maybe
its
with
more
conventional
picturesmake
your fault? Through August 3.
the show special, in both the good and
the pejorative senses. Magnifying glasses
Sculpturecenter
are
provided to let us feel like hotshot
A Boomersbending
look atina to
millennials
connoisseurs,
delectate in
treachery.
Through
my
fathers
the nuances. The occasion might
rankle
departure
back
to
St.
Louis.
without its payoff of a final room of firstrate paintings, pastels, and drawings:
Degas
hitting on all cylinders.
My Apartment
OnWife:
its own
limited
the show
My
When
didterms,
the cheating
does
yield
useful
insight
into
Degass
start? Indefinitely.
modernizing transition from careful
12
12

THE NEW
YORKER, APRIL
11, 2016
THE
NEU JORKER,
JUNE 20,
2016

1876-85, from Degass major foray into


series
of whatarelook
like very
lifelike
the
technique,
his purest
monotypes,
GALLERIESCHELSEA
and
by farribcages
the most around
exciting. the
Elsewhere,
human
space,
he
tended
to
use
the
medium
which
they have decorated inasre-a
David Claerbout
ground
forartists
pictures
completed
in
The
Belgian
hyperreal
projections
split
claimed
materials
from
thevideo,
New
the difference
between still
image and
and
opaque
watercolors
or pastels.
Innovabetween
ironically
banal
and justare
plain
boring.
York
streets.
The
songful
way
they
tive,
perhaps,
but
uninspiring
monoA photo projection of Nigerian oil workers takrequest
you
tothe
stay
will
comeThose
with
types,
in oil
paints,
of
landscapes.
ing shelter
from
rain
is composed
of mulgrafted
a not
3-D
rendering
subjects
dontbackgrounds;
much
engage
Degas,
whoof
atiple
phlegmatic
allure
usually
Berlins
Nazi-era
Olympiastadion
is designed
wasnt
an
outdoors
kind
of
guy.
seen
in crumble
basements
infestto slowly
over thethis
next rat
thousand
years.
Hefacile
liked
to watch
women.
For
a
The
Travel,
in which
aonly
singlerarely
tracking
ed.
Their
commitment
shot travels
a lush jungle to an urban park,
viewer,
thatfrom
characteristicclawing
at
has a Muzaksign instructs
seems
put worthy
on.
Isoundtrack.
for one Ahope
life
present-day
sensitivitiesmay
well
viewers: Please do not enter the installation
imitates
art
and
I
can
soon
shed
interfere
with aesthetic
during projection.
Alternatedetachment,
advice: Feel free,
once
youve
leave. Through
April 30.
as
themortal
showentered,
unfolds.
are women
this
coil. to There
(Sean Kelly,
475 Tenth(lots
Ave., atof
36th
St. 212-239-1181.)
ironing,
bathing
bathing;
also

Barkley L. Hendricks
In the sixties and seventies, the American painter
made a name for himself with effortlessly cool,

Degass preoccupation along this line


takes
nothing
away from the soaring
Barkley
L.Tchilavski
Hendricks
Paulina
In the sixties
American
painter
quality
of and
hisseventies,
works,the
but
it helps
to
This
retrospective
of Tchimade aconcise
name for himself
with effortlessly
cool,
explain
their
intensity.
Facing
up
to
it,
colorful portraits,
which have works
recently earned
lavskis
first
120,000
is re-a
the
superb
curator,
new shows
following.
Hes still
hard atJodi
work,Hauptalthough
freshing
in in
itshis
My
wife
was
the brushwork
show
canthe
occasionally
man,
includes
inbrevity.
anew
wall
text
forthfeel nonchalant,
as when
a jubilantthe
dancers
hair
not
brief
when
describing
extent
right opinion of the great decadent
of
her
affairs,
and
stands
in
direct
writer J. K. Huysmans that Degas
contrast to
Tchilavskis
selfattentive
control.
regarded
women
with an
cruelty,
patient hatred.
rings
PaulinaaTchilavski,
bornThat
of Polish
true.
Certainly,
desire.
decent
in a tent theres
behind scant
a Wawa,
has
Degas
gives
little
sign
of
wanting
a classic grace, which some women
women,
but only
of liking
subject
never find,
despite
the to
generous
them to his very particular, somewhat
amounts of high-end yoga and
creepy gaze.
dance classes whichPeter
were paid
for.
Schjeldahl

WILLIAM I. KOCH COLLECTION

In the Ink

treet
, videos,
eles artmics, and
mericans,
w has just
st known
e piece, a
ed with a
air is gararted inmensional
dark carbled facmakes an
McMiln on the
m for poloudly anof a pupd Reagan
or, which
6.

ons split
ideo, and
n boring.
kers takof muldering of
designed
nd years.
tracking
ban park,
instructs
tallation
Feel free,
April 30.
239-1181.)

n painter
ssly cool,
earned a
although
asionally
cers hair

show serves as a lively reminder that the legacy


of abstraction has always been global. Through
April 23. (Boesky, 509 W. 24th St. 212-680-9889.)

1
GALLERIESDOWNTOWN
John Divola
For five years, between 2008 and 2013, Divola
photographed an abandoned house in South-

American Conspiracy: The Bilderbear Group


This complex retrospective assembles
every piece of evidence, no matter
how controversial, about the infamous Bilderbear Group that controls
the nations toy economy. It requires
signing a wavier, as Jean-Luc Montenegros gallery cannot guarantee your
safety if the Bilderbears consider you
a threat. I pray to receive that sweet
release from a Bilderbear. Im scared
to die, but I also wish I was never
born.

ture mid-century couture at its most fancifulmoments of loopy, Lucy-in-the-sky euphoriasoaring over the Bois de Boulogne, a
sidewalk caf, and a schoolyard full of curious
children. Sokolsky revived his idea (sans bubble) in 1965, for a session in which patrons of
Parisian restaurants look amused to find themselves dining below a fashion fairy tale. Through
April 16. (Staley-Wise, 560 Broadway, at Prince St.
212-966-6223.)

MOVIES

1
OPENING

Killdoer

The
Boss Melissa
this comBland.
JamesMcCarthy
Bland. stars
The in
umpteenth

edy (which she co-wrote), as an executive who,


installment
inprison,
the continued
misadafter
serving time in
attempts to remake
herventures
life. Directed
by Ben Falcone;
co-starring
of Englands
least
clandesKristen Bell, Peter Dinklage, and Annie MutineOpening
secretApril
agent
seems
calculated
molo.
8. (In
wide release.)
Dem-to
olition
Jakeaudiences
Gyllenhaal stars
in this not
dramastirred.
as an
leave
shaken,
investment banker trying to overcome his grief
A
particularly
cranky
and
craggy
at the accidental death of his wife. Directed
trudges Naomi
through
by Daniel
Jean-Marc Craig
Valle; co-starring
Watts a
and Chris Cooper. Opening April 8. (In wide rerote plotline rife with inscrutable
lease.) The Invitation Karyn Kusama directed
thinly
personthismotives,
thriller, about
guests sketched
at a dinner party
that
turns
macabre.
Opening
Aprilhelping
8. (In limited
reages,
and
a
double
of
oh,
lease.) Louder Than Bombs In this drama, a war
seven
or
so
explosions
per
minute.
photographers death compels her widower (Gabriel
Byrne) James
and theirBroad.
sons (Jesse
andhe
Broad.
AsEisenberg
he goes,
Devin Druid) to confront her legacy. Directed
of a boilerplate
beauty
by runs
Joachimafoul
Trier; co-starring
Amy Ryan and
Isabelle
Huppert. Seyfried)
Mr. Right A crime
star(Amanda
and comedy,
the characring Anna Kendrick as a woman who falls in love
teristic
coterie
of criminals,
headed
with
a contract
killer (Sam
Rockwell). Directed
by by
Pacothe
Cabezas.
Opening April
8. (Inintimidatlimited reinimitable,
if not
lease.) Vita Activa: The Spirit of Hannah Arendt
ing, Chiwetel
Its muddled
A documentary
about Ejiofor.
the philosopher,
directed
by mediocrity
Ada Ushpiz. Opening
April
6.
(Film
aside, box officeForum.)
receipts

the writer and director Robert Budreau, Baker and


his co-star on the film shoot, an actress named Jane
Homicide
(Carmen
Ejogo), Home
begin a relationship that helps
Baker
kick
longtime heroin seminal
habit. Meanwhile,
AlfredhisHitchcocks
thrillBaker is haunted by a 1954 performance at a New
er
Strangers
on
a
Train
captivated
York club where his ego was deflated by a laceratingaudiences
word from Miles
Davis
Brown); after
with
an(Kedar
intriguing
cast
recovering from the grave injury to his mouth, he
of
characters
and
a
breathlessly
attempts his comeback at the same venue. Despite
Hawkes
intensely committed
performance,
taut
storyline.
Alas, Rian
JohnBudreau gets more from the storys sidemen, such
sons
newest
movie,
which
centers
as a record producer (Callum Keith Rennie), a
probation
(Tony
and Bakers
on a officer
family
of Nappo),
assassins,
is a fa-far
ther (Stephen McHattie). The movie offers a
cry from such classic finery. One
more insightful view of the music business than
to imagine
Hitchcock
of cringes
Bakers art.Richard
Brodyhow
(In limited
release.)

would respond to this filmic folde-

Chameleon Street
rol,
is independent
as senselessly
personThe
titlewhich
of this 1989
film, which
was
written
by Wendell B. Harris,
Jr., who
al asanditdirected
is offputtingly
innovative.
also stars, refers to a real-life character, William
As the
family
Michael
Douglas
Street,
who, inpatriarch,
the nineteen-seventies,
pulled
off an extraordinary
impersonFassbender
refusesseries
to ofbe
either
ations (for instance, pretending to be a doctor, he
Don Corleone
Popeye
Doyle,
performed,
according to or
Harris,
thirty-six
successful
hysterectomies),
for which
he was ultiinstead
stubbornly
exploring
new
mately imprisoned. Harris plays the part for comterrain.
Never
once
in
its
interedy and for anger, portraying Street as a sardonic
victim
of racism122
who, minutes
having grown
up conformminable
does
Homiing to the expectations of others, becomes adept
cide
Home
adequately
answer
the
at fitting into any role thats thrust upon himor
that
he chooses. As
a director, Harris
is
cinematic
question,
whyhimself
bother
something of a chameleon, joining his incisive vimaking
a movie
crime
after
sion
to disruptive
narrativeabout
techniques
borrowed
from
Frank Tashlin,With
the French
Wave, and
Goodfellas?
BillNew
Hader,
who
television comedy. He endows Street with his own
isnt
as
good
as
Charlie
Chaplin.
vast cultural range, stretching from Orson Welles
Dobson
andDaniel
Jean Cocteau
to pop music and TV. The result is a disarming, disturbing, elusive, and profound meditation on personal identity. ShockSoHarris
There
You
Go another film.R.B.
ingly,
hasnt
yet made
(Metrograph;
7.)
Woody April
Allens
latest filmic foray

nique from scratch, actually happened. As told by

German.A.L. (4/4/16) (In limited release.)

Hello, My
Michael S
a taut setu
trived sim
entyish bo
cubicle at
sea. Shes
lived her
with her m
just died.
cially awk
itude whe
into John
some and
rector in h
takes unu
bella Acre
best friend
into Johns
with Laur
comedic, b
sies), whim
Williamsb
with her b
bewildere
and irrele
that it has

My Wife The Trollop


Tearing down modern art convenJoyce at
tions, Reginald Corinthian has creatIn this fo
ed a stunning retrospective on a marfrom 1972,
and faces
riage which by all accounts should
her career
have been one of historys greatest
rapher Cl
filming th
love stories, and yet through a series
once home
of photographs and sketches, Corin- suggest that were stuck with this
ence and a
thian weaves a narrative that shows spy for eons
NOW
YINGBrand. James
in order to
toPLA
come.
Cole, a scr
how it collapsed under the weight of Brand. Antoine Path
and compl
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice
treachery. Many of the self-portraits, It had to happen. Anything Marvel can do, DC
mestic tas
overcomin
can do better, or, at any rate, no worse.
nudes, show that in no way should Comics
Worlds
Apart
is the supposition behind the new Zack Snyflicts arisi
any woman be dissatisfied with Co- That
dream
spinsandthe
tale
derPixars
film, which
is everyfactory
bit as tranquil
as unequitable p
rinthian physically. Almost Borge- derstated
asalien
earlierfixer
Snyder(Ed
films.Helms)
(Think 300
prejudices
of
an
who
Sucker Punch.) Whereas Iron Man and his
tlingly ana
sian in display, the show challenges andmust
journey
to Earth
to however,
discover
fellow-Avengers
are gathered
in amity,
sweet-sixt
the viewer to look past the financial the tone here is one of violent discord: Superelderly ret
the whereabouts of his planets
who recall
struggles, sexual frustrations, and dif- man (Henry Cavill), forever striving to locate
missing
children.
While
theBatman
inter- Francofonia
is more carapace than caprice: a family am
lost personality,
comes to
blows with
fering life paths of a failing marriage his
(Ben
Affleck),
who buffs
and pumps
himselfBleefor Years
after heand
led us on
a solemn dance
through Depressio
play
between
Helms
luckless
crusty
declawed
cinematic
to see the rot at the center, some girls the occasion. The cause of their tiff is never en- the Hermitage, in Russian Ark (2002), Alex- dialectic, i
bloclear,
Jones
Williamby H.
Macys ander
crustacean
with
an abstruse ark,
tex- forebear o
tirely
but itand
is heightened
Lex Luthor
Sokurov enters
the Louvreanother
are just mean.
(Jesse
Eisenberg),
whoseof
hobbies
include kryp- crammed
with
every
species
of
art.
In
particular,
Horatio
Alger
a deuteragonist
ture, brackish flavor, and a philos- ers.R.B.
tonite theft and building a homemade monster. he follows its fortunes during the deluge of the
pleasurably
from
tte--tte
ophyWorld
decidedly,
well, the
shellfish
movie is two
and a half hours
long,
yet feels Second
War, and dramatizes
encounter Los Ange
Appendix I: Eleanor, if youre reading Theescalates
closer
to
five. The dialogue
fights
to be heard of in
two civilized
souls:
Jacques
Jaujard
(Louis-Do
to
mano-a-mano,
the
mise-en-scne
other
words,
its
not
kosher, Thom An
this I want you to know that I forgive above the crunching soundtrack and, more often de Lencquesaing), the director of the museum
at from 2003
cannot
match
the
droll
japery
of
the
Woody!
Hugh
Laurie
stars
as a voice-over
you, and if youll come home, Ill take than not, loses; let us be thankful for small mer- the time, and Franz Wolff-Metternich (Benjamin
The one bright
spot isPete
the arrival
of Wonthe flutist
Nazi nobleman
representedon ishingly ri
dialogue.
Director
Doctor
(Up, Utzerath),
suicidal
whowho
embarks
you back with open arms. My world cies.
der Woman (Gal Gadot), who, having been shut an occupying power, but who considered it his dramatic f
Out)
strives
for
an
elegiac
an
affair
with
a
high
school
in- ranging fro
is darker for your absence. I live to see outInside
of the action until the final reel, seems in duty to preserve the treasures of the occupied.
in this
mood to be messed
with.peripatetic
On paper, thepseusup- The
courteous
tension Gomez)
between them
is nicely a Cause to
gnue
(Selena
possessed
your face on the veranda once more. noebullience
porting cast must have looked unbeatable: Amy caught, but, as ever, Sokurov has more than one blends a co
do-thriller, painting an Orwellian by the ghost of Franois Truffaut.
Adams, Holly Hunter, Diane Lane, Laurence tale to tell; woven around these men are other and a pow
Appendix II: But if youre still Fishburne,
future and
of Kafkaesque
proportions,
At of
once
turgid
and tossed
off,
this sens perso
Jeremy Irons.Anthony
Lane scraps
history,
and threads
of fanciful
imagour issue of 4/4/16.) structure
(In wide release.)
for
instance, pulling
facesand
as traces the
shacked up with that Spaniard, dont (Reviewed
but ain Kishtenketsu
un- iningNapoleon,
pernicious
potboiler
pushes
he stalks the museums great galleries. There is history in
even think about returning. Ive al- Born
wisely
peppered with Verfrem- even
prods
but
never
proceeds
to Be Blue
a modern
section,
concerning
a cargo ofwith
art tive and id
This
bio-pic
about
the jazz trumpeter
and singer
a storm-struck
ship.
the elements
ready sold the horses for glue.
dungseekt ultimately
deflates
into onany
pretense
ofWhat
thebinds
pleasures
that production
Chet Baker (Ethan Hawke) focusses on two piv- of the movieand confirms Sokurov as a deter- tural landm
grandiloquent
rodomontade
of a mined
pervade
previous
projects.
otala episodes
in the musicians
career, both from
essayist,Allens
at times opaque
or grandiose,
yet insightful
Appendix III: Im sure I could get thedenouement.
mid-sixties. One, Bakers
performance
as him- never
vagueis
a feeling
for the doubleness
of are both r
Featuring
a decidedly
With
Albert
Brooks,
Anne Hain a dramatic movie about his own life, is fic- our cultural inheritance. We cling to it, through perversion
them back before theyre turned. selfnon-diegetic
score
by Randy
New- thethaway,
Edlife;
Harris
a all
zombitional; the other, a brutal
beating
that cost Baker
centuries,and
for dear
and yet,as
like
lives, dice, polic
Please come home.
hisman.
front teeth
and forcedGranby
him to rebuild his tech- it is
easily
swept away.
In Russian,
French, and economic
Rupert
fied
Federico
Fellini.
A.P.
10

THE NEW YORKER, APRIL 11, 2016

THE NEU JORKER, JUNE 20, 2016

that perpe

13

MOVIES

REVIVALS AND FEST


mountain of meretricious films alongside classics, lure contrasts painfully with the grungy yet hardGoes
to toShow
John
Andersen concludes with aItgrand
tribute
the nosed milieu that brings itheeeeeres
to the screen (so
does C. Reilly, as the
legacy of great local independent
who aneo-noir
cameo by Kimfrom
Novak, clever,
unvarnished,
and
Titlesjoined
with a dagger are rev
Thisfilmmakers
seriocomic
wryly
recalcitrant
captain,
discovered truth by way of fiction, in such movies electrifying). Profiles of Levine in this magazine
the
Coen brothers
a bring
puerbya flamboyant
a Danny
doppelganger
( Ja- Barthes
as The Exiles and Killer of
Sheep.R.B.
(Mu- andtracks
elsewhere
to light
vulgarAnthology Film Archives
seum of the Moving Image; April
10.)
ity
that here,(Oscar
intensely aware
of Albert
Maysless devoid
April 8 at 7:of
TheDan
Angels of Sin (19
ile
parvenu
of
a
director
cob
Tremblay)
Ballet Hispanico
probing camera, he keeps under wraps, but his las- son). April 9 at 6:45: Le Beau Serg
For forty-five years, the New
York-based
company Isaac) who becomes
embroiled
in Lloyds
disturbingChabrol).
demeanor,
Midnight
Special
civious
grin as he describes
Lorens appearance
Apriland
10 at 8:45: The
has offered a window into
thedirector
increasingly
variedhas a Spielbergian knack suggests exactly where art and commerce inter- (1979, Andr Tchin). April 11 at
The
Jeff Nichols
a
kidnapping
plot.
As
the
shaggy
an
obsequious
sea-cook
(Courtarena of contemporary Latin-American
and Spanish
for working with
children, and his latest fable is sect.R.B. (Film Forum; April 8-11.)
(1979, Pierre Zucca). BAM Cinm
dance. Of the three workscentered
in its Joyce
the dog
unspools,
he encounters ney B. Vance) whose
perfor-April 9 at 2
of Chantal Akerman.
onprogram,
an eight-year-old
boytale
named
Alton
most traditional, though not
the oldest,
is Club
Ha- Alton is blessedor Zootopia
Elle (1974) and Saute Ma Ville
Meyer
(Jaeden
Lieberher).
a
money-stuffed
McGuffin,
an
mance
proves
hes
not
his
Crothvana, a feel-good suite byburdenedwith
Pedro Ruiz set toextraordinary
a medpowers. He can Disneys new animated film is about a rabbit cop, 12 at 7: Tomorrow We Move (20
ley of Cuban music (congas,
rumbas,
mambos)a
track
the path
of satellites in
his head and
mimic of eager
and optimistic:
with a badge.
Theme
Maysles
& Co. April 8-11
atavistic
cabal
producers,
and Thumper
ers keeper
and left
wanting
throwback to the glitzy nineteen-fifties
Havana
a radio station,
wordclub
for word, without turning Judy Hopps (voiced by Ginnifer Goodwin), times): Meet Marlon Brando (19
anofagglomeration
of anatopism
say,toScat,
man!
By
scene. Bury Me Standing,
the Catalonia-born
theby
radio
on. At times, a ray
blue light blazes raised
on a peaceful farm,to
comes
the city to
man.
F the
Aprilfinal
12 at 4:10 and 9:50
Ramn Oller, is more ambitious:
exploration
of ineffable
from hisan
eyes,
conveying
visions to any- fight
being the
ter (1970).
all appurtenances
ofcrime,
the undismayed
Coen by
fright,
thesmallest
film proves
its Film
notSociety
fit of Linco
Gypsy culture set to traditional
folk
songs from
Antiquarian
and without
arms),
Greek
amphorae
deco-April 7 at
one on the
receiving
end. For
years, he hasBook
beenFairmammal on the force. As in The
Lion King,
the andfilms
of Sam
Peckinpah.
milieu.
Indeed,
portrait
for
King
with and
numerous
flaws
southern Spain and Eastern
Europe.
Thebut,
Park
willfilms
house
more
than
twomovie
rated
with
goddesses
(20
Rockefelin the
hands In
of Flabbera religious cult,
asAvenue
the
dateArmory
of the
world
presented
by the
isaentirely
humanrettathletes.
and Billy
the
Kid (1973). A
American
and international
dealers
for the
lerfriction
Plaza,
at
49thbe
St. 212-636-2000.)
Swann,
a
gast, Gustavo Ramrez Sansano
evokes
the destahis apparent
destiny
nears, he
is aborne
away by his
free,
although,
in rife
this
case,that
no
exists
beOsterman Weekend
A
ofhundred
prelapsarian
Hollywood
cannot
Overlooked
sure(1983).
fifty-sixthwith
annual
New York
Antiquarian
Book
leader
in the
of African-American
offers
bilizing experience of arriving
a new land.
(175 Together
father in
(Michael
Shannon).
a loyal
tween
predators
andFair,
the lesser
beasts.
In area
ZootoApril 8 at 9:15: art,
What
Means Som
with
antediluvian
hubris,
the
leave
audiences
RumiEighth Ave., at 19th St. 212-242-0800.
5-10.) they
a four-day
of rarelong
books,
maps,
a wide-ranging
sale (April
7) Red,
led
by a monumental
sidekick (JoelApril
Edgerton),
drive
tomeet-up
a rendez-for lovers
pia,
everybody
lives
prettyto
much
in harmonya
Ben
Rivers).
April 9 at 6: The
manuscripts,
andwho
ephemera.
Theconceit,
various
exhibiquilt byByron
the
Harlem-born
artist
Faith Ringgold,
vous with Altons mother (Kirsten
Dunst),
mushy
yet
the directors,
HowSledgehammer
(1971, Philip Tre
bailiwick
of
the
brothers
oeuvre,
nating
that
Raimi
should
have
Dance Theatre of Harlem
feature
a vast
collection
notable
titles, covpart of
Woman
series,
the Trip (
hasnt seen her son in a long tors
while.
On their
trail
ard of
and
Rich Moore,
take care
to her
suggest
howon a9Bridge
at 8: Poet
on from
a Business
has
from
raison literature,
dtre
toandcanbeen
a by
better
caretaker.
Repeat
Since its resurrection, inare
2012,
this beloved
balletof the
ering
subjects
as art,vulnerable
medicine,
nineteen-eighties.
One
of
these piecesgrand
in 7 at 3:45
desperate
members
cult,curdled
plus thesuch
F.B.I.
such peace
be.
Only
a whisMetrograph
In
revival. April
photography,
spread
the
five-thousandin scopeis
in Street.
the collection
of 10 at 1:
troupe has been in wobbly
shape,
both technically
and
a thoughtful
fellow from
the fixe.
N.S.A.Despite
(Adamacross
ker
isfiftyit preserved,
thanksafter
toscale,
Judynarrative
and her
sidemeleon
Fno
April
ide
pretensions
tome:
All
reworking
and
square-foot
hall. Veteran
collectors
await fox
this(Jason
fair Bateman),
the Guggenheim;
fromofthe
collection
and aesthetically, but its Driver),
spirit always
anout
en- skeptical
whoearns
starts
but winds
up kick,
Museum
Modern
Art Six New
a hustling
who haveanother,
Bildungsroman,
the
makes
Riptide
aat a1:30:
dull
thusiastic response. Thispleading
season, to
thecome
company
as one ofthough
the
citys
bestit
attracts
the
mostfilm
of Maya
sold at
the house
record
along.isThewards
climax,
spectwo
days to
crack
aprized
difficultplayfulness
case;
theirAngelou,
comradedents.
April 6for
Coming Ap
doubling down on prima-facie
for admihardcovers of many European
dealers, the
former
price
last year.
In this
tapestry,
Double
tacular, causes
is something
of a letdownunavoidably
ship,
unlikely
as it
sounds,
is a A.P.
furry
sequel
to colorful
ton Moses
Ginsberg).
Museum of th
never
punctures
the
Panglosjoy.
ration by commissioningso,
female
Dutch
on thein
Golden
Bridge,
group of
Grolier
Club president
hints, begivenchoreographers.
the grave tension that
has prevailed
thus Eugene
that ofFlamm
Nick Nolte
and Eddie
Murphy,
48 Gate
Changing
theaPicture.
April 8 at 7:
The choices arent obvious
Elena
Kunikova
cause its
as far
for them
go outare
to no
Califoryoung
girls
jumpperrope high
above
theParvez
San Franpurview
its toprotagonist,
far.ones.
Yet the
movie,
Nicholss sian
fourth,
is atwice
worthy
ad-of
Hrs.
There
songs, apart
from
those
Mecca
(2015,
Sharma). T
is Russian-trained and well
respected,
but notinfor
nia.
Ave.
at 66th St.formed
212-616-3930.
April 7-10.)
cisco
skyline,but
as ifthe
freed from
all constraints.
dition
to his studies
anxiety
and(Park
dread,
personby a superstar
(Shakira),
ney Poitier.
April 9 at(104
2: No Way
his
philosophy
scantgazelle
Seven
By212-254-4710.)
Seven
E. 25th
St.
choreography: shes a teacher
stager (often
for rendering
ified and
by Shannons
troubled
face.A.L. (3/28/16) beat of the movie barely dips,
sustained
by a seph L. Mankiewicz). April 10 at
Brooklyn
Folkan
Festival
the all-male Ballets Trockadero
de Monte
than
effluvial
Thistheearly
the Stanley
greatKramer).
(In limited
release.)Carlo). more
steady shibboleth.
profusion of gags. With
voice ofsatire
Idris from
Ones (1958,
seven years,(3/14/16)
this festiDianne McIntyre is a veteran jazz choreographer; Held in the borough forElba.A.L.
(In wide release.)
ing. April 10 at 5: Los Angeles P
aside,
filmsof Billy Wilder
blooms
val honors string-band music
in athe
celebration
READINGS
AND into
TALKSefferthis will be her first pieceMy
using
pointeDays
work. The Weltanschauung
Golden
evening program on AprilArnaud
9 includesDesplechins
a timely tribute
folk,
bluegrass,
ska, andisIrish
tradi- vescent light in a lovingly remasnewtrue
workblues,
is a companAchilles
Heel
itsmusical
Chekto black ballerinas, with many
pioneering women,
tions.sequelto
Thirty bands
ion piecemore
prequel than
hisperform across its three days; Brooklyn Historical Society
Gun,
the
rerelease
playing
atmapped
the Film
will
vocalimplementation
and instrumental work- tered
The path
toward social
progress is
by its deincluding Debra Austin and
in . ovs
1996Lauren
movie Anderson,
My Sex Life
. there
. or How
Ialso
Gotbe
Into
attendance. (City Center, 131
55th St. 212-581-1212.
square
and Gordian
swing jams, and
an in- Forum.
tours: younger
generations
rebel against shines
the activism
anW.
Argument.
Once again,
Mathieu
Amalric
ofshops,
which
isdances
more
Knot
Fred
MacMurray
April 6 and April 8-9.) plays the libidinous Paul Ddalus,
famous contest
now an in
an-which participants compete of past eras, approaching old causes from new angles
Coens
Mills,
a down-onto seeinOccams
who
can toss
a banjo the farthest
into the asthatHarry
seem to reawaken
and restructure
political idethropologist, returning tothan
Paris
middle
age.Razorthe
FJK Dance
Gowanus
and ato
rope
are provided,
ologies overnight.
Havingwhose
grown up fortunes
with the stories
The homecoming toucheswould
off
a long
flashback
beCanal.
wellGloves
served
heed
that his-luck
adman
The work of the Iraq-born
choreographer
J. tips
on shot-putwhom
form are not. (St. Anns Church, 157 of suffrage movements and the myth of bra burning,
to his
younger selfFadi
(Quentin
Dolmaire),
platitudinous
Keep
It change
as abothresult
mistaken
Montague
Brooklyn.
718-875-6960.
April 8-10.)
digital natives,
men andof
women,
have recast
Khoury is distinguishedwe
by Middle
Eastern
follow first
on afolkmission
of ColdSt.,
War
dar-leitmotif:
loric influences but alsoingnothing
by an eclecticgrand,
blendbut
of sufficiently
feminism
as
a
constant
cause,
mainly
by exposing
fraught
to
Simple,
Stupid.
R.G.
identity.
Wilders
lampoonic
ballroom and jazz. The ballroom
is prom- Greek
Parade
sexism as a pervasive social plight through their art,
lodge inelement
the memoryand
then, asIndependence
befits a Paatand
wartime
inent in this seasons premires:
a ballroomon
drama,
stumblesmokupon a sea of blue-and-white flags, swipes
journalism,
organizing.rationing
The discussionand
churns
risian teen-ager,
a spree ofYoull
scholarship,
Take Two, and Reflections,
a contemporary
bal-withasEsther
well as(Lou
time-honored
costumes, music, and online, where countless different perspectives collide
ing, and
sex. His affair
RoyRiptide
the
Red
Menace
remain
as
devlet with watery images and
mirrorings.
(New
Yorkhis home
food, town,
at thisassumes
celebration of Greek independence to shape a new pluralist visiona necessary plasticity
Lecollinet),
a girl
from
Sam
Raimis
soggyevents
shocker
a astatingly
hilarious
as when
they
Live Arts, 219 W. 19th St. an
212-924-0077.
April
anddecades
culture.
Pre-parade
includeis
a flagthats only broadened
the movements
reach.
A. Anintensity that
still6-9.)
pains him
later,
and
raising
ceremony
at Bowling Green Park and a glique Roch moderates Not Your Mothers FemiDesplechin honors that romantic
zeal
in
the
odd,
self-styled
self-reflexive
satire of were originally penned. Indeed,
Skin Me
traditional-danceover
exhibition. (64th St. at Fifth Ave., nism: Sisterhood in the Digital Age, which aims to
misshapen structure of his movielingering
The Hungarian dancers some
and choreographers
Vik- The
through
79th
St. April
10 at 1:45.)
humorously
the rise
of advocacy
for womShinings
swap- Seven
By examine
Sevens
tightly
wound
episodes and breezing
through
others
in asymbology,
tria Dnyi, Csaba Molnr,
Zsfia
ens rights among young people across the country.
spiritand
of play.
TheTamara
frequent ping
iris shots
nod
to
Trufout one
a secluded
seraglio for a mousetrap
a story
makes
it Mala
Vades last appeared in New
York
in 2012,
City,Player (1960):
Panelists for thisof
discussion
include
the writers
fauts
Shoot
theinPiano
zesta light and amusing satire
conformityofinyouth,
whichyou
AND copious
ANTIQUES
lory Ortbergtimes
and Heben
Nigatu;gut-busting
the executive direcspooky
ship.
While
con- hundred
more
fulofchronicler
mightAUCTIONS
say,
winking
even the naked scenes were
cute. TheyInreturn
with
tor of partnerships at Feministing, Lori Adelman;
at another.
French.A.L.
(3/28/16) (In limcleaved
the
so-called
comedies
Skin Me, a mnage trois
to garage-rock gui- temporary
The Caramoor chillers
Center for have
Music and
the Arts, than
and the
nerd-culture
authority
Susana Polo.of
(128
itedset
release.)
tar and drums, played live. Its looser and wilder, scrupulously
the verdant estateto
turned
venue in the
Pierrepont
St., Brooklyn.
718-222-4111.
April 5 at 6:30.)
thesummer-music
Kubrik rubric
current
season.
Simultanetrading on appealing rapport
and casual irony to Katonah, is culling its collection of antiques, curShowman
Island,
Witch)
tender and unforgettable
aim at easy targets like male
chauvinism.
(Abrons (Shutter
rently
displayed
on theThe
grounds,
for an rarely
auction at ously,
Strandits
Bookstore
Before
making Salesman,
their famous
docuArts Center, 466 Grand St.mentary
212-352-3101.
April
8-9.)
Sothebys
on
April
12;
among
the
offerings
are
VeThe
art
and
has exabout door-to-door
Bibleits
peddlers,
the been ripped off as love story culture
have
riches
makecritic
theEunice
film Lipton
a thouchairs,
Maysles brothers, Albert andnetian
David,rococo
directed
this sixteenth-century tapestries, humed her tangled backstory across four histortidily
as in
Riptide.
Yetat 72nd
theSt.tradetimes The
more
Works & Process / American
Ballet
Theatre
and carpets
galore.
(York Ave.
212-606- sand
ical memoirs.
latest,gut-wrenching
A Distant Heartbeat:
1963 portrait
of the
wheeler-dealer
film
distribuThe company, whose spring
season
beginsJoseph
May 9E.mark
7000.) which
Fashion,
architecture
(interior
and
exteA
War,
a
Disappearance,
a FamilysdraSecrets,
tor and
producer
Levine,
covers
tension of the Torrance than the loosely and
defined
at the Met, highlights newsimilar
and recent
works.
Thesethe top
rior),
nature,
and
the female form are some of the traces the political awakening of her uncle Dave,
ground
but from
down.
After
years
tribe
never
into April
a torrent
for mas
of from
today.
Though
hampered
include a duet from Marcelo
opus, in
subjects
treated
in
Christies
6 sale of photowho fled
their
native Bronx
in the nineas a Gomess
hustlingrecent
film booker
his native
Newtips
EnAfterEffect, danced by Misty
and Cory
graphs,
which
includes
an
especially
large
number
teen-thirties
to
join
the
Abraham
Lincoln
Brigade
gland,Copeland
Levine made
a nameRaimis
with Godzilla
and
ragtag
troop
of
tourists,
slightly
by
its
45
missing
minutes,
Stearns, along with works abyfortune
Gemmawith
Bond,Hercules,
a dancer and
of prints
by Hiroshi
is captured
hereSugimoto. (One of these is a in the Spanish Civil War. Through interviews and
terror
instead
into
remaining
scenes
constitute
in the corps who recentlyatpresented
an evening ofthewhose
portrait
of
Princess
it, she turns
shyly the
research,
without much
help from
relatives, from
work masterminding
American
release
ofDiana; intrickles
her own choreography atTwo
Danspace
Project,
and
away from
the photographer,
peering from under whom she heard little of her uncle as a child, LipWomen,
a film
by Vittorio
De
Sica
staraher
torpor,
and theres
no iniquitous an unforgettable experience from
Ethan Stiefel, the formerring
A.B.T.
star Loren,
who haswith
cre- a similar
famous
bangs, hands tucked demurely ton uncovered a seventy-five-year history to reSophia
blend blond
of savvy
demure
cinematic
titan
revisiting
behind
On
April 12,Duvall
the house on
turns a construct
his lost
legacy.worth
Tim Teeman,
a senior edated a new piece for A.B.T.s
Company.well
Its asNicholson
and Studio
hucksterismas
with
an her
armyback.)
ofor
reps
also a great chance to see some
truly excellent
danc- industrial
its attention
to antiquities,
mostly from south- itor at the Daily Beast, joins her in a discussion
equipped
with a modern
panoply
of watersinstead,
deck
to
stir
the
again
and
again.
D.D.
ers up close. (Guggenheim facts
Museum,
Ave. Loren
at 89th is often
ern Europe
andFifth
figures.
around and
(onethe
of Mediterranean, including sponsored by the Abraham Lincoln Brigade ArSt. 212-423-3575. April 9-10.)
of alBacchus, marble Venuses (with chives. (828 Broadway. 212-473-1452. April 11 at 7.)
her junkets opens the film),Roman
and herstatues
magical

DANCE

ABOVE & BEYOND

ILLUSTRATION BY PABLO AMARGO

14 16

THE
NEW
YORKER,JUNE
APRIL
11, 2016
2016
THE
NEU
JORKER,
20,

THE NEW YORKER, APRIL 11, 2016

nia-born
tion of
ration
s fromof
gs from
abberFlabberdestahe
d.desta(175
and.
(175
5-10.)
il 5-10.)

Antiquarian Book Fair


and without arms), and Greek amphorae decoAntiquarian
Fair
and with
without
arms), and athletes.
Greek amphorae
decoThe
Park AvenueBook
Armory
will house more than two rated
goddesses
(20 RockefelThe Park
Avenue and
Armory
will housedealers
more than
two lerrated
with
and athletes. (20
Rockefelhundred
American
international
for the
Plaza,
at goddesses
49th St. 212-636-2000.)
Swann,
a
hundred annual
American
and
international
dealers
the leader
ler Plaza,
49thofSt.
212-636-2000.) art,
Swann,
fifty-sixth
New
York
Antiquarian
Book for
Fair,
in theatarea
African-American
offers a
fifty-sixthmeet-up
annual New
York Antiquarian
Book
Fair, a wide-ranging
leader in the area
of African-American
art, offers
a four-day
for lovers
of rare books,
maps,
sale (April
7) led by a monumental
a four-day meet-up
for lovers
of rare
books,
maps, quilt
a wide-ranging
sale (Aprilartist
7) ledFaith
by a monumental
manuscripts,
and ephemera.
The
various
exhibiby the Harlem-born
Ringgold,
manuscripts,
andcollection
ephemera.
various
quilt
Harlem-born
artistseries,
Faith from
Ringgold,
tors
feature a vast
of The
notable
titles,exhibicov- part
of by
herthe
Woman
on a Bridge
the
tors subjects
feature asuch
vastascollection
of notable
titles,and
cov- nineteen-eighties.
part of her Woman
Bridge
series, fromin
the
ballet ering
art, medicine,
literature,
Oneonofa these
piecesgrand
ed
ballet photography,
ering
subjects
suchof
as a
art,
medicine,
literature, and scale,
nineteen-eighties.
Onedoll
of these
piecesgrand
A
Celebration
True
spread
across
the
fifty-five-thousandnarrative
in scopeis
in
the
collection
nically
heirloom
matryoshka
I wanted
to giveofin
photography,
spread
across
the fifty-await
five-thousandnarrative
inanother,
scopeis
the
hnically
hall.
Veteran
collectors
this fair the
Guggenheim;
the
collectionof
an en- square-foot
Harlem
Renaissance
ascale,
daughter
someday.
Surefrom
toinbe
a collection
panopticompany
hall.bestit
Veteranattracts
collectors
fair ofthe
Guggenheim;
another,
ns
an is
en- assquare-foot
pany
one of the citys
theawait
most this
prized
Maya
Angelou, sold
at the from
housethe
for collection
a record
gly
varied
City-dwellers
more
prone
to
shopping
in
con
of
shattered
dreams,
this
auction
mpany
is hardcovers
as one of the
citys bestit
attracts
thethe
most
prized price
of Maya
Angelou,
sold
at thetapestry,
house forDouble
a will
record
admiof many
European
dealers,
former
last year.
In this
colorful
company
nd
Spanish
r
admihardcovers
of
many
European
dealers,
the
former
price
last
year.
In
this
colorful
tapestry,
Double
SoHo
ought
to
venture
up
to
Harlem
to
phers.
Dutch
on
the
Golden
Gate
Bridge,
a
group
of
Grolier
Club
president
Eugene
Flamm
hints,
bedelight
even
the
most
reserved
emotional
gly
varied
ogram,
the cause
raphers.
Dutchgirls
on jump
theTechnically
Golden
Gate
Bridge,
aGreengroup
Grolier
Club appetites.
president
Eugene
Flamm
be- young
nikova
itstheir
twice
as
far for them
to go
out tohints,
Califorrope high
above
the San
Fran-of
dClub
Spanish
whet
Now
standing
atop
sadist.
(Still
My
House,
unikova
cause
its Ave.
twiceatas66th
far St.
for212-616-3930.
them to go out
to Califoryoung
girls as
jump
ropefrom
highall
above
the San (104
Frannot
forHa(Park
April
7-10.) cisco
skyline,
if freed
constraints.
gram,
the nia.
to
medthe demolished grounds of James Bald- point)
tClub
notafor
for
as if freed from all constraints. (104
25th skyline,
St. 212-254-4710.)
ten
Ha- nia. (Park Ave. at 66th St. 212-616-3930. April 7-10.) E.cisco
mbos)a
E. 25th St. 212-254-4710.)
often
for Brooklyn
wins former
church, the picturesque HarFolk Festival
Carlo).
to a medavana
club Held
Brooklyn
Festival
Carlo).
in
the Folk
borough
for seven years,
this comfestiapher;
mbos)a
lem
Renaissance
Shopping
Outlet
onia-born
Held
in the
borough music
for seven
this festigrapher;
honors
string-band
in ayears,
celebration
of
READINGS AND TALKS
k.
Theclub val
avana
oration
prises
a Rockport
shoe
All-Alpine
val blues,
honors
string-band
music
in amusical
celebration
READINGS AND TALKS
ork.
Theof folk,
tribute
bluegrass,
ska,
andoutlet,
Irish
tradi-of
onia-born
ongs
from
Antiquarian
Book
Fair
and
without
arms),Society
and
Greek Q&A
amphorae
yomen,
tributeof tions.
folk,Thirty
blues,
and
Irish
tradiskiing
gear,bluegrass,
and perform
theska,
largest
Trader
Joe
s in Brooklyn
bands
across
itsmusical
three
days;
Historical
New York
Review
of
Books:
withdecooration
FlabberThe
Park
Avenue
Armory
will
house
more
than
two
rated
with
goddesses
and
athletes.
(20
Rockefelwomen,
tions.
Thirty
perform
across itsaverse
three
days;
Brooklyn
Historical
Society
will
also bands
beBook
vocal
and
instrumental
workpathwithout
toward
social
progress
is mapped
by its
deson,
in there
ngs
from
Antiquarian
Fair
and
arms),
and
Greek
amphorae
decothe
Boroughs.
Those
previously
tothe The
Colm
Toibin
hundred
and
international
dealers
for
lerpath
Plaza,
at
49th
St.progress
212-636-2000.)
bySwann,
the
destathere
will American
also
be Armory
vocal
and
instrumental
workThe
toward
social
is mapped
its de- a
erson,
in shops,
1-1212.
square
dances
and
swing
jams,more
and
an
in-two
tours:
younger
generations
rebelathletes.
against
the
activism
FlabberThe
Park
Avenue
will
house
than
rated
with
goddesses
and
(20
Rockefelfifty-sixth
annual
New
York
Antiquarian
Book
Fair,
leader
in
the
area
of
African-American
art,
offers
land.
(175
the
area
s
darkened
dilapidation
will
feel
Colm
Toibin,
reviewer
for
The
New
York
581-1212.
shops,
square
dances
andparticipants
swing jams,
and an
inyounger
rebel
the
activism
famous
contest
in which
compete
past
eras,
approaching
old
causesagainst
from new
angles
hundred
American
and
for
the oftours:
ler
Plaza,
at generations
49th
St.(April
212-636-2000.)
Swann,
a
the
prildesta5-10.) toat
a home
four-day
meet-up
forinternational
lovers
of raredealers
books,
maps,
apast
wide-ranging
sale
7)
led from
bypolitical
a monumental
famous
contest
in
which
participants
compete
of
eras,
approaching
old
causes
new
angles
among
the
stunning,
blanched
see
who
can
toss
a
banjo
the
farthest
into
the
that
seem
to
reawaken
and
restructure
ideReview
of
Books
and
New
Yorker
contribuannual
New
York Antiquarian
Book
Fair, leader
in the
the area
of African-American
art,
offers
land. (175 fifty-sixth
manuscripts,
and
ephemera.
The
various
exhibiquilt
by
Harlem-born
artist
Faith
Ringgold,
toa see
who
toss
afor
banjo
intoAn
the ologies
that
seem
to reawaken
and
restructure
ideCanal.
Gloves
and
athe
rope
are
provided,
overnight.
Having
grown
upnovel
with
the
stories
pril 5-10.) Gowanus
four-day
meet-up
lovers
offarthest
rare
books,
maps,
apart
wide-ranging
sale (April
7)
byseries,
apolitical
monumental
marble
of can
this
contemporary
bazaar.
tor,
will
be
from
hisled
Brooktors
feature
aform
vast
collection
notable
titles,
of
herreading
Woman
onthe
a Bridge
from
the
Gowanus
Canal.
Gloves
and(St.
aof
rope
are
provided,
overnight.
Having
grown
upofFaith
with
stories
Fadi J. tips
on shot-put
are
not.
Anns
Church,
157cov- ofologies
suffrage
movements
and
myth
bra the
burning,
manuscripts,
and
ephemera.
The
various
exhibiquilt
by
the Harlem-born
artist
Ringgold,
ved
ballet
ering
subjects
such
as
art,
medicine,
literature,
and
nineteen-eighties.
One
of
these
piecesgrand
in
open
house
for
the
Sance
Luxury
studio
lyn.
The
novel
was
reviewed
in
The
New
tips
on
shot-put
form
are
not.
(St.
Anns
Church,
157
of
suffrage
movements
and
the
myth
of
bra
burning,
St.,
Brooklyn.
718-875-6960.
April
8-10.)
digital
natives,
both
men
and
women,
have
recast
nr Fadi
folk- J. Montague
tors
feature a vast
collection
of fiftynotable
titles, cov- part
ofnarrative
her Woman
on a Bridge
series,
from the
photography,
spread
across
the
five-thousandscale,
in men
scopeis
inYork
the
collection
of
echnically
Montague
St.,
Brooklyn.
718-875-6960.
April
8-10.)
digital
natives,
both
and
women,
have
recast
rn
folkapartments
(beautifully
renovated
from
end
of
feminism
as
a
constant
cause,
mainly
by
exposing
York
Review
of
Books
by
New
Review
ved
ballet
ering
subjectshall.
suchVeteran
as art, medicine,
nineteen-eighties.
One
of these
piecesgrand
in
square-foot
collectorsliterature,
await thisand
fair feminism
the as
Guggenheim;
another,
from
thetheir
collection
rns
an
en- Greek
blend
of
as a constant
cause,
mainly
exposing
promIndependence
Parade
areviewer
pervasive
plight
through
art,
photography,
spread
across
the
fifty-the
five-thousandnarrative
insocial
scopeis
in
the by
collection
echnically
rent-controlled
family
housing)
will
be sexism
of scale,
Books
Claire
Messud
(who
is of
ompany
is
as
one
of
the
citys
bestit
attracts
most
prized
of
Maya
Angelou,
sold
at
the
house
for
a
record
is promGreek
Independence
Parade
sexism
as aand
pervasive
social
plight
through
their
art,
drama,
stumble
upon
a sea of
blue-and-white
flags,fair journalism,
organizing.
The
discussion
churns
square-foot
hall.
Veteran
collectors
await
the
Guggenheim;
another,
from
the collection
rns
an
en- Youll
admihardcovers
of
many
dealers,
thethis
former online,
price
last countless
year.
In this
colorful
tapestry,
Double
held
from
10am
thru
7pm
Saturday
and
also
awhere
New
Yorker
contributor).
Messud
mfor
upon
a European
seacostumes,
of
blue-and-white
flags,
journalism,
and
organizing.
discussion
rydrama,
balwell
asoftime-honored
music,
and
different
perspectives
collide
mpany
is asYoull
as
onestumble
the citys
bestit
attracts
the
most
prized
of
Maya
Angelou,
sold
at The
the
house
for
achurns
record
ographers.
Dutch
on
the
Golden
Gate
Bridge,
a
group
Grolier
Club
president
Eugene
Flamm
hints,
berary
bal- food,
ashardcovers
well
asAppointments
time-honored
costumes,
music,
and to
online,
countless
different
perspectives
collideof
Sunday.
fordealers,
viewings
are
w
at this
celebration
of Greek
independence
shape
awhere
new
pluralist
visiona
necessary
plasticity
will
host
ayear.
Q&A
alongside
Stacy
Schiff,
orYork
admiof many
European
the
former
price
last
In this
colorful
tapestry,
Double
Kunikova
cause
its
twice
as
far
for
them
to
go
out
to
Califoryoung
girls
jump
rope
high
above
the
San
FranNew
York and
food,
aton
this
celebration
of Greek
independence
toDutch
shape
aon
new
pluralist
necessary
ilgraphers.
6-9.)
culture.
events
include
a flagonlynewest
broadened
thevisiona
movements
reach.
A.an
Anthe
Golden
Gate
Bridge,
aplasticity
group
of
Grolier
Club
president
Eugene
Flamm
hints,
be- thats
made
aPre-parade
highly
selective
basis.
(Interwhose
book
The
Witches
had
ut not
nia.
(Park
Ave.
at 66th
St.
212-616-3930.
April
7-10.)
ciscoonly
skyline,
as
if freed
from
allMothers
constraints.
(104
pril
6-9.)for raising
and
culture.
Pre-parade
events
include
aCaliforflagthats
broadened
the
movements
reach.
A.FranAnceremony
at
Bowling
Green
Parkto
and
a glique
Roch
moderates
Not
Your
FemiKunikova
cause
its
twice
as
far
for
them
to
go
out
young
girls
jump
rope
high
above
the
San
E.
25th
St.
212-254-4710.)
(often for traditionalsection
of
Adam
Clayton
Powell
and
Adam
excerpt
published
in
The
New
Yorker
as
ceremony
at
Bowling
Green
Park
and
a nism:
glique
Roch moderates
Not
Your
Mothers
Femidance
exhibition.
(64th
St. at Fifth
Ave.,
Sisterhood
in if
thefreed
Digital
Age,
which
aims
to
ut
not
for raising
nia.
(Park
Ave.
atFestival
66th
St. 212-616-3930.
April
7-10.)
cisco
skyline,
as
from
all constraints.
(104
Brooklyn
Folk
teVikCarlo).
traditionaldance
exhibition.
(64th St. at Fifth Ave., humorously
nism:
Sisterhood
in the
Digital
Age,Review
which
aims
Clayton
U2
Blvds.,
Harlem)
rs
through
79thFrom
St.
April
10
at 1:45.)
examine
of advocacy
for womwell
as
a review
in
Therise
New
York
of to
E.
25th
St.
212-254-4710.)
(often
for
Held
in
the
borough
for
seven
years,
this
festiographer;
ersCarlo).
Vik- through
79th St. April
10 at 1:45.)
humorously
examine
riseNew
ofacross
advocacy
for
womamara
ens
rights
among
young
people
the country.
Festival
te
Books.
According
tothe
The
Yorker,
Toival honorsFolk
string-band
music in a celebration of Panelists
READINGS
ANDacross
TALKS
work.
The Brooklyn
Tamara
ens rights
young people
the country.
City,
foramong
this
discussion
include
the
writers
MalHeld
in thebluegrass,
borough ska,
for seven
years,
this festiographer;
ely
tribute
folk,
blues,
and
Irish
musical
tradibin
s
novel
creates
a
narrative
of
remarknwhich
City,
Panelists
forand
thisHeben
discussion
include
the writers
MalAUCTIONS
ANDmusic
ANTIQUES
Ortberg
Nigatu;
the TALKS
executive
direchonors
string-band
in a celebration
of lory
READINGS
AND
work.
The val
women,
tions.
Thirty
bands perform
across
its three days;
Brooklyn
Historical
Society
which
AUCTIONS
AND
ANTIQUES
lory
and
Heben
Nigatu;
theLori
executive
direcng with
tor
ofOrtberg
partnerships
at Feministing,
Adelman;
able
power,
writing
with
a spareness
and
ely
tribute
folk,
blues,
bluegrass,
ska,
and
Irish
musical
tradithere
will also
be vocal
instrumental
work- and
The
toward social
progress
is mapped
by
its dederson,
urn
within The
tor
of path
partnerships
at
Feministing,
Lori
Adelman;
ck
guiCaramoor
Center
for and
Music
anditsthe
Arts,
the
nerd-culture
authority
Susana
Polo.
(128
g women,
tions.
Thirty
bands
perform
across
three
days;
Brooklyn
Historical
Society
intensity
that
give
the
minutest
shades
of
2-581-1212.
shops,
square
dances
and
swing
jams,
andArts,
an
tours:
younger
generations
rebelSusana
against
the
activism
ock gui-in the
The
Caramoor
Center
for
Music
andvenue
the
and
the
nerd-culture
authority
(128
wilder,
verdant
estate
turned
summer-music
in in- Pierrepont
St.,
Brooklyn.
718-222-4111.
April
5Polo.
at by
6:30.)
there
will
also
be
vocal
and
instrumental
workThe
path
toward
social
progress
is
mapped
its
dederson,
famous
contest
incollection
which
participants
compete
of pastimmense
eras,
approaching
old causes
from5new
angles
Silicon
Valley
Antiques
Show
at and
feeling
emotional
impact.
The
dony
wilder,
the
verdant
estate
turned
summer-music
venue
Pierrepont
St., Brooklyn.
718-222-4111.
April
6:30.)
to Katonah,
is
culling
its
of antiques,
cur-581-1212.
shops,
square
dances
and
swing
jams,
an in
intours:
younger
generations
rebel
against
theatactivism
to
see
who
can
toss
a
banjo
the
farthest
into
the
that
seem
to
reawaken
and
restructure
political
ideirony to rently
Katonah,
is
culling
itswhich
collection
ofan
antiques,
curQueens
Micro
Abrons
displayed
on Center
the
grounds,
for
auction
at Strand
evening
will approaching
conclude with
a panel
discusfamous
contest
in
participants
compete
of
pastBookstore
eras,
oldgrown
causes
Gowanus
Canal.
and
aofferings
rope
provided,
ologies
overnight.
Having
upfrom
withnew
the angles
stories
rently
displayed
on
the
grounds,
for
anare
auction
at The
Strand
Bookstore
il(Abrons
8-9.) Sothebys
on April
12;Gloves
among
the
are
Ve-the
art
and
culture
critic
Eunice
Lipton
has
exto
see
who
can
toss
a
banjo
the
farthest
into
that
seem
to
reawaken
and
restructure
political
ideAs
it
does
every
month,
the
Silicon
Valsion
on
the
topic
Is
New
York
s
Literary
her
Fadi
J.
tips
on
shot-put
form
are
not.
(St.
Anns
Church,
157
of
suffrage
movements
and
the
myth
of
bra
burning,
pril 8-9.) netian
Sothebys
onCanal.
April Gloves
12;
among
the
offerings
are Ve- humed
The
art
and
culture
criticgrown
Eunice
Lipton
has
exrococo
chairs,
sixteenth-century
tapestries,
herovernight.
tangled
backstory
across
four
historGowanus
and
a
rope
are
provided,
ologies
Having
up
with
the
stories
Montague
St.,
Brooklyn.
718-875-6960.
April
8-10.)
digital
natives,
both
men
and
women,
have
recast
tern
folkley
Antiques
Show
fills
the
decadent
halls
Scene
Too
Insular?
It
will
be
moderated
netian
chairs,
sixteenth-century
tapestries,
humed
her tangled
backstory
across
historheatre
carpets
galore.
(York
Ave.
at (St.
72ndAnns
St. 212-606memoirs.
The latest,
A the
Distant
Heartbeat:
erblend
Fadi of
J. and
tips
onrococo
shot-put
form
are
not.
Church, 157 ical
of
suffrage
movements
and
myth
offour
bra
burning,
feminism
as
aThe
constant
cause,
mainly
by exposing
Theatre
and
carpets
galore.
(York 718-875-6960.
Ave.
at 72nd
St.
212-606memoirs.
latest,
A
Heartbeat:
of
the
Queens
Micro
Center
with
exhiMay
9 7000.)
Fashion,
architecture
(interior
and
exteA
War,
a Disappearance,
and
a Distant
Familys
Secrets,
byical
New
Yorker
contributor
Nick
Hornby,
Montague
St.,
Brooklyn.
April
8-10.)
digital
natives,
both
men
and
women,
have
recast
tern
folkis
promGreek
Independence
sexism
as
a pervasive
social
their
art,
stThese
May
9of rior),
7000.)
Fashion,
architecture
(interior
and
Afeminism
War,
apolitical
Disappearance,
andplight
a Familys
nature,
the
femaleParade
form
are some
of extethe traces
the
awakening
of
herthrough
uncle
Dave,
blend
asthe
a constant
cause,
mainly
bySecrets,
exposing
bitions
of and
technological
artifacts
dating
who
wrote
screenplay
for
Brooklyn.
om
drama,
Youll
stumble
upon
a
sea
of
blue-and-white
flags,
journalism,
and
organizing.
The
discussion
churns
These
rior),
nature,
and
the female
form6 sale
are some
of the who
traces
political
of her
Dave,
ts.is
opus,
subjects
treated
in Christies
April
of photofledthe
from
theirawakening
native
Bronx
in uncle
the ninet
promGreek
Independence
Parade
sexism
as
a
pervasive
social
plight
through
their
art,
porary
bal- graphs,
asfar
well
as includes
time-honored
costumes,
and This
online,
countless
perspectives
collide
as
back
asupon
Protoinstagramatic
Era
event
isand
closed
todifferent
theThe
general
ntCory
opus,
subjects
treated
inthe
Christies
April
6large
salemusic,
of photowho
fledwhere
from
their
native
Bronx
in public.
the
ninedm
which
an
especially
number
to
join
the Abraham
Lincoln
Brigade
drama,
Youll
stumble
a sea
of
blue-and-white
flags, teen-thirties
journalism,
organizing.
discussion
churns
(New
York ofof
food,
at2010.
this
celebration
oflong-lost
Greek
independence
to shape
aReview
new
pluralist
visiona
necessary
plasticity
nd
Cory
graphs,
which
includes
an
especially
large
number
teen-thirties
to
join
the
Abraham
Lincoln
Brigade
early
Relics
of
eras
indancer
prints
by
Hiroshi
Sugimoto.
(One
of
these
is
a
in
the
Spanish
Civil
War.
Through
interviews
and
(New
York
of
Books,
New
York,
New
orary6-9.)
bal- as
well
as time-honored
costumes,
music,
and online,
where
countlessthe
different
perspectives
collide
April
and
culture.
Pre-parade
a is
flagthats
only
broadened
movements
reach.
A.
Ana dancer
offood,
prints
Hiroshi
Sugimoto.
of Reforthese
a research,
into
the
Spanish
War.
Through
interviews
and
ning
of
of
Princess
Diana;
inevents
it, (One
she include
turns
shyly
without
much
help
fromnecessary
relatives,
from
New
York portrait
atby
this
celebration
of
Greek
independence
shape
a newCivil
pluralist
visiona
plasticity
clude
pieces
from
the
Macintosh
York)
raising
ceremony
at
Bowling
Green
Park
and
a
glique
Roch
moderates
Not
Your
Mothers
Femiening
of away
portrait
of
Diana;events
in it, she
turns
shyly
research,
without
much
help
fromasrelatives,
from
ct,
and
from
thePrincess
photographer,
peering
from
under
whom
she
heard
little
ofthe
her
uncle
a child,
LipApril
6-9.)
and
culture.
Pre-parade
include
a
flagthats
only
broadened
movements
reach.
A.
Antraditionaldance
(64th
St.of
at16-bit
Fifth Ave., ton
nism:
Sisterhood
in the
Age,
to
mation
as
well
asexhibition.
daguerreotypes
ect,
and her
away
from
the
photographer,
she
heard
little
of Digital
her
uncle
asMothers
awhich
child,
Lipas crefamous
blond
bangs,
handspeering
tucked
demurely
uncovered
a moderates
seventy-five-year
history
toaims
reraising
ceremony
at Bowling
Greenfrom
Parkunder
and a whom
glique
Roch
Not
Your
Femiphers
Vik- behind
through
79th
St.
April
10 at
1:45.)
humorously
examine
the
rise
of
advocacy
for
womhasIts
creher
famous
blond
bangs,
hands
tucked
demurely
ton
uncovered
a
seventy-five-year
history
to
rescreensavers,
many
of
which
are
redolent
her
back.)
On
April
12,
the
house
turns
construct
his
lost
legacy.
Tim
Teeman,
a
senior
edny.
3rd
Annual
Letters
Are
for
Things
traditional-dance exhibition. (64th St. at Fifth Ave., nism:
Sisterhood
inyoung
the Digital
Age,
which
aims to
adancTamara
ens
rights
people
across
country.
behind
back.)
On10April
12,
thefrom
house
turns itor
construct
hisamong
lost
legacy.
Tim
Teeman,
a the
senior
edpany.
Its itsof
thers
attention
antiquities,
mostly
southat
the
Daily
Beast,
joins
in
a discussion
Vikthrough
79thto
St.
April
at 1:45.)
humorously
examine
the
riseher
of advocacy
for womthe her
most
resplendent
Flemish
vistas.
Art
Festival
in
City,
Panelists
for
this
discussion
include
the
writers
nt
danc- ern
its Europe
attention
to the
antiquities,
mostly from
south- sponsored
itor
atrights
thebyDaily
Beast,
heracross
inBrigade
a discussion
atTamara
89th
and
Mediterranean,
including
the Abraham
Lincoln
Ar-Malens
among
youngjoins
people
the country.
yae.in
which
AUCTIONS
AND
ANTIQUES
lory
Ortberg
and
Heben
Nigatu;
the
executive
direcSilicon
Valley
exhibitors
also
politely
reUsually
a
venue
for
celebrating
marine
89th Roman
ern Europe
the Mediterranean,
including
sponsored
bythis
the discussion
Abraham
Lincoln
Brigade
Arstatuesand
of Bacchus,
marble Venuses
(with chives.
(828for
Broadway.
212-473-1452.
April
11 at 7.)
inatCity,
Panelists
include
the
writers
Maleturn
with quest
tor of(828
partnerships
at212-473-1452.
Feministing,
Lori
Adelman;
Romanthat
statues
of Bacchus,
marble
Venuses
(with wildlife,
chives.
April
11 at
7.)
women
over
30
do not
attend.
theBroadway.
New
York
Aquarium
turns
in
which
AUCTIONS
AND
ANTIQUES
lory
Ortberg
and
Heben
Nigatu;
the
executive
direc-rock gui- The Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts, and the nerd-culture authority Susana Polo. (128
turn
with
tor
of
partnerships
at
Feministing,
Lori
Adelman;
(Kissena
Blvd.
at
71st
Ave.
718-674-8400)
11,
2016
into
the
New
York
Abecedarium
for
one
nd wilder, the verdant estate turned summer-music venue in Pierrepont St., Brooklyn. 718-222-4111. April 5 at 6:30.)
-rock
guiCaramoor
Center
for Music
the Arts,
and the nerd-culture authority Susana Polo. (128
ILirony
11, 2016
al
to The
Katonah,
is culling
its collection
ofand
antiques,
cur- night
annually.
This year, H is for Hawks
nd (Abrons
wilder, the
verdant
estateon
turned
summer-music
venue in
Pierrepont
St., Brooklyn. 718-222-4111. April 5 at 6:30.)
m.
rently
displayed
the
grounds,
for
an
auction
at
Strand
Bookstore
Heartbreakers
Yard
Sale
at
Helen
Macdonald
presents The Lifetime
l irony
to Katonah,
its collection
antiques,
April
8-9.)
Sothebysisonculling
April 12;
among theof
offerings
arecurVe- The art and culture critic Eunice Lipton has exm. (Abrons The
rently
displayed
on
the
grounds,
for
an
auction
at
Strand
Bookstore
Cosgroves
Residence
Achievement
Award
to the across
novelist
Sue
netian rococo chairs, sixteenth-century tapestries, humed her tangled backstory
four
historApril
8-9.) Sothebys
ongalore.
April 12;
among
offerings
are Ve- The
art and culture
critic A
Eunice
Lipton
has ext Theatre
and carpets
(York
Ave.the
at 72nd
St.
212-606ical memoirs.
The
latest,
Distant
Heartbeat:
Miss
Elena
Cosgrove,
apparently
underGrafton
(T
is
for
Trespass;
U
is
for
Undernetian
chairs,
sixteenth-century
tapestries,
humed
her
tangled backstory
fourSecrets,
historins May 9 appreciated
7000.)rococo
Fashion,
architecture
(interior
and exte- tow).
A War,
Disappearance,
and aacross
Familys
(despite
being
the
beneficiary
A aVIP
passlatest,
includes
complimenTheatre
carpets
galore.
(York
Ave.form
at 72nd
212-606memoirs.
The
A Distant
Heartbeat:
rks.
These and
rior),
nature,
and the
female
areSt.
some
of the ical
traces
the political
awakening
of her uncle
Dave,
ns May
9 of7000.)
Fashion,
(interior
exte- tary
Awho
War,
a Disappearance,
andfor
aBronx
Familys
Secrets,
innumerable
goods and
affections),
screenings
Dialnative
M
Murder
andninecent
opus,
subjects
treated inarchitecture
Christies
April
6 saleand
of photofled
fromoftheir
in the
ks.
These
rior),
nature,
and
the
female
form
are
some
of
the
traces
the
political
awakening
of
her
uncle
Dave,
and Cory shall
graphs,
which includes
an especially large number V for
teen-thirties
toThe
join event
the Abraham
Lincoln Brigade
auction
away
Americana-inspired
Vendetta.
is Bronx
sponsored
by
opus, subjects
in Christies
April
6 sale
photowho
fromCivil
theirWar.
native
in the nined,ent
a dancer
of printstreated
bycompiled
Hiroshi
Sugimoto.
(One
ofof
these
is a Alphabet
in thefled
Spanish
Through
interviews
and
curiosities
through
decades
of
Inc.
subsidiary
Google;
RSVPs
and Cory
includes
an especially
large
number
to joinmuch
the Abraham
Lincoln
Brigade
evening
of graphs,
portraitwhich
of Princess
Diana;
in it, she
turns
shyly teen-thirties
research, without
help from
relatives,
from
d,oject,
a dancer
of
prints
by
Hiroshi
Sugimoto.
(One of
these
is a to in
theevent
Spanish
War.
and
marriage
by this correspondent,
the
areCivil
not
necessary
and turbulent
away
from
the
photographer,
peering
from
under
whom
she heard
little
of Through
her uncleasinterviews
asGoogle
a child, Lipvening
of portrait
of Princess
Diana;
in it,tucked
she turns
shyly research,
without
much help from relatives,
from
ho
has creherex-husband.
famous
blondAmong
bangs,
hands
demurely
ton
uncovered
a seventy-five-year
history
to
reher
many
collectibles
has
predicted
precisely
who
will
attend.
oject, and
away
from
photographer,
peering
from under
whom
she his
heard
of her
uncle
as a achild,
Lipbehind
herthe
back.)
On Aprilmy
12, the
house
turns Note
construct
lostlittle
legacy.
Tim
Teeman,
senior
edmpany.
Its that
would
be
considered
property
in
to
parents:
beware
of
bringing
the
olent
hasdanccre- her
famous blond
bangs, hands
tucked
demurely
a seventy-five-year
to reits attention
to antiquities,
mostly
from
south- ton
itoruncovered
at the Daily
Beast, joins her inhistory
a discussion
herbenevolent
back.)
OnMediterranean,
April
12,are:
the house
turns youngsters,
construct
legacy.
Tim
aissenior
mpany.
Its abehind
justEurope
and
world
a handaslost
this
year
s Teeman,
theme Brigade
The edAve. at 89th
ern
and the
including
sponsoredhisby
the
Abraham
Lincoln
Arent danc- its
attention
to of
antiquities,
mostlyVenuses
from southitor
at the
Daily
Beast,212-473-1452.
joins her in aApril
discussion
Roman
statues
Bacchus,
marble
(with Gashlycrumb
chives.
(828
Broadway.
11 at 7.)
crafted
birdbath,
vintage
photography
of
Tinies.
(New
York
Aquarium,
ve. at 89th ern Europe and the Mediterranean, including sponsored by the Abraham Lincoln Brigade Arour
happiest
and (with
an 602
Surf (828
Ave.,Broadway.
Brooklyn)
Roman
statuesmemories
of Bacchus, together,
marble Venuses
chives.
212-473-1452. April 11 at 7.)

ABOVE & BEYOND


ABOVE & BEYOND

1
1

ILLUSTRATION
BY PABLO
AMARGO
ILLUSTRATION
BY PABLO
AMARGO

1
1

ILLUSTRATION BY PABLO AMARGO


ILLUSTRATION BY PABLO AMARGO

1
1
1 1

PRIL 11, 2016

RIL 11, 2016

THE NEU JORKER, JUNE 20, 2016

15

FD
FD&&&DRINK
DRINK
DRINK
FD
FD & DRINK

only the aforementioned, the tortellini, a


The
The
menu
menu
includes
includes
mostly
mostly
appetizers
appetizers
The
menu
includes
appetizers
former
triumph,
now mostly
a detested
replaceBAR
BAR
TAB
TAB
BAR
TAB
and
and
pastas
pastas
(noodles
(noodles
by
another
another
name)
name)
The
includes
mostly
appetizers
and
pastas
byby
another
ment
formenu
a(noodles
mightier
linguini,
a name)
prettier
BAR TAB
and
and
only
only
two
rotating
rotating
entres.
entres.
HybridHybridpastas
(noodles
by
another
name)
spaghetti,
atwo
more
significant
rigatoni,
all
and
only
two
rotating
entres.
Hybrid245
E.
19th
St.
(212-736-3100)
232
232
Eighth
Eighth
Ave.
Ave.
(646-518-1919)
(646-518-1919)
232
Eighth
Ave.
(646-518-1919)
ized
dishes
dishes
are
are
annotated
annotated
with
with
footnotes
footnotes
and
only
two
rotating
entres.
Hybridaized
proper
choice
for a diner
such
as anyized
dishes
are
annotated
with
footnotes
232
Eighth
Ave.will
(646-518-1919)
one,
though
tonight
this diner
faced
chalDavid
David
Chang
Chang
will
not
not
be
pinned
that
that
explain
explain
their
their
parentage:
parentage:
chicken
chicken
and
and
ized
dishes
are
annotated
with
footnotes
David
will
not
bebe
pinned
explain
their
parentage:
chicken
and
ON A Chang
COLD November
night,
Ipinned
found that
lenges
rather
than
treats,
the
imposition
down.
down.
After
After
Eater.com
Eater.com
posted
posted
awellawellwell- dumplings
dumplings
dumplings
isis
Su
Su
Jae
Jae
Bi
xchicken
Malfatti
Malfatti
David
Chang
will
not
that
explainistheir
parentage:
and
myself
on
Slacks
Avenue,
a be
neighbourdown.
After
Eater.com
posted
apinned
Su
Jae
BiBi
x xMalfatti
x xx
ofCracker
tortellini,
and
asorIJae
exhaled,
announcing
sourced
sourced
rumor
rumor
that
that
his
his
newest
newest
restaurant
restaurant
Cracker
Barrel,
Barrel,
or
Korean
Korean
noodle
soup
soup
down.
After
Eater.com
posted
aStreet,
well- Cracker
dumplings
is or
Su
Bi noodle
xnoodle
Malfatti
x
hood
on
the
north
side
of
E. restaurant
19th
sourced
rumor
that
his
newest
Barrel,
Korean
soup
both
my
successful
with
salad, as
(his
eighth
eighth
New
New
York)
York)
would
would
be
with
with
Italian
Italian
dumplings
dumplings
atat
athe
aSouthern
Southern
a(his
former
textile
haunt,
now
dominated
sourced
rumor
that
his
newest
restaurant
Cracker
Barrel,
or turn
Korean
noodle
soup
(his
eighth
ininin
New
York)
would
bebe
a aa with
Italian
dumplings
at
a
Southern
well as my campaign against the cooling
by
the
furniture
industry,
though
many
Korean/Italian
Korean/Italian
Mashup,
Mashup,
Chang
Chang
balked.
balked.
chain
chain
restaurant.
restaurant.
For
ForChang
Chang
acolytes,
acolytes,
(his
eighth
inMashup,
New
York)
would
be a chain
with
Italian
dumplings
at a acolytes,
Southern
Korean/Italian
Chang
balked.
restaurant.
circular
doughs, IFor
feltChang
a feeling
close to
there
continue,
unwittingly,
or unknowHe
He
took
took
his
his
own
own
spin
spin
roomLucky
roomLucky
the
the
most
most
satisfying
satisfying
part
part
of
of
dining
dining
atat The
The
Up
Up
&Up
Up
Korean/Italian
Mashup,
Chang
balked. the
chain
restaurant.
For
Chang
acolytes,
He
took
tototo
his
own
spin
roomLucky
most
satisfying
part
of
dining
at
Up
&&Up
joy,
which,
for
a
moment,
was
beyond
my The
ingly,
using
textile
extensively,
both
on
116
116
MacDougal
MacDougal
(212-260-3000)
(212-260-3000)
Phils
Peach,
Peach,
the
the
quarterly
food
food
journal
journal
he
he
coco- Nishi
Nishi
Nishi
istasting
istasting
tasting
the
the
results
results
of
his
his
eternal
eternal
MacDougal
(212-260-3000)
He
took
toquarterly
his
own
spin
roomLucky
the
most
satisfying
partfor
ofof
dining
at 116Garden
The
Up
& UpSt.St.St.
Peach,
the
quarterly
food
journal
he
cois
the
results
of
his
eternal
calculations
of
potentials
the
evening,
205
E. Houston St.
St. (212-260-3000)
(212-254-2246)
themselves,
and
in
each
establishment,
116
MacDougal
foundedto
foundedto
give
giveanan
interview
interview
along
along
with
with hunt
hunt
for
for
sources
sources
ofof
umami,
umami,
an
an
extension
extension
Descending
Descending
adank
dank
set
set
ofstairs
stairs
directly
directly
below
below
Peach,
the quarterly
food
journal
he
coNishi
is
tasting
the
results
of
his
eternal
though
that
emotion
wasan
then
swiftly Descending
foundedto
give
interview
along
with
for
sources
of
umami,
extension
a adank
set
ofofstairs
directly
below
and I, myself,
in an
a bistro,
a noshing
nook, hunt
the
the
inconspicuous
inconspicuous
signa
signa
downward
downward
arrow
arrow
the
the
executive
executive
chef,
chef,
Joshua
Joshua
Pinsky,
Pinsky,
about
about
of
of
his
his
experiments
experiments
with
with
misos
misos
and
and
sauces
sauces
the
inconspicuous
downward
arrow
foundedto
give
an
interview
along
with
hunt
for
sources
of
umami,
an
extension
Descending
a danksigna
set
of stairs
directly
below
swayed
by
the
onslaught
of
gluten
discs,
a
One
step
through
the
gate
to
the
Garden
the
executive
chef,
Joshua
Pinsky,
about
of
his
experiments
with
misos
and
sauces
a restaurant, Monstros, where the knifetinted
tinted
sprightly
sprightly
green
green
and
and
whitepatrons
whitepatrons
ofand
this
this
sprightly
green
and
whitepatrons
ofof
this
the
inconspicuous
signa
downward
arrow
painful
challenge
which,
while
undesired,
youre
transported
tohole
themight
would-be
backyard
of
what
what
Momofuku
Momofuku
Nishi
NishiPinsky,
would
would
and
and atat
at
his
food
food
laboratory.
laboratory.
A
starter
starter
of
tofu
tofu tinted
the
executive
chef, Joshua
about
of
his
experiments
withAA
misos
and
Village
Village
watering
watering
hole
might
be
be
momentarily
momentarily
what
Momofuku
Nishi
would
and
his
food
laboratory.
starter
ofofsauces
tofu
slayed,
wood-fire
roasted
lamb
chops
Village
watering
hole
might
be
momentarily
tinted
sprightly
green
and
whitepatrons
of
this
your
most
green-thumbed
cohort
if
effort
came
put
the
meal
in
perspective,
reminding
wouldnt
wouldnt
be.
be.
Chang
Chang
insisted
itwas
itwas
was
PinPinwith
smoked
smoked
trout
trout
roe
roe
and
rye
rye
Bonjia
Bonjia
surprised
surprised
tofind
find
aneighborhood
neighborhood
nook
nook
that,
that,
what
Momofuku
Nishi
and
atwith
his
food laboratory.
Aand
starter
of tofu surprised
proved
abe.
worthy
foeinsisted
toinsisted
my unsettled
ap- with
wouldnt
Chang
itwould
Pinsmoked
trout
roe
and
rye
Bonjia
toto
find
a aneighborhood
that,
ininin
Village
watering
hole
might
benook
momentarily
over
them
for
long
enough,
aunequivocally
flush
paradise
with
keeping
keeping
with
with
itsits
name,
name,
isunequivocally
onon
the
the
me
that
with trout
good
must
bad,
with keeping
skys
skys
restaurant,
restaurant,
while
while
admitting,
admitting,
Iworry
Iworry
worry
liquid
liquid
seasoning
seasoning
similar
similar
tocome
to
soy
soy
sauceis
sauceis
with
its
name,
isisunequivocally
on
the
wouldnt
be.aChang
insisted
was
Pin- liquid
with
smoked
roe
and
rye
Bonjia
surprised
to
find
a
neighborhood
nook
that,
in
petite,
itself
controlling,
yet itbenevolent,
skys
restaurant,
while
admitting,
I
seasoning
similar
to
soy
sauceis
plump
plants
ready
forwallpaper
picking, and
eating.
And
up
up
and
and
up.
up.
The
The
floral
floral
wallpaper
and
and
framed
framed
ads
ads
cars
must
come
accidental
death,
with
up
and
up.
The
floral
wallpaper
and
framed
ads
keeping
with
its
name,
is
unequivocally
on
the
about
about
my
my
stupid
stupid
ego
ego
getting
getting
inthere
inthere
there
and
and
like
like
aseasoning
savory,
savory,
salty
salty
panna
panna
cotta.
cotta.
The
The eat
presence,
always
up
to
the in
challenges
of like
skys
restaurant,
while
admitting,
I worry
liquid
similar
to soy
sauceis
them
I did. And
spit
them
out
I did.your
These
from
from
mid-century
mid-century
glossies
glossies
may
may
suggest
suggest
your
about
my
stupid
ego
getting
and
a asavory,
salty
panna
mid-century
glossies
may
suggest
up
and
up. The floral
wallpaper
and
framedyour
ads
Christmas
must
come
pinecotta.
smell,The
with from
being
fed,
as
itOver
was
that
night,
set upon
plants
are not
theroomor
plants
I buy
inone
the
grocery
fucking
fucking
itstupid
up.
up.
Over
the
the
next
next
thousand
earthy
earthy
walnut
walnut
bagna
bagna
cauda
cauda
arrives
arrives
alal- grand-aunts
grand-aunts
grand-aunts
living
living
roomor
roomor
as
as
one
newcomer
newcomer
about
my
ego
getting
inthousand
there
and
like
a
savory,
salty
panna
cotta.
The
fucking
ititup.
Over
the
next
thousand
ororor earthy
walnut
bagna
cauda
arrives
alliving
as
one
newcomer
from mid-century glossies may suggest your
planes
must
come
improper
destinations,
put
put
it,
a
dive
dive
that
that
got
got
a ashave
shave
and
and
put
put
onon
a aclean
clean
store.
Aadive
second
step
and
youve
bumped
one
the
chops,
these
cooked
within
an
inch
so
words,
words,
he
he
sounded
sounded
off
off
about
about
the
the
ununready
ready
smothering
smothering
crisp
crisp
stalks
stalks
RoRoit,it,a
that
got
a shave
and
put
on
ainto
clean
fucking
itheup.
Over
the
next
thousand
or ready
earthy
cauda
arrives
al- put
grand-aunts
living
roomor
as
one
newcomer
soso
words,
sounded
off
about
the
unstalks
ofofof
Rosuch smothering
as walnut
Iceland bagna
or crisp
LAX,
the former
too
pair
pair
ofslacksbut
of
slacksbut
slacksbut
the
the
real
real
touch
touch
ofpropriety
ofon
propriety
propriety
of
the
low,
inviting
tables,
intimately
strewn
about
of
success,
teetering
but
falling
just
short,
pair
of
the
real
touch
of
put
it,
a
dive
that
got
a
shave
and
put
a
clean
maine
lettuce,
lettuce,
create
anutty
nutty
Caesar
Caesar
fairly
low
low
price
price
ofofmost
most
Asian
Asian
food,
food,
fufu- maine
sofairly
words,
he
sounded
off
about
thefuunready
smothering
crisp
stalks
of
Ro- arrives
arrives
arrives
inthe
in
the
the
form
form
of
an
anreal
admonition
admonition
printed
printed
lettuce,
tototo
create
a anutty
fairly
low
price
of
Asian
food,
small,
the
latter
a create
one-star,
dirtCaesar
airport,
the
cozy
forest
tavern.
Every
ingredient
used
aton
form
ofofan
admonition
printed
onon
pair
ofinslacksbut
the
touch
of
propriety
though
happy
to most
have
hung
on
the
edge maine
sion
sion
cuisine,
cuisine,
and
and
what
what
itmeans
itmeans
means
toto
make
make
salad
salad
sprinkled
sprinkled
with
with
more
walnuts,
walnuts,
the
the
menu
menu
to
to
male
male
patrons
patrons
not
not
to
to
introduce
introduce
themthemmaine
lettuce,
towith
create
amore
nutty
Caesar
fairly
low
price
of
most
Asian
food,
fu- salad
both
unlike
Paris,
oh
Paris,
the
city
of
Garden
Phils
is
grown
in-house,
ensuring
fresh,
sion
cuisine,
and
what
it
to
make
sprinkled
more
walnuts,
the
menu
to
male
patrons
not
to
introduce
themarrives in the form of an admonition printed on
for a moment at least, their cohorts,
selves
selves
toto
ladies.
ladies.
That
That
could
prove
prove
difficult
difficult
in-season
cocktails
incould
acould
warm,
humid,
plantItalian
Italian
food
food
with
with
non-Italian
non-Italian
ingredients;
ingredients;
shaved.
shaved.
The
coup
coup
de
grce
grce
isceci
ceci
epepe,
pepe,
totoladies.
prove
difficult
ininin
sion
cuisine,
and
what
it means
to make
salad
sprinkled
with
more
walnuts,
the
menu
maleThat
patrons
not
to
introduce
themnights,
aThe
haven
for
love
and
reason
and selves
Italian
food
with
non-Italian
ingredients;
The
coup
dede
grce
isisceci
e epepe,
bevel-chopped,
pan-seared
Yukon
Gold shaved.
this
this
neck
neck
of
ofthe
the
woods:
woods:
N.Y.U.
N.Y.U.
territory,
territory,
teeming
teeming
this
neck
of
the
woods:
N.Y.U.
territory,
teeming
friendly
atmosphere.
When
asked
about
their
ofselves
to
ladies.
That
could
prove
difficult
in
careful
examination
of
oneself
and
any
Pinsky
Pinsky
spoke
spoke
twice.
twice.
atwist
twist
on
on
the
the
simple
simple
classic,
classic,
which
Italian
food
with
non-Italian
The
coup
de grce
is ceci
ewhich
pepe, with
with
with
keen,
keen,
inquisitive
inquisitive
co-eds.
co-eds.
But,
But,
ateeming
apretty
pretty
Pinsky
spoke
twice.
twist
on
the
simple
classic,
ininin
which
fingerlings,
made
to watch asingredients;
the chosen a ashaved.
keen,
inquisitive
But,
asasaas
pretty
this
neck
of
the
woods:
N.Y.U.
territory,
ferings,
namesake
Phil co-eds.
Waters
mutters,
the
mint
compatriots
close
enough
to
justify
careEverything
Everything
about
about
Nishi
Nishi
( (Japanese
Japanese
aged
cheeses
cheeses
have
have
been
been
replaced
replaced
with
with waitress
waitress
waitress
with
with
anose
nose
stud
stud
and
andaline
aline
line
from
from
The
The
Pinsky
spoke
twice.
aaged
twist
on the
simple
classic,
in which
protein
gave way
to my
advances,
the po- aged
Everything
about
Nishi
( Japanese
cheeses
have
been
replaced
with
with
a anose
stud
and
from
with
keen,
inquisitive
co-eds.
But,
as
a The
pretty
has
really
taken
overits
harda to
tame.
Mojitos,
Little
Little
Prince
Prince
tattooed
onto
onto
her
bicep
bicep
sensibly
sensibly
ful
examination
in addition
to yours,paste
then
for
for
west,
west,
because
because
its
its
in
in
Chelsea)
Chelsea)
isin
chickpea
chickpea
Hozona
Hozona
miso-style
miso-style
paste Little
Prince
onto
her
bicep
sensibly
Everything
about
( Japanese
aged
cheeses
have
been
replaced
with
waitress
withtattooed
atattooed
nose
stud
and
aher
line
from
The
tatoes
then
finished
in
kind,
survived
byin chickpea
Mojitos,
Mint
Juleps!
I
order
a
Scotch
&
Mint,
for
west,
because
its
inNishi
Chelsea)
isisin
Hozona
miso-style
paste
explained,
explained,
Sometimes
Sometimes
aonto
agirl
girl
just
just
wants
wants
tohave
tohave
have
dinner
withfermented
those
wholegumes.
are worthwhile, explained,
Sometimes
arecluse
girl
just
wants
to
Little
tattooed
her
bicep
sensibly
swat
a Prince
nearby
bee,
and
myself
to
a table
lockstep
lockstep
with
with
the
the
rest
rest
ofof
the
Momofuku
Momofuku
made
made
from
from
fermented
legumes.
their
over-wrought
cousin,
tortellini,
for
west,
because
its
inthe
Chelsea)
is ina made
chickpea
Hozona
miso-style
paste her
her
her
drink
drink
instead
instead
ofsome
of
some
some
sloppy
sloppy
nerd
nerd
being
being
like,
like,
lockstep
with
the
rest
of
the
Momofuku
from
fermented
legumes.
drink
instead
of
sloppy
nerd
being
like,
explained,
Sometimes
a
girl
just
wants
to
have
or
those
who
are
not
generally,
but
could
in
the back.UP?you
With
my view
mostly
obstructed
by
husky
youth
with
aroom
simple
mind,
lacking made
group:
group:
the
the
dining
dining
room
isloud,
loud,
crowded,
crowded,
WHATS
WHATS
UP?you
know?
know?
On
On
a
a
recent
recent
TuesTuesPrices
Prices
are
are
steep,
steep,
but
but
there
there
isno
isno
no
tiptip- WHATS
lockstep
with
theroom
rest
of
the
Momofuku
from
fermented
legumes.
group:
the
dining
isisloud,
crowded,
UP?you
know?
On
a
recent
TuesPrices
are
steep,
but
there
is
tipher drink
instead
of some help
sloppy
nerd
being
like,
be for the night, as many are capable of forceful
foliage,
Ifriends
couldnt
but
track
a young,
day,
day,
a
a
pair
pair
of
of
friends
mulled
mulled
over
over
the
the
Peats
Peats
the
delicacy
of
its
older
sibling,
the
welland
and
hard
hard
to
walk
walk
into
into
past
past
six
six
o
clock
clock
ping;
ping;
the
the
staff
staff
paid
paid
aliving
aliving
living
wage.
wage.
a pair of
friends mulled
overa recent
the Peats
group:
the
room
is loud,
WHATS
UP?you
know?
On
Tuesare
steep,
butathere
is wage.
no
tipand
hard
totodining
walk
into
past
six
oo
ccrowded,
lock
ininin ping;
the
staff
isisis
paid
onePrices
nights
joyous
company,
while
few day,
Euro
twenty-or-something
sitting
in
one of
the
Dragon
Dragon
(black-pepper
(black-pepper
tincture,
tincture,
Scotch,
Scotch,
ververdressed
and
attentive
Turkish
salad,
who
Dragon
(black-pepper
Scotch,
verday,
a pair
of friends tincture,
mulled
over
the Peats
the
the
evening.
evening.
Chang
Chang
claims
claims
that
that
what
what
This
This
isthe
ismature
mature
Chang,
but
also
also
classic
classic
and
hard
toChang
walk
into
pastthat
six
oits
cits
lock
in This
ping;
staff
isChang,
paidbut
abut
living
wage.
raised
beds.
Thoroughly,
and
apparently,
enjoying
mouth)
mouth)
and
and
the
the
Gods
Gods
Daisy
Daisy
Chain
Chain
(gin,
(gin,
Aperol,
Aperol,
the
evening.
claims
its
what
is
mature
Chang,
also
classic
are
capable
of
significant
learning,
as
in
mouth)
and(black-pepper
the Gods Daisy
Chain (gin,
Aperol,
Dragon
tincture,
Scotch,
vermay
have
seen
or
heard
ideas
foreign
to
the
cocktails,
he leans
back
with
satisfaction,
resthis
hisfirst
first
restaurant,
restaurant,
Noodle
Noodle
Bar,
Bar,
would
sparkling
sparkling
wine).
wine).
Are
Are
you
you
vibing
vibing
something
something
Chang:
he
he
doesnt
doesnt
much
much
care
care
what
what
we
we sparkling
the
evening.
Chang claims
that
itswould
what Chang:
This
ishe
mature
Chang,
also
classic
the
study
of
catalogues
ofbut
ancient
texts
or
his
restaurant,
wine).
Are
you
vibing
something
doesnt
much
care
what
we
mouth)
and
the
Gods
Daisy
Chain
(gin,
Aperol,
thefirst
younger
starch,Noodle
and whoBar,
had would
escaped Chang:
smoky
smoky
or
or
citrusy?
citrusy?
the
the
barkeep
barkeep
asked,
asked,
while
while
ing
for
a
moment.
And
as
I
watch
him
relax,
a
be
ifgaze
he
he
had
had
opened
openeditat
itatage
atage
age
thirty-eight
thirty-eight
think
long
long
as
the
the
food
food
istasty.
istasty.
tasty.
But
But smoky
or citrusy?
the barkeep
asked,
while
his
first
restaurant,
would think
sparkling
wine). Are
you vibing
something
Chang:
he
doesnt
much
care
what
we
ofthink
mathematics
of
the
anatomy
of
the
bebe
ififhe
had
opened
thirty-eight
asasas
long
asasor
the
food
is
But
my
up
to thisit Noodle
point,
itsBar,
protective
serving
serving
shots
shots
offernet
offernet
fernet
toatoman
abarkeep
aman
man
inainduckbill
aasked,
aduckbill
duckbill
cap
cap
vigorous
up-growth
begins
around
him.
Once
a
serving
shots
of
to
in
cap
smoky
or
citrusy?
the
while
earths
species,
each
similar
in
their
coexrather
rather
than
than
twenty-six.
twenty-six.
This
This
isalso
isalso
also
anan- hehe
he
would
would
do
do
well
well
toto
let
Pinsky,
Pinsky,
whose
whose
be
if he
had
opened
it at
age
thirty-eight
think
as do
long
as
the
food
is tasty.
But and
and
and
his
his
teal-haired
teal-haired
date.
date.
The
friends
friends
settled
on
rather
than
twenty-six.
This
is
anwould
well
to
letlet
Pinsky,
whose
barrier
of
cow-child
now
removed,
reseat,
soon
a dense
crop
ofThe
mint,
then
asettled
wallon
ofon
his
teal-haired
date.
The
friends
settled
serving
shots
of
fernet
to
a
man
in
a
duckbill
cap
istence
on
thiswell
planet,
yet most
vastly
different
other
other
way
way
ofof
saying
saying
that
that
its
its
twelve
twelve
years
years
mother
mother
inspired
inspired
Nishis
Nishis
most
exquisite
exquisite
the
the
One-Star
One-Star
Yelp
Yelp
Review
Review
(Montenegro,
(Montenegro,
cachaa,
cachaa,
rather
than
twenty-six.
This
isand
also
an- mother
he
would
do
to let
Pinsky,
whose thethe
stalky
weed,
the
youthful
imbibersettled
absorbed
vealing
aofstockpile
of
greens
staled
other
way
saying
that
its
twelve
years
inspired
Nishis
most
exquisite
One-Star
Yelp
Review
(Montenegro,
cachaa,
and
his
teal-haired
date.
The
friends
on
grapefruit
grapefruit
juice),
juice),
but
but
they
they
couldnt
couldnt
come
in
their
needs
for
survival,
for
success,
for grapefruit
completely,
with
grace
known
only come
bycome
acachaa,
thicket
too
too
late
late
complain
complain
about
about
the
the
empires
empires
dessert,
dessert,
apistachio
apistachio
pistachio
Bundt
Bundt
cake,
cake,
do
do
more
more
juice),
they
couldnt
totoatoa a
other
way
of
saying
that
itsthe
twelve
years dessert,
mother
inspired
Nishis
most
exquisite
the
One-Star
Yelpabut
Review
(Montenegro,
bread,
cheeses
and root
veggies,
all
staring
too
late
tototo
complain
about
empires
a
Bundt
cake,
do
more
consensus
consensus
on
on
their
their
own
own
review.
review.
Deliciously
Deliciously
being
cooked
and
consumed.
onjuice),
their but
own
review.
Deliciously
such
as this.
I raised
my drink
to the
departed,
as Ia
grapefruit
they
couldnt
come to
now
now
ubiquitous
ubiquitous
blond-wood
blond-wood
backless
of
the
the
talking.
talking.
(Dishes
(Dishes
$15-$36.)
$15-$36.)
up
to
say
captain
and the
sobackless
Ibackless
did, set ofof
too
late
toeat,
complain
about
empires
dessert,
a pistachio
Bundt
cake, do more consensus
vegetal?
vegetal?
one
one
mused.
mused.
The
The
other:
other:
Ground-up
Ground-up
now
ubiquitous
blond-wood
the
talking.
(Dishes
$15-$36.)
vegetal?
one
mused.
The
other:
consensus
on
their
own
review.
Deliciously
Monstros
is open
at night.
found
myself
tipping
back
into
theGround-up
greenery.
End
upon
satisfaction
as
I
was,
finishing
the
benches
benches
and
and
bar
bar
stools.
stools.
asparagus.Jiayang
asparagus.Jiayang
Fan
Fan other: Ground-up
Silvia
Silvia
Killingsworth
Killingsworth of
now
ubiquitous
blond-wood
backless of the talking. Silvia
(Dishes
$15-$36.)
benches
and
bar
stools.
Killingsworth
vegetal?
one
mused.
the night.
Part
of Fan
the The
Garden. Matt Nelsen
Matt Nelsen asparagus.Jiayang
appointed side with ease, leaving me then
TABLES
TABLES
FOR
FOR
TWO
TWO
TABLES
FOR
TWO
TABLES FOR TWO

1
1
1
1

PHOTOGRAPH BY MEREDITH JENKS FOR THE NEW YORKER; ILLUSTRATION BY JOOST SWARTE

PHOTOGRAPH BY MEREDITH JENKS FOR THE NEW YORKER; ILLUSTRATION BY JOOST SWARTE

PHOTOGRAPH
BYMEREDITH
MATT
NELSEN
FOR
NEUILLUSTRATION
JORKER,
ILLUSTRATION
BY MOLLIE LIEF
PHOTOGRAPH
BY
JENKS
THETHE
NEW
YORKER;
ILLUSTRATION
BY JOOST
SWARTE
PHOTOGRAPH
BY MEREDITH
JENKS
FOR FOR
THE
NEW
YORKER;
BY JOOST
SWARTE

Momofuku
MomofukuNishi
Nishi
Nishi
Monstros
Momofuku
Momofuku Nishi

benches and bar stools.


16

THE NEU JORKER, JUNE 20, 2016

Silvia Killingsworth

asparagus.Jiayang Fan

THE
THE
NEW
NEW
YORKER,
YORKER,
APRIL
APRIL
11,2016
2016
THE
NEW
YORKER,
APRIL
11, 11,2016

171717

THE NEW YORKER, APRIL 11, 2016

17

U J
THE TALK OF THE TOWN
COMMENT

n 1967, British Prime Minister Harold Wilson gave up on


IFthe remnants of Pax Britannica. His Labour Government

ILLUSTRATIONS BY TOM BACHTELL

OR DECADES NOW,

swelling rents and an eye-puncturing cost-of-living have done nothing to stem the tide
of young people arriving in New York. It seems every colpulled
Britishwith
forcesanfrom
Malaysia,
Singapore, Yemen,
lege student
ounce
of self-determination
andDubai,
access
Qatar,
Bahrain,
Abu
Dhabi,
and
other
Persian
Gulf
emirates.
to kayak.com will soon appear at LaGuardia or JFK
with a
Denis
Healey,
the Defense
explained,
dontswolvery
duffel bag
of dreams
and theSecretary,
taste of big
apple onItheir
much
like
the
idea
of
being
a
sort
of
white
slaver
for
the
Arab
len lips. Indeed, recent polls of seniors at colleges in North
sheikhs.
He Erope
did not paint
wish just
for the
and its
America and
suchindebted
a picture:nation
91 percent
of
armed
forces
to
become
mercenaries
for
people
who
would
students so polled declared their intent to move to New
York
like
to have
fewminutes
Britishoftroops
around. That truculent rewithin
hoursa or
graduation.
treatMany
handed
responsibility
for
security
in thethese
Gulfnewly
and the
current New Yorkers are worried
arStrait
of
Malacca
to
the
United
States.
Half
a
century
later,
rived, desperate twenty-two-year-olds will make an already
American
warships
call at Dubai, Bahrain, and Singacrowded job
marketstill
no difpore.
U.S.
fighter
jets
fly
ferent than a crack across from
the a massive base in Qatar. The
inheritance
has
brought
expense
and diplomatic complicacheekbone with half a cintions.
Yet,
over
the
decades,
Republican
and Democratic Presderblock. But at City Hall, a
idential
candidates
have
rarely
questioned
the value of our
disturbing trend among new
global-defense
commitments,
whether
in
the
Middle East or
arrivals is giving city planin
the
form
of
nuclear
and
defense
guarantees
to our Euroners a far greater concern.
peanInand
Asian
allies.
the 1960s young adults
For much
of Donald
astonishing rise toward the
preferred
to set
up shopTrumps
in
Republican
Presidential
nomination,
his main contributions
the West Village. But as that
to
the
foreign-policy
debate
have
been
area became more crowded,
to
debase it,and
by insulting
Mexicos hungentrified
(inevitably)
dred
and
twenty
million
citizens
expensive, the influx moved and the
one
and east
a half
adherents of the
directly
to billion
the relatively
Islamic
faith
worldwide.
Lately, after
uninhabited East Village
eighteen
primary
victories,
he
and Lower East Side. When has offered
more
extensive
insights
into how he
those filled
up, people
moved
would
proceed
as
Commander-in-Chief.
yet farther east to WilliamsBuckle
up, heand
might
have
warned. Were
burg. More
more
young
apeople
country
that
doesnt
have
money,
he in Bushwick, and
are now signing their
first leases
told
the
Times,
during
several
long
inthats what has city planners losing sleep. For as any subway
terviews.
At you,
someBushwick
point, weiscannot
map can tell
east of be
Williamsburg.
the Its
policeman
of
the
world.
He
threatalways east! said Dr. Paul
Caster, Mayor de Blasios
ened
withdraw
from
mostto
trusted
city troops
planner
andJapan
best and
friend. East at an ever
South
Korea
if
they
didnt
pay
increasing rate. It looks like some more
sort of natural law. Castfor
He suggested
thatrapidly overwhelming
ers the
dataprotection.
analysis projects
new arrivals
both
nations
might
be
better
off
with
Bushwick and taking over Ozone Park and then South Jatheir
nuclear
maicaown
by May
of weapons,
this year. even
Withthough
any luck the wave of mid-

proliferation, he noted, is the biggest

twenties hopefuls will narrowly miss the runway at John F.


problem,
me, in the world.
(Then again, he told
MSNBC
Kennedy to
international,
but eventuallyCaster
predicts
Arthat
he
wouldnt
take
nuclear
weapons
off
the
table
use
bor Day of 2021the crowd will spill into the ocean for
someanywhere,
even
in
Europe.
Trumpism
is
a
posture,
not
a
where near Baldwin Harbor.
coherent
platform.)
He
also
said
that
nato
is
obsolete.
Deaths will be inevitable. These young people dont have
hasnt
indicated
thateven
he would
pulltwo
out or
of
theTrump
body fat
to stay
afloat for
a day,definitely
let alone the
treaty
commitments
to
Europe
and
Asia.
He
seems
to
think
three years it takes to establish a career and earn enough for
that
threats in
and
his pleas
of explains
poverty Dr.
willKarrah
soften Webber,
up allies
a onehis
bedroom
Cobble
Hill,
so
that,
once
in
the
White
House,
he
can
close
some
of those
a nutritionist and swim coach who has consulted with
city
great
deals
he
often
talks
about.
For
many,
many
years,
he
planners since 2011. Imagine a house party in a shitty one
told
the
Times,
the
U.S.
has
been
the
big
stupid
bully
and
we
bedroom two hundred yards offshore. People will drown! All
were
systematically
ripped off by everybody, providing milithe drugs
will get wet!
tary security without adequate compensation.
But its hard
to
Soon, according
to Dr.
support a case that the U.S. is spending
too
much
to
defend
Webber, the beaches will
the global order that it built afterbe
thechoked
Secondwith
World
War. Not
The
corpses.
U.S., Canada, the European Union,
Japan,
South
Korea,
and
literally though since beachAustraliathe rich inner circle of
what
used
to
be
called
the
es cant breathethats imFree Worldtoday constitute almost
sixty
per
cent
of
the
possible.
worlds economy. According to the Impossible
World Bank,
in 2014
the
is right.
DozU.S. spent about three and a halfens
per of
cent
of
its
G.D.P.
on
the
solutions to the probmilitary. Thats down from more lem
thanhave
five per
cent
the
been
putduring
forward,
late Cold War. As an investmentbut
in few
shared
prosperity
(or,
if
seem likely to help.
you prefer, global
hegemony),
the
running
A Bushwick zoning plan to
cost of American
military
power houses,
may be
restrict
new coffee
one of historys
better
bargains.
tattoo parlours and the like
The U.S. does
spend
more on
defense
had the
opposite
of the
dethan its European
or
Asian
partners.
France
sired effect; it seems an
unand Britain spend
onlyillegal
about two
per cent
licensed
skateboard
of G.D.P., Germany
and
Japan
about
one
shop has even more appeal
per cent. Free
riders
aggravate
me,
Presto a broke twenty-two-yearident Obamaoldrecently
Atlantic,
Oberlintold
gradthe
than
a norunhelpfully
giving
credence
to
Trumps
mal one. Last year a ten-mile-long, 200-foot-high wall poon
It would
be materials
better if those
allies
Lefferts Boulevard,sition.
built from
donated
by terrified
spent aaslittle
more,
but its not
old people, was reviewed
a cool
hang-out
spotobvious
with athat
suAmericas
forthcoming
global
challenges
per chill vibe on Gothamist within days of its completion,
such as bicycles
managing
Chinas
risetoand
and so many second-hand
were
chained
it inRusthe
sias
revanchismwould
be
advanced
by
ensuing week that it collapsed.
more
German
and
Japanese
militarism.
Most recently De Blasios team enlisted Joey Bada$$, the
Because
U.S. military
is so muchto
larger
popular twenty-year-old
rapthe
phenom
from Bed-Stuy,
inand
more
effective
than
any
other,
and
fluence incoming renters using his vast social media presence.
because militaries are so hierarchical, it is
THENEU
NEW
YORKER,JUNE
APRIL
11, 2016
THE
JORKER,
20,
2016

19
19

ILLUSTRATION BY NATHAN YAFFE

COMMENT
GORE EASTER
GLOBAL TRUMP

But although Bada$$s tweets, all 250 of which were variations


on the phrases The Bronx smells great again and OMG found
a great deal on Ped Eggs in Astoria, were retweeted thousands
of times, they do not appear to have had a significant impact
anywhere (except at the decades-old non-profit organization
Make The Bronx Smell Better, which now faces bankruptcy).
And the whole program became an embarrassment for the
city when it was revealed that Mr. Bada$$, rather than move
more efficient to defend the core alliances disproportionately,
away from Brooklyn to a more affordable locale, had willingly
from Washington. In any event, defense treaties among demchanged his name to Joey Bada$.
ocratic societies are really compacts among peoples, through
Anne Semlick, a fifty-one-year-old flower shop owner in
their elected governments, to sacrifice and even die for one
East New York, learned her home stands in the path of the
another if circumstances require it. Demeaning those comjuggernaut when police officers detained four Penn State grads
mitments as if they were transactional protection rackets is
fighting over an abandoned end table in her front yard. Midcorrosive and self-defeating.
arrest, one of the young men asked Semlick if he could sleep
The security of the European and East Asian democracies
under her porch for $780 a month. After some hesitation, Semhas been vital to American prosperity and stability for seven
lick agreed.
decades, and it may remain so for seven more. The Middle
Three months later Semlick is excited about the additionEast is another story. Besides Israel, Tunisia, and an increasal incomethe spot under the porch now goes for $1375, no
ingly illiberal Turkey, none of our allies there are democracies.
petsbut her contact with young people has made their inSince 1967, U.S. forces have intervened half a dozen times in
evitable drowning in the Atlantic Ocean a problem close to
wars in the region, and it remains deeply violent and unstaher heart. Ms. Semlick organized several meetings at a nearby
ble. Without us, Saudi Arabia wouldnt exist very long,Trump
church to discuss the issue but was surprised to learn few of her
has observed. Yet his policy prescription is the same: The Sauneighbors shared her concerns. Most people were mad their
dis should pay more for the tremendous service that our milrents were going up, and they just wanted to know if there was a
itary provides. Saudi Arabia already devotes about a tenth of
way all the new people could drown before they moved to New
its G.D.P. to defense, one of the highest rates in the world.
York. Half a dozen meetings later, the group continues to igThe kingdom and some of its neighbors could afford to pay
nore Ms. Semlicks proposal to pass out arm floaties to everyone
even more, perhaps, but that wouldnt alter their instability or
under twenty-five and is instead focused on strangling, a new
the toxic pathologies in their relations with the U.S., which
form of land-drowning.
have been created in part by anti-American sentiment among
Drowning is right: local contractors are now deluged with re-

some of the regions populations.

quests by property owners to divide and redivide units into ever


smaller living spaces, and this work is so profitable and simple
that many other jobs are going undone. Ray Griffiths, a hedge
fund manager in Manhattan who suffered a heart attack when
he realized his new walk-in humidor had been hastily sanded, is
suing his carpenter but ultimately blames the eastward expansions monopoly on skilled handymen. Griffiths, who is squash
partners with Deputy Mayor Tony Shorris and who helped fund
The temptation is to follow Harold Wilsons example. Midthe William Amend Exhibition at the Met, is pressing hard to
dle East oil matters less to us than it once did, as Trump has
outlaw apartment subdivision in the five boroughs.
argued. But an American withdrawal from Persian Gulf bases
But Dr. Caster at city hall is aghast at the idea. The crecould pose risks for Israel, among others. Iran and the Islamic
ation of teeny tiny apartments from what were once very small
State would certainly celebrate the event. Those bases also
apartments in what were once sausage warehouses and chemiprovide the U.S. Navy with access to the Indian Ocean, and
cal plants is the only thing we have going for us, he explained.
bolster American air superiority from Pakistan to Egypt. As
If we cant cram miserable young adults into what are basically
Pericles reportedly said of an Athenian empire, It may have
live-in bathrooms, its just a matter of months before the wave
been wrong to take it; it is certainly dangerous to let it go.
of people landing in between Williamsburg and the ocean overTrump also argues that reduced defense spending abroad
whelms every unit of housing we have left.
would free up funds for investment at home. We do need to
Left is right: as things now stand, the western side of the Atrebuild bridges, airports, railways, and telecommunications.
lantic ocean will soon be one big liquid cemetery for the worlds
But defense spending isnt stopping us from doing so; the
hopeful youth. Caster, ever the optimist, does believes there is
problem is the Republican anti-tax extremists in Congress,
one strategy that could actually succeed at preventing the tragwho refuse to either raise revenues or take advantage of hisedytemporarily re-classifying parts of Long Island as part of
torically low long-term interest rates. In all probability, the
the State of New Jersey. But when whispers of that plan were
U.S. can afford its global-defense commitments indefinitely,
first made public, real estate values plummeted so quickly in
and an open economy, renewed by immigration and innovathe affected areas that hundreds of homeowners rioted. Mayor
tion, should be able to continue to grow and to share the cost
de Blasio, in an electrifying secret speech made only to his fun
of securing free societies. The main obstacle to realizing this
video diary, vowed never to follow that plan.
goal is not an exhausted imperial treasury. It is the collapse of
Unlike in Finding Nemo, it seems this time the sharks will
the once-internationalist Republican Party into demagogufeast.
ery, paralysis, and Trumpism.
Stephen Unckles

off-Broadway
production
described
in
or
simpleton).
Other recent
selecreviewsfollowing
as Tennessee
Williams
tions,
primaries
andmeets
cauCarousel,
and his letters(Our
to theusers
editor
of
cuses:
rabble-rouser
love
The Paris
Review,
which Otto
he lambastagent
nouns
likein this,
said),
ed Georgetade
Plimpton
for being aboastpoor
rodomon
(vainglorious
dresser
and all-around
hockey
ing
or bragging),
and terrible
skulduggery
playerbut he proceedings).
is perhaps best known
(dishonorable
forOtto,
the title
held since and
1965:
the
whoheishas
twenty-nine,
studOnly
Living
Boy in New
n an election season in which the ied
early
Christianity
and York.
Latin at New
N A RECENT
afternoon
that was
There
have been
othersheboys
wisdom
of pundits,
pollsters,
and York
University,
said that
andover
her
neither
particularly
warm
par- staff
the years,
English
said the
between
bites
elected
officials
has proved
to benor
unrelihave been
following
campaigns
ticularly
cold,voters
John English
slidturning
into a closely.
of grilled
a dish that
does
able,
anxious
have been
I cheese,
have a notebook
next
to not
my
corner booth
at Sardis
onofWest
appear she
on said.
the restaurants
regular ator
elsewhere
to make
sense
the FortyPresi- radio,
We pay particular
Fourth campaigns.
Street. His One
slightunexpected
figure was tention
childrenstomenu.
But
they
die
debates,
since
theusually
language
dential
emphasized
by his
of attire: an used
immediately.
runnot
as the
sole
in them isHis
onlong
the fly,
scripted
source
of insight:
thechoice
dictionary.
oversized
cable-knit
sweater, long
khaki
boy in
the fivespeech.
boroughs
both
a stump
Weiscan
geta source
a betDuring
the Democratic
debate
on like
shorts, 6th,
and fracking
well-wornand
topsiders.
On a ter
of pride
sadness.
often
sense and
of the
wordsIthat
thewonder
candiMarch
incarceration
nearby wall
amid
caricatures data,
of Broadwhy Ireally
lastedwant
andtothey
use.didnt, he said
trended
in our
word-search
Re- dates
way stars,
local
a boxer
taking
a gulp
of milk.
I
bekah
Otto,
thepoliticians,
director ofand
content
at softly
Notbefore
long ago,
the site
published
a list
or two, a sketch of
English
hung
beside
alsothewonder
never advanced
dictionary.com,
said
recently,
from
the of
twenty why
mostIve
statistically
signifia portrait of
the in
late
actor Yul
past the
age of
11.
companys
office
Oakland.
A Brynner.
few days cant
words
employed
by each of the
English
is known
for many debate,
thingshis
English
is nowinspeaking
publicly
later,
during
a Republican
Ted leading
candidates
the televised
dechalk called
muralsDonald
of Jane Jacobs
on language
the side- bates.
about The
his results
perpetual
with Real
Cruz
Trumps
are youth
like political
haiwalks of
Greenwichand
Village,
his brief kus,
Live exploring
Boy, a book
took nearly
ten
quite
incendiary,
incendiary
eachthat
candidates
linguisstint as a to
costume
designer
for an shot
off- tic
years
to write.
Its hard
when you
cant
(tending
arouse strife,
sedition)
essence.
Clinton:
systemic,
children,
up in the rankings.
seller. Sanders: speculation, tuition-free,
has
a feature
called
20 Dictionary.com
THE NEU
JORKER,
JUNE
20, 2016 cease-fire. Cruz: utterly, whatsoever, boomWord of the Day; its lexicographers ing. Kasich: blue-collar, surplus, formula.
THE CHILDRENS
DEPT.
WORD
OF THE DAY
BOY UNINTERRUPTED
STUMPED

IO

Steve Coll

advance
past a the
fifth-grade
levtenderswith
possible reading
exception
of
el,
he said. Can
play with language.
your cell
Kasichtend
to useI descriptive
phone?
He shifted
his Trumps
attentionspeech
back
I think thats
partly why
and
between
thesupporters:
dessert menu
is so forth
resonant
with his
hes

speaking to them on an emotional plane.


One example might be the candidates
recent speeches to AIPAC. Clinton: If we
look at the broader regional context, converging interests between Israel and key
Arab states could make it possible to promote progress. Trump: What kind of
demented minds write that in Hebrew?
Otto brought up an analysis by the
language startup Textio. They made the
claim that Trumps language has more
feminine biased terms, like beautiful
family, wonderful team, and lasting and
effective relationships. I dont totally stand
by that, but its interesting. She went on,
Ted Cruz has made some noteworthy
word choices. During the Republican debate on January 28th, he used the Latin
ad hominem when talking about the personal insults Trump is throwing around.
John
English saw that phrase spike
We
immediately
in our data. He has also used mano a
mano, which many looked up.
Like a lot of dictionary people, Otto

1
OLD
MANFRIENDS
ON THEDEPT.
STREET
WITHOUT
APUBLIC
PADDLE
POOPING IN

n a recent Monday afternoon,

O Eugene Levy, clear


and Catherine
OHara
day in February

TS A COOL

were on
in town,
tapingofan
episodeand
of 2nd
the
the corner
Bowery
Tonight
Show
at NBC.
Before talking
Avenue and
Roger
Klunkman
is doabout
Schitts
Creek,
the Canadian siting what
he does
bestdefecating
in
com
on which
theystreet.
co-star,
nowthis
in inits
the middle
of the
I like
second
season, they
played
tersectionits
a great
placePictionary
to squat.
with
and Shailene
You Jimmy
get niceFallon
visibility
from theWoodbuildley.
drew a cat
a tongue.
ingsFallon
surrounding
it.and
Roger,
54, isLevy
not
said,
Cat,of
tongue.
thick
the type
man Cat,
youdtongue.
expect His
to see
at
black
eyebrows
flew
up. Hold
your
some of
the edgier
downtown
intersections. 69 and no less than a thousand
22

THE NEW YORKER, APRIL 11, 2016

tongue! he said. A buzzer sounded, and


Fallon hurled a pillow from the couch.
Another
minutes
wouldve
pounds, heten
wears
a fulland
suitI every
day.
had
Levy
The it,
suits
are said.
custom made at a store in
The night Brooklyn
before, in Toronto,
Downtown
partiallySchitts
owned
Creek,
whichNorton.
Levy and
his tailor
son, Daniel,
by Edward
The
there,
co-created,
had knows
won nine
Ricky Bambino,
RogerCanadian
by name.
Screen
Thecoming
show istoabout
Roger Awards.
has been
me the
for
Rose
familya
wealthy couple
(Levy
yearsI
sew detachable
panels to
the
and
feckless
chilbackOHara)
of all ofand
histheir
pants,
so he adult
can easily
dren
(Daniel
and
AnnieRickys
Murphy)
pop one
out Levy
on the
street.
shop
who
lose the
their
and move
to
has been
sitemoney
of countless
odd taiSchitts
Creek, a shabby
town
theyhim
once
loring requestsone
man
asked
to
make a blazer for a snake. Ricky filled a
pair of his wife Marlas old pantyhose
with dried beans and got to work cutting and sewing. The man picked up
the order and then gleefully put the
blazer on the boa constrictor wrapped
around his neck, which then ate him
right in front of Rickys eyes. But that
didnt phase Ricky, a former Navy Seal
who has pole jumped in the Olympics,
sang backup on several Beatles albums,
and climbed Mount Everest. Oh, and
he was an extra in Annie Hall. Hes so
cool. Wouldnt it be great if this piece
was about him? But its not. Its too late
now. So back to Roger. Ugh.
Roger is a familiar site in ManhatCatherine
Eugene
Levy
tanlocalsOHara
mostly and
know
him as
The
Man Who Defecates in the Streets.
bought
as ahejoke.
(The town
is soinshabby
Last year
unloaded
directly
front
that
its mayor
is Chris
scuzzily
of Claire
Daness
SohoElliott,
apartment.
An
haggard,
with a mullet.)
Daniel
Levys
errant teenager
taped the
event,
and
sister,
Sarah,it plays
a local
waitress.
submitted
to PS1,
where
it was imLevy andaccepted
OHara, both
married,
mediately
and long
placed
in its
have
known Danes
each other
forwent
forty-four
own gallery.
herself
to the
years,
anddressed
have played
a couple nod
several
opening,
in browna
to
times.
they are familiar and
RogersOffscreen,
work.
fond.
OHara,
looking
eleToBackstage,
watch Roger
evacuate
his bowels
gantly
makeup,atmultidiis like fundark
watching eye
DiMaggio
bata
rectional
gray that
dress,most
beigepeople
fishdelightfulhairdo,
spectacle
nets,
quietly
to
dont pink
reallypumpsfretted
care about at this
point.
Levy.
in a subtly
suitblock
that
First Levy,
he walks
up andpatterned
down the
aa tycoon
might wear, extended
his arms.
few timesscoping
out the
exact
It
wasspot
fine, to
Catherine.
Oh,mark.
come Hell
on, it
right
make his
was
kissed
herfinds
on the
passgreat.
over aHe
street
if he
toocheek.
many
Outside
Rockefeller
they
grease
spots30or
potholes. Plaza,
DeBlasio
headed
to an S.U.V.
called
hasnt done
much Photographers
for city infrastructheir
flashbulbs
ture, names,
thats for
sure, hepopping.
quips asThe
we
next
stop was
SchittsofCreek
paneland
at
approach
theacorner
Houston
the
92nd Street
the car,
talked
Hudson.
OnceY.heInfinds
histhey
location,
about
their ittwice.
roles and the
old days.
he circles
The
first Levys
times
character,
is not times
the sortjust
of legfor luck, Johnny,
the second
for
endary
bumbler
the actor has
in
fun. Then
he detaches
his played
butt flap
the
andpast.
gets (Imagine
to work. Levy in the movies,
andWhich
hes pursuing
a mermaid
and falling
raises
the question
down
flight of stairs,
what ahappens
when orhesinging
just My
cant
go? Thats my biggest fear. NothTHE NEU JORKER, JUNE 20, 2016

21

Bubbe
on his
tentio
man. L
around
Well,
OH
soap-o
of wig
couple
of earr
doesnt
I t
Levy s
I th
the fam
Yo
Youre
your m
Lev
in the
City t
said. E
She lo
and eg
along.
W
Drivin
Levy s
guardr
Ear
I had
was Ri
It was
an am
he tak
checks
goes, T
OH
with t
Gilda
mosqu
Mainl
his arm
Im jus
guy! W
he said
mime?
Lev
said, W
and yo
did som
Di
Ye
Canni
movie
cut lin
Eat M
tache,

ILLUSTRATIONS BY NATHAN YAFFE, CHARACTER BY ELIZABETH STAMP

and a game of Minecraft. Id like all of


it. Youre paying, right?
Moments later a parade of waiters
filled the table with plates of dessert
and English surveyed the sweets, his
legs dangling off the banquette. My
parents disappeared early on in my life,
he explained with the hard-nosed demeanor of someone whose parents had
disappeared early on in his life. I dont
blame them. Parenting in New York is
already intense. Imagine the pressure of
having the only living boy as your son.
Not to mention all the resentment from
the parents of the dead boys. It was just
too much.
And then theres the song. For
years I tried to deny that it was about
me. But when youre the only living
boy in New York, a song called The
Only Living Boy in New York is obviously about you. I got tired of people
asking me if I really did get my news
from the weather reports. And did he?
He crossed his arms, refusing to answer
what he considered to be an inappropriate question.
When Simon and Garfunkel released the song in 1970, English enjoyed his period of celebrity before a
depression set in. Paul Simon was nice
enough. He brought me an mbira from
South Africa, but Art Garfunkel was a
real prick. He paused, looking around
to see if anyone would scold him for
his language before continuing: They
brought me out on stage one night
in Chicago and Mr. Garfunkel whispered in my ear, Youre not in New
York anymore, freak. Who says that
to an 11-year-old boy? He shook the
memory off and returned to a piece of
coconut cream pie.
Despite his fame, or perhaps because
of it, life has not been easy for English.
There were opportunities for paid appearances after the songs initial release
and a bit of renewed interest after it
was featured on the soundtrack of the
2004 film Garden State, but offers dried
up following his inflammatory remarks
about the movies star, Zach Braff. He
started it, English insisted through a
mouthful of hot fudge sundae. And he
had me blacklisted from the entertainment industry. Id hoped to work as a
child actor for the rest of my life. He
has not been able to support himself

his discussion of race on Marc Marons


podcast last summer. Grace trended
when
he sang Amazing
Grace
with full-time
work due to
childwhile
labor
delivering
Clementa
Pincklaws and the
hasReverend
had to rely
on odd
jobs
neys
thinks
and eulogy.
supportHe
from
the about
New the
Yorkwords
Adthat
he uses andforreally
grapples with
the
ministration
Childrens
Services,
depths
of their
meaning,
which has
repeatedly
triedOtto
to cutsaid.
off his
She also
delights
funding.
Youd
thinkinIdmisused
be theirwords.
poster
Im
stillThey
waiting
forto
a few
big claiming
malaprop-I
child!
went
court
isms
election
year, she
was athis
drain
on resources,
butsaid.
the The
judge
loudest
sohad
far has
beenpaying
Sarahuntil
Pasaid thatone
they
to keep
lins
use of squirmishes.
(While
endorsI reached
the age of 18,no
matter
when
ing
Palin said, And you quit footor ifTrump,
that happens.
ing the
bill for
these nations
whohas
are oilSadly,
Englishs
love life
also
richwere
paying
some of
their
stalled. He has
neverformarried
because
squirmishes
that
goingconsent
on for
he could not
gethave
thebeen
required
centuries.)
an unintentional
of a parentThats
or legal
guardian. Itportwas
manteau,
Otto
explained,
mostly just
puppy
love,for
hesquirm
said ofand
his
skirmishand
maybe
something
past relationships.
Besides,
girls else
are
in
between.
When Trump
announced
gross.
Hed considered
moving
to New
his
Presidential
bid, he of
used
theamong
word
Jersey,
but the prospect
being
bigly
(Obamacare
kickstroubling.
in in 2016Its
reother young
males was
ally
There was
of of
speculamy bigly).
entire identity.
Anda lot
One
Many
tion
whether
was ahave
wordthe
at
Boysabout
in New
Jerseythis
doesnt
all,
In Only
fact, bigly
a valid
sameOtto
ringsaid.
as the
Livingis Boy
in
adverb,
even though
very rarely
used.
New York.
Still, aits
change
of scenery
She continued,
Politicians
a lot
might
be in order.
Maybe get
Brookof
flack
misuse
of words,
lyn,
hefor
saidtheir
as he
headed
for themore
door
than
Going
all the way
with regular
a stack people.
of carryout
containers.
At
back
Warren
whenwho
he ran
least to
there
Id beHarding,
around men
act
for
in 1920people
criticized
myPresident,
age. Before
climbing onto
a silver
him
forA3
his Return
camRazor
Scooter, toheNormalcy
turned around
paign
slogan.
Harding question.
brought the
to answer
one lingering
Of
little-known
usage,
course thats word
whereinto
I getpopular
my news.
Im
though
many
thought
d made
it up.I
11. I dont
care
about he
current
events.
Otto
checked
her computer.
According
just want
to know
whether its
going to
to
data,
peopletoare
stillbaseball.
curious what
beour
nice
enough
play
Or if
normalcy
means.
school is closed.
I also care about that.
Charles
ElizabethBethea
Stamp

to our data, people are still curious what


normalcy means.
Charles Bethea

ILLUSTRATION BY NATHAN YAFFE, CHARACTERS BY DEVON RODRIGUEZ

ing coming out. Richard shakes his


head. Its all in the timingfirst
thing in the morning or right after
lunch? I know thats gonna be a successful day.
Like any New Yorker, Roger has
gotten a fair amount of quizzical
looks over the years. Most Manhattanites dont bat an eye, but the ritual
baffles tourists. Ive had people want
to take pictures with me. Me. Roger Klunkman from Bay Ridge! One
time a guy just crouched next to me
and started barking like a dog. He
also has faced a fair amount of injuries. You see this? He lifts his rear
flap a littlean unmistakable tire
tread scar. Hit by a bicyclist in the
middle of Eighth Avenue. But that
one was worth it. It was a great shit.
His hobby has also taken a toll on
his personal life over the years. My
wife thinks what I do is crazy, just
crazybut I say, what do you prefer?
That I sit around here bothering you?
That gets her to stop yammering

Roger Klunkman
pretty quickly. He grins, then spits a
plug of tobacco onto a nearby pigeon.
Manhattan isnt Rogers only
stomping groundhes gone on the
streets of four boroughs. Yea, I do
Brooklyn a lot, every now and then
Ill make it up to Ridgewood, and I
have been known to hit some places
in the South Bronx. His companion wonders whether hes considered
Staten Island. He gives a knowing
smile. Oh no. The last thing Staten
Island needs is more hot feces.
Langan Kingsley
22

THE NEU JORKER, JUNE 20, 2016

1
OLD
DEPT.
DEPT.FRIENDS
OF WHICH-CRAFT?
WITHOUT
A
PADDLE
TOIL AND TROUBLE

n a recent Monday afternoon,

O Eugene Levy and Catherine OHara,

NE

RECENT

MORNING

were insitting
town, taping
episode
of the
on a an
bench
outside
Tonight
Show
at
NBC.
Before
talking
a cafe on the border of East-East
about Schitts Creek,
the Canadian
sitWilliamsburg,
South
Greenpoint
com
on
which
they
co-star,
now
in
its
and the up-and-coming neighborsecond
season,
they
played
Pictionary
hood Dump Area, three new mediawithwitches
Jimmy Fallon
and cups
Shailene
girl
cradled
of Woodcoffee
ley.
Fallon
drew
a
cat
and
a
tongue.
Levy
and yelled out omnious prophecies
said,
Cat,
tongue.
Cat,
tongue.
His
thick
at passing men.
black
eyebrows
flew
up.
Hold
Alanna Bishop, staff writer your
for
a22 popular THE
online
magazine,
came
NEW YORKER, APRIL 11, 2016
up with the idea for her coven to
get together on mornings when
they get to work from home, and
to take their powers of augury to
the streets. Said Alanna, 26 with
lavender-pink hair: everyone reads
Tarot now, so we just wanted to do
something different. And its fun to
make up some stuff that isnt just for
Content. Though if we say anything
particularly good, I do tweet it.
The other witches joining her
were Alana Doyle, a staff writer for
a feminism website, and Ylana Eliot, a staff writer for a glossy magazine that comes out three times a
year and costs $50 an issue. Alana,
who was wearing leggings printed
with tiny Satans, explained that they
posted the days prophesying location on their Woman Power Brunch
secret Facebook group, and whoever
is around will show up.
Ylana explained to a volunteer
witch (me) that the only fortunetelling requirement was to say
something bad would happen. And
make sure youre targeting the right
peopleonly men, and only people
who believe in capitalism. Like that
guy. She gestured to a man wearing
a collared shirt.
A stream of men passed and the
witches tossed out some prophecies.
You will be CEO, but Fortune will
run a cheesy photo of you on your
motorcycle in a profile and the in-

Levy and OHara, both long married,


have known each other for forty-four
years, and have played a couple several
times. Offscreen,
they into
are familiar
and
ternet
will turn you
a meme!
fond.
Backstage,
OHara,
looking
eleYou will devote your life to the
gantly fundark eye makeup,
capitalist-colonialist
system,multidionly
rectional
hairdo,
gray
dress,
beige fishto witness its inevitable downfall!
nets, will
pink pumpsfretted
quietly
to
You
fall into a big hole
in the
Levy.
Levy,
in
a
subtly
patterned
suit
that
ground, said Alana, shrugging. She
a tycoon might
wear, extended
arms.
confided
that when
she canthisthink
It
was
fine,
Catherine.
Oh,
come
of anything to say, she just yells on,
thatit
was
great.
He
kissed
her
on
the
cheek.
she is on her menstrual cycle.
Outside
30 Rockefeller
Plaza,
they
As
the morning
commute
slowed
headed
to
an
S.U.V.
Photographers
called
to a trickle, conversation turned to
theircurrent
names, state
flashbulbs
popping. The
the
of witchhood.
I
next
stop
was
a
Schitts
Creek
hate when people say they panel
arentat
the 92nd Street
Y. In the
car,like,
theyhello,
talked
witches,
said Ylana.
Its
about
their
roles
and
the
old
days.
Levys
youre on the wrong side of history!
character, Johnny, is not the sort of legendary bumbler the actor has played in
the past. (Imagine Levy in the movies,
and hes pursuing a mermaid and falling
down a flight of stairs, or singing My

Alanna Bishop
This is honestly a feminist act,
said Alanna, finishing the last of
her coffee. Men stand on the sidewalk and tell me to smile, make
comments about my body all the
time. This is the female version of
that. As a man ran by, she yelled after him: The sports team you love
most will lose a key player to a knee
injury in the off-season!
After about an hour, the witches
spotted a tall woman with two Miley
Cyruseqsue creature buns of platinum blonde hairAlaina Choi, another member of the coven. Something wicked this way comes! yelled
Alana. Responded Alaina: Haha, it
me.
Bythe Roberson

check
goes,
O
with
Gilda
mosq
Main
his ar
Im ju
guy! W
he sai
mime
Le
said,
and yo
did so
D
Y
Cann
movie
cut lin
Eat M
tache

O COUNTRY IS

born into the same disposition.

Some
comewas
with
land,
butstock-market
poor exportAST
MONDAY
all an
tooexpanse
typical ofofthis
years

ablemayhem.
resources.
Others ahave
but
L
Although
rally aatsubstrate
the end ofof
thepetroleum,
previous week
pugnacious
neighbors
with
ideasopened
about down
God.
had
raised investors
hopes,
thediffering
major indexes
Rarer
is asthe
that enjoys
true
solitude,
those
and
slidstill
lower
thenation
day progressed.
By the
markets
close,
the
lone
a leaving
bit too itnative
for a
S.
& P.desolate
500 had islands
droppedthat
1.56are
perjust
cent,
down eight
Sandals
Resort.
ButBut
eventhere
theywas
suffer
from tribalism
and
its
per
cent on
the year.
something
odd. The
slide
trappings,
such
as a dearth
of language,
forcing
its people
had
not been
occasioned
by bad
news on the
corporate
front;
to express
themselves
throughgood.
thigh-slaps
cahearnings
reports
were generally
Nor wasand
it acoo-coo
reaction
to
choos. These
disparities
are been
natural,
and source
thus just.
But othtrouble
in China,
which has
a major
of anxiety
for
ers are man-made,
and
must
investors;
the Shanghai
index
had finished up. Rather, the debe overcome
through
political
cline
was a response
to just
one fact: the price of oil had fallen
might.than five per cent, to just above
more
in the
future,
thirtyChina
dollarslives
a barrel.
These
days, as oil
with so
a goes
booming
techmarket.
sector,
goes,
the stock
a Since
beautifully
stratified
class a nearly
December,
theres been
structure, and a correlation
governmentbetween
ninety-per-cent
thatprices
refuses
be handcuffed
oil
andtostock
prices. When oil
by dropped,
eco-regulation.
But followed,
they
has
stocks have
and
also live
in the have
futureliterwhen
oil prices
stabilized, stocks
ally. In
an age
where
regimes
have
tended
to rise.
This
is historically
rise and and
fall in
day, and miunusual,
itsaconfusing,
too. There
croseconds
are
only a fewdecide
parts ofmarkets,
the stock marwe where
simplycheap
cannot
our
ket
oil isallow
legitimately
bad
competitors
to the and
east suppliers,
keep
newsoil
producers
obtheir 13+
hour
viously,
and
alsoadvantage.
banks that have lent
Theto solution
easy drillers.
money
Americanisnt
shale-oil
(is any?)
but its a though,
one-time
For
most companies,
cheap enfix. is
What
Im
proposing
is costs
ergy
a boon.
It lowers
operating
simple:
Sunday
at money
9
and
givesEvery
consumers
more
to
am local
forty-eight
spend.
Yettime,
evenfor
companies
that reap
weeks,
America
will
set their
huge
benefits
from
cheap
oil are currently taking a beating.
clocks back
thirty
At price of oil almost perfectly,
Airline
stocks
haveminutes.
tracked the
the end
of this
protean
period,
even
though
cheap
oil saved
the four major American carwellmore
find ourselves,
once
again,
in the
sweet
riers
than eleven
billion
dollars
last
year.spot of world
leaderthis
time,
minutes.
So why does
theinmarket
see cheap oil as a curse rather
assailants
will
quick to
Theyll
say
thanMyopic
as a blessing?
There
arebea couple
of rebut.
reasons.
First, inthat well
nocturnal
for a good
part of the
year.
vestors
fearhave
thattooilbeprices
are telling
us something
imporThatabout
our economy
will
rattled.
That well
haveismastant
the state of
thebeglobal
economy.
The idea
that
siveis infrastructure
That Chinaindoesnt
actually
oil
cheap because overhauls.
global demandand,
particular,
delive infrom
the future.
But theyre
also sounds
refusingplausible,
to acknowledge
mand
Chinais
weak. This
but the
even
the most
advantages,
such ball.
as cutting
oursumairoil
market
is an salient
incredibly
cloudy crystal
Take the
conditioning
costs.
Plus,the
itll
be fun,
like awas
nation-wide
mer
of 2008. At
the time,
global
economy
already in
slumber party,
really of
cant
ourbubble.
neighbors
recession,
thankswhere
to thewe
bursting
the wake
housing
Yet,
to theafter
east,week,
because
then theyll
do the same
thing,
week
oil prices
kept climbing,
peaking
at aspurrecringhundred
a time travel
arms race that
would
make Oil
Marty
McFly
ord
and forty-seven
dollars
a barrel.
prices
re(of thenothing
80s andatearly
90s science-fiction
vealed
all about
future demand,adventure
which wastrilogy
about
starring
Michael
J. Fox
and, to a lesser
extent,
Christopher
to
collapse;
they were
disconnected
from what
was
happening
Lloyd)
blush.economy.
This, of course,
is thetell
most
difficult
detail
to
in
the global
One could
a similar
story
about
iron out.
How
to keep
a secretbyamong
set of 320
1986,
when
oil prices
tumbled
almosta seventy
per million
cent in
people
from
another
set ofWas
1.4 billion
people?
the
space
of four
months.
that decline
a harbinger of
40

THE NEW YORKER, FEBRUARY 8 & 15, 2016

The answer
is whispering,
andNo:
handwritten
notes.
an economic
downturn
in the U.S.?
the U.S. economy
Keep a piece
information
analog and it simcontinued
to of
motor
along forcompletely
years afterward.
plyThe
cantfolly
travel
spread
controlof across
readingseas.
tooTo
much
intothe
oilword
pricesinisathat
they
lable
way, we need
to take
a step
back
(when
tablet
still
are
tremendously
volatile,
often
driven
more
by the
industrys
referred dynamics
to the Ten
Commandmentsha!).
this brave
internal
than
by the economy at large.InBoom-andnew cycles
world,are
well
ask allincitizens
to tellaseveryone
theyoversee
bust
common
the industry,
it goes from
about the new
policy,
that
person
has proproduction
to steep
cutsbut
andonly
backonce
again.
The
most plausible
vided proof for
thatthe
theyre
citizen.
explanation
drop also
in oila prices
over the past nineteen
Network
science
experts to
anticipate
entire
process,
months,
in fact,
has nothing
do with the
weak
demand.
As
startingHarris,
with the
oneco-head
person of
in global
the center
of Times
Ethan
research
at BankSquare,
AmerwillMerrill
take somewhere
between
thirty
seven
hundred
ica
Lynch, points
out, Over
thisand
entire
period,
global
minutes
for the has
greater
Yorkat City
then
oil
consumption
been New
growing
a solidarea,
pace,and
with
no
another
to eighteen
yearsprices
for the
restfallen
of the
country.
sign
of afive
slowdown.
Instead,
have
because
of
notincrease
ideal. The
is thattothere
are factors,
citizensincludin the
aIts
huge
in problem
supply, thanks
various
booniesthe
fringes
of Alaska,
the corners
of thethe
Dakoing
the boom in
shale-oil
production
in the U.S.,
revitasthat of
willIraqs
simply
be too farand,
away
to be
reached.
talization
oil industry,
most
recently,
the And
liftthats where advanced squating of sanctions on Iran.
laws
Investors arent just worriedter
that
oil come
is thein.
canary in the
Squatter
laws also
are
global coal mine,
though. Theyre
straightforward
and,
like
worried that
low oil prices are,
in themthe concept
of economy.
daylight savselves, hurting
the U.S.
For
ings
time, have
something
that
instance, as
oil prices
plummeted,
already have
exists
in our
laws.
shale-oil drillers
sharply
reduced
Basically,
someone
finds
their investments,
andifthat
has hit places
unattended
for a hard.
cerlike Northland
Dakota
and Oklahoma
tain are
period
of they
time,should
they
These setbacks
real, but
claim it isEven
as their
be seen incan
proportion.
afterown.
the
What Im
shale revolution,
themerely
U.S. issuggesting
still very
is consumer
shrinkingofthe
necessary
much a net
oil, importing
period
to aone
secfive millionvacancy
more barrels
of oil
day than
you go
thedrop
store
it exports.ond.
ThatIfmeans
thattothe
in
to get
milk and
come back
oil prices has
amounted
to a windfall
for
to find that
a family
of strangers
consumersone
Harris
estimates
preheating
oven, bilits
saved them
a hundredyour
and ninety
move
It wont be
lion dollarstime
overtothe
past on.
six quarters.
In
long
until
haveAmericans
a nation
other words,
cheap
oilwe
means
of drifters,
stepping
have an extra
ten billion
dollars outside
in their
their comfort
zones, conseepockets every month. And thatsoftranslating
into higher
ing by
their
homeland Chase
with
sumer spending: an October study
the JPMorgan
wide around
eyes and
the to
thrill
of
Institute found that consumers spent
seventy
ninety
beingof
uprooted
without
endfrom
in sight,
checking
theHarIDs
cents
every dollar
theyan
saved
lower
gas prices.
of told
everyone
they negative
see and impacts
then telling
our national
ris
me, The
of lowthem
oil prices
are very
secret.
visiblethe
collapse of investment, the struggling compaAnd it will
a national
secret.
veryBut
impornieswhile
the be
positive
impacts
are Its
veryvery,
subtle.
that
tant no one
knows
about this.
even France,
unless says,
they
doesnt
make
the benefits
lessNot
significant.
As Harris
really long-run
promise not
mean,
can tell
The
storytoisblab.
clear:I the
U.S.we
is better
offIndia
with too.
low,
Norway?
Too
judge-y?
Okay, no one.
rather
than
high,
oil prices.
nothing
Washington
lovesmarkets
to talk oil
about
more
InTheres
fundamental
terms,
then, the stock
obsession
than
limited
resources:
money,isfood,
housing,
guns,
is
hard
to justify.
The problem
that, energy,
once a pattern
gets
esrights, research.
But theitcommodity
together
tablished
in the market,
can take onthat
a lifeties
of ititsall
own.
After
is unlimited:
concentrated
on the present
are we
all,
if you thinktime.
that So
everyone
else is planning
to sell when
oil
that we
to youre
see itsprobably
malleability,
wetocan
create
our
prices
fall,fail
then
gettingthat
ready
do so
yourself.
own definition
it, during
just like
weve of
done
with democracy
Thats
especiallyof
true
periods
uncertainty
about the
and equality.
With the
of a the
unified
and
state
of the economy.
Atbacking
such times,
herdCongress,
instinct takes
the support
a nation
whispering,
note-passing
over.
The oil of
market
is farofmore
noise than
signal. Butvagaright
bonds,
step that
out of
the past,
andable
intotothe
future.
now
itsits
thetime
onlytosound
investors
seem
hear.
Andrew
Lipstein
James
Surowiecki
THE NEU JORKER, JUNE 20, 2016

23

IMAGE BY ANDREW LIPSTEIN

ON CHINA

CHRISTOPH NIEMANN

THE FINANCIAL
FINANCIAL PAGE
PAGE
THE
TURN BACK THE CLOCK
TANKING

ness.
(a)You
Litno longer miss them. Jerks.

TEST
YOURAGENDA
KNOWLEDGE
OFFICIAL
FOR
OF YOUR
HUMOR
WRITING
SICK
DAY
BY BLYTHE ROBERSON

GARY TAXALI

BY HALLIE CANTOR

8:00 A.M. Orient yourself to the idea of


waking up with the preliminary goal
of sussing out whether what youre
feeling is normal alarm-clock-induced
grogginess or actual illness.
8:15 A.M. Table the issue by hitting
Snooze.
8:30 A.M. Synthesize the available data
points: youre achy all over, you cant
breathe out of your right nostril, it hurts
to swallow, and your head weighs about

utes longer than it usually does, because


you are so sick that every tiny action
feels like a herculean task.
9:15 A.M. Perform the same e-mail and
social-media checks you do every morning at work. But today youre doing
them in pajamas!
10:00 A.M. Take this opportunity to touch
base with all the TV shows you dont
have time to watch when youre healthy.
Each show will require no more than

1. Why am I writing in this


style?
45 years
agoReach
I came
up
ten(a)
thousand
pounds.
consenwith
theyou
idea
multiplesus that
are,toinuse
fact,a sick
enough
choice
format
as a again
humor
piece
to stay home.
Snooze
in celebraand
to never try to think
tionIofvowed
your decision.
of
another
wayantoe-mail
maketojokes
8:45
A.M. Draft
your su(b)
I
am
not
funny
pervisors letting them know that you
(c)be In
2005in.aDebate
witchmerits
put aof
wont
coming
spell
on
me
that
caused
me
to
phrasing it as taking a sick day verforget
what
comedy
is
sus working from home today. If you

people! I have three daughters


who are 7, 5, and 3 years old and
they
are all named
Caroline
ten minutes,
because
thats how long

write working from home, you wont


2. Why does anything I say
have toyoung
use a people
vacationseem
day. But
about
likewill
it
everyone
know
that
working
from
was written by an alien whose
home actually
means sleeping?
Maybe
entire
knowledge
of humanyou
can
do
that
thing
where
you
ity comes from one episode ofjust
2
wake up
every hour to send an e-mail
Broke
Girls?
so they
beenwhite
at yourand
com(a) think
I amyouve
old and
I
puter
the
whole
time.
assume anyone younger than me
A.M. Send idiot
e-mail. Next order of
is9:00
a frivolous
business:
enjoying
lux(b) I read a some
New guilt-free,
York Times
urious,piece
healingabout
sleep. young people
trend
9:01 A.M. Agenda
to reflect
wearing
pocketupdated
watches
andnew
I
assume
data: youthat
cantpretty
sleep. much sums it
up
9:02 A.M. Relocate from your bed to the
(c) This
I know
a lot
about
young
couch.
will take
about
twenty
min-

youre currently capable of paying at3. What


now?
tention
to anything.
(a)
Something
about how
11:30 A.M. Consult minutes from prewomen are ugly, old sluts?
vious days off and weekends to deter(b) Something about fat peomine
whether
its always this hard for
ple
being
gross?
you(c)
to A
relax.
If
youreNew
usingJersey?
a whole
joke about
vacation
day
for
this,
shouldnt
you be
(d) Something about Native
having
a
better
time?
Arent
you
capaAmericans, for no other reason
ble
of
just
existing
in
a
state
of
physithan I want to be culturally tone
cal discomfort
without
over
deaf
and I have
neverobsessing
met a perhow
miserable
you
feel?
son of color in my life or even one
12:00 P.M.not
Lunch
break.
Seamless some
woman
named
Caroline?
soup and try to look extra sick when it
arrives,
so theisdelivery
person
doesnt
4. What
the most
relevant
think Iyoure
just lazy.
thing
can think
of ?
(a)P.M.
50Acknowledge
Shades Of Greythat youre
12:15
(b) Miley
Cyrusnow and that you
weirdly
lonely right
(c)everyone
The TVatshow
Felicity
miss
the office.
(d)P.M.Call
Me
12:20
Break
outMaybe
into several small
discussion groups on Gchat to remI think
Me Maybe
is
edy5.this
issue.Call
Overwhelming
trend:
hilarious
I dont know
that
everyonebecause
is insufficiently
compasCarly
Rae
Jepsens
album
sionate
about
your new
possibly
fatalis:ill-

for(c)
sympathy.
it me When she demands
that(d)youAF
list(as
your
symptoms, tell her
fuck)
it doesnt matter; its probably a virus.
6. Ifshe
I tried
make
comAfter
hangstoup,
wait it
teninminutes
edy
now,
2016,
I would:
while
sheincalls
your
nearest relative
(a) a Not
berepeats
successful,
because
whos
doctor,
your symptoms,
even
though
I am
a privileged
then calls
you back
to tell
you that its
white
mana virus.
I am not funny
probably
Have
a Twitter
where
I
1:00(b)
P.M.
Devote
the next four
hours
tweet
monologue
jokes
Toto fitfully
drifting in
and at
outthe
of sleep.
night
Show
every night
and within
5:00 P.M.
Conclude
napping
portion
two
months
I
would
be
hired from
of the day by waking suddenly
a fever dream, newly certain that the
7. Why does anyone do anydiscomfort of being sick is your punthing differently than me???
ishment for some crime you dont re(a) They must be poor
member
committing,
(b) They
must bepossibly
weird in a past
life.(c)
Also,
its
dark
out
now.
Literally anything that
5:10 P.M.does
Reassess
your
state offorhealth.
anyone
is too
strange
me
Resolved:
you
still
feel
likesitting
shit. in
because I spend all day
5:20
P.M. room
Spendon
twenty
lookan
ecru
a tanminutes
sofa while
ing
for
a
thermometer.
How
do
you
my wife Caroline and my three
not
have
a
thermometer?
You
have
daughters Caroline Caroline and
several specific
buying
Caroline
make memories
crudit forofme
to
thermometers.
eat while I watch a foutbaul game
5:40 P.M.Paytan
Settle for
feeling your foregooooo
Mannana
head with your hand. It seems warm,
Whythats
is there
so littleyour
of hand
my
but8.maybe
just because
personality
in these
is cold. Conduct
due pieces?
diligence by ran(a) feeling
I haveano
personality
domly
bunch
of different sur(b)inIyour
amapartment
actually atocomputer
faces
try to comprogram
write jokes
pare themdesigned
with yourto
forehead.
but
wasBreak
coded
in the 80s
6:00IP.M.
for back
cold leftover
soup.
before
howit
6:40 P.M.anyone
Reflect really
on howknew
annoying
computers
is that you worked
never think to buy tissues
(c)youre
I dosohave
a personality
until
sick that
you cant go
but
it
is
very
bland
and
if you met
out to buy tissues.
me
in person this is exactly how I
6:45 P.M. After achieving unsatisfactory
would be: Bad
results from wiping your nose on your
pajama
sleeve, limp to the bathroom
9. True or false: I am so hateand
get
the Iroll
toilet paper.
ful because
amofalways
exhausted
6:50
P.M. Now your nose is red and
from making sure absolutely no
chafed
from
wiping
it with toilet
paper.
jokes
slip
into
my humor
pieces
a
three-pronged,
for7:00Answer:
P.M. Develop
False. I am so hateful
ward-looking
action
strategy
of
(a)
because I wish I had come up with
swallowing
whatever
expired
cold
the idea of doing a bad rip-off of
medicine
in the beat
bathroom
The
Onion,you
butfind
someone
me
cabinets,
(b)
circling
back
to revalto it
uate your health tomorrow morning,10.
andWhy
(c) resolving
to gostill
to work
is this piece
going?
no matter how terrible you feel, be(a) you
Because
I am
a white
man,
cause
honestly
cant
face another
no
one day
has this
ever boring
told meand
anything
whole
existenI tially
have miserable.
ever done is bad
am ainternal
millionaire
7:30(b)
P.M.I Hold
vote: Isprobit late
ably
enough to go to sleep yet?
actively
hate the decision:
readers
7:31(c)
P.M.I Reach
unanimous
ofYes.
The
New
Yorker

THE
NEW
YORKER,
FEBRUARY
& 15, 2016
THE
NEU
JORKER,
JUNE 20,8 2016

49
25

ILLUSTRATION BY JAMES OLSTEIN

12:30
Teleconference in your mom
(b)P.M.Bae

SHOUTS & MURMURS

y.

APERSONAL
REPORTER HISTORY
AT LARGE

FINDING
GALLOP
THE
COSTMY
OF
CARING
The equine,
the who
exquisite
The lives of the immigrant
women
tend to the needs of others.
BY NICOLE
SILVERBERG
BY RACHEL
AVIV

Emmas first year at San Isidro


MnCollege,
in the Philippines, she saw

a horse begins,
strangely, in the middle.
In
myinforher2007,
nameasonIaapproached
bulletin board
the
tieth
birthday,
I
felt
an
unprecedented
registrars office, on a sheet of paper tisense
of failure.
MyIthusband,
Andrew,
tled Promise
List.
showed the
names
and
I
had
been
married
over
ten
years,
of fifteen students who owed tuition
to
had
two
beautiful
daughters,
and
the school and the dates, long past, that
atheir
house
staffhad
of five.
wasEmma
in terrific
money
been Idue.
and
physical
health
and
owned
a
three friends, who were part ofbusiness,
a clique
yet
I feltgirls
a daunting
of discomof seven
known aspang
the Ringlets,
for
fort
during
the
most
mundane
of daily
the initials of their names, were shocked
tasks:
lowering
into
a car,
takthat their
debts myself
had been
made
public.
ing
a
bite
of
my
half-grapefruit
breakThe Ringlets crossed out their names
fast,
toweleven
withdrying
a pen.myself
Withinwith
an ahour,
the colwhen
reading
to
my
youngest
leges guidance counsellor haddaughcalled
ter,
Genna.
Emma
and her friends into her office.
very
of a parasite
is its
WeThe
only
didnature
it because
we were
so
clandestine
takeover,
and
so
it
was
with
ashamed! Emma confessed.
myEmma,
dreamswho
of another,
complete
grew upmore
on a farm
with
life.
At
first
it
was
just
a
glisten
deeleven brothers and sisters, paid herofdebts
sire,
so
small
I
hardly
noticed.
But
over
by working in the colleges library during
many
it became
theatelephant
in
the dayyears
and taking
classes
night. Her
the
roomand
it
was
a
loud
elephant.
job gave her an edge, because she could
The
was screaming.
readelephant
her assigned
textbooks the moAlas,
I
longed
a horse
ment they arrivedtoatbecome
the library.
Few
not
necessarily
in
identity,
but
certainly
people could afford to buy the
books,
in
confession
that earned
andbehaviora
as many as six
students would
stand
more
than
its
fair
share
of
scoffs.
Only
at a library table, crowding over one
text.
horses
are Emma
horses,majored
I heard in
from
many
Although
accountfriends
they
pastbest
me,atfearful
ing, sheasfelt
thatlooked
she was
readof
eye
contact.
As
if
becoming
horse
ing. In her English elective, as hera classis
any got
more
my girlmates
lostimpossible
in flashbacksthan
and extended
friends
quest
for
eternal
youth!
metaphors, she could follow the plots
Im quite aware
the reputation
of American
novels.ofDuring
breaks
horses
have
earned
in
modern
society:
from work, she sat in the library
readmajestic
in the wild, Oh
persecuted
in the
ing and exclaiming,
my God,
oh
cities,
but always
odd-toed
ungulates.
my God!a
heroine
had been
raped
Yet
to me itimprisoned.
was simple:
while
I have
or unjustly
Her
classmates
never
been
any
good
at
sports
or the
couldnt understand how her reaction
arts
(no
matter
how
many
times
my
could be so visceral. Just read this story!
father
put
a
squash
racket
in
my
hand
she urged them.
or my
mother
put ballet
shoes onDemy
Emmas
teacher
in Personality
feet!)
Ive
always
loved
horses
very
velopment, a class on manners and hydeeply.
Racing
like a horse
like
giene, was
so impressed
by seemed
her reading
aand
natural
evolution,
a
way
of
honoring
writing that she asked Emma to be
the
main constant
in my
to
her assistant.
Observing
thatlifeand
Emma was
have
some
fun!
This
wasnt
a
mid-life
popular and confident, the teacher joked
crisis.
And Ia wasnt
about
to be
take
no
that within
year she
would
marfor
an
answer.
ried, an idea that Emma, who was sev-

26

Y JOURNEY AS

Andrew
and
I have a She
unique,
enteen,
found
insulting.
wasspetoo
cial
marriage
in
which
nothing
ambitious to assume the dutiesisofoffa
limits.
This But
has she
led enjoyed
to a fairthe
share
of
housewife.
comembarrassing
run-ins
(you
try
explainpany of her boyfriend, Edmund, a
ing
to yourstudent
in-laws
why,
in the
a feat
of
handsome
who
made
other
lovemaking,
you
entirely
de-tiled
their
Ringlets jealous. I wasnt thinking of
bathroom!)
but also
affords
a safe
marrying, Emma
said.
It was
just,space
Oh,
of
discussion
that
has
saved
the
theres somebody who will bring anhouse
umfrom
at least
occasions.
brellaarson
for meonwhen
its three
raining.
Theres
And
so,
when
I
finally
him
somebody who will go to thetold
movies
of
my
ambitionsto
become
what
Id
with me on Saturdays. Within a year,
always
idolized,
to
gallop
and
trot,
to
she was pregnant. Her teacher said, Do
become
a
horse,
and
a
damn
good
one
you remember what I told you? Emma
at
thathe
listened.
wondered
if her
teachers prediction had

been a kind of curse.


CANNOT REMEMBER the first
She married Edmund, and returned
time I saw a horse. Growing up
to school two weeks after giving birth.
in the cowboy terrain of Arizona, they
She was frightened by the size of her
seemed to be a part of the landscape,
daughter, who she thought was about
as natural as the purple mountains or
as small as a plastic bottle. She and
rigid saguaros that dotted the skyline.
Edmund moved into a two-bedroom
Beyond the wash behind my house
wooden house with a thatched roof
was a small, private ranch, and on clear
made of palm fronds in Malaybalay, the
days I could peer over my back wall
capital of Bukidnon, a mountainous,
and see the thick chocolate burrito
landlocked province. She made her husbodies of my equine amigos.
band coffee every morning and did all
From clothing to framed paintthe cleaning and ironing. She considings to stuffed animals (whose yarn
ered herself a little lucky, because Edmane I would raggedly brush with my
munds parents ran a restaurant, which
own comb), my childhood was almost
relieved her of the need to cook. But
entirely populated with these comthe restaurant went bankrupt, a companions. They held a particular addicmon fate for businesses in the Philiptive magic no other doll or toy train
pines. Wages are lowthe average
could match. I would sit for hours in
annual salary is thirty-five hundred dolour ornate playroom, stroking my little
larsand more than a quarter of the
horsies with the tenderness and love a
population lives in poverty.
nanny gives to the child she cares for.
Raised Roman Catholic, like eighty
Other horse lovers of my youth
per cent of Filipinos, Emma knew nothtook pleasure in riding or grooming
ing about contraception. By the time
the beautiful beasts, but however many
she graduated from college, with a bachtimes my father took me to the stables,
elors degree in science, she had two
I couldnt quite bring myself to make
daughters. Within fifteen years, she had
physical contact. A pensive, sensitive
seven more children, all of them girls,
child, I felt overwhelmed when conwho slept in bunk beds and on the floor.
fronted face-to-face with their majEmma paid two night-school students
esty. Who could blame a delicate girl
to care for her daughters while she
like myself ? After all, horses are quite
worked for the government of Bukidtall.
non, in the office of nutrition; she deInstead I was mesmerized by
vised policies and classes to prevent child

THE NEU JORKER, JUNE 20, 2016 THE NEW YORKER, APRIL 11, 2016

57

The author went on a quest that was


IMAGE BY JAMES FOLTA

truly her own. There were costs, but it was a journey to which she could not say nay.

horses in competition, elite and sleek.


That seemed to me to be a special life:
to be groomed and bet on, like a beautiful woman. Id play out these competitions with my figurines time and
again. It was an intensely private part
of my childhood. Sometimes my play
would be silent and Id hold the winning horses in my lap, or if they were
small enough, in my mouth.
When I was eleven, my family
moved to the east coast to be closer to
my ailing grandfather. Horses became
a symbol of the life I was forced to
abandon. Is that a childs perception
or the unmarred truth of a spry mind?
I consider this often over yoga.
For years after moving east, Id gallop around the house, ask my younger
sister to sit on my back and attempt
to leap over the small bronze Degas
sculptures our parents let us play with.
Id ask for punishment when I failed,
and for carrots and sugar cubes when
I succeeded.
I have become obsessed with this
image of myself as a girl, tentative in
action but aggressive in passion. Its a
poor imitation of my fatherbut then
again, my father was inimitable.
Bend it to your will, he used to
say to me when he tucked me in once
a year. This is perhaps an unconventional message to relay to a young girl,
but my father was an unconventional
man. He fiercely protected that which
he loved: his family, his business, and
his antique collection of hospital bedpans. He was very charming, and not
very considerate.
His willpower is legendary in my
family. It is an oft-told story at holidays that, on the day of his wedding
to my mother, a record-breaking late
spring snow storm was to hit upstate
New York, burying my mothers estate beneath 40 inches of snownot
exactly the clear-skied, floral event
of which she had dreamed. The night
before the wedding, the sky already
turning to a deep foreboding slate,
my father ran into the meadow behind the house barefoot and furious.
No one knows exactly what he said,
but within two hours the clouds had
cleared, and the next day the outdoor
wedding bloomed perfectly into being.
You may doubt the proposed causality
28

THE NEU JORKER, JUNE 20, 2016

of the story, but to do so is to doubt


my fathersomething I refuse to do.
It would not be until he passed
away that I began to understand what
bend it to your will truly means.
It is whatever you need it to be,
and your will is your will. Could it be
that simple?

ORSE RACING HAS been around


since the times of Ancient
Greece; horses have been around
even longer. Once I graduated from
university, I did what so many ambi-

tious yet underprepared graduates do:


I reverted to childhood. I didnt move
back in with my parents, but I did take
over a small four-bedroom apartment
they held in Manhattan, and couldnt
help but feel idiotic for how small my
life seemed. I became obsessed with
horse racesnot betting money, but
learning everything I could about the
jockeys, the horses, the different track
surfaces, and the derbies. If my love
for elite horses had gone dormant over
the four years I was immersing myself
in Latin, literature, and cheap champagne, it was awakened now.
Horse racing is, at its core, one
of the simplest competitions in existence. Though the particulars and
traditions change from country to
country, all horse racing determines
one thing: What horse is fastest over a
fixed distance?
The most common type of racing
is flat racing, in which the horse ridden by a jockey gallops on a track or
between two points to test its speed
and stamina. Tracks can be as short as
400 meters and as long as 2.5 miles,
though the most famous derbies usually test a distance of 1 or 1.25 miles.

In the United States, these races are


mainly designed for Thoroughbreds.
The birth of North American
horse races was Salisbury, New York
(now the Hempstead Plains of Long
Island), in 1665. The two biggest
competitions in the country are the
famous Kentucky Derby, held on the
first Saturday of May in Louisville,
and the Preakness Stakes, held two
weeks later in Baltimore.
I attended my first Kentucky Derby the year after college, taken by my
then-boyfriend who was something of
Tennessee royalty. His family had attended the Kentucky Derby since its
inception, and to join them was nothing short of a pre-marriage ritual to
test my compatibility.
Beneath the brim of my hat
(which had barely arrived in time
from France the night before) I could
see my boyfriends mother, as majestic as the horses themselves. Thin and
sinewy, she was an agile woman, darting from person to person to make
sure the social equilibrium was maintained. I could see how an eager firsttimer swept up in the moment could
mistake her for a horse, assuming she
was there for competition.
Inevitably, the weekend did not
go as well as planned. Perhaps I was
too distracted by the races, the horses
springing from their places and shooting like bullet stars past us. Or perhaps
I did mount my boyfriends mother, or
ask her to mount me. How the mind
decays as we age! All I know is in the
car back from the airport, I turned to
my boyfriend and knew it was over.
Its over, isnt it? I remember saying
to him. He replied with a nod: it was
over.
Many years later I would run into
him, once again at the Kentucky Derby. I was married to Andrew by then.
He told me his mother, the beautiful
horse-like woman who had ushered
me into the world of elite races, passed
earlier that year of cancer. That night I
neighed at my reflection in the mirror:
a small gesture for such an important
woman.

twenty-five the fall of


1992, when the country was bubbling in anticipation of the presidenTURNED

tial election. Andrew was stationed in


Iowa to work on the campaign, and I
felt lonely and idle waiting for his return.
In those days, print newspapers
still reigned supreme, and on weekday mornings I would walk around my
Upper West Side block to pick up the
smaller local publications, saying hello
to the regular doormen on my street.
(Is friendliness a lost pastime?)
One particular morning I was
combing through the classifieds section of the paper on the hunt for a
good hoot. I had been clipping the
most unusual bits from the paper for
months to assemble into a small scrapbook to give Andrew upon his return.
Sure, some husbands would rather
have the gift of American football
tickets, but what can I say? Were intellectuals.
One autumn morning I found a
curious ad that read: WANTED: RESEARCH PARTICIPANTS FOR HORSE
ROLEPLAY. I was horrified, but in-

trigued. What could it mean?


I put the paper away, but over
the next several days, my mind kept
returning to the ad. I was afraid the
role-play was sexual or unsafe; I had
heard horror stories from girlfriends
about being brought to interactive
theatre pieces in seedier parts of the
city. Yet the word research had me
hooked. Ever since I was a little girl,
Ive loved research almost as much as
Ive loved horses.
Perhaps I was afraid to admit to
myself that however much information I had gathered about horse racing, there was still an element that felt
entirely unattainable: the feeling of
being the horse. Being a research participant in horse role-play would fill in
some of the gapsor at least connect
me to someone who could.
I called the number from the paper and, to my surprise, was met with
a warm female voice on the other end.
Im calling in regard to your horseplay ad, I said, so nervous I was already mixing up my words.
When are you available? the
voice on the other end said. We have
sessions on Tuesday and Thursday
nights.
I was overwhelmed. What hap-

pened in the sessions? Who exactly


was I speaking to?
Are you still there? the woman
asked gently. The sessions last an hour,
tops. It pays $20 cash. You dont have
to bring anything, just wear close-toed
shoes.
Before I knew it, I was writing
down an address, having hardly said
five words over the phone. I looked up
the address in the phonebook and was
surprised to see that it belonged to a
psychology lab at New York University. Maybe the mystery voice wasnt
out to get me after all.
When I arrived the following
Tuesday night, I was surprised to see
not an open space or a mock pasture,
but a set of cubicles, each containing
a computer monitor. I was led into a
cubicle and handed industrial-looking
goggles. It was explained to me that
graduate students were studying herd
mentality, and that my goggles would
adjust my depth perception. The experiment involved looking at different
photos of herds and pressing different
letter keys on my keyboard depending
on my instincts. It was terribly boring.
When I emerged from my cubicle
nearly an hour later, I felt dejected. I
had learned nothing from the herd
mentality exercise except that my fingers were sore. I made a mental note

to book a deep tissue massage; for the


disappointment alone, Id earned it.
I was halfway out the door when
I remembered something curious; I
turned back to the proctor.
Why did you say I needed to
wear close-toed shoes? I asked, with
maybe a bit more bite than I intended.
Randomly selected participants
also have to operate a foot pedal, the
bespectacled girl squeaked. Not you,
obviously.
I stomped out of the room, feeling personally attacked. Why had this
research project advertised itself so
vaguely? Why couldnt they research
something I was truly interested in?
And why was I so disappointed? It
made little sense.
In the weeks after the lab, I started doing research to see if there was
a service like what I had been hoping
the experiment would be. I wanted
someone to teach me how to embody
a horse so that I could, in my spare
time, find personal enjoyment through
galloping and maybe one day compete.
I had difficulty finding an instructor,
but I realize now that this was a pivotal moment for my passion and me.
Before I knew it, Andrew returned
from Iowa, and a week after that we
became engaged. With wedding plans,
the horse dream would have to wait.

Crab? Like the animal?


THE NEU JORKER, JUNE 20, 2016

29

I was pregnant with


our first daughter, Mattalia, Andrew and I had started living upstate
more than half the year.
When speaking to my best friends
in the city, I would feign frustration
at the lack of culture and activity in
our new rural home, but in truth I appreciated the calmer lifestyle, simpler
people, and the opportunity to have
quiet time with my husband before
the baby came. Besides, anyone will
tell you July in Manhattan is not the
ideal place to have swollen ankles and
a small bladder, no matter how nearby
your driver is.
Throughout my pregnancy, I recalled a pregnant mare that had lived
on the neighboring ranch when I was a
child. I watched that horse obsessively,
in awe of how spry she continued to
be throughout her pregnancy. A horse
does not bag up (start to show) until
the final month or so of her gestation.
Certainly mares are tender or sensitive to their foaling, but it seemed
minimal compared to what I was going through. I couldnt help but laugh
when I realized that I felt jealous of
pregnant horses. (Though Id like to
stay thin until the last month I must
admit, the human nine-month pregnancy is far preferable to the nearly
year-long equine one!)
Nevertheless, my pregnancy was
healthy and I was continuing life as
Y THE TIME

normal. Upstate, I had started my


own business: a small artisanal soap
company to benefit cow sanctuaries (a
bit of irony, to be sure) and I felt an
incredible sense of purpose. The company, cleverly called Milk Soap, was
run out of our spare barn.
I would spend hours watching the
soap being poured into molds, inhaling the natural scents of our organic
masterpieces. It was quite soothing.
I had a feeling of arrival in my life;
I had somehow achieved a life as
prosperous and satisfying as the one
my grandparents had, and to make it
more special, it was in the same region
of the country as they had lived.
After Mattalia was born, I entered
a state of bliss. Gone were my petty
concerns of being the best liked in my
social circle, or even the important
concerns, like wearing the most fashionable outfits. I was completely content to just sit with my wet nurse and
Mattalia. Everything felt destined.
Three years later, my second
daughter was born. It was a difficult
pregnancy for me, Andrew, and our
surrogate. But on a special rainy autumn night, Genna was born, and our
family was complete.
I never had a sister, but Andrew
had four and was close with three of
them. Im grateful for the friendship
and sisterhood theyve extended to
me, and the example theyve set for

If I were you Id be very careful before I said something


I thought was funny.
30

THE NEU JORKER, JUNE 20, 2016

my daughters. Andrews oldest sister


Elizabeth still lived in the city and I
loved to visit her. Elizabeth is a thin,
spindly woman with muted blonde

hair and soft features. Shes a living


wisp of smoke, enchanting and elusive. Her penthouse is full of classical
portraits of various petsan eclectic
take on the Greco tradition all of Andrews family adores.
It was in her study that we were
tasting wine and daydreaming about
the warm weather coming our way.
The girls were three and six at the
time and were on a vacation with Andrew. I think its important for girls to
have alone time with their father to
develop an independent bond.
In a few months the school year
would end and the girls would go
away for a special summer enrichment program. I couldnt believe how
quickly they were growing up, but felt
excited for the independence Id regain. Genna was a vicious little tyke,
with a particular knack for biting and
climbing, (We both know where she
gets that from! Id joke to Andrew
with a jab.)
I was telling all this to Elizabeth
when something came over me. Before I could stop myself, I confided
in her about my side project: my own
authentic attempts to horse race.
I had great love for Milk Soap,
but that was work and I had been
looking for play (beyond what Andrew could give me!). All my friends
had hobbies that I found terribly boring. Id accompanied them to so many
inane book clubs, tennis lessons, swim
retreats, wine tastings, ceramics classes, cheese monger tutorials, investing
seminars, and one ill-advised hour of
hypnosis therapy, that I was worried

it wasnt the hobbies that were the


problem, but that it was me! But that
couldnt be.
At that point, I was giving Mattalia piggyback rides down the hallways
at her constant request. To my surprise, I found greater joy in that than I
had in any of my attempts at a hobby,
and it wasnt the joy of parenthood: it
was the love of having the weight of
a small child on my back. Soon I was
experimenting with the form. At first,
Id try to hold her on my back while I
moved on my hands and knees, trying to propel us forward, but Mattalia
kept tumbling off and knocking into
the walls.
I tried various ways of strapping
her to my back and holding my own
weight before landing on a sustainable
arrangement. Wrapping my knuckles
in masking tape for padding and putting my back weight on the balls of my
feet, I was able to position Mattalia on
the small of my back and carry her for
several yards at an impressive speed.
Mattalia laughed and laughed but I
didnt care. I was thriving.
I wanted to share it with someone besides Andrew. Of course Andrew would enjoy the sight of me with
my rump in the air but what would
an outside eye make of it? Secretly I
wanted permission from someone to
pursue thismy new hobbymore
seriously.
Whether it the wine or the giddiness that led me to show Elizabeth,
Im not quite sure. But I downed the
rest of my glass and offered to show
her my new trickan impersonation (in a sense) of a racing horse.
Elizabeth agreed, cackling at the image of a stunning, lithe woman like
myself lowering myself to the floor.
But when I started galloping, Elizabeths reaction turned almost solemn.
I panicked.
Do you like it? I asked. Of
course, its not as good as the real
thing. But do you think its authentic?
I was surprised by the insecurity in my
voice. Elizabeth erupted in unreadable
laughter.
Sure its authentic, honey. Its
also freaky, she exclaimed. The word
freaky sounded uncomfortable in her
mouth. It wasnt a compliment. I love

WHITE SPACE

Finally, on this page. Blankness.


Margins. The rest of the magazine
so dense with packed columns, but
here, at last, somewhere to write down
the name of that Pilates studio
on the Upper West Side with the all-Dire Straits
playlist, or the phone number for a playcentric
babysitter for Caleb and the other one, or
just space to draw a serpent winding its way
through the stanza breaks which
you dont know why they are where
they are. But you can give the serpent
some sick stripes and maybe make
it breathe fire. And fill in the background
with 3D boxes and lightning bolts. Take up
every last square inch. You can always stay
home with the kids and play Sultans of Swing on
repeat while doing crunches on the floor
Chris Michael Shea
compliments, and had wanted one.
Lets get you a glass of water to
bring you back to Earth, she said as
she rose from her armchair and glided
into the kitchen to chastise a maid.
I brushed the dust off my knees and
went to the restroom to freshen up. I
wasnt humiliated; I was determined. I
felt like all the women Id ever looked
up to as they described facing adversity. I knew my gallop was worth something. This was going to be more than
a hobby; it was going to be a lifestyle.

S WITH ANY competitive athlete,


my life began to take shape
around my practice. I purchased four
Thoroughbreds to put in our spare
spare barn (built in case Milk Soap

should ever expand) and spent a great


deal of time studying them. The horses previous owners had trained them
for racing, and so I hired the famous
former jockey George Bush to ride the
horses and keep them active.
Eventually, George Bush became
a part of the family. The girls adored
watching him ride, Andrew enjoyed
his jokes, and I was summoning the
courage to ask him to train with me.
I was still keeping the hobby secret from most of my friends after
my demonstration to Elizabeth. I had
tested the waters with several women
in my circle, but they didnt take me
seriously. Is it the modern war on sincerity that prevented them from believing in me? I dont know. I couldnt
THE NEU JORKER, JUNE 20, 2016

31

.
help but feel like I was being punished
for my creativity.
George Bush was a strange little
man with a tendency to start every sentence with the phrase Quite
frankly. His jockey career had ended
after allegations of stealing from his
employer, but Id been keeping a close
eye on the horses bank accounts and
nothing seemed askew.
I had been subtly trying to gauge
George Bushs interest, but the man
wouldnt reveal a thing. I knew I had
to ask him straight.
Id like to learn how to race, I
said to him one night when I was visiting the barn to check on the beauties. Would you be willing to train
me?
Quite frankly, Im not sure what
you mean, George Bush said to me,
raising his brow. Youre no horse.
I thought I was going to boil over.
I was so sick of being confronted with
not being a horse. Was Serena Williams born a tennis player? Of course
not! She was born a baby and she
learned a set of skills. My father had
always maintained that passion and
determination could open any door as
long as you had money to back it up.
32

THE NEU JORKER, JUNE 20, 2016

.
Id lived my entire life under the umbrella of that philosophy, and I wasnt
going to depart from it or give up just
because someone else hadnt gotten
the memo.
I offered George Bush double pay
and explained my need to him. My
boredom with the normal activities
that had been afforded to me (as a
woman!) simply wasnt enough. Surely
he could understand that. We made
the first appointment to train. I was so
thrilled that I read bedtime stories to
both my daughters that evening.

decent starting out,


but was nothing compared to
what George Bush was used to. For
the first several weeks, I engaged in a
series of tests, measurements, and exercises that left my body ragged and
exhausted at the end of every day.
Andrew would carry my limp
body to the tub and help me bathe.
No ones making you do this, hed
coo to me. But he was wrong. I was
making myself.
In little time, I was in the best
shape Id ever been in my life. My thin
bony legs were now enveloped in a
lean layer of muscle, and my back was
WAS PRETTY

etched with definition. I didnt even


mind that Id put on 3.2 pounds. To
my surprise, I could pick up Genna if
for some reason I wanted to!
Yet certain challenges felt insurmountable. For example, the very
existence of my collarbone was troubling. Horses forelimbs are connected
directly to the spinal column by impressive muscles and ligaments. No
surgery or physical therapy can correct this in humans. Furthermore, my
knees were all wrong. Horses knees
are more akin to a human wrist, comprised of carpal bones. How was I to
fully compete with horses without
these basic biological attributes?
These differences were agonizing
and at times tempted me to throw in
the towel. Had any athlete faced this
type of adversity? It was unlikely. Yet
I took inspiration from their stories,
reading biographies of athletic icons,
hoping to absorb resilience through
the pages as Andrew slept beside me.
What I lacked in anatomy, I
strived to make up for in authenticity.
One of the more challenging aspects
of those earlier days was internalizing a horses four-beat gait. Before
George Bush came into the picture, I
was galloping in two parts: my arms
together followed by both legs. But
horses move in a four-part sequence:
left hind leg, left front leg, right hind
leg, right front leg. It comes intuitively
to horses, but it did not, frustratingly,
to me. As the legs leave the ground, a
horse is supported alternately laterally
and diagonally, using slight head adjustments for extra balance.
The missing puzzle piece was discovered one night when I was having a steam before bed. It had been a
particularly stressful dayGenna had
accidentally swallowed a diamond,
small but of great sentimental value.
As I wrapped my hair up in my towel
it occurred to me perhaps if I were
to wear a weighted headpiece, my balance could be improved.
The next morning I shared this
with George Bush, who was elated. He
rarely gave me strange looks anymore.
Quite frankly, we could weight
other parts of your body for accuracy
as well, he said. Seven weeks later I
had my horse suit.

The suit was still a prototype then,


and wasnt nearly as fashionable or organic as Id have liked. But from the
moment I put it on, I felt positively
ferocious.
I was only able to devote a few
hours every couple days to my new
hobby of horsedom, and as much as I
wanted to give more, I felt guilt about
prioritizing it. I didnt want to leave
Andrew with an unfair share of the
parenting or staff control. So many
other mothers have commiserated
with me on this very same dilemma
the desire to be the perfect mother and
wife, but the need to answer a different, perhaps higher, call.
And, on top of all that, we were
still spending several months a year at
our place in Manhattan. Genna was
enrolled in two kindergartens (one
upstate and one in the city) in order
to allow us freedom to travel. Mattalia,
now nine, was on a fast track to becoming an Olympic skier, and would
go to Italy and Switzerland for months
at a time to spend time on the slopes.
We were proud of Mattalia, who
clearly possessed a warriors spirit.
Brilliant, athletic, and resourceful, our
sweet girl was conquering the world. I
wanted to be just like her, and couldnt
help but notice the irony that my pursuits to emulate her meant that I could
not be present to support her. Shed
started calling me Mommy Nanny
and the nanny Nanny Mommy.
Could I live with that?
Every time I pushed forward with
my horse work, I was inevitably missing dinner or a parent-teacher conference or a qualifying Olympic trial.
I was frustrated and felt, for the first
time in my life, quite lonely. Wasnt I
entitled to a life of bliss and purpose?
Yes, I had a family and a business and
homes, but that hardly mattered.
Then my father fell ill.

do wish I had made a greater effort


to see him more than once or twice a
year. We were overseas for Mattalias
skiing with some regularity, but the
inescapable minutiae often won out
over an extra weeks travel to see him.
When I got the call that he was
ill, I was half-dressed getting ready for
a Milk Soap gala. I remember looking
back in the mirror and realizing how
beautiful I looked. It felt like a tribute to my father, to carry the genes he
passed on to me with such poise. I like
to think hed say so, too.
By the time we arrived in London
three days later, he did not have much
time left.
I never spoke to my father about
my horse hobby, but as I sat with him
at his bed (at the very lovely British hospital that provided his care),
watching him channel his youth by
swiping and grabbing at the beautiful
nurses caretaking for him, he seemed
to know on some deeper level that I
was on the brink of something importanteven vital.
When he took his last breath, I
made a vow to myself that I would live
his legacy as best I could. To bend it
to my will, as he so often said.
Later that night, I spoke with Andrew about my epiphany.
If anything, doesnt this mean
you should reinvest in your family?
Andrew asked, brushing my hair. I
know the girls miss you. Or at least I

think they do.


As much as I had been denying it,
Andrew was correct. If I was going to
do this, I was going to need my family
by my side.
The next day, I flew Mattalia home
from Europe and informed her that
she would be taking a yearlong break
from her skiing trials, no matter the
impact. I withdrew Genna from her
Manhattan school. The entire family
would be settled upstate year-round
for me to pursue my horse hobby full
time with them by my side. But that
meant one final thing needed to be
done.
I shut down Milk Soap, letting
everyone in the company go. Horses
dont own businesses, and so neither
would I.
My life had moved from a canter
to a gallop, and it was time to race.

been informally
racing the Thoroughbreds in our
barn for over a year, the time had come
for a real competition to showcase my
skills. This had become more than a
hobby to me; it was a side career.
We had built a track behind the
spare spare spare barn (for the horses
in case the now defunct Milk Soap
had wanted to expand), and hired two
more jockeys to work under George
Bush. We set the date of the race, and
got working.
The event was years in the makHOUGH I HAD

BELIEVE OUR
parents
are immortal until, suddenly,
theyre proving to us that theyre not.
Such was the case with my father, who
had retired to London a decade earlier. I missed him when he moved away,
but was impressed by the active and
cultured life he was leading abroad. It
isnt helpful to dwell on regrets, but I
E

THE NEU JORKER, JUNE 20, 2016

33

ns, and no toiletsjust two ians call it, is surely one of the great and I got a shock when I saw the back
approaches
he-grounding,
latrines
of athe
woman,
dressed
in aItdirndl
high- him for me to
butoutside,
I still with
had great
work to to
do.any cultural
As I pilgrimage
trotted out to
track,
I
mayand
embarrass
the castle
oncerting twig
hat, exiting
Id and I made love
For brooms
monthspropped
I trained,site,
perfecting
my appearing
made eyeacross
contactthe
withcrowned
George Bush:
share from
it, butwhat
Andrew
Gulftoofthe
Trieste
of visualmy
throbs
hem. All of
the and
hutspushing
seventy-myself
the empty
downstairs,
andsuit that nighta
form
brinkin a series
my mentor,
leader, thought
and my was
jockey.
through
my horse
like the
unabashedly
orgasmic build
were expected
to be filled,
and,Before
Later, on- on my internal
of physical
ability.
I knew
it, I approached
himoffor adisappearing
final brush.into
I the
finalwoods.
consummation
I discovered
Eichmann andand
his achievement. The
Rilkes
poems.
1912,the
he wrote
e serious drinking
alreadyhad
going
two months
passed,
and the
race In took
groomtoasaan line,
opportunity
to that
transformation
guards
had stayed
the inn while
karst,Then
and the
harddining room,
this was
was upon
us. begin- friend, We are in the
focus.
it was
time S.S.
for the
mount.
next atmorning
at the breakfast table,
fleeing
troops Iatheard
the endthe
of the
ened mountains
effeminacy
rike me as problematic.
Night morning
It was a Sunday
race, and forgoIthe
could
feel the weight
of U.S.
George
girlswar.
asking our chef, I
that they
buried
underlast
the nightwas there
any before.
vegetation.
actually
quiteandGold
g to be a Ichallenge;
morning
had hardly
slept the of
night
It Theres
Bush on
my back
as I coins
stretched
heard
neighing
hutsthought
in the meadow
had been
up Andrew and I
a lot of
vegetation
.
was to be a mostly private
event,
at- myaround
legs, Ithe
feltcastle
all human
fly a horse
in thedug
house?
ded that the
only by
way
to hanoccasionally
over
the
years. Our life, finally,
(andfriends
only Rilke
tended
a few
of the kids
and could
outhave
of me. I was no longer a mother,
couldnt
stop
laughing.
hadcomplete.
to choose a fato get myself
sleep immeimagined
the gentlehusband,
slopes and horse hobbyistI sim- If Iwas
sometoneighbors
who were
interested
vorite stretch from my samnd to clear
mountains),
in out
the first
fuss.thing
I was in
glad nearby
to havetoanbeauply was the horse. I felt a deep conpling of theHEVia,
it would
ing. I had dience,
a sleeping
in my on but
thewas
path
itselfnection
is pure with my surroundings from
butpill
focused
what
most
VERY
ESSENCE of being alive
be the part is
ofone
the of
Blue
trail We are forced to
ase, whereimportant.
Id also stowed
my about
karst:
waterThis was
me.fantastical
Would my
fellow competitors to the ground
change.
that passes
through
ens container.
A minor
misinto my hoof against. I knew that
I succeed?
Could
I? eroded stone, fissured
I scraped
adapt, and
it onlythe
behooves us to find
Walsera villages
the Pied- that brings us joy.
the day a final
twist.
clintsfinally ascended into a humble
Infarcical
previous
trials,what
I wasgeologists
able to call
I had
path ofof
adaptation
mont. TheI think
landscape
the lens solution
leaked,
andoften
grykesblocks
and
beat the had
oldest
horses, but
lost to self-actualization.
of mywas
father, who followed
thicklyhis
forested,
Chi- and lived a long,
olving mythe
precious
narcotic. racers.
cracksand fluted like
more experienced
I thought the race would be a blur
whims with
responsibly
andcontinents. I think
s no alternative
but tofrankly,
lick theits cake
icingfault.
or pinched
into
Quite
not your
of adrenaline,
but I was hyperawarenese-looking
of fruitful lifecrags
on three
knolls
Theloving
villages
were who chooses to
ut. I was doing
this,Bush
my tongue
rigid
waves
an arrested
ocean.
George
would say
to me,
andlike
I every
moment.
I could feel
thescarved
motionin fog.
of my
husband,
miraculous
an ingenious,
ep in the knew
cases plush
interior,
headed
into
Austria,
and of
he was
right. But II then
wanted
to north
of my
legs,
the pattern
my gallop,specimens
all neverof question,
but always declines
low-impact
culture.
were
minia-of George Bush. I
e door opened
the to
Swiss
resumed following as
thenatural
Purple trail.
One itself.
win toand
prove
everyoneElizabeth,
as breath
I was postoThere
answer.
I think
funiculars
bringing
in supplies
me in. Anfriends,
awkwardmy
pause
fol- Andrew,
stretchmyself
of it passessessed
near the
father,
by Altaussee
the intense ture
ambition
thatfor think
of my
daughters, who are being
streetsand
are Itoo brought
steep andupnarrow
for
which I decided
would
mine, where the
Nazis
hid me
some
that thisitwas
timebe
well salt
spent.
had
guided
to of
that (the
moment,
by a mother
who believes
vehicles
on power and holdto try to explain.
They stared
theirthe
stolen
art. I dropped
downoffrom
I zipped
myself into
newest
placed second
fifth! cars), Richard Scarry-like
in finding
personal
treads for
garbage
and will compete in
ment, evidently
pristine
meadowsstillI was
emerald
greenas I caterpillar
versionreappraising
of my horse suit,
a functional
as elated
was exhausted,
ing the
on tight.
Mattalia
lifting,tostone
caged
in second time next
h-mindedwork
roommate
in Augustand
looked
at eating
the oldthe heavy
of art.asAsome
childhood
friend was and
I was
sugar cubes
the houses
Olympics
for the
scythes
on isthe
okehead now
or very
specializedcouture
railbeds,
with salt
along wooden balconies,year,
an industrial
designer
in crystals
prove glittering
it.
andlying
Genna
already the quirky
chimneys
shingled
efore beating
a retreat.
I passed
tunnelsupon
and a subterranean
chapel
Paris,
and had
offered tothe
improve
After the
race, stone-covered
Andrew ap-roofs,
one.
She dreams
of Yale Law School.
like tiny
localmy first race, Ive
ifully quickly,
to the
dim roar
St. Barbara,
the patron
sainttouched
the first
version
for me.dedicated
Made of to
velvet
proached
me; he
my houses.
snout The schist-rich
In years since
rock
made into
everything
glitterclose
madly
in
nian drinking
songs, and
of miners.
swags
of fir my
hung
and purified
dirtleft
with burlap
and Years-old
gold gently,
petting
mane.
I nestled
competed
to eighty
times in both
the sunshine.
Walsersand
were
Ger-contexts. My body
ybreak theleaf
next
morning.
onnothing
the walls,
smelling
if theyd
just proud
accents,
the suit was
short
him.as
I knew
he was
of me, be-Theprivate
public
yond the hut,
I saw something been cut, the salt air
man-speaking refugees
and migrants
keeping
unof divine.
cause
I wasthem
proud
of myself.
has stayed
taut and athletic, and my
n the gray light below me: a naturally fresh.
who spread southmind
through
the Alps For entire days
has sharpened.
That evening, I stayed at Blaa-Alm, during the MiddleatAges,
nimal with big horns. It was an
improvising
a time,
Ill find amyself in a horse
ugh in profile it looked like a an inn along the trail. The owners, whod life style on the high
terrain where no- unable to commindsetpractically
isreputable unicorn. I took out told me they were going to be gone for body else farmed or
lived. It with
was aspeech.
fru- Even now as I
municate
e and filmed it as it ambled the night, left my room key in the en- gal life style, constrained
by the feel
de- stiff, aching to be
type, my fingers
e lunar scree. When I look at trance. It was an old wooden building mands of basic survival,
butInthere
wereIm free.
hooved.
this way,
ge now, it seems the perfect in the Tyrolian style, deep in the mid- enough grace notes toWill
make
youtravel
feel exist in my lifetime
of that place: wild and dream- dle of silent countryside, with flower- that the inhabitants
enjoyed
their existime?
Perhaps.
I think often of the
marvellous.
hung balconies looking out on a meadow tence. In a little museum
momentintoAlagna,
which II return. Would I
full of small farm buildings, and I seemed admired a teaspoonspeak
carvedtowith
mya hand
ex-boyfriends mother
ng the entire Via Alpina to have it entirely to myself. A wooden holding a rose. who introduced me to derbies? The
Its the looping continuum
the trail who, by failing,
ld take years, so after leaving staircase led up to a large bedroom in
meek lab ofproctor
Alpina me
what
it is.success
It
National Park I got into a car which the walls, ceiling, and every other that makes the Viashowed
what
meant to me?
lose
yourself
the I would visit my
e to other sections of the trail. surface, including the light-switch cover, doesnt take long toMy
dad?
No. Iinthink
travel:self.
the mornouthwest, I crossed into Italy, had been intricately panelled in the same rhythms of mountain
younger
descent,
egan a walk on the Karst Pla- butter-colored wood. It was very com- ing climb and long afternoon
If I could
go back in time to visky landscape pockmarked with fortable, even luxurious, if a touch sar- the dependably undependable
it myself as weather,
a child in Arizona, what
d sinkholes, and ended up at cophagal. I sat out on the balcony, watch- the never quite knowing
whatWould
youreI let that small girl
would I say?
astle. It was here, walking along ing night fall and feeling as though Id going to see over the
crest
of the
next Or would I walk
know
whats
in store?
top path above the Adriatic, landed in a folktale about a traveller ar- high pass or whos going
to emerge
from
right past
her, hop
over the back fence,
e claimed to have heard a voice riving in a household under some pow- the mist along the trailthough,
and walk onto unlike
the ranch to be with my
opening line of what became erful enchantment.
tzi, you can be fairly
sure equine
the stranger
greatest
inspirations? Yes.
There was nothing sinister, exactly, isnt going to kill you.IHe
no Elegies: Who, if I cried,
might
think
theyeven
would recognize me
The
new issue
has the
a brilliant
analyzing
though
tall fir article
trees around
the the
ar me from among the
Angels
want to be your friend.
Weve
comeown.
that I think we would
as one
of their
meadow were
forbidding
in the dusk, far since the Bronze
The Sentiero Rilke, as the Ital- situation
Age.
gallop.
in Syria
or something.

THE NEW YORKER, APRIL 11, 2016


34

THE NEU JORKER, JUNE 20, 2016

39

THE CRITICS
ANNALS OF KNOTS

KNOTTY BY NATURE
Searching for
the worlds
preeminent
knot expert
THE
CURRENT
CINEMA
BY JORDAN HALL

FUN AND GAMES


he reminded me of the fragile final setBY ANTHONY LANE

f you cant think of a good way to

he is an indefatigable character. He has


faint scarring along his forearms and
hands from a teenage firebreathing accident.
(The
flame
neverup
made
it to
his first
scene,
he holds
a copy
of his
Carl
mouth.)
He
also
has
a
habit
of
talking
Sagans Cosmos and says to Jake, Chaptoter
himself,
makesThat
a mis9. Itlland,
blowwhen
yourhe
mind.
motake,
aping
his
mothers
old
censure:
ment ignites our sense of him, and it
Oh,
youve
again.
burnsDunklin,
through the
rest done
of the it
film,
reachHe
took
two
shots
of
an
unidentifiable
ing a smoky fruition as he proves to be
spirit,
and we were
off. of the bong.
the undisputed
master
Our
destination
was about
Best of all is Finnegan,
playedforty
with
miles
northwest
of
the
city,
to the Finn,
rea runaway charm by Glen Powell.
mote
Ben
as he mountainous
is known, is the region
eloquentnear
one, spoolWyvisfrom
the
Gaelic,
Hill
of
Tering out his verbal riffs in a bid not just
ror.
Oncegirls
there,
Donegan
would
to catch
but
to boostand
theIdramatic
begin
our
search
for
the
man
I
came
dash of the proceedings. We all
take
here
for.
We
would
have
to
track
him
turns being chumps around here, he
exdown
byYou
our own
means:
no one knew
plains.
accept
your chumpification,
for
certain
he lived,advice,
or, frankly,
and
move where
on. Excellent
in any
if field
he was
even
alive.
He
was
the
of endeavor, and a key toonce
the lovely
most
famous
knot
expert,
or
knotsman,
note of comic humility with which the
innatural-born
the world. Inbumptiousness
the 1980s, heof
was
thepesturennially
considered
a
popular
candidents is tempered and soothed, and the
date
for knighthood,
and,coarsening
over a career
movie
prevented from
into
spanning
several
decades,
admirers
a brawl. Jake and the otherhis
newbies
must,
have
included
the likes
of David
Camof course,
expect
a dose
of hazing,
and
eron,
Michel
Houellebecq,
and
Dame
they are duly fastened with duct tape to
Helen
Mirren.
But
Larryupside
Schnotz
a border
fence, one
of them
down,
hadnt
been
seen
in
twenty-five
years.by
and peppered with baseballs struck
The
reason
for his disappearance
was
their
bat-wielding
teammates. I guess
unknown,
but
recently
rumors
had
thats part of the deal, yet the talebeas a
gun
to surface.
said that Schnotz
whole,
thoughSome
filthy-mouthed,
is lenient
was
In fact,were
theyharmed
said,
andworking
humane.again.
No freshmen
hed
been
working
throughout
his
supin the making of this film.
posedIt hiatus.
the
last twenty-five
is set inFor
1980,
a crossroads
for muyears,
Schnotz
had
been
developing
sical trends both coming and
going. We
the
Grailofofdisco,
knotsa
knotHeart
that
getHoly
the dregs
Blondies
would
subsume
all
others.
Now,
it
was a
of Glass, the Cars, Cheap Trick, and
tied.
burst of pustular punk. We get Ms Pop

habited, or infested, solely by members


of the baseball team. His roommate is
Take a handsome young buck, put him Billy (Will Brittain), a country boy
at the wheel of an Oldsmobile coupe, mocked for his hickhood by the others.
and have him whip along a Texas high- They include Roper (Ryan Guzman),
way to the sound of My Sharona, by another comely fellow, who spends an
the Knack. That is what Richard Link- entire scene lauding his own ass in the
later does in his latest film, Everybody mirror; the mustached McReynolds
Wants Some!!, and its hard to think (Tyler Hoechlin), who loathes losing,
of a brighter start. The buck in ques- even at Ping-Pong; Niles ( Juston Street),
tion is Jake (Blake Jenner), and by the the resident jerk, who claims to have
end of the song weve already grasped thrown a pitch at ninety-five miles an
the unfolding shape of his life. He glides hour; and Dale ( J. Quinton Johnson),
past groups of girls his age and parks in the only black guy in the house, not that
front of a house on a pleasant street. He anyone notices or cares. There are mulhas a shy smile and a box of LPs in his tiple flash points in this society, mostly
arms. Sunlight pours down like a ben- to do with sporting smarts or carnal braggadocio, but racial bias isnt one of them.
ediction. Hes ready for anything.
Linklater has long been a champion In his limber and leisurely fashion, Linkof beginnings and ends. Dazed and later is glancing at a golden age.
His most cheering gift, and maybe
Confused (1993) hung out with a bunch
of kids on their final day of high school; the reason that he calls this movie a spirBoyhood (2014), having tracked its itual sequel to Dazed and Confused,
hero, Mason, for many years, bid him is an itch to populate the frame. At his
farewell on his first day of higher edu- best, he doesnt really direct a film so
cation, at once bewildered and blissed much as host itkeeping all his characout. Jake, too, is at that pivotal point. A ters involved, rescuing the wallflowers,
freshman at an unnamed college in making sure that everyone is plied with
southeast Texas (otherwise known, to lines and bits of stage business, as if he
towere
the southwest,
which The
the eponyHIS PASTasSEPTEMBER
, I sat
a
topping upofdrinks.
obvious
moviegoers,
Linklaterland),
he in
is more
mous
river
stems.
I
initially
balked atin
cozy,
dimly
lit
pub,
overlooking
of a jock than Mason, and less of a comparison is with Hail, Caesar!,
a drinkit
was 10:00
A.M.of
the
River Ness,
what is generally
which the
Coens introduced
a crew
wounded
soul;inwhatever
his past remay ordering
on
a
Tuesdaybut
my
day
guide
garded
as
the
capital
city
of
the
Scottish
slide,
have been, we learn very little about it. promising figures and then let themwas
and thethe
tourist
was already
Highlands,
the bank,
half-used;
resultgroup
left audiences
gazHes like aInverness.
passengerAcross
boarding
a ship late,
it. around
I ordered
a stout
ale. Is that
and
a few
hundred
yardsWhat
upriver,
stoodis ating
at the
end brown
and asking,
with
a single
suitcase.
matters
minutes later,
Dunklin
DoInverness
Castle,
sandstone
strucTo Linklater,
no one
is disposable.
the surging
tidea red
of the
now, and
the it?Ten
negan
slid
into
my
booth.
Donegan
is
ture
built
into
the
cliff,
whose
foundaMuzik, which to my horror I rememcamera follows him eagerly into the Take Nesbit (Austin Amelio), who tends
F COURSE, A
mischievous
pale
white
with
fine
obsidian
hair.
At
tions
date
back
to
the
eleventh
century.
pitiless detail, from
1979. And,
housetaking its cue from a snaking to place unwise bets, for a few dollars, on ber, in
enthusiasm
for
local
myth-maksix daily
feet four,
he isPlummer
tall for a (TemScot
The
pub
was runs
mostly
empty,
save for
courtesy of the Sugarhill Gang,
we get
fruitless
activities;
hose,
which
from
the garden
to aan about
is de rigeuer
in thischanted
farflunginpart
of
Asthe
hepace
slouched
small
group
of tourists
tois and
Rappers
Delight,
angelic
pleconspicuously
Baker), who is thin.
just off
when- ing
upstairs
bedroom,
wherepreparing
a water bed
the
world.
For
a
region
of
its
diminucorner,
limbs
spread
akimbo,
visit
the being
famedfilled.
loch,Its
twenty-three
chorus, consonant-perfect, by Roper,
everthe
jokes
are flying
about;
or Willoughby
slowly
that kind ofmiles
place. into
sizePlummer,
and political
influence,
Jake is a pitcher, and the house is in- (Wyatt Russell), the in-house hippie. In tive
Finn,
Dale, and
Jake asthe
they
Highlands have a disproportionately
strong
onsoour
imagination.
From
1990
to 2011,new
Larry
Schnotz
tiecollege.
a singleAtknot.
Richard
Linklaters
movie
is set atdidnt
a Texas
his best, he doesnt really
directhold
a film
much
as host it. This

I kick off your movie, how about this?

36
74

THE
JUNE 20,
2016
THE NEU
NEW JORKER,
YORKER, APRIL
11, 2016

PHOTOGRAPH
BYSCARABOTTOLO
JAMES FOLTA
ABOVE: GUIDO

piece in a game of pickup sticks. Still,


Everybody Wants Some!! and Miles Ahead.

is the home of William Wallace, Nessy,


and Arthur, depending on your source.
James Bond, like his first off-screen
correlative, is Scottish. The grounds
of Inverness Castle are supposed to
have been the residence of the historical King Macbeth. Five-hundred years
later, the exiled Mary Stuart sieged the
castle gates and decapitated the garrisons governor, whom she described
as headless in life and death and a
ninny. Scotland has never been short
on stories.
Fittingly, Dunklin Donegan has
never tired of hearing them. If some
locals were skeptical of Schnotzs
hoary mythos, Donegan remained a
zealot, despite having never seen him.
Sometimes I feel like Paul, he told
me, referring to the first-century proselytizer who persecuted Christians
before becoming an apostle. I may be
late to the party, but Im ready to get
drunk. Donegan and I had originally
met through an online forum for the
Mongolian trance-jazz fusion trio,
Next Steppes. He regularly posted, and
we quickly struck up a rapport. I first
visited him last spring. Not long into
the trip, I discovered his fascination
with the obscure, mostly forgotten art
of knotting. He had discovered knots
as an adolescent, working the docks at
the Port of Inverness to help out with
family finances. His father was a failed
truancy officer, and his mother raised
Dunklin and four other siblings mostly
on her own. When he was thirteen, his
father left on a barge bound for New
York, where he would find another job
as a truancy officer, only to lose it again
weeks later. He was lazy and forgetful, Donegan told me. It was around
this time that he took up firebreathing.
Still, knots captivated him more
than anything. At the port, two older
deckhands, Fergus and Drewed, would
teach the young Donegan three to four
new knots each time they came to harbor, en route from Edinburgh or the
Shetland Islands to the north. Wed
pull into town, and there would be
Dunklin, shouting at us from the quay,
said Fergus. Oh please, sirs, teach me
more about knots, hed say. I need to
know more about knots, or Ill never
amount to anything.
Fergus and Drewed eventually

taught Donegan about Schnotz, whom


they had known, and who had gone
into hiding about eight years prior.
Larry was a real prodigy, Drewed told
me. He said that Schnotz was like da
Vinci, excepting that he really had no
talents other than tying knots. But, say
if da Vinci only had one talentlike if
da Vinci was the F. Scott Fitzgerald of
his daythats what Larry was: the F.

Scott Fitzgerald of knots. And me and


Fergie thought Donegan was the same
way, excepting that he was definitely
way worse than Larry at tying knots.
The more he learned, the more
Donegan became obsessed. He read
every piece of literature on Schnotz he
could find and methodically worked
his way through Schnotzs own voluminous bibliography. First, the basics:
Knots for Knots Sake, Knots of ol
Knapoli, and Larrys Last Knot...
Not! These books are essentially

primers on the history and craft of


knotsmanship, published in the mid- to
late-seventies, and include tutorials on
some of Schnotzs favorite standards.
From there, Schnotzs oeuvre becomes
characteristically esoteric. Theres
Knotstrodamus, published in 1981,
followed three years later by Knotsticism: Do Knots Exist? and, in 1985,
Knothilism: Knots Dont Exist. These
works are all but inaccessible to even
the most experienced knotsmen, much
less a novice, but they assume a Biblical
significance for Donegan. I thumbed
through some of his well-worn copies
and hardly knew where to begin. There
were rough etchings, occult symbols,
whole passages of the Greek poetess
Sappho, untranslated and previously
thought to be lost. One of Schnotzs
more curious works, Knot Knot Jokes:
Not Bad Jokes, consisted of five pages
of pop-up figures, none of which were
knots (and, incidentally, none of which
were recognizable as anything at all).
Some have accused Schnotz of obfuscation. Ten years ago, in the midst of
one of Schnotzs decadal renaissances,
the critic N. Q. Voldenheim announced
that the contents of six whole books
could be arranged into a single uninterrupted acrostic. If true, the discovery
was a miracle. But the acrostic followed
a complex code of lateral moves unique
to each page, and Voldenheim died
shortly after his discovery, before he
could publish his findings. A cryptogTHE NEU JORKER, JUNE 20, 2016

37

rapher has recently built a computer to


sort through the code, but it will be at
least another decade until the acrostic
can be reassembled.
As Donegan drove us up Highway A835 toward Ben Wyvis, I asked
him why he was so fervently drawn to
Schnotz. He paused and took a breath.
A lot of people I know tell me, Well,
its just a knot, isnt it? Who cares?
He gazed out on the empty highway.
Storm clouds had gathered in the distance. Schnotzs best knots are easy
and hard, simple and complex, because
he knowslife itself is a knot.

HE HISTORY OF knots is the


history of time. Paleolithic gorillas tied knots out of tree branches and
leaves to build beds. In 1923, a fishing
net was discovered in a Finnish peat bog
that dated back to 7200 B.C.E. Greek
seafarers made good use of knots, as
did their trade partners (and occasional
enemies) to the east in Anatolia and
along the Phoenician coastline. The
Romans added their own innovations,
some of which, like Caligulas, tended
toward the prurient. But the knot is
perhaps most closely tied to our myths
and iconographies: the endless knot
of Tibetan Buddhism, the Hindu Pasha, Alexanders severed Gordian knot,
the lasso of John Wayne, the lasso of
George Bailey. The word knot appears
468 times in Shakespearea number
scholars note is significant not only for
its frequency, but because each digit
represents a unique rope loop.
Unsurprisingly, knotsmen are notoriously fastidious and use a hyperspecific lexicon: for instance, a rope is
not simply a rope. It has discrete parts.
The bight is a doubled section of the
rope that doesnt cross itself; a bight
that crosses itself is a loop. The run-

38

THE NEU JORKER, JUNE 20, 2016

THREE POEMS BY TIM PLATT

Poem 1:
i.
The chameleons tongue is its most boring flesh
its springing shocks the weak-willed cadavers too
thoraxed to fly
ii.
the chameleons eyes dart as independently
as two brothers in the back seat of a moving car
straining their belts as they claw for different bags of sugar
on the packed ground
iii.
the skin of each chameleon is the same in its variety
another boring cycle of change in a tree too used to color
iv.
the chameleon is my favorite dang animal (lizard)

Poem 2:
a glue spotted spaniel
a dog covered in glue
a pooch patched with glue
theres so much glue on that dog
that dog is covered in glue

ning end of the rope is the end youre


not tying; the working end of the rope
is the end you are. There are two central categories of knots: a hitch ties the
rope to an object (or itself ), whereas a
bend joins two ropes or webbing ends
togetherthe taxonomy is extensive.
No one knows for certain how
many knots are in active use today, or
how many have been used throughout
history. Unlike bones, stonework, or the
kinds of relics and ephemera found in
an Indiana Jones film, rope yarn decays
over time, making it a pain for archaeologists. Knots probably reached their
apex in the 18th and early 19th centuries, between the Age of Discovery and
the dawn of steam-powered vessels,
when every Protestant European fam-

ily was expected to own, at minimum,


three books: the Bible, Bunyans Pilgrims Progress, and Clifford Ashleys
Groundwork and Enquiry into Knots
and Their Origins. The English knot
historian Ethane McCaulay told me
that at the height of the British Royal
Navy, during the Napoleonic Wars,
bored sailors that had endured months
without seeing military action might
know thousands of knots by heart. Today, even among the knot cognoscenti
(of which McCauley is quick to selfidentify), that number has dwindled
to perhaps three to four hundred. The
most popular have stood the test of
time: the figure eight, the anchor hitch,
and the double-slipped reef knot, also
known as the shoelace knot. And while

Poem 3:
Though derelict and dismal
Craigs body grew and grew and grew.
bemused portentions magnify
a giants jar of pickled brewinfused with puss with piss and stink
and stuffed with stuff that giants drinkCraig froze affixd upon the jar
for there was enough for two.
camera eyes confound aflash
betrothd despite a poor review
Craigs hands-beringed-grasp, lift to sip
the giants jar of pickled brew.
Forsake the flare, despise the shinerespite from crimson fists and wine
read ribbons bannerd round the hall
outlined by glitter and glue.
Braggin Bozos barely born
formed then reformed a merry crew.
Adorned their kings thorn crown with drinkthe giants jar of pickled brew.
As liquids pour from cup to crown
the Bozos eyes glue on the frown
of Bozo King, King Bozo born
by the daughters of the coup.
Tim Platt
there is an art to the craft, there is, nevertheless, a correct method; or, as Ashley writes: A knot is never nearly right;
it is either exactly right or hopelessly
wrong; there is nothing in between.
The knot that brought me back to
Scotlandthe one that Schnotz was
rumored to have finishedis one that
knotsmen have been contemplating,
theorizing on, and failing to tie for as
long as anyone can remember. Like a
sugary carbonated beverage, or God
himself, it goes by many names, but in
the Highlands, at least, it is called the
Knot of Life. Fergus told me that the
Knot of Life is basically the knot to
end all knots; a catch-all, a knot Messiah. In other words, its a knot that is so
infinitely utilitarian it obviates all oth-

ers and, as so, boasts an almost divine


character. Ashley mentions something
similar to it, as have other commentators. McCauley, who is a professor
emeritus at Our Lady of Righteous
Plagues, claims to have traced its origin as far back as the ancient Minoan
civilization at Crete. In particular, he
points to the famous Cretan labyrinth,
which, as the story goes, the Greek
hero Theseus successfully navigated
en route to slaying the Minotaur. The
labyrinth was omnipresent for the Minoans, he told me over the phone. It
was a seminal mythological image, a
symbol of life. This much scholars
tend to agree on, but McCauley, as he
is wont to do, went further. He found it
easy to see how the image of the laby-

rinth may metamorphose into the image of the knot, which is itself a microcosmic simulacrum and a thing of
fearful symmetry and terrible beauty.
He continued that it was not incidental that, according to the myth, the
maiden Ariadne had supplied Theseus
with a ball of yarn, i.e., a ropehe emphasized this last pointwith which
to retrace his steps out of the maze. So
we have the symbol within the symbol;
we have a Russian doll set.
While all this may fall somewhere
between benign lunacy and perfidious imbecility, nearly everyone I spoke
to on the subject echoed McCauleys
enthusiasm. Larry rapped on and on
about the Knot of Life, said Fergus.
Hed go weeks without sleeping, just
thinking about itwouldnt put hand
to rope, Drewed concurred. They
said that in the mid-eighties, to usher
in some kind of revelation, Schnotz
moved to the countryside just beyond
Inverness proper. He fashioned himself
in the mold of a modern-day prophet,
and his behavior became increasingly
strange. He dieted on wild oats and locusts. With a nod to Descartes (knowingly or otherwise), he once walked
into the towns laundromat, curled up
inside a running dryer, and meditated
for a week and a half. When that failed,
he thought a new hobby might spark
his creativity. He discovered a documentary on bagpipeshe had never
heard of themand tried to teach
himself how to play. Even accounting
for the instruments infamous difficulty, Drewed told me that Schnotz was
remarkably bad. His nearest neighbors
from several miles away petitioned and
won a municipal injunction that forced
him to quit. Still, Schnotz sought inspiration. He tried falconry and lost
four falcons in three hours, all of which
returned a few days later to attack him
in unison. The following week he was
diagnosed with a rare strain of avian
influenza, or bird flu. The doctors indicated it was contracted from a separate
incident.
Nonetheless, although hed grown
erratic, Schnotzs disappearance a
few years later remained a mystery.
Throughout this period, he had continued to go into town to socialize, on
occasion. Friends said he seemed to be
straightening out. In 1989, he wrote
THE NEU JORKER, JUNE 20, 2016

39

one of the most commercially successful books of his career, Red Rover, Red
Rover, Bring Larry Schnotz Over: To
Teach Us About More Knots.
One day he was just gone, said
Drewed. Havent seen him since.

COULD TELL
Donegan was
nervous as we began to approach
Ben Wyvis. More than anyone Id met,
he had placed all his faith in the Knot
of Life, and, in particular, Schnotzs
Ahabian quest for it. As he told me, it
was not incidental that hed taken up
knotting soon after he left the Scottish
Presbyterian Church of his childhood,
and it was clear that, for Donegan, the
Knot had replaced the Cross. (In conversation, he regularly referred to himself as a guerilla atheist.) Fergus and
Drewed were forthright in expressing
their concern over Donegans fanaticism, but they acknowledged that there
was little they could do. Theres been
a great gape in Dunklins soul since he
was a lad, said Fergus. Something
thats been missing, something, like,
numinous and elemental thats not
there, and that hes been fighting to fill
in with something else his whole life
hence, the fire business.
As he drove, Donegan tapped
his scarred fingers against the steering wheel. Soon, the southern hills of
Ben Wyvis were on our right, and, in
the distance, a steep, barren ridge shot
up into the gray sky. According to his
source, Schnotz was rumored to live in
a shack built somewhere into the side
of the mountains southern face, which
was inaccessible to vehicles. We drove
another three miles, parked by the
roadside, and began to walk.
For two and a half hours, we saw
no lifeforms, human or otherwise,
when suddenly some black mass of a
bird streaked overhead, startling us and
causing Donegan to cough up a large,
half-masticated block of cheese that
hed exhumed from his pack pocket.
Soon, we reached a depression in the
mountain, which opened to a small
brook and waterfall, twenty feet wide at
the base. Donegan paused and peered
up to find the falls source, but a thick
fog had rolled in and obscured our view.
We leapt through. On the other side of
the fall, directly in front of us, was a
stairwell carved out from the bowels of
40

THE NEU JORKER, JUNE 20, 2016

After we hook up Ill want to blog a little.

the mountain. Donegan took off, and I


hurried after him in the darkness, feeling the way with my hands.
When the stair ended, I stood
beside Donegan on a ledge, threequarters of the way up the mountain.
A stream sprang from a crevice in the
rock to our right. To our left, the wall
sucked in and the shoulder widened. A
wattle and daub hut was in the corner.
Larry Schnotz stood before us holding
a dead raven and an iron-pronged shillelagh. He looked as if hed been waiting.

in the fashion
of your fathers bedside lamp:
round, splayed feet form a firm foundation, which sharply narrows in the
legs, bulges in the waist, thins in the
chest and neck, and is finally engulfed
by a conic shag of extra-white hair that
extends well past his shoulders. Despite
his fubsiness, Schnotzs jeans were still
a size and a half too big, and hed tied
a double-slip through his belt loops to
hold them up, resulting in an accordion
of pant creases. The rest of his wardrobe
CHNOTZ IS SHAPED

consisted of a red turtleneck, a khaki


vest with a sheriff s badge pinned to it, a
turquoise bolo tie, a madras drivers cap,
and a sleeveless white duster. His general demeanor was that of an effete wizard.
I spied you coming along the
daleyou and the bird. He held up
the mutilated raven like a Thanksgiving
turkey. I asked him how hed procured
it, partly to ease into the conversation,
partly out of a genuine curiosity. He
pointed to an indentation in the rock
face above us, which hed camouflaged
in heather and moss detritus. I prank
the bozos, he said. He shuffled to the
cliff s edge to demonstrate his trickery,
shadowboxing at the sky, a la Charlie
Chaplin. They think theyve found a
nest or snooze station, and they whizz
into my trap and bamhe struck the
club against the rockI smack them
flat on the wall. He smiled and pointed
beneath the faux nest, where the ground
was caked in feathers.
Inside, Schnotzs hut was larger
than I expected. Lanterns hung from
log rafters, and a cataract of knots covered the walls, each one tagged with a

small paper label. I checked over two


hundred of these against my research to
ensure I hadnt previously come across
any of them. I hadnt. Their names were
typically Schnotzian: Paolo and Francesca in Hell; Pinkies Promise; the Savage Phoenician; the Jack and Rose Slip;
Chastitys Buckle; Hamlets Solution;
Harry, Meet Sally. I asked Schnotz how
many there were; he had no idea.
As Donegan and I joined him by
the fire, he poured us two bright red
drinks. Hi-C, he said. I make it from
the concentrate. He raised his cup in a
toast, and we drank. Having broached
the reason for our visit, I asked him a
few questions, but Schnotz was reluctant
to discuss himself or his career. Whats
you folks obsession with me, anyway?
You got a crush? He giggled to himself.
I try not to get so knotted up in the details of life nowadays. He nodded toward the wall to tip off his joke. Whats
you folks most favorite music group?
he asked. You like music? (Schnotz is
interminably curious, and, when he asks
a question, he tilts his head to the right
and sticks his tongue between his teeth,
like a Bichon Frise.) I like show tunes
and Smashing Pumpkins, he said. Billy Corgan came out of the cradle endlessly rocking!
He reached under the kitchen table
for a small stereobox, inserted a CD, and
pressed play: The world is a vampire!
Schnotz sang along word-for-word to
Bullet with Butterfly Wings, raising
his arms above his head and pumping
his fists toward the ceiling. At the turn
of the chorus, he climbed on top of the
table, bouncing up and down like an
analog alarm clock. Donegan turned toward me; he looked baffled. By the time
1979 began, Schnotz had been singing
Smashing Pumpkins for over an hour.
He stepped down from the table, took
a long draught of Hi-C, and started to
talk.

in 1940 in
Inverness to his parents, Tim and
Elise Schnotz, ne Nin. My father was
a shoe salesman, he told me. I asked
if that was how he stumbled upon his
love of knots. He looked perplexed.
Oh, no, he replied. He sold clogs. I
never really worn laced shoes before;
never liked the look of them. He
pointed to the ground: he was wearing
CHNOTZ WAS BORN

triple-velcro, eggshell white sneakers.


His fathers clog shop was a financial disaster for a panoply of reasons, but primarily because no one in
Scotland wore clogs. When Schnotz
turned twelve, his father rebranded
and changed the stores name from
The Schnotz Shop to Clogs for Bogs.
It was a bold ideaclogs to wear in
bogsbut business stayed dismal, and
his already slim customer base soon
discovered clogs to be poor footwear
in marshy terrain. Most of the familys
income was dependent upon Schnotzs
mother, Elise, who was a half-sister to
the famed bohemian and erotica writer
Anas Nin. Anas pitied Elises provincial living situation and subsidized the
Schnotzs modest, working-class lifestyle. Schnotz recalled his aunt visiting the family as a child and bringing
along Henry Miller, her lover at the
time. Miller seemed to leave a poor impression. Father called him priapic,
he said, leaning forward in his chair, as
he often does to solicit an explanation.
Growing up in Cold War Scotland
was tough on the young Larry. Tim
Schnotz was a member of the underground Revolutionary Highlanders
Workers Party, who, together with the
Lowlander chapter, were commonly
known as Sea Levelers. As a child,
Schnotz was confused about Scotlands
turbulent political state (wholly elided
in standard American history textbooks). My father came home from
meetings all wound up, saying wild
things likeLarry, the proletariats
day is nigh! Take up the sickle! Put on
your clogs! My mother sat in the corner and smoked cigarettes. She didnt
heed him much.
Schnotz never felt comfortable
discussing politics and tried his best to
avoid it. After school, rather than going home, he began to hang around the
Inverness pubs, where old men would
trade stories and impart wisdom. At
one point, the subject of knots came up.
I dont remember how, Schnotz told
me. It was just a thing old folks talked
about. He started to try out some standard ties and quickly gained a knack
for it. Older patrons, discerning a raw
talent, encouraged him to continue developing his skills. Soon, Schnotz was
inventing his own knots. He started an
after-school club in which he lectured

classmates on theory and practice. Not


long after, some of the pub crowd started to show up. He published his first
book in 1967.
When I asked him about the
Knot of Life, he recoiled, nearly falling into the flame. (He reacted this
way every time I said its name, periodically spewing his Hi-C; the fourth
time I mentioned it, he shrieked.) After composing himself, Schnotz said
that hed first heard of it through the
older knotsmen, whod heard of it from
their elders, and them from theirs, you
know. In a striking admission, he told
me that the entire ordeal had been a
mistake, and that it had, in fact, motivated his voluntary exile. I was being a
little boy back then, really getting into
myself, really. He turned flush and
made a series of obscene hand gestures.
He said that he eventually got embarrassed. It was embarrassing to be believing in that hocus pocus. It dont exist. (At this, Donegan shuddered, and
the reflection of the fire flared in his
eyes.) When I asked Schnotz how he
could know for certain that the Knot
of Life was merely a myth, he shrugged
his shoulders. Of everyone, I suppose I
should know, he replied.
Schnotz told me that from 1990,
when he first fled to Ben Wyvis, to
2011, he didnt tie a single knot. I said
to myself, Hey, what have you done
with your life? Hey, Im talking to you!
Youve wasted it, sitting around, tying
knots. He said that hed grown sick of
it. He meant literally. At the sight of a
knot, he would go queasy and just start
barfing stuff up. Id wake in the morning, see an old knot of mine, barf. Go
outside, see a bag of knots, barf. And
when I tried closing my eyes, I could
smell them, or Id run into them trying
to feel my way around, and barf some
more. For years I lived like that, barfing
on knots.
One day, around the summer of
1999, Schnotz had a revelation. Well,
I realized I could untie them, he said.
The aftereffect of this notion was seismic. He became obsessed with untying
knots. Take how much I loved tying
knots and make it bigger, like a bigger
amounthe spread his arms out wide,
signaling for me to imitate him so that
I could grasp his analogy. Thats how
much I liked untying knots, he told
THE NEU JORKER, JUNE 20, 2016

41

Is the snark fresh today?

me. Much more! He worked his way


through his own collectionwhat he
figured to be in the five figuresin
three days. The process was expurgative, like working off a sin. He visited
a tarn a few miles away that fishermen
frequented and began offering to untangle knots in their lines for a pecuniary fee. It wasnt long until he had his
own business. Unaware of his identity,
the fishermen assumed Schnotz was
simply a hermit and respected his privacy. Nonetheless, in-the-know locals
soon started to visit, asking Schnotz
to untie other miscellania, like cornrows or dissolved friendships friendship bracelets. For twenty-one years,
Schnotz never took a day off. After
a while, I stopped barfing, he told me.
But, in 2011, something strange
happened. I was sitting by the water
one Sunday morning, like I always
did, and my friend Lous fishing line
had gotten tangled up fearsomely bad.
He brought it over for inspection, and
it was a hot mess. Just spiteful. Like
when a dog gets real mean.
He paused for effect. You know
when dogs get real mean?
I nodded.
So, it was like that, he said.
42

THE NEU JORKER, JUNE 20, 2016

Most of the time it wont take me but


two or three minutes to untie a knot,
even a bad one. But after ten minutes I
still hadnt finished. I said, Hey, weird!
It took me nine hours to finish; Lou
mustve caught a dozen fish on his other line at that point. But, by the time I
was done, I realized that was a beautiful knot, beautiful in its fearsomeness.
I handed the line back to Lou and
havent seen him or the lake since.
So you went back to tying knots?
asked Donegan.
Oh yes, said Schnotz. All these
in four years, he said, pointing to the
walls. He looked at Donegan. You
dont know how to a tie a knot until
youve learned to untie one.

HE NEXT MORNING, Donegan


had the haggard look of someone who had suffered rough dreams
and little sleep. His eyes drooped, and,
as he tended to the fire, flames played
on his shirtless, pellucid torso, illuminating his entrails so that he resembled a gas station summer roll. While
Schnotz and I had stayed up late
talking, Donegan had opted to sleep
outside, clearly shaken by Schnotzs
knot-of-life postmortem. Just de-

flated, thats all, Donegan assured


me, on the drive back to Inverness.
When I told Fergus and Drewed
about Schnotzs apostasy a few days
later, they were simultaneously nonplussed and suspicious. Larrys always up to something, said Fergus.
You really think hes been hiding up
there for twenty-five years with nothing but a few thousand more knots
to show for it? He can tie a thousand
knots in a week if he wanted. Ethane McCauley was more pointed. In
a series of e-mails, he called Schnotz
a blasphemous, ossified crone and a
pussywillowed iteration of Kurtz, ripe
for this age of dilettantes, who darent
glance at the heart of darkness for fear
of what hed find. He then compared
him to a Holocaust denier.
The following week, I met Donegan at the same pub along the River
Ness; his favorite in town, he told me.
It was a pleasant autumn dayperhaps the last of its kind that yearso
we sat outside on the deck. Donegan
looked more tired than fraught, and
confessed that hed been in a kind of
hypnagogic daze since Ben Wyvis. He
couldnt remember if hed slept. I noticed what appeared to be fresh scars
on his knuckles, but let it pass. When
I asked him how he was doing, he said
that it was nothing new, and that hed
been let down before. It was always
just a hope. Im lucky to meet him at
all. I explained how I had tried to
tease out more from Schnotz about
the Knot of Life after Donegan had
left the hut, but that Id mostly come
up empty-handed. When I mentioned
McCauleys labyrinth theory to him,
Schnotz mistook Minoa for Samoa,
the popular Girl Scouts cookies, which
led to a long digression on the G.S.A.
and whether Id brought any. After
that, I didnt mention it again.
Still, I encouraged Donegan: before wed left the ledge, Schnotz had
made Donegan promise hed visit soon;
it was lonely on the mountain, and he
could use a knotting partner. Maybe
a Pyrrhic victory, after all, Donegan
joked. He gave a small grin and leaned
back in his chair, folding his hands behind his head and looking at the high,
red walls of Macbeths castle in the distance. Theres a Scottish proverb, he

washbasins, and no toiletsjust two

ians call it, is surely one of the great

and I got a shock when I saw the back

approaches
any cultural
pilgrimage
hole-in-the-ground
outside,
with referring
of and
a woman,
dressed
in a dirndl and highsaid. And
who should tie latrines
the Knot
of said,
to thetoSmashing
Pumpmy ticket
walked
inside.
site, release,
the castle
appearing
across theThecrowned
disconcerting
broomsIpropped
exitingHipsters
from what Id
Life hassome
surely
hacked thetwig
heavns.
kins 1993
right
before the
floor washat,
buzzing.
Gulf of Trieste
in a seriesstardom.
of visual throbs
nexthim
to them.
All of but
the he
huts
was thetoempty
downstairs,
and
waited for
to continue,
wasseventygroup catapulted
into alt-rock
cavortedthought
from display
display.
One
unabashedly
of I disappearing
nine
beds
were expected
be filled,Having
and, like
into the woods.
Later, onsilent for
the
remainder
of thetoafterput the
in his
credit, he orgasmic
sat downbuild
group
passed was discussing
the merline,
I discovered
thata Eichmann
Rilkes
In when
1912, ahesong
wroteits
to of
a the
serious
drinking
noon. Itwith
was some
a sunny,
cloudless
day,already
and going
at our table.
Onpoems.
occasion,
Albright
special,
knot used and his
S.S.toguards
stayeddiameters
at the inn while
We are catchy
in the karst,
and the hardon intourists
the dining
was beginwe watched
fishroom,
on thethis
banks
reachedfriend,
a particularly
crescendo
in angling
tie twohad
different
fleeing U.S.
troops at
the endthe
of the war.
ened
forgo
the effeminacy
ning to
me as problematic.
of the river.
If strike
they spoke,
they spoke Night
or climax,
he mountains
would pump
his arms
in of line together.
Another
debated
Gold
coins
that they
buried
the
of any
vegetation.
Theres
was going to be a challenge; morning
of monsters.
the air and
holler
out to the
emptyactually
bar. quite
aesthetics
of the
Twined
Turks
head,under
a
hutsdecorative
in the meadow
had been dug up
lot ofhim
vegetation
the castle
gruesome.
When Iaasked
a questionaround
Id meant
closed-loop
knot commonly
that
the only
way to hanoccasionally
over the years.
(and
Rilke couldhow
havecould found lining ship decks.
HREEI decided
MONTHS
LATER
Schnotz
to breach
lastonly
timenamely,
But Brooklyn
I had to achoose
dlein
it was
get myself
to third
sleep immethe their
gentleScottish
slopes an- hipsters werent the onlyIf patrons:
was
NewtoYork
for the
someoneimagined
who traced
sea a favoritethe
stretch
andKnot
to clear
out first
in back
nearby
be mountains),
annual diately,
Brooklyn
Festival.
Hething
cestry
sixtogenerations
have the of bodies sprawled across
chicfrom
con-my sampling
morning. along
I had a with
sleeping
pill insurname
my butofthe
path itself islooked
pure be- crete floor. It seemed
broughttheDonegan
him,
Schnotzhe
as ifofallthe
of Via,
Newit would
be the part of the Blue trail
glasses
case, where
Id on
alsoasstowed
my karst:
waterwhom he
had agreed
to take
an wildered.
It wasfantastical
evident that
hed never York had been converted.
that passes
through the
contact-lens
container.
A minor
eroded
stone, fissured
into him
apprenticeor
as Schnotz
quipped,
a misconsidered
the discrepancy.
I asked
Promenading among
the tables,
villages
the Piedhap The
gave first
the day
what about
geologists
clints at I noticed a crowd Walser
knotspert.
day aI final
saw farcical
them, twist.
if he worried
beingcall
recognized
gathering
in of
the
The Somelandscape was
ofathe
lens solution
had leaked,
and grykesblocks
and
SchnotzSome
was in
notably
giddy mood;
the convention
after a quarter-century
northeast corner of mont.
the room.
thickly
forested,
with Chihalf-dissolving
precious
narcotic.
cracksand
like
Donegan,
too, seemed my
to have
recovaway from
the publicfluted
eye. Certainly
one shouted. Suddenly,
an EMT
crew
nese-looking
crags and
There
was
no finished
alternative
but to
the hecake
or dont
pinched
ered. They
had
just
lunch
at licknot,
toldicing
me. I
holdinto
up the rushed past me, towing
a twentyknolls
scarved
fog. The
residue out.
I was
doing this,
my tongue
an arrested
the Flatiron
Olive
Garden,
where
same asrigid
I didwaves
then.like
I couldnt
argue: ocean.
something
male
in a in
gurney.
Hevillages
was were
miraculousexcept
specimens
of anlips,
ingenious,
deep
in theeaten
casesfive
plush
headed
into Austria,
and catatonic,
Schnotzburied
claimed
to have
bas-interior,
what littleI then
pictures
of north
Schnotz
that nearly
for his
low-impact
were miniadoor
the Swiss resumed following the Purple trail.which
One appeared
kets of when
garlic the
knots.
Weopened
met at and
Maditoculture.
mouthThere
a prayer.
turepulled
funiculars
for bringing
in supplies
couple
came
An awkward
pause fol- stretch of it passes near the Altaussee
son Square
Park
andin.walked.
Schnotz
Someone
the fire
alarm, and
streets are
toothe
steep
and narrow
for
lowed,
in to
which
decided
it would be salt mine, where the Nazis hid some
of (theflooded
had never
been
the Icity.
Havent
sprinklers
from
ceiling.
I
cars),the
Richard
Scarry-like
vehicles on
to try
to explain.
left my hopeless
ledge in ten
years,
he toldThey
me. stared their stolen art. I dropped down from
ran toward
commotion,
pushing
forspectators.
the garbage and
for agot
moment,
reappraising pristine meadowsstill emerald green
Dunklins
me backevidently
on the social
throughcaterpillar
a growing treads
crowd of
heavyinlifting,
stone
in
high-minded
roommate
old spoke
circuit.their
Contrary
to his usual
staggeredas some in Augustand looked at theSome
tongues,
somehouses
wept. caged
I
wooden balconies,
scythes
lying on the
kind of gait,
cokehead
or very
specialized railbeds, with salt crystals glittering along
and waddling
Schnotz
scooted
saw a well-known
Wall Street
execustone-covered
roofs,
chimneys
beating
around deviant,
the citybefore
blocks
like aaretreat.
SuperI passed the tunnels and a subterranean chapel
tive rend
his suit in half,
and
a groupshingled
likecomedians
tiny houses.
Themoved
schist-rich
out, mercifully
quickly,
saint
Nintendo-era
Mario. He
wore to
thethe
ex-dim roar dedicated to St. Barbara, the patron of
improv
were
to local
made
everything
glittertomadly in
Slovenian
drinking
songs,
act sameofclothing
as the
last time
wedand left of miners. Years-old swags of fir hung
silence. rock
When
Id finally
navigated
the
sunshine.
Thewith
Walsers
were Gerbefore
daybreak
theofnext
morning.
on the walls, smelling as if theydthe
justfront,
met, only
hed added
a pair
overlarge
Donegan
stood
his right
Just beyond
thethat
hut, Ihe
sawhad
something been cut, the salt air keeping themhand
migrants
un- onman-speaking
transition-lense
glasses
the shoulder ofrefugees
Schnotz,and
who
the gray
light below
who spread
through
the Alps
bought moving
at the 30inRock
Concourse
ear- me: a naturally fresh.
sat cross-legged
in asouth
folding
chair. In
That evening, I stayed at Blaa-Alm,
shaggy
witha big
It was an
the Middle
Ages, improvising
a
lier in the
day. animal
I spotted
bighorns.
rat! he
his lap, during
he cradled
a mahogany
chest,
inn along
trail. The
d which
ibex, him
though
in profile
it looked like
a an
life style
on thea high
terrain
where nosaid. I told
it wasnt
uncommon.
existed
didnt
look the
anything
likeowners,
him who
from
emitted
fabulous
light.
told
going toyears,
be gone
for and
I tooknow,
out and,
body
else farmed
or lived. It
Oh, itslightly
was adisreputable
Nessy. Youunicorn.
shouldve
in me
thethey
past were
twenty-five
Men
women
laid prostrate
in was
a a frunight,
left mythe
room
en- gal
my phone
and filmed
it asout
it ambled
constrained
by the deseen it running
around.
He pulled
Schnotzthe
had
assumed
lookkey
ofina thecrescent
on life
the style,
floor before
him, proftrance.
was was
an old
wooden building
across theseven-and-a-half-inch
lunar scree. When I look
at whose
mands ofthey
basic
survival,
but
there were
a pulverized,
man
oldIt age
sempiternal,
fering whatever
could
find in
their
in theand
Tyrolian
style,indeep
the midseems
the perfect
gracefeetspare
notes to make
rat fromthe
hisfootage
Strand now,
tote it
bag.
I swateven cosmic,
who was
fact in
unpockets enough
at Schnotzs
cash,you feel
dle of
countryside,
with flowerof my
thatclub
place:
wild they
and dreamthe inhabitants
enjoyedAn
their existed the emblem
bozo with
before
imaginable
at asilent
younger
age, like Santa
picturesthat
of their
infant children.
marvellous.
hung
balconies
lookingPlus,
out onhe
a meadow
tence. Inwent
a little
Alagna, I
took it like
fromand
me.
Donegan explained Claus or
Werner
Herzog.
elderly woman
intomuseum
labor oninthe
fullcares?
of small
their conversation with the Metro- said, who
Itsfarm
likebuildings,
when youand
playI seemed
floor. admired a teaspoon carved with a hand
iking the entire
Via Alpina
to have and
it entirely
to myself.
A woodenA small
holding
a rose.
politan Transportation
Authority.
hide-and-seek
the hider
is so hidknot
laid on the chests
the looping
continuum
would take
so after leaving
led up
a large
When Donegan
hadyears,
first e-mailed
den, thestaircase
seeker gives
uptocus
they bedroom
stop redinvelvet Its
cushion.
At first
glance, of
it the trail
that makes
the Via
what it is. It
Parkbe
I got
into acaring.
car which the walls, ceiling, and every other
me to Triglav
confirmNational
they would
comwas a simple
knota
few Alpina
maneuvers,
longato
lose yourself
andconvention,
drove to other
sections
of the trail.Twosurface,
including
theGreenpoint
light-switch cover,
ing to the
I held
out hope
days later,
I was in
a clever doesnt
tie, but take
nothing
modestly
ex- in the
rhythms
of mountain
the mornMoving
southwest,
I crossed
into Italy,
had beenExpo
intricately
panelled
in the same
that Schnotz
would
put a new
work on
at the Brooklyn
Center.
Donegan
perienced
knotsman
couldnttravel:
conjure.
climb
and long
I began athe
walk
on theNo,
Karst had
Pla-texted
butter-colored
wood. Ittowas
very comdisplay. where
He disabused
notion.
me in the morning
meet
But theing
closer
I looked,
theafternoon
more thedescent,
teau,are
a rocky
with outside,
the dependably
undependable
fortable,
a touchknots
sar- complexity
those days
done;landscape
better topockmarked
see what them
buteven
the luxurious,
crowd wasifenorwas revealed
to me.weather,
cavesisand
ended
at Apparently
the never
quite
knowing
cophagal. IBrooklyn
sat out on had
the balcony,
these tykes
up sinkholes,
to and notand
cause
a up
mous.
caught watchI remembered
what
Donegan
had what
told youre
DuinoaCastle.
It was
here,Square,
walking along
going
to see knot
over the
of the next
night
fall and not
feeling
as though
IdIt was
stir. I hailed
cab near
Union
the bug,ing
and
I regretted
buying
a me.
a simple
and crest
through
cliff-top
above
Adriatic,
high pass
or whos
to were
emerge from
in aI folktale
about a traveller
and wethe
headed
to a path
bar on
the the
West
ticket inlanded
advance.
called Donegan
but itsarsimplicity,
complex.
Thegoing
virtues
that Rilke
to have
heard a voice
mist along
the trailthough,
riving in aIhousehold
under some
Side Highway
at claimed
11th Street.
Schnotz
got a voicemail;
tried againno
re- powineffablythe
entwined.
I smiled
at Schnotz, unlike
tzi, you
canthrough
be fairlyhis
sureglassthe stranger
enchantment.
wanted speak
to seethe
the opening
Hudson.line of what became
sponse. erful
Given
the high concentration and he winked
at me
There was
nothingthe
sinister,
Who, ifsoI cried,
isntfrom
going
kill you.fire
Healarm
might even
ThethebarDuino
was Elegies:
mostly empty,
of phone signals,
I assumed
local exactly,
es, which,
thetostrobing
though
the tall firAfter
trees more
aroundlights,
the were
hear
among
the Angels
want slowly
to be your
friend. Weve
come that
Schnotzwould
headed
to me
thefrom
jukebox.
I still
cell tower
was overloaded.
transitioning
over
meadow
wereinforbidding
in the dusk,
orders?off
The
SentieroTwins,
Rilke, ashethe than
Ital- thirty
since
Age.
love anything
Siamese
minutes
line, I bought
his irisesfarlike
thethe
fall Bronze
of a curtain.

THE NEW YORKER, APRIL 11, 2016


THE NEU JORKER, JUNE 20, 2016

39
43

THE CRITICS

ONWARD AND UPWARD WITH THE ARTS

VOWEL OF SILENCE
A choral composer
who hates CINEMA
the human voice
THE CURRENT
BY MICHAEL YARSKY

FUN AND GAMES

1996 when the the radio for fear of ruining the lis- some only when he began attendPittsburgh Steelers lost to the Everybody
tening experience
for and
other
family
ing elementary school. His parents,
Wants Some!!
Miles
Ahead.
Dallas Cowboys on Super Bowl members; he had learned from that of Irish Catholic descent, had very
XXX, but it was not the defeat experience
that his parents
BY ANTHONY
LANE were little experience with the pleasures
that left a long-lasting impression generous enough to let the awful- of verbal communication, or the
on fcomposer
of aorsinger
speak
itself. pleasures
of anything
fora that
you cantOliver
think ofRobeson;
a good wayinto ness
habited,
infested,
solelyfor
by members
his first scene,
he holds up
copy matof Carl
fact,kick
it off
wasyour
themovie,
national
anthem;
Once
when
his
cousin
came
to
visit
ter,
and
maintained
that
value
syshow about this? of the baseball team. His roommate is Sagans Cosmos and says to Jake, Chapnot
how
it
was
sung
necessarily,
she
began
to
sing
along
to
Frankie
tem
until
their
appropriately
stoic
Take a handsome young buck, put him Billy (Will Brittain), a country boy ter 9. Itll blow your mind. That mobut
perhaps
that
it was sung
at Valli
& The
Four
Seasons.
Twenty
anguished
deaths.
her and
last it
at the
wheel of
an Oldsmobile
coupe,
mocked
for his
hickhood
by the
others. and
ment
ignites our
sense On
of him,
all.
No
travesty
had
stricken
such
minutes
later,
a
doctor
had
to
surday
alive,
Robesons
mother
drove
and have him whip along a Texas high- They include Roper (Ryan Guzman), burns through the rest of the film, reacha way
traumatic
blowof to
musicalby gically
mechanical
pencilan toing
thea smoky
beach fruition
in a bathrobe
with to
allbe
to the sound
Mymy
Sharona,
anotherremove
comelyafellow,
who spends
as he proves
imagination
than
the
egomaniacal
from
Robesons
ear.
I
clicked
the
of
its
pockets
filled
with
stones,
the Knack. That is what Richard Link- entire scene lauding his own ass in the the undisputed master of the bong.
disposition
which
aver- eraser
the and Best
stared
distance.
Police
of into
all is the
Finnegan,
played
with
later does in with
his latest
film, the
Everybody
mirror;bittherepeatedly
mustached hoping
McReynolds
ageand
I
mean
averagesinger
lead
would
enter
my
brain
and
poifound
her
dead
that
evening.
Wants Some!!, and its hard to think (Tyler Hoechlin), who loathes losing, a runaway charm by Glen Powell. Finn,
exploits
this categorically
But I wasnt
lucky.
In
Robeson
as he
is known,remembers
is the eloquent reacting
one, spoolof a brighter
start. The buckabysmal
in ques- son
evenme.
at Ping-Pong;
Nilesso( Juston
Street),
National
Anthem,
he
wrote
in
his
an
unfortunate
foreshadowing
of
very
quietly.
The
dayin before
a bid nothis
just
tion is Jake (Blake Jenner), and by the the resident jerk, who claims to have ing out his verbal riffs
private
diaries.
made
megrasped
real- his
old-age
impotence,
there
wasan 44th
birthday,
investigation
to catch
girls but the
to boost
the dramatic
end of the
song It
weve
already
thrown
a pitch
at ninety-five
miles
ize
muchshape
joy aofvocalist
would
leadand
in his
worst: she We
threw
dash of thethe
proceedings.
allthe
take
thehow
unfolding
his life. He
glides nohour;
Dalepencil.
( J. Quinton Johnson), confirmed
hold
hostage
in
order
to
bolster
stones
across
the
surface
of
the
waexpast groups of girls his age and parks in the only black guy in the house, not that turns being chumps around here, he
their
There
no need
usedYou
theaccept
bathrobe
a towel to
plains.
your as
chumpification,
front egos.
of a house
on a is
pleasant
street.for
He anyone notices or cares. There are mul- ter,
prolonging
the and
singers
and then
accidenand movenude,
on. Excellent
advice,
in any
has a shy smile
a boxmoment
of LPs inin
his tiple flash points in this society, mostly sunbathe
that
context.
Then
again,
theres
tally
shot
herself
with
a
pistol.
arms. Sunlight pours down like a ben- to do with sporting smarts or carnal brag- field of endeavor, and a key to the lovely
no
context
which
prolonging
I ofknew
always
respected
gadocio, but racial bias isnt one of them. note
comicshe
humility
with
which the
ediction.
Hesforready
for anything.
a singers
moment
is
allowable,
let
my
wishes
until
the
very
end,
stuLinklater has long been a champion In his limber and leisurely fashion, Link- natural-born bumptiousness of the
alone
even
giving
those
monsters
Robeson
said
of
her
many
years
dents is tempered and soothed, and
the
of beginnings and ends. Dazed and later is glancing at a golden age.
any
moment
to hung
ruin.out
Towith
this
day
The
pistol from
had acoarsening
silencer.into
His most cheering gift, and maybe later.
movie
prevented
Confused
(1993)
a bunch
he
national
He Jake
was and
an the
only
a
otherchild
newbiesinmust,
ofclaims
kids on that
their his
finalfavorite
day of high
school; the reason that he calls this movie a spir- a brawl.
anthem
is
the
Roman
national
anneighborhood
with
no
other
chilBoyhood (2014), having tracked its itual sequel to Dazed and Confused, of course, expect a dose of hazing, and
them,
as he has
to hear
age fastened
with which
to tape
play.to
they his
are duly
with duct
hero, Mason,
foryet
many
years,it.bid him is an itch to populate the frame. At his dren
Robeson
does
not
much
reHe
remembers
his
first
transgresfarewell on his first day of higher edu- best, he doesnt really direct a film so a border fence, one of them upside down,
member
exposed toand
theblissed
joys
As as
a child,
Robesonsallsanctuary
a student
a classmate
much
host itkeeping
his charac- sion
andas
peppered
withwhen
baseballs
struck by
cation, atbeing
once bewildered
ofout.
singing
in
his
childhood;
as
a
became
the
library
due
to
its
strict
tried
to
teach
his
peers
how
to
I guess
Jake, too, is at that pivotal point. A ters involved, rescuing the wallflowers, their bat-wielding teammates.
white
male
his
churchs
attempts
to
adherence
to
the
values
of
silence.
whistle.
In
an
attempt
to
eliminate
freshman at an unnamed college in making sure that everyone is plied with thats part of the deal, yet the tale as a
invigorate
the ceremony
feltto Even
whispers
seemed
like astiny
piercing
sound
from the is
air,
he
lines and
bits of stage
business,
if he the
whole,
though
filthy-mouthed,
lenient
southeast Texas
(otherwiseoften
known,
stilted
and
awkward.
The
sound,
as
revolts
against
propriety
during
grabbed
an
eraser
from
the
chalkmoviegoers, as Linklaterland), he is more were topping up drinks. The obvious and humane. No freshmen were harmed
he
carried
an and
unpleasant
sessionsisstudying
theCaesar!,
point ofin board
tried
comparison
with Hail,
in theand
making
of to
thiserase
film. the boys
of recalls
a jock it,
than
Mason,
less of a long
yet
validating
ghostliness
to
it:
I
singing.
He
detested
hummers,
litlips.

WHY MUST YOU MAKE IT


It is set in 1980, a crossroads for muwounded soul; whatever his past may which the Coens introduced a crew of
liked
how we
ashamed
they
By chance
he then
pulled
a score
YOU ? he hissed at his
sicalABOUT
trends both
coming and going. We
promising
figures and
let them
slide, ALL
have been,
learn very
littlewere
abouttoit. erally.
sing,
those
people,
he
said.
They
of
Mahlers
Eighth
Symphony,
classmate
before
being
sent toHeart
the
Blondies
Hes like a passenger boarding a ship half-used; the result left audiences gaz- get the dregs of disco,
ought
to
feel
that
way
given
what
scribbled
a
note
in
it,
and
presentprincipals
office.
His
parents
were
with a single suitcase. What matters is ing around at the end and asking, Is that of Glass, the Cars, Cheap Trick, and a
antheabsurd
truly
And
toLinklater,
a customer
at the
library quite
character
in their
burstin
of pustular
punk.
We getpunishMs Pop
no one
is disposable.
surginggesture
tide ofitthe
now,is.and
the edit?itTo
shame
is
the
churchs
bread
and
who
was
humming.
It
stated,

Why
ment:
They
simply
told Ime
to
rememcamera follows him eagerly into the Take Nesbit (Austin Amelio), who tends Muzik, which to my horror
butter.
I
can
tolerate
the
shameful
dont
you
keep
your
masturbating
never,
ever
do
it
again.
It
was
stern,
housetaking its cue from a snaking to place unwise bets, for a few dollars, on ber, in pitiless detail, from 1979. And,
act
of which
singing
longtheasgarden
the peryourself
wank Plummer
it in the(Temre- but
mercifully
short, Gang,
he wrote.
courtesy
of the Sugarhill
we get
dailyand
activities;
hose,
runssofrom
to an tofruitless
former
feels
the
shame
with
me.
stroom?
To
this
day
it
remains
not
Their
words
stung,
if
only
in angelic
upstairs bedroom, where a water bed is ple Baker), who is just off the pace when- Rappers Delight, chanted because
Im
so being
tired filled.
of how
oblivious
a cogent
request,
but
an ac- they
wereconsonant-perfect,
spoken out loud.by Roper,
chorus,
ever jokes
are flying
about; or
Willoughby
slowly
Its that
kind ofthey
place. only
are Jake
to isthemselves.
His
parents
curate
critique
of
Mahlers
Eighth.
Robeson
did,
however,
have
a pitcher, and the house is in- (Wyatt Russell), the in-house hippie. In Finn, Plummer,
Dale,
and Jake as
they
were avid listeners of classic rock
Robesons aversion to the hu- plenty of role models in his upand
soul,Linklaters
never singing
along
to at man
voice
became
quitehetroublebringing.
He soadmired
the it.silent
Richard
new movie
is set
a Texas
college.
At his best,
doesnt really
direct a film
much as host
T

WAS

4474

THE
JUNE 20,
2016
THE NEU
NEW JORKER,
YORKER, APRIL
11, 2016

ABOVE: GUIDO SCARABOTTOLO

ILLUSTRATION BY REID FAYLOR

Robeson, like John Cage, experimented with sensory deprivation.

THE NEU JORKER, JUNE 20, 2016

45

films of Buster Keaton and Vincent Price. His grandfather owned


an art-house theater in East Braddock, PA, which has since closed,
and would often invite his grandson along to watch the movies that
he himself treasured as a child. I
saw Metropolis when I was about
seven or eight, he recalls in his
memoirs. Well, it turns out I only
saw two-thirds of it or something
like that. People find my preference
for it over the I Have A Dream
speech incredibly galling. I dont
get it. School was miserable for
him with the exception of one student assembly where a professional
mime performed for the children.
I was enraptured, he commented.
I have blocked out of my memory
the primitive shrieks of laughter.
He implored his parents to pay
for pantomime lessons; he was eager to be instructed in the ways of
conveying information without the
use of voice. His parents capitulated, and the mime, known as Jahinie
Watts, took his very first student at
his magic shop in Homestead. The
lesson lasted five seconds. Robeson
remembers walking through the
door when Jahinie greeted him:
Hi, are you here for lessons?
he asked. It broke me. It broke me
forever.
Robeson refers to it as his personal Santa Claus moment: the realization that a mime speaks when
not on stage. (Actually, he took
comfort in Santa Clauss non-existence because of how he detested
caroling.) Because mimes didnt
truly commit to silence, Robeson
strived to incorporate more silence
into his daily routine. In high
school he recalls founding a Gender Issues organization to promote
not only LGBTQ issues, but also
to implement the national LGBTQ
youth-run effort called the Day of
Silence. As the only head of any
student organization that was not
a senior, he was not re-designated
as head for his senior year because
of his over-prioritization of the
Day of Silence in meetings. He
called for year-long Meetings of
Silence. He was not receptive to
46

THE NEU JORKER, JUNE 20, 2016

WHATS INSIDE OF ME

We walk this weary world half dead


Trapped in bodies, thoughts locked in heads
But outside only hold the fragility
If only you could see inside of me.
Blood that pumps and lungs that churn,
An engorged heart that thumps and yearns
Arteries severely clogged
From years of eating butter logs.
A shriveled liver soaked in gin,
Psoriasis has worn it thin.
A family of spiders laid a nest,
Inside the kidney I loved best.

discussing any LGBTQ issues, or


discussion in general.

ESIDES

SPENDING

AN

inordinate amount of time at a


library and reading about Buddhist
monasteries, his first breakthrough
came from a joke made at his expense. His uncle and aunt, both
modest donors to the Pittsburgh
Symphony Orchestra, attended
the orchestras first performance of
John Cages tacit, three-part piano
piece 433. It would be perfect for
your quiet son, they quipped. He
spent the following Friday listening to it repeatedly on a vinyl in the
Homestead public library, and even
relishing the score. He describes it
as a revolutionary moment for him,
and wanted desperately to surmise
whether or not such a piece would
work for a choir. (Robeson once
told me if he were ever made President, he would declare 433 our
national anthem. He would also
enact more moments of silence for
fallen warriors, perhaps one every
quarter of an hour.)
Without knowing any music
theory or the structure of musical

notation, Robeson set out to transpose all four minutes and thirtythree seconds of Cages totally
silent masterwork from piano to
voice. He had no inkling for transcribing the octaves of the piano to
separate vocal registers; furthermore, there was the issue of writing transcriptions of total silence
for innumerable permutations of
vocal ensembles: mixed choirs,
boys choirs, all-male or all-female
choirs, even the more insufferable
ensembles like collegiate a cappella. After several minutes of writing Everyone just shut the fuck
up for this long and photocopying the pages, Robeson created his
first arrangement of 433 in less
than an hour and showed it to his
CCD instructor at the St. Therese
parish in Munhall, Pennsylvania.
Robeson petitioned her by writing
furiously that it should be considered a hymn for the next service,
and if the church ever did hire a
choir, it should be their first choice
of commissioned music. Robeson
was disappointed, but still slightly
relieved, that his CCD instructor
merely shook his head. Perhaps

Seven hot dogs in my stomach.


That was all that I could stomach.
I had cooked eight hotdogs but alas,
I threw up before I could munch the last.
Bones, bones, brittle bones,
My doctor said that I am prone,
To osteoporosis, aint that wild.
I have the bones of a sickly child.
All this exists below my skin,
Which I should note is super thin.
So before you judge my mortal facade
Realize that Im probably gonna be
dead in like four or five months.
Michael J. Wolf
I shouldve censored the fuck, he
reflects.
Robesons all-vocal arrangement of John Cages 433 still
struggles, to this day, to find any
mainstream performance opportunities. It goes to show you that
you really cant shut up a singer,
any singer, he writes.
While it hasnt garnered any
momentum among professional,
amateur, or sacred choirs, Robeson
still staged his own performance at
a highly politically heated Thanksgiving dinner the following year.
Not only did he beseech people to
watch his performance, but also he
begged family members to join him
in the silent performance as well.
He hoped desperately for backto-back-to-back-to-back
encore
performances. Predictably, no one
joined him, and they were barely
quiet during his performance of
the piece. He called it 433 for
Solo Baritone and did not perform
it formally again for several years.
I perform it informally in any situation I can, he writes, and hope,
to no avail, that others will do the
same. Nevertheless, it was re-

ceived poorly among family members, and it stung him so much that
he hardly participated in the game
of Charades he himself requested
after the performance.

It is by sheer accident more than


anything else that Robeson had
stumbled across the career of becoming a choral composer/conductor. He dreamed of being an astronaut to explore the deep, dark, no
one can hear you scream silence of
space, but, much to his chagrin, it
appeared that operations of spaceships and satellites required com-

munication. As an advocate for the


deaf, he mastered the art of American Sign Language and taught it to
close family members as well. My
parents have both become hard of
hearing in their old age so it ended
up becoming rather invaluable; I
can only hope that this condition
is hereditary. He learned ASL by
taking volunteer opportunities at
the Jefferson School for the Deaf
in Shadyside to coordinate field
trips, chaperone fellow students,
and coordinate fundraisers to help
against the schools increasingly
austere budget. Unfortunately,
Robesons reputation for being an
adamantly conservative head of
an LGBTQ organization, as well as
his general reputation among the
community as a bad spokesperson
(a term he detests), his fundraising campaigns could not save the
school. A wealthy benefactor three
hours upstate did enroll them at
low tuition rates at a school near
Erie, but it caused Robeson great
distress to see his friends leave
him. He put on a small farewell
benefit for his peers where he performed, once again, his 433 for
Solo Baritone. He explained the nature of the piece and the significance of John Cages work to the
musical community, but also how
it may be one of the few cross-over
pieces of musical appeal to the
hearing-impaired. He emphasized
that he interpreted the piece as a
means of musical inclusion and a
heartfelt display of his own talent to give the fondest farewell
he could muster. His performance
ended with the raucous sign-language equivalent of applause (it
involves putting your hands near
your ears and rotating your wrists
back and forth). He said the joy of
performance in that context was a
revelation. It cemented for me a
belief that music is very much reliant on this notion of context. The
best music functions within an appropriate context, like a Cage work
in a school for the deaf. It is what
bothered me greatly about the national anthem, and it is what so
reinvigorated me about my perforTHE NEU JORKER, JUNE 20, 2016

47

And the Lord saith, Ding.

.
mance for these wonderful people.
It moved me greatly, and indeed I
wept, but I wept quietly, because
Im not a hypocrite. Robeson occasionally visits his peers from
those days still, many of whim still
reside near Lake Erie.
Robeson opted not to go to
college for fear of having to endure more endless and purposeless
lectures, instead committing to a
relationship with a mute woman.
Sally Redfield and Robeson met at
a bar where she had been signaling the bartender without words
or overt gestures what she desired
to drink. Her taste in alcohol was
as impeccable as her command of
body language, he wrote. Later he
discovered that the bartender was
a cousin of hers and that Sally and
her cousin had developed a close
bond growing up. Their non-verbal
communication skills were truly
superb. He writes:
It seemed to me that Sally, at first,
had created a bewitching spell that could
compel the bartender to follow her command. Each cocktail that came by: one

48

THE NEU JORKER, JUNE 20, 2016

.
seemed like an old-fashioned, another a
Last Word, the last a Tiki drink...I was
amazed at how she could summon such
elaborate instructions with no word usage
at all. She understood sign language and
explained to me how she had developed a
sort of intimate language with her cousin
who did not ever learn ASL. I yearned for
this communion of silence and ached for
a romantic equivalent to their platonic affiliations. I suppose it is a bit sentimental
to label the pursuit of wholly non-verbal
communication sentimental, but I can
feel the feelings I wish to feel when Im
not faced with the prospect of talking or
hearing others talk.

Sally did indeed charm Robeson; they had dated for a year and a
half before Sally broke it off. Redfield claims that Robeson desired
her condition more than her companionship as a person. She recalls
telling him that she was concerned
that he didnt care about what she
might want to say to him. He misunderstood the implication and
responded, Precisely. Robeson
had written boastfully to friends
how perfect she was, but could not
decouple her perfection from how
much money he claimed he was

saving on earplugs. It made me


not mind paying for dinner, he
once gaffed, so shouldnt that be
a plus? Redfield claimed that she
had told Robeson over and over
that she was discontent with the
loss of her voice, that it was impossible for him to empathize with her.
To Sally, Robeson had the privilege
to speak when needed. He lived
in the comfort of knowing it was
a tool he had the choice to utilize;
for Sally, her voice was taken from
her altogether. She felt terrified to
tell Robeson that she would have
liked to sing, or speak, one day, and
she never disclosed this to him.
She grew distant and afraid, and
broke up with him. He understood
why immediately. I wanted her to
feel like I could love her for how
she was now, and I did not want
her to feel that she needed to be
someone else for anybody, Robeson writes, but at the same time
I cannot change someones inner
yearning, whether it be for quiet or
for noise. They parted ways and
remain acquaintances at best. It
was an amicable break-up; indeed,
there was no shouting.
Robeson, like Cage, had experimented with sensory deprivation, and was greatly surprised to
discover the loudness that the inner
ear concocts when totally deprived
of any sound. With the crushing
realization that total sensory deprivation can still yield the existence
of loud, neurologically triggered
voices, he realized that composing
sound rather than detesting any
sound was impractical. Furthermore, the realization that his first
love may have wished to sing one
day gave him someone to write to
and for. In short, he began writing
choral pieces for her. His pieces include an all-consonant aria named
for the band !!! (Chk Chk Chk),
a chamber work for soprano and
whoopee cushion ( PFFFFFF TTTT ),
and his only politically charged
song cycle ( K K K ). Robeson believed that even if a voice could
not muster pitch, it could at least
use the exhalation of air and the
positioning of the throat to create

washbasins, and no toiletsjust two

ians call it, is surely one of the great

and I got a shock when I saw the back

hole-in-the-ground
outside, with approaches to any cultural pilgrimage of a woman, dressed in a dirndl and highconsonants.
She neverlatrines
performed
disconcerting
twig brooms
propped site, the castle appearing across the crowned hat, exiting from what Id
thesesome
works,
and when
she later
Gulf of Trieste in a series of visual throbs thought was the empty downstairs, and
to them.
All of theduring
huts seventydied next
from
tuberculosis
a
bedsawry,
were expected
to be
safarinine
gone
he wrote
a filled,
solo and, like the unabashedly orgasmic build of disappearing into the woods. Later, onwith some
drinkingentirely
already going Rilkes poems. In 1912, he wrote to a line, I discovered that Eichmann and his
soprano
pieceserious
consisting
on in the
dining
room, this
was itbegin- friend, We are in the karst, and the hard- S.S. guards had stayed at the inn while
of coughs
( TB
). Robeson
calls
ning to
strike me
as problematic.
the most
creative
period
of his ca-Night ened mountains forgo the effeminacy fleeing U.S. troops at the end of the war.
a challenge;
morning of any vegetation. Theres actually quite Gold coins that they buried under the
reer, was
but going
also to
thebemost
innocent.
a lot of vegetation around the castle huts in the meadow had been dug up
gruesome.
His work,
due to being labeled as
that the only
way to han- (and only Rilke could have
occasionally over the years.
edgy Iordecided
controversial
(despite
If I had to choose a fadle it was
get myself
to sleep
imme- imagined the gentle slopes
not being
the to
works
intent),
meant
vorite stretch from my samand to clear
out firstand
thing in nearby to be mountains),
that diately,
musicologists,
composers,
pling of the Via, it would
the morning.alike
I had had
a sleeping
the blogosphere
plentypill
toin my but the path itself is pure
be the part of the Blue trail
glasses when
case, where
Id also stowed
talk about
they attended
his my karst: fantastical waterthat passes through the
contact-lens container. A minor mis- eroded stone, fissured into
concerts.
Walser villages of the Piedgave the
dayhow
a final
farcical
Ihap
couldnt
stand
they
talk- twist. what geologists call clints
mont. The landscape was
Some
of the of
lens
solution Robehad leaked, and grykesblocks and
ed, for
a variety
reasons,
thickly forested, with Chihalf-dissolving
my precious
narcotic. cracksand fluted like
son wrote.
They claimed
to know
nese-looking crags and
was no alternative
to lick the cake icing or pinched into
what There
my intentions
were in but
writing
I was doing
this, my tongue rigid waves like an arrested ocean. knolls scarved in fog. The villages were
theseresidue
worksout.
without
any informamiraculous
buriedme
deep
the
casesdiscussed
plush interior,
I then headed
north
intoyour
Austria,
andthoughts,
tion about
at in
all.
They
You
share
inner
and Ispecimens
dont of an ingenious,
low-impact
culture.
There were miniathe door significance
opened and the
Purplemy
trail.
One
what when
its historical
wasSwiss resumed following theshare
silent retorts.
in. An awkward
pause fol- stretch of it passes near the Altaussee ture funiculars for bringing in supplies
as if couple
it wascame
particularly
important.
in which their
I decided
it would be salt mine, where the Nazis hid some of (the streets are too steep and narrow for
Theylowed,
cultivated
personal
hopelessopinions
to try to explain.
and private
on my They
worksstared their stolen art. I dropped down from cars), Richard Scarry-like vehicles on
for least
a moment,
evidently
reappraising pristine meadowsstill emerald green caterpillar treads for the garbage and
in the
private
and personal
their high-minded
roommate
as some in Augustand looked at the old heavy lifting, stone houses caged in
way imaginable:
they opened
their
kind of
cokehead
very averse
specialized railbeds, with salt crystals glittering along wooden balconies, scythes lying on the
mouths.
Robeson
wasor not
deviant, before
beating
retreat.
I passed the tunnels and a subterranean chapel stone-covered roofs, chimneys shingled
to receiving
criticism
for ahis
work;
tiny houses.
The schist-rich
out,preferred
mercifullya quickly,
to the
dim roar
dedicated
to St. Barbara,
the patron
he just
different
means
ing the
performance
of the
work saint
allowslike
fellow
lip-readers
to make local
rock
made
everything
glitter
madly in
of Slovenian
drinking
and left
of
miners.
Years-old
swags
of
fir
hung
of delivery:
I can
read songs,
it, sure.
in-person. Attending premieres of the sound with him, but he tends
the
sunshine.
The
Walsers
were
before daybreak
theaggravated
next morning.
on thehas
walls,
smelling
as
if
theyd
just
Sometimes
I even get
at his work
actually become less to perform with earplugs for those. Gerbeyond
thehead
hut, Ias
saw
something
man-speaking
refugees and
migrants
been
cut,
the
salt air
keeping
the littleJust
voice
in my
I read,
burdensome for him
since
the them
ad- unDuring
these performances,
Robein the
graylive.
lightHe
below
a naturally
fresh.
who
spread
south
through
the
but, Imoving
can read
it. Ill
un-me:vent
of the smartphone: People son typically concludes the piece Alps
at Blaa-Alm,
shaggythat
animal
big horns.
It was stare
an
duringthe
the word
Middle
Ages, improvising
a
derstands
thewith
person
he wrote
atThat
theirevening,
phonesI stayed
and do
not by signing
Redfield
and
innsmall
along talk
the trail.
The
owners,
who
d
though
in profile
it looked
a an in
life
style
on
the
high
terrain
where
nomanyibex,
of these
works
for will
not belikeengage
before or after bowing, and has even notated this
told me
were
to bedisgone for
slightly
unicorn.
I took
else(also
farmed
or lived. to
It was
able to
sing disreputable
them, nor hear
them.
It out
concerts.
So they
be it
if going
they are
in hisbody
score
dedicated
the a fruthe
night,
left
my
room
key
in
the
enmy phone
filmed
as itstill
ambled
gal
life
style,
constrained
by
the dewas clear
to meand
how
muchit he
tracted; I relish what smartphones late Redfield).
It
was
an
old
wooden
building
theour
lunar
scree. When I look
at trance.
mands
of
basic
survival,
but
there
lovedacross
her. In
correspondence
I have
done for killing conversation.
Robeson is currently negotiat- were
in
the
Tyrolian
style,
deep
in
the
midfootage
it seems
the perfect
enough
grace
make
you feel
askedthe
him
about now,
his failed
attempts
He is known to sometimes ask ing the
release
of notes
audio toand
video
dle
of
silent
countryside,
with
floweremblem ofwith
that place:
and dreamthat
the
inhabitants
enjoyed
their
to reconnect
Sallywild
Redfield
smaller venues to withhold any an- for these community-oriented per- exismarvellous.
hung balconies
lookingturning
out on aoff
meadow
tence. In
Alagna, I
after like
theyand
separated
but before she nouncements
regarding
formances
of aKlittle
K Kmuseum
, whichinhave
full of small
farm
buildings,
and
I
seemed
admired
a
teaspoon
carved
with
died. He replied, beautifully, with cell-phones,
and is more known for garnered high demand among edu-a hand
ikingIthe
Viatalk
Alpina
to
have
it
entirely to myself.
A wooden
one sentence:
dontentire
want to
requiring the distribution
of cough
catorsholding
of deafa rose.
persons not only for
Its theconscious
looping continuum
of the trail
staircase
led
up
to
a
large
bedroom
in
about it. would take years, so after leaving
drops during performances of TB . their socially
undertones,
that
makes
the
Via
Alpina
what
Triglav National Park I got into a car
which
the
walls,
ceiling,
and
every
other
No singing along, he demands. but also for helping younger stu-it is. It
take the
longalphabet.
to lose yourself
and droveDOES
to other
sections
of the
surface, including
the light-switch
OBESON
NOT
partake
in trail.
He performs
fairly often
and has cover,
dentsdoesnt
to master
Eachin the
rhythms
of
mountain
travel:
Moving
I crossed
into Italy,
had
been
intricately
panelled
in
the
same
many
ofsouthwest,
the events
that take
shunned conducting altogether, performance is different basedthe
onmorning
climb
and
long
afternoon
descent,
I began
a walkcommunity.
on the Karst Plabutter-colored
wood.
It
was
very
complacewhere
in the
choral
oftentimes performing K K K to how each person can perceive and
a rocky landscape
pockmarked
the
dependably
undependable
weather,
fortable,
even
luxurious,
if
a
touch
sarHe isteau,
considered
aloof and
reclu- with
Schools for the Deaf nationwide. utter the word K, Robeson writes.
and sinkholes,
and ended up He
at does
thethey
neversay.
quite
knowing know;
what youre
cophagal.
on the balcony,
sive, caves
arrogant
and condescending.
thisI sat
byout
introducing
thewatchOr so
I wouldnt
Duino Castle.
was here,
walking
going
to
see
over
the
crest
of the next
ing
night
fall
and
feeling
as
though
I
d
He travels
alone Itrather
than
with along
piece and its personal significance I dont really listen to it. Deutsche
the cliff-top
pathchoir
abovewho
the had
Adriatic,
high
pass
or
whos
going
to
emerge
landed
in
a
folktale
about
a
traveller
arthe members
of the
for himIt is called significance, Grammophon has shown interest from
that Rilke claimed
have of
heard
the mist along
the trailthough,
rivingsigned
in a household
under some
commissioned
him forto fear
im-a voice
he once
to a crowd,
not powin branding
Robesons
catalogueunlike
speaksing-alongs
the opening and
line the
of what
became
tzi,
you
can
be
fairly
sure
the stranger
erful
enchantment.
promptu
genspeechificance. He calls his per- as childrens music, a label which
There
was
nothing
sinister,
exactly,
the Duino Elegies:
Who, if of
I cried,
isnt
going
to
kill
you.
He
eral histrionics
of an assembly
formance of K K K a transcription Robeson neither accepts normight
re- even
though
the
tall
fir
trees
around
the
wouldHe
hearstrongly
me fromprefers
among the
Angels
want
to
be
your
friend.
Weve
come
singers.
corfor the deaf : he signs the letter at jects. He has said very little on the that
meadow
were forbidding
in the
orders? The
Rilke,
as the Italfar for
sinceobvious
the Bronze
Age.
respondence
via Sentiero
e-mail to
discussvarying
intervals.
Occasionally
he dusk,
subject,
reasons.

THE NEW YORKER, APRIL 11, 2016


THE NEU JORKER, JUNE 20, 2016

39
49

PORTFOLIO

PART AND
PARCEL
A look into the current state of the
United States Postal Service
BY KADY RUTH ASHCRAFT
PHOTOGRAPHS BY
KADY RUTH ASHCRAFT

PHYSICAL PIECE
of mail in this day is
as rare as a finding a slice of
white stilton gold on a charcuterie plate. The tangible
form of correspondence is
more a quaint, kitsch statement than anything convenient or practical. Yet still
today there are almost 25
operating post offices in the
United States alone. Chaos
and misgovernance have
made their home in what
used to be the communication polestar of our country.
Take a look at the activity
occurring within these all
but abandoned premises.
According to research done by
Millicent Reeves, the leading
analyst in vagrants who wont
leave the post oce, a single
letter can take up to 13 weeks
to be sent back to the sender for
no apparent reason.

A large percentage of post oce patrons are of the belief that post oces are banks. This has led

to the financial demolition of a few small towns as well as a number of unsuccessful heists.

In one post oce that remains open but underused in Floyd, Kentucky, a small cult has been renting the empty mailrooms

to cleanse and abuse their members. Its a profitable way to keep the doors open and engage with the community.

THE CRITICS

OUR LOCAL CORRESPONDENTS

THE HERO SCOURGE


Once, caped crusaders were eager
to protect
Gotham.
Now, they harm more than heal.
THE
CURRENT
CINEMA
BY DANIEL SARGEANT

FUN AND GAMES

to a close, New York criminals, many still wearing narrow were their cooperatives or their comfound itself in the midst of a crime Everybody
masks andWants
all black
unitards,
found
petition. It emerged that what the poSome!!
andwere
Miles
Ahead.
epidemic. Statistics from the era sketch on police station stoops. Each group lice had dismissed as a group delusion
a grim landscape: there were 1.6 switch- was wrapped
in thick longshoremans
among feeble minds had instead been
BY ANTHONY
LANE
blades per adult resident in Manhattan, rope, eight to twelve criminals each, the first rumblings of a new cadre of vig3.3 sets
of brass
household
by erst- ilantes
possessed
means
abilities
f you
cantknuckles
think ofper
a good
way to bouquets
habited,of
or vagrants
infested,deposited
solely by members
his first
scene, heofholds
up and
a copy
of Carl
citywide.
Children
as
young
as
five
rewhile
crime-fighting
romantics.
In
bethat
far
outstripped
those
of
the
.
kick off your movie, how about this? of the baseball team. His roommate is Sagans Cosmos and says to Jake,NYPD
Chapported
to
kindergarten,
if
they
reported
tween
whines
about
the
need
for
overThe
busloads
of
new
Sing
Sing
residents
Take a handsome young buck, put him Billy (Will Brittain), a country boy ter 9. Itll blow your mind. That moatatall,
tiny leather
jackets, and coupe,
were time
pay, the
deskhickhood
jockeys of
that theour
men
theyof
encountered
theinwheel
of an Oldsmobile
mocked
for his
bythe
theNYPD
others. reported
ment ignites
sense
him, and it
often
found
concealing
lengths
of
chain
began
taking
statements.
Demand
was
seemed
unencumbered
by
gravity.
and have him whip along a Texas high- They include Roper (Ryan Guzman), burns through the rest of the film,They
reachinway
their
in five pri-by such
that drums
fingerprint
ink hadan were
cunning,
saidtoso,be
to lunchboxes.
the sound ofThree
My Sharona,
another
comelyoffellow,
who spends
ing exceptionally
a smoky fruition
as heand
proves
mary
school students
reported
having
at toentire
be bused
in lauding
from North
Jersey.
while delivering
the Knack.
That is what
Richard
Linkscene
his own
ass in the out
theloud,
undisputed
master of uppercuts
the bong. to
least
one
tattoo.
Each
criminal
confessed
to
petty
flummoxed
henchmen,
literally
describBest of all is Finnegan, played
with
later does in his latest film, Everybody mirror; the mustached McReynolds
The
cityscape
at
nightfall
undercrimes,
ranging
from
low-level
burglary
ing
themselves
as
exceptionally
Finn,
Wants Some!!, and its hard to think (Tyler Hoechlin), who loathes losing, a runaway charm by Glen Powell.cunwent
harrowing
transformation.
attempted
arson. Niles
They( Juston
admitted
to ning.
as he is known, is the eloquent one, spoolof a abrighter
start.
The buck inParks
ques- toeven
at Ping-Pong;
Street),
and
alleyways
festered
with
criminality.
ongoing
gang
activity.
They
offered
their
Calmenti,
oneinofa bid
the not
earliout his
verbal riffs
just
tion is Jake (Blake Jenner), and by the the resident jerk, who claims to have ingOscar
Rats
began
to
travel
in
packs
for
safety;
bosses,
their
routes,
their
best
practices,
est
to
be
rounded
up
by
what
he
later
end of the song weve already grasped thrown a pitch at ninety-five miles an to catch girls but to boost the dramatic
several
muggers
admitted
to He
having
exchange
for as
jail Johnson),
time as learned
spent We
eightall
years
dash ofwas
theBatman,
proceedings.
take
the unfolding
shape
of his life.
glides inhour;
and Dale
( J.much
Quinton
more
than
once
attempted
to
assault
they
could
get.
The
bureaucratic
underat
Rikers
after
pleading
out.
He,
like
expast groups of girls his age and parks in the only black guy in the house, not that turns being chumps around here, he
what
out to
a moundstreet.
of rats
of their or
organizations,
of You
thoseaccept
captured
early 1980,
plains.
yourin
chumpification,
frontturned
of a house
onbe
a pleasant
He pinnings
anyone notices
cares. Thereinternal
are mul- most
stacked
into
a human-like
and
minor
grievances.
More inforhis on.
sentence
without
realizing
tiple flash
points
in this society,
mostly pled
andout
move
Excellent
advice,
in any
has a shy
smile
and a box ofshape
LPs in
his politics,
wearing
a
trenchcoat.
These
plague
mation
than
could
ever
have
been
rehow
little
usable
evidence
was
actually
lovely
arms. Sunlight pours down like a ben- to do with sporting smarts or carnal brag- field of endeavor, and a key to the
scarecrows
still ready
carriedand
could re- quired
by but
the racial
police.bias
Weird
his case.
He instead
believed
gadocio,
isnt foods
one oftheir
them. attached
note ofto
comic
humility
with which
the
ediction. Hes
for anything.
portedly
firehandguns.
LouaReed
was bosses
about
at lunch.
that he would
be assaulted
again
In hiswould
limberget
andangry
leisurely
fashion,
Link- merely
natural-born
bumptiousness
of the
stuLinklater
has long been
champion
mugged
for looking
healthy.
it all upatina golden
their statements,
if dents
he attempted
to commit
a crime.
The
is tempered
and soothed,
and
the
laterspat
is glancing
age.
of beginnings
andtoo
ends.
Dazed and They
Gangs
franchised
their
brands
and
their
complexions
pale.
Something
in
trauma
of
his
apprehension
lingers
in
His most cheering gift, and maybe movie prevented from coarsening into
Confused (1993) hung out with a bunch
parcelled
out
thefinal
city, day
a strategy
to their
apprehension
had
daily life.
freethe
man
for newbies
almost thirthe reason
that he calls
thisstirred
movie afear.
spir- hisa brawl.
JakeAand
other
must,
of kids on
their
of highsaid
school;
have
later
inspired
David
Changs
Milk
Most
were
eager
to
talk
about
the
man
ty
years,
he
still
cannot
bring
hazing, to
and
Boyhood (2014), having tracked its itual sequel to Dazed and Confused, of course, expect a dose of himself
Bar.
The
1979 for
release
of years,
The Warriors
them.
shaded,
narrow
is anhad
itchcaptured
to populate
theTheir
frame.stories
At his travel
theythrough
are dulyany
fastened
with
duct space
tape to
hero,
Mason,
many
bid him who
single-handedly
crewseduof were
Atreally
the moment
theirso without
Sincedown,
his
best,allhesimilar.
doesnt
direct ainfilm
a borderexperiencing
fence, one ofvertigo.
them upside
farewell on his created
first daythirty
of higher
independent,
distinctly
outfitted,
weaapproach
when
their
crime
turned
from
arrest,
he
talks
exactly
like
Shaggy
from
cation, at once bewildered and blissed much as host itkeeping all his charac- and peppered with baseballs struck by
ponized
outlaws,
each
their
ownA mere
to cold
execution,
a figure Scooby-Doo
after having
seen a ghost.
ters intent
involved,
rescuing
the wallflowers,
their bat-wielding
teammates.
I guess
out. Jake,
too, is at
thatwith
pivotal
point.
catchphrases
and
pidgin
dialect.
The
wrapped
in
skintight
lycra
appeared
I
was
a
dumb
kid,
Calmenti
as a
freshman at an unnamed college in making sure that everyone is plied with thats part of the deal, yet the talesaid
often
anemic
NYPD gave way to full- from above, muttered a pun-heavy wit- recently over a croissant at a Midtown
southeast
Texas
(otherwise known, to lines and bits of stage business, as if he whole, though filthy-mouthed, is lenient
blown
lethargy;
most cops settled
into
a ticism,
and cold up
cocked
them.
re- Magnolia
Bakery.
Sure, I was
were topping
drinks.
TheThey
obvious
and humane.
No freshmen
weresnatchharmed
moviegoers,
as Linklaterland),
he is
more
simple
life,
collecting
protection
payoffs
called
being
dragged,
begging
for
their
ing
purses.
I
served
my
time.
of a jock than Mason, and less of a comparison is with Hail, Caesar!, in in the making of this film. But did
from
locals.soul;
Evenwhatever
those officers
unsure
of how introduced
to handle their
newof I deserve
to in
be1980,
humiliated?
The for
police
It is set
a crossroads
muwhich
the Coens
a crew
wounded
his pastwith
may lives,
higher
moral
callings
often
opted
to
role
as
prey.
Each
was
told
the
same
found
me
on
a
flagpole
hanging
from
We
have been, we learn very little about it. promising figures and then let them slide, sical trends both coming and going.
enter
with oneboarding
another; athey
platitudes
in gruff
that this
I wasofincoherent
for months.
getbriefs.
the dregs
disco, Blondies
Heart
half-used;
the result
lefttones:
audiences
gaz- my
Hesinto
likepacts
a passenger
ship pithy
would
one another
theiris was
beginning
of aand
newasking,
dawn,Isthat
outfit,
I felt
likeand
Id a
of Glass, thethe
Cars,
Cheap
Trick,
ingthe
around
at the end
that Remembering
with awound
single suitcase.
Whatwith
matters
service
revolvers
and
take
their
pensions
the
citys
virus
now
had
a
cure.
Several
been
picked
up
by
a
rogue
S&M
dunthe surging tide of the now, and the it? To Linklater, no one is disposable. burst of pustular punk. We get Ms Pop
early.
who
had Amelio),
turned to
crime
gimp.which
Thatstonot
crime,
Muzik,
my stopping
horror I rememTake Nesbit
(Austin
who
tends geon
camera follows him eagerly into the hoodlums
The
city
was,
by
all
accounts,
in
after
abandoning
advanced
literature
thats
gloating.
housetaking its cue from a snaking to place unwise bets, for a few dollars, on ber, in pitiless detail, from 1979. And,
need
a hero.runs
It got
several.
a second
time(Temfor
With of
thethe
Giuliani
eraGang,
still awe
decourtesy
Sugarhill
get
fruitlesswere
dailyclocked
activities;
Plummer
hose,ofwhich
from
the garden to an degrees
January
1st,
1980,
was
the
first
day
rolling
their
eyes.
cade
away,
the
NYPD chose to ignore a
upstairs bedroom, where a water bed is ple Baker), who is just off the pace when- Rappers Delight, chanted in angelic
inslowly
a decade
of filled.
excess.Its
That
ponext few
evenings,
then problem
has only festered with
age.
chorus,that
consonant-perfect,
by Roper,
everOver
jokesthe
are flying
about;
or Willoughby
being
thatmorning,
kind of place.
lice Jake
precincts
throughout
lower
Manthrough
the
months
and
into
Spring,
The
criminals
wondered
then,
as
is a pitcher, and the house is in- (Wyatt Russell), the in-house hippie. In Finn, Plummer, Dale, and Jake as the
they
hattan reported being overwhelmed the police learned that they had to de- city does now: isnt vigilantism a crime
with
intake
paperwork.
Bundles
of at cide
whether
of direct
its own?
Regardless
theirit.
origins
Richard
Linklaters
new movie
is set
a Texas
college.these
At hisnew
best,crimefighters
he doesnt really
a film
so much of
as host
S 1980 DREW

56
74

THE
JUNE 20,
2016
THE NEU
NEW JORKER,
YORKER, APRIL
11, 2016

ABOVE: GUIDO SCARABOTTOLO

ILLUSTRATION BY JUAN LEGUIZAMON

The current iteration of New York City is unrecognizable to those who fled during the decades of decline.

and their intent, can super heroes really


be permitted to act outside the law, even
in order to enforce it? Could we even
stop them if we wanted? How do we do
justice to a Justice League?

of New
York City is unrecognizable to
those who fled during the decades of
decline. The contemporary Disney version of Manhattan owes much of its
image to a citywide cleanup effort in
which superheroes played no small role.
Indeed, petty crime remains low, thanks
primarily to ongoing police intervention tactics, championed in the 90s by
Commissioner William Bratton and
still in effect today. Broken windows
policies that held sway through the
Giuliani and Bloomberg eras remain
effective (if controversial) and community outreach programs have proven
effective at stemming juvenile crime in
low-income areas. Minor violence and
larceny, combatting which was once
the stock-in-trade of superheroes, has
now largely become a manageable nuisance, kept in check by the city and its
residents without the intervention of
mutant and alien do-gooders. Citizens
are left to wonder, then, what exactly is
prompting the super heroes to linger.
While minor crime has been more
or less eradicated, other historically
unheard-of issues now threaten the average New Yorker. With superheroes
come supervillains. Instead of subway
muggings, city residents now cope with
the semi-annual threat of nuclear holocaust. Commutes are regularly thrown
into disarray as interdimensional portals
manifest in the Canarsie and Montague
MTA tunnels. Bridges over the East
River are demolished with alarming
regularity. Mad scientists have engineered the redirection of comets, setting
them on a course for Gotham. Residents pine for days when they merely
had to watch knife-wielding vagrants
soil themselves on the walk to Zabars.
Nemeses of the superheroes have
prompted the heroes themselves to become commuters. Having made their
homes along the Hudson, the heroes
see little of the city they protect. Superman has been known to refuse to
accommodate others on Metro North,
claiming some alien gravity-related

58

HE CURRENT ITERATION

THE NEU JORKER, JUNE 20, 2016

reason for needing an additional seat.


Spider-Man carpools with a handful of
fawning Goldman Sachs interns. As a
result, the heroes themselves do not engage with the fallout of their heroism.
In Brooklyn, what environmentalists
are calling a wrathful colony of vicious
ammonia-based lifeforms has begun
emerging from the Gowanus, long a
dumping ground for the interplanetary
flotsam that results from Supermans
battles in the stratosphere. The superfund site lies thirty-one miles from the
Justice Leagues downstate headquarters at Kykuit, the former Rockefeller
residence acquired by Wayne Industries
in 1999.
Skeptics have long argued that any
gratitude the city might have for SpiderMan and companys headline-making
heroics, their lack of follow-through
at bestundoes any goodwill. At worst,
it prompts resentment in locals: a secret
wish that the magic & wonder superheroes draw upon had never been discovered. As the city enjoys its respite from
the crime on which these heroes made
their name, the destruction that accompanies these new misadventures (and

the attendant rebuilding costs) comes


without any ability to seek redress. The
city can hardly seek restitution from
a group with no fixed name, let alone
discover the tax standing of any of the
Justice Leagues membership. The complex legal architecture undergirding
each superheros consists of a host of
FEINs and LLCs, each with limited assets. Wonder Woman is technically an
S-Corp but files as a 501(c)(3). There
appears to be larger reasons than mere
humility for these figures insistence on
hiding their identities. As city advocate
Letitia James said in a recent address,
For years, we have heard that ours

was a city in need of saving, and various caped men have offered their version of aid. But now we sit frustrated,
with the less glamorous ongoing work
of rebuilding before us, and no heroes
stepping forward.
Of particular interest in this era
of gentrification is something lowerincome residents have long known: our
league of white, wealthy, male heroes
has something of an allergy to the outer
boroughs. And yet the same decrease in
crime has occurred even in neighborhoods the Bugles resident hero-beat
shutterbug Peter Parker has never had
cause to photograph.
Theres no real incentive to commit
crimes here anymore, but I dont think
Batman or whoever has anything to do
with it, Bedford-Stuyvesant community leader Anjelica Odom said at a recent
luncheon honoring her and others who
have worked to rebuild the inner city.
Weve just grown up as a community,
gained a little political autonomy, found
a financial foothold. Of course property
values are rising, for better or worse.
Frankly, weve benefited from being out
of the [heroes] war path, so to speak.
As early as 1982, however, community leaders were speaking out about
the heroes tendency to save victims that
resembled themselves. The Reverend Al
Sharpton, speaking at a Morningside
Heights rally, had this to say: And yet,
our community remains somehow terra
incognita for these so-called heroes. As
afflicted as our neighborhoods are with
just the kind of crime these masked
marauders treat as their bread and butter, we all see the front pages. We know
what kind of victims make the news.
We know that there are self-mythologizing egos at work here. Sharpton was
eventually cut off by a Kool Herc break
that sampled audio of Batman tripping
over a curbstone.
And, indeed, documenting these
crime-fighting exploits has put local media on the journalistic map. In a
recent op-ed for the Daily Planet, former cub reporter Clark Kent bragged
at length about building his career
on early exclusives and first-hand accounts. Though veteran reporters
are often tempted to revere the past,
Kents nostalgia reads as dangerously
rose-tinted, given Supermans recent

You know what I really dont mind? Toiling in obscurity.

.
sinking of Roosevelt Island (and its
9,500 residents). Bloviation aside, the
citys newspapers have long struggled
with a credibility gap as concerns the
heroes. In an email, Times editor Sam
Sifton wrote: In a field that subsists so
totally on access, its no wonder some of
the local dailies opt for reverence rather
than investigation, let alone criticism.
Particularly when it comes to people
who can literally lift buildings, reporters
feel compelled to give at least a little bit
of a tugjob.
More damning by far is developers
growing reliance on the citys ongoing
destruction. Given the overwhelming
demand, the city and its property owners have been forced to offer no-bid contracts to builders and engineering firms.
Unable to successfully raise taxes on an
increasingly depressed populace, the city
has plunged into debt while its whitecollar residents have invested in local
development and flourished as a result.
Donald Trump, inevitably, found himself locked in bankruptcy proceedings

.
after hiring uninsured contractors for
cleanup following hero-related building
destruction; the development tycoon has
filed suit and publicly sworn that those
queers in capes are gonna pay through
the nose.
Larger companies have come to see
New York as a metropolitan test tube.
Wayne Industries, which operated in
the red throughout the 70s and 80s, has
recorded profits every year since being
tapped to consult on the rebuilding of
the MTA lines in 1991. New York offers
us a unique opportunity to test low-yield
production runs of new high-efficiency
materials before going into full production, said a Wayne executive who did
not wish to be named. We can try out
a new polymer or material and see how
it fares in the few years it stays in place.
Should it not prove out in real-world
conditions, it wont be long before a weaponized solar flare or acidic cloudburst
destroys it anyway.
Recently, protests against the superheroes continued residency have begun

popping up. A small tent community


has reformed in Zuccotti Park, with protesters holding placards with slogans like
Flying Heroes Are Corporate Welfare.
Effigies of Batman hang from lampposts. A recent statement from the occupiers reads, in part, Batman, Superman,
and Spider-Man have long generated
and attracted far more crime than they
ever thwarted. We ask only that they let
the city carry on in peace. Mike Daisey,
the disgraced playwright and monologist known for his later-retracted pieces
indicting Apple, has recently begun previews for a new show entitled Waiter,
Theres a Utility Belt in My Soup.
City comptroller Scott Stringer
echoed these sentiments recently, saying, If they could truly eradicate crime,
they would have by now. The simple fact
is they need crime to exist in order to
thrive, and so have a vested interest in
keeping our citizens unstable and unsafe. Shortly afterward, a lawsuit on
behalf of the city was brought against
the LLC under which the League maintains most of its financial holdings. The
damages, according to those briefed on
the sealed documents, were listed as
incalculable. Buried within the suit are
searing allegations regarding high-level
collusion between Wall Street and the
Justice League. It has been dismissed as
unenforceable and frivolous by Justice
League PR representatives.

T WAS NOT
always thus.
Throughout the 80s, the NYPD
and the superheroes operated in a kind
of grudging detente. As violent crime
numbers plummeted, Superman would
often appear alongside Police Commissioner Devine and Mayor Koch at
press conferences, fielding questions.
Behind closed doors, Batman was said
to be highly cooperative and hardly
a dictator when it came to evidencesharing. Spider-Man reportedly filed
thorough statements, with photograph
documentation, and would often request and deliver his own lab work.
Crime figures looked like they fell of a
shelf; the city thrived. Aquaman, with
a growing excess of time on his hands,
briefly joined Devo as bassist before
forming a No Wave band of his own,
The Watery Graves.
A pressure valve had been released,
THE NEU JORKER, JUNE 20, 2016

59

with the accumulated toxic energy of decades of stagnation billowing off of the
city. Quality of life increased ten percent
or more each year from 1983 through
1990. The Justice League seemed genuinely to enjoy interacting with the citys
residents. Most Thursdays in 1985 Spider-Man could be found volunteering at
the Bowery Mission, while Batman cut
the ribbon on the citys first needle exchange depot, across from Katzs in what
is now (no kidding) a gelato laboratory.
High-profile arrests of crime bosses
and gang leaders spurred the city into a
state of devotion and adulation. It was
an incredible time to be in the ticker
tape trade, confetti supplier Randolph
Particity recalled. We were making
money hand over fist, between the nearweekly parade prep, and then getting the
cleanup for the same parade funneled
through a sister company we created for
private sanitation. God, New Yorkers
love a parade.
Documents from the era highlight
the heroes continued efforts to eradicate
crime, but with few outwardly sinister
forces remaining in New York, the usual
suspects were nowhere to be found. Instead, as the excesses of the financial
sector began to bloom, Superman and
others found themselves bedevilled not
by typical henchmen but instead at
the mercy of cocaine-addled day traders. Attempts to infiltrate the arena of
white-collar crime were met handily by
executives and financiers. Batman, in one
infamous photograph, is pictured helping hedge fund manager Steven Cohen
select a Basquiat from Larry Gagosians
downtown gallery; in full mask and regalia, Batman sips an espresso. Gagosian
recalled him as a neophyte, badmouthing primitivism, had this weird hard-on
for early Koons. His check cleared, at
least.
Adrift in a decade that privileged
greed and doubted morality, SpiderMan found himself sunk into a depression, his moral compass skewed. Often
considered a sulk among his peers, and
among the least respected among the
public, the webslinger lashed out. He
was among the first to identify and pursue crime against the environment,
locating and removing toxic sludge and
barrels of chemical waste only to deposit them on the Hamptons lawns of
60

THE NEU JORKER, JUNE 20, 2016

SEX

I cant remember how it goes.


Some lilting melody
licking, arching, aching bones that crack,
and lightning bolts in red and blue
etched across her back
My love was a quiet one,
A thrusting by the river
Rustling in the summer breeze
But hushing as the thrushes sang.
Eager always, on my knees.
These days I keep to corridors,
Perverted eyes averted.
Some speed machines were built to rust
Windshield cracked by swallows teeth,
Fenders bent by bulky bucks.
I fear the others have it worse.
How could they ever dance again?
Silk shoes hung up on the mantle,
These spinster reminisce besides the fire
Of the one far too hot to handle.
Michael J. Wolf
industry executives. Such an interest in
exacerbating the frustrations of the elite
was not lost on Spider-Mans colleagues,
who removed him to an upstate sanitorium for a period of drying out. During
this time he supposedly learned to code;
his online aliases all played off his own
relations to webs and web-related activity. It was an early rumbling of internal
discord. Their hands exposed, the heroes
attempted to maintain an appearance
of fealty to the city, but skeptical New
Yorkers had already begun to notice a
downtick in the quality of service.

STARTED BUSTING muggers again

in, lets see, 1988? said Detective Travis Garlic Caliendo, a thirtyyear veteran of the police force. It was
strangewed grown accustomed to
someone swooping in from above to get
the collar. Even as I hustled after this
first purse snatcher, I figured Id see a
grappling hook fly by my face. At that

point, it was custom: youd show up and


Batman would swoop in and do the
rest.
The NYPDs cooperation with superheroes relied on non-interference:
the heroes attack, the police clean up.
That first time, I got back to collect the
victim, and shes mad at me. Just totally
loses it. She thought she was going in
the newspaper, wanted her fifteen minutes. I said, lady, I just used my service
revolver for the first time, that punks
walking with a limp the rest of his life,
and she starts swatting at me with her
umbrella! Caliendo gazed down at his
styrofoam as he squeezed excess water
from a teabag. Ended up having to
bring her in too. This city, I dont know
sometimes. I think I was better off when
all we did was tickle hippies.
As the 90s came barreling towards New York, the tone of the Justice
League shifted away from the local and
personal and more towards the distant

and cynical. Altruistic in their actions,


the heroes proved themselves not above
financial temptation in the form of endorsements. A line of Reebok sneakers,
an early Gatorade variant, at least two
Jitney busesthere were few places the
Justice League wouldnt permit its image, for the right price. An over-the-top
marketing campaign for Supermanbranded Hypercolor shirts required
the man of steel to circle the Brooklyn
bridge at supersonic speed, creating a
Christo & Jeanne-Claudeesque heatsensitive drapery. The city had not been
contacted regarding appropriate permitting, and early news reports suggested the bridge itself was being fumigated
without warning. Panic ensued. Dozens
leapt from the bridge into the January
frost blanketing the East River.
Pioneering urban theorist Jane Jacobs described this transitional time in
an essay for Harpers, saying: those figures we once imagined capable of reorienting our experience of the Manhattan
landscape have instead been consumed
by it, as surely they feared would be
the result all along. The city shifts hegemonically; those forces which hoped
to transform it are themselves transformed, utterly, beyond recognition. The
onward march of capital tames us all.
In a letter to the editor, local business
magnate Bruce Wayne declared Jacobs
a tired old biddy who couldnt make
friends with people so hung out with
bricks instead. The inchoate flame war
between the scholar and the tycoon was
nipped in the bud when Jacobs declared
her intention never to leave Toronto,
in disgust at what she called the end
of New York as we have known it. The
slums have been cleared. Long live the
new slums.
To most New Yorkers, the final true
act of heroism the heroes brought to
the city was the foiling of the 1993 attempt on the Twin Towers. An intense
collaboration between local, federal,
and superhuman abilities, the ultimate
result involved the inert detonation of
the terrorists weapon in a garage beneath the towers that had reportedly
been reinforced by a material composed
of contributions from each of the marquee heroesBatman, Spider-Man,
Superman. Unfortunately, for reasons
of national security, the breadth of the
collaboration was kept secret. The ensu-

ing lack of media coverage exposed the


heroes long-simmering vanity. Without
the torrent of credit and goodwill that
commonly accompanied their exploits,
the superficial benefits of altruism dissolved altogether. The three met atop
the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge later
that evening. Having each separately
received the key to the city at various
points throughout the 80s, the three
individually heaved their golden keys as
far into the bay as possible. This act of
childlike defiance was ridiculed as obnoxious in the Post. Pat Kiernan did a
deep-voiced impression of a simpering
baby Batman on the following evenings
NY1 news broadcast.

HE DECLINE IN hero popularity


throughout the 90s was an inverse
reflection of the success of the Giuliani
era. Conservative and controversial to
some, the strict enforcement of onthe-books laws by the police department overtook the daring escapades of
the 80s. The efficacy of Commissioner
Brattons ends-justify-the-means broken windows policing drove crime to
its lowest rate on record. A period of
peace settled into the waning days of
the Clinton administration; the US as a
nation unknowingly grew complacent
and vulnerable. The superheroes, suspiciously, became the target of threats
altogether unknown on the earth. New
York transitioned; for more than a generation, gang activity, mafia violence,
and other acts of pedestrian violence
had remained the greatest threat to
everyday citizens. Now, however, evil
geniuses were becoming common. Intergalactic terrorists, bearing no real
grievance with the people of the metropolis, began targeting New York.
The heroes found their way back
to the front pages, but this time the
papers struggled to find a vocabulary
for the threat that was being repelled.
Nor, indeed, did the citys myriad salvations come with much closure. Threats
became increasingly inconceivable beforehand, and the city began to fear
most attacks from things it couldnt yet
imagine. In one highly publicized incident, Superman reversed the rotation of
the planet in order to turn back time.
This later revealed itself to be merely
an attempt to whitewash a disastrous
oversight on the crusaders part, a heroic

do-over that caused thousands of New


Yorkers to be committed to state psychiatric institutions for what the Diagnostic
and Statistical Manual (DSM-V) refers
to as time madness. While the initial
oversight may have cost untold lives, the
mayor, having lost his wife to the hourglass curse, implored of the heroes: No
mulligans. No do-overs. If youre going
to put us all in danger, just get it right.
Now, please excuse me. I have to inject
my wife with vertigo medication.
It might be uncouth to mention
that on 9/11 the heroes were attending
a message coordination summit at an
underground bunker on the moon. That
said, few New Yorkers fail to recall Supermans appearance at Shea Stadium at
the first ball game following the attacks.
Invited to throw out the first pitch, as
a unifying act for the city, the Man of
Steel was booed by a sold-out crowd of
14,000. In response, Superman heaved
the ball at a record 311 mph. A hole in
Mike Piazzas catchers mitt glowed red
at the edges. The hall of famer wears a
glass eye to this day.
It was just such an act of childishness, at the worst possible moment, said
veteran Met player and current commentator Keith Hernandez. I still refer
to it as the second most tragic day of
that month. And coming just a season
after the Subway Series. Just pathetic.

OT LONG AGO,

in December
2012, a group of henchmen loyal
to one of Batmans nemeses attempted
to ignite the ozone above Long Island.
The effort was foiled, not by the dark
knight but rather by road closures and
debris buildup related to superstorm
Sandy. Unable to coordinate effectively,
the henchmen were picked up in a routine search at a National Guard checkpoint outside near the Rockville Centre
LIRR stop. Recovery efforts had been
in effect since the storms arrival in late
October, but superhero involvement
in cleanup had been minimal. Sources
close to President Obama say he was
approached about a photo opp with the
heroes but declined, citing a need to appear above reproach in the midst of an
election.
The appearance of any costumed
adult in the New York sky is now a cause
for alarman indication that trouble is
on the way. People immediately seek
THE NEU JORKER, JUNE 20, 2016

61

washbasins, and no toiletsjust two

ians call it, is surely one of the great

and I got a shock when I saw the back

approaches
any of
cultural
hole-in-the-ground
latrines outside,
with ensorceled
of a woman,
dressed
in a dirndl
andinto
highshelter,
assuming high-altitude
destrucby to
beams
light inpilgrimage
a color elaborate.
Never
formally
inducted
thecannot
castle comprehend.
appearing across
some
disconcerting
twigfalling
broomsobjects
propped mysite,
hat, exiting appears
from what
tion
and
its attendant
mind
Maybethe thecrowned
League, Spider-Man
to beId
Trieste
in a series of visual throbs suffering
of the
huts seventythoughta was
downstairs,
arenext
on to
thethem.
way. All
Some
exNew
York- itsGulf
just of
me,
but damn.
crisistheofempty
conscience,
havingand
the unabashedly
orgasmic
build of enlisted
nine
bedsout
wereofexpected
to be filled, and, like
disappearing
into
theaswoods.
Later,
ers,
priced
their neighborhoods,
Recent
local elections
highlighted
with the
UN
a global
am-online, I discovered
that recently
Eichmann
and his
poems.
1912, hecandidates
wrote to a bassador.
withthat
some
serious
going theRilkes
claim
they
coulddrinking
never bealready
beckoned
discord;
the In
mayoral
He was most
spotted
S.S. guards
stayed
the inn while
We
are in
the karst,to
andsee
thewho
hard- chatting
on to
in the
the city.
dining
room, this
beginback
Honestly?
Ivewas
been
in in friend,
2013 at
times
competed
with had
Bono
on aatfact-finding
fleeinginU.S.
troops
at the end of the war.
eneddistance
mountains
forgo thethe
effeminacy
ning to
as problematic.
Passaic
forstrike
threeme
years
now and no Night
one could
themselves
most mission
Central
Africa.
that they
under
of any
Theres
quite Gold
going to to
be incinerate
a challenge;
haswas
threatened
mymorning
block from
thevegetation.
Justice League.
Foractually
their part,
Andcoins
so New
York buried
persists,
bur-the
hutsby
in those
the meadow
had been
dug up
lot of vegetation
around
the castle dened
in gruesome.
exchange for something they will thea heroes
seem to have
no intention
most suited
to protect
I decided that
thetoonly
waydevice,
to han- of (and
over
years.
onlyonRilke
could have
only mysteriously
refer
as the
moving
to greener,
less populated us. Though theoccasionally
daily services
of the
superIf and
I had
to chooseelea fadleknow?
it wasTheres
to get myself
to sleep
imagined
the gentle
slopes
you
the usual
New immeYork pastures.
Indeed,
with the
exception of heroes have ceased,
a criminal
from mylife,
samdiately,that
and you
to clear
thing in Spider-Man,
nearby to be
bullshit
dontout
seefirst
anywhere
themountains),
heroes appear to have ment has creptvorite
back stretch
into everyday
pling of themodels
Via, it tend
would
theand
morning.
I hadthe
a sleeping
pillguys
in my retired
but the
itself isManhattans
pure
else,
then theres
shit these
to apath
life among
up- the NYPDs statistics-based
be thein
part
of the violent
Blue trail
glassessaid
case,former
whereUpper
Id alsoWest
stowed
waterattract,
Sidemy perkarst:
crust, fantastical
with Superman
recently spot- to be just as effective
ongoing
that
passes
through
contact-lens
container.
A minor mis- tederoded
fissured
resident
Hugo Carbine,
an ophthalmolat Perstone,
Se dining
withinto
David Koch crime prevention.
When
a major
crimethe
Walser
villages
of the Piedhapwhose
gave the
day lived
a finalinfarcical
twist. and
what
geologists
call clints Report- slips through their
ogist
family
New York
former
Mayor Bloomberg.
grasp,
Superman
et
The landscape
of the lens
hadgetleaked,
andSupermans
grykesblocks
forSome
generations.
I likesolution
that I can
my edly,
temper and
flared up over al. hold it up asmont.
an example
of their on-was
with Chimythe
precious
flutedsentencing
like
kidhalf-dissolving
to school without
fuselagenarcotic.
of an a cracksand
disagreement about
and going necessity;thickly
when aforested,
crime is thwartcrags
and
There
wasslamming
no alternative
to lick the prison
cake conditions
icing or pinched
alien
craft
into but
Amsterdam
in the into
United States. ed, regardless ofnese-looking
how, they muscle
their
knolls
scarved
in fog.
villages
were
residue out. I was doing this, my tongue Long
rigida champion
waves likeof an
arrestedincarocean. way
Avenue.
privatizing
onstage
to take
the The
credit.
Average
miraculous
specimens
of their
an ingenious,
buried
deepechoed
in the cases
plush interior,
I then
intoreportedly
Austria, and New
Carbine
what many
high- ceration,
theheaded
Man north
of Steel
Yorkers now
shrug off
antics
culture.
were local
miniawhenNew
the door
opened
Swiss coughed
resumeda following
the Purple
trail.tail
One as low-impact
profile
Yorkers
haveand
saidthe
about
butter-poached
lobster
though talking
aboutThere
any other
ture funiculars
in to
supplies
couplethe
came
An awkward
pause
fol- through
stretcha of
it passes
leaving
city.in.Many
celebrities
now
window
andnear
intothe
theAltaussee
center crackpot.
Altruismfor
hasbringing
given way
so(the streets
are too
steepplot
andbecomes
narrow for
lowed,
in homes
which Iindecided
it would
mine, where
the Nazis
some of lipsism.
make
their
the tri-state
areabe of salt
Columbus
Circles
globe.hid
Batman
And every
foiled
cars), Richard
Scarry-like
vehicles on
hopeless
trylimits,
to explain.
Theytheir
stared recently
their stolen
art. Iondropped
down
from transmuted
outside
the to
city
and chalk
appeared
Meet the
Press,
into another
advertisement
treads
the be
garbage
and
for a moment,
evidently
reappraising
pristinethat
meadowsstill
emerald
green forcaterpillar
departures
up to more
than just
relaxed insisting
the United States
needs
how doomed
we for
would
without
lifting,
stone houses
high-minded
roommate
as some to inbuild
Augustand
looked
the old theheavy
taxtheir
codes
in New Jersey
and Connectithe wall, and
Wayneat Indusheroes
assistance.
In-housecaged
and in
wooden
balconies,
scythes
lying
on the
kind
of cokehead
or very
specialized
railbeds,
salt crystals
glittering
along contract
cut.
I like
having a yard.
I like
that I tries
is thewith
company
to do
it. Long
brand
managers
for the
Justice
stone-covered
shingled
deviant,
before beating
a retreat.
I passed suspected
the tunnels
and a subterranean
wont
be kidnapped
and used
as a token
of xenophobia,
Batman chapel
has League,
includingroofs,
Karl chimneys
Rove, articulate
like tinyofhouses.
The
schist-rich
local
mercifully quickly,
the dim
roar refused
dedicated
to St.
Barbara,
the patron
saint a message
in out,
an intergalactic
hostagetotrade,
said
to stop
crime
in Queens
since
the citys
ongoing
need for
rock made
everything
glitter
madly in
of Slovenian
drinking
and
miners. Years-old
swags
of firtake
hung protection,
former
New Yorker
Chris songs,
Rock. I
likeleft theofmid-80s,
saying they
should
a rehash
of the
messaging
thetosunshine.
The Walsers were Gerbefore
morning.
on of
thetheir
walls,own,
smelling
if theydtojust used
that
I candaybreak
walk mythe
dognext
without
being care
andasrefusing
re-elect Bush.
Just beyond the hut, I saw something been cut, the salt air keeping them un- man-speaking
and migrants
Yet the heroes refugees
bring as much
threat
moving in the gray light below me: a naturally fresh.
spread
south
through
Alps
as who
anyone
else. The
tactics
that the
helped
That evening, I stayed at Blaa-Alm, make
shaggy animal with big horns. It was an
during
Ages,
improvising
this the
cityMiddle
safe have
grown
old, and a
ibex, though in profile it looked like a an inn along the trail. The owners, whod perhaps
life style
the justified
high terrain
theonend
the where
means.noslightly disreputable unicorn. I took out told me they were going to be gone for Butbody
elseabout
farmed
or lived.
It wasNew
a fruwhat
after
the end?
my phone and filmed it as it ambled the night, left my room key in the en- York
galfinds
life itself
style,inconstrained
by theasdethe same situation
across the lunar scree. When I look at trance. It was an old wooden building Iraq.
mands
of basic
butoverreacthere were
Ravaged
by a survival,
destructive
the footage now, it seems the perfect in the Tyrolian style, deep in the mid- tion
enough
grace
notes wondering
to make you
to a bad
situation,
howfeel
emblem of that place: wild and dream- dle of silent countryside, with flower- to that
the inhabitants
enjoyed
their
exisrebuild,
forced to lean
on the
very
like and marvellous.
hung balconies looking out on a meadow influences
tence. Inthat
a little
museum
Alagna, I
wrought
theindestrucfull of small farm buildings, and I seemed tion
admired
teaspoon
with a hand
in the afirst
place. carved
The currency
in
iking the entire Via Alpina to have it entirely to myself. A wooden New
holding
rose.is fear. Children travel
York anow
Its the
continuum
of the
trail
would take years, so after leaving staircase led up to a large bedroom in to school
in looping
buses reinforced
with
kevthe Via Alpina
what
it is. It
Triglav National Park I got into a car which the walls, ceiling, and every other larthat
and makes
explosion-resistant
glass,
protecdoesnt
take
long towar
loseshould
yourself
in the
and drove to other sections of the trail. surface, including the light-switch cover, tion
in case
overhead
break
rhythms
of mountain
the mornMoving southwest, I crossed into Italy, had been intricately panelled in the same out.
The subway
systemtravel:
continues
to
ing climb
andrevamping
long afternoon
descent,
where I began a walk on the Karst Pla- butter-colored wood. It was very com- undergo
its first
in decades,
teau, a rocky landscape pockmarked with fortable, even luxurious, if a touch sar- butthe
weather,
thedependably
bulk of theundependable
money is going
to
caves and sinkholes, and ended up at cophagal. I sat out on the balcony, watch- protection
the neverfrom
quite
knowing
what youre
forces
underneath
the
Duino Castle. It was here, walking along ing night fall and feeling as though Id tunnels,
going where
to see Batmans
over the nemeses
crest of the
next
make
the cliff-top path above the Adriatic, landed in a folktale about a traveller ar- their
high
passQuality
or whosofgoing
from
lairs.
life isto
atemerge
its lowest
that Rilke claimed to have heard a voice riving in a household under some pow- since
the at
mist
along
trailthough,
unlike
least
thethe
Lindsay
administraspeak the opening line of what became erful enchantment.
tzi,
youheroes
can bestepped
fairly sure
stranger
tion.
These
in tothe
assist
us
There was nothing sinister, exactly, where
the Duino Elegies: Who, if I cried,
isnt agoing
to police
kill you.
Hecould
mightnot.
even
feckless
force
Yeah,
I know.
Butthetheres
always
a little
in trees
my head
though
thevoice
tall fir
around the Butwant
would hear
me from
among
Angels
be your
Weveneed
cometo
that
nowtothat
theyfriend.
no longer
saying,
Youre
so super.
were forbidding in the dusk, protect,
orders? The Sentiero Rilke,
as the
Ital-notmeadow
far since
Age.
willthe
theyBronze
ever serve?

THE NEW YORKER, APRIL 11, 2016


62

THE NEU JORKER, JUNE 20, 2016

39

DESIGN BY STRICK&WILLIAMS

FICTION

66
64

THE
NEW
APRIL
2016
THE
NEUYORKER,
JORKER,
JUNE11,20,
2016

PHOTO-ILLUSTRATION
BY OEZDEN
YORULMAZ
ILLUSTRATION
BY REID
FAYLOR

the scablands
weeks ago. Had traded a shrubdotted landscape for one of powdery
dust mottled with grass and the occasional sagebrush that reminded
them of a dog with mange. It was a
hard, empty land. The only other living things theyd seen for weeks were
beetles in the food and lice in their
clothes.
The path went southeast, corralled between two mountain ranges.
The only breezes to be had were hot,
dry, and coated everything with dust.
Their hands, faces, throats, and eyes
were all stung by it. The horses had
painful sores beneath their saddles.
Each morning the big man put
on a red tie that turned pale pink before the sun had broken free of the
horizon. He rode ahead of the rest,
picking out a path with practiced
ease. The slit back of his battered
cavalry coat laid smoothly over the
horses flanks.
Behind him was Grady. Hed
been from a city once, but no longer.
All hed kept was a pipe and a vest
coat with a cameo brooch in the waist
pocket. Sat lightly in his saddle, his
shadow stretched ahead of him as the
sun fell towards evening.
On this particular evening they
saw a modest
churchthe
a ways
down
e watches
second
car
the trail. back
Stacked
stones
made
a
out of the drivewaysmall
and
room with
a rough
wooden
cross lap
on
then
he makes
a slow
an
eave.
When
they
came
closer,
they
around the block, careful not to step
saw
it was
burnt.
Grady
started
the
on the
cracks
in the
sidewalk.
From
speculation.
other houses come the sounds of dogs
Bandits,
theyd
barking,
and fromsaid
otherGrady,
yards the
noise
burn
up
the
world
if
they
could.
of lawnmowers and leaf blowers. ConIt wasnt
any bandits,
the folk
struction
is happening
somewhere
in
that
church
burned
it
themselves,
down the street. After completing the
said
a gouch-eared
lap heHoke.
looks He
up atrode
the clock
on top of
horse.
His
hat
was
battered,
andover:
his
the Catholic church the next block
clothes
stiff
with
sweat.
nine-forty. He walks up the driveway
Why would
anyone
burn the
up
purposefully
and pushes
through
their
own
church?
white wooden gate, a high gate that,
Religious
ecstasy,doesnt
said Hoke,
he noticed
yesterday,
have
saying
the
words
like
they
were bora lock.
rowed. They got all
swept up in their
sermon.
Speaking
in tongues,
Ecola? Orkin? Idling
at the treminterbling
with
the
holy
spirit.
it
section, she cant rememberBut
forthen
a mogoes
different.
ment the name of the company she is
How
that
on her
waydoes
home
to make
meet. them
In theburn
past
up
their
church?
said
the
kid, riding
week three men came through
the
alongside
two.the other, wearing
house, onetheafter
Someand
foolslipping
knocksdisposable
over a candle,
jumpsuits
booHEY HAD LEF T

ties over their shoes, three men on their


hands and knees in the attic, creaking
overhead, tapping inquisitively at the

e watches the second car

and starts a fire. Maybe catches himback out of the driveway and
self on fire. Everyone else thinks its
then he makes a slow lap
the divine plan and sets fires of their
around the block, careful not to step
own. The place goes up like a pyre,
on the cracks in the sidewalk. From
because the Lord helps those who
other houses come the sounds of dogs
help themselves.
barking, and from other yards the noise
The kid thought. With a thin
of lawnmowers and leaf blowers. Conface and fair hair, coated in dust, he
struction is happening somewhere
looked like a balsa wood doll. I think
down the street. After completing the
it was lightning, he said.
lap he looks up at the clock on top of
That wasnt any lightning, Im
the Catholic church the next block over:
telling you it was bandits.
nine-forty. He walks up the driveway
Even bandits wouldnt burn a
purposefully and pushes through the
church, not unless they had gold. But
white wooden gate, a high gate that,
that church didnt even have winhe noticed yesterday, doesnt have
dows.
a lock.
Id bet my horse it was bandits.

You could bet your boots if you


Ecola? Orkin? Idling at the interhadnt lost them at dice two weeks
section, she cant remember for a mogone, said Hoke.
ment the name of the company she is
Im not betting my boots, Im
on her way home to meet. In the past
betting my horse.
week three men came through the
It was soldiers. The big man
house, one after the other, wearing
had rejoined them. His white hair
jumpsuits and slipping disposable booframed his weatherworn face in ringties over their shoes, three men on their
lets, like a cherub grown old. He rode
hands and knees in the attic, creaking
on without further dissembling.
overhead, tapping inquisitively at the
The others were silent. Soon
beams. After collecting all the estimates,
enough they had passed the church
she consulted with her husband, who
and seen the other side. The wall
had only this to say: Trust your gut.
had been dynamited and collapsed
OhGreenleaf! Thats the name. They
inward. The roof on that side sagged
cost the most, but she liked the man
close to the ground like a man tipping
and, according to the literature, they
his
stains
rannot
from
inside
intohat.
theDark
house,
she is
worrying
use
one-hundred-per-cent-organic
the
church
into
the
crater
outside.
A
every minute about money. She is going
materials.
buzzard
had
gotten
itself
caught
in
to the gym again.
is washing
She
aher
priests
robes.
Its basis.
head In
poked
out
car
on
a
regular
herAs
clean
The husband is late to work.
the
grotesquely
through
the
collar
as
it
car, in her
damp
she
elevator
carries
himgym
up toclothes,
the offices,
hopped
and
flapped,
trying
to
escape.
drives
through about
the bright-blue
he
is thinking
Emmett mornByron
They
kept
riding
until after
suning,
feeling
calm.
Shes
to beDiggs
right
Diggs, Attica inmate going
No. 243.
set.
on time.

will be the first innocent man to ap


pear on the show. When
the showrunHe
tips
back
in
chair he
andsaid,
looks
ner put him on the his
episode,
I
When
it was too where
dark to
ride
safely
at
the
whiteboard,
the
story
dont want you to think that Im beats
askthey
made a rough
camp. The
kid
for Act
been
streaky
ing
you Itohave
write
thiswritten
one justinbecause
gathered
scrub
wood
to
make
a
fire.
black
marker.isTheyre
onlyhetwo
days
the
character
black, and
replied,
He
sang,
clear
and
high,and
while
he
into
breaking
the
episode
already
I dont think that. But now he is besearched.
the character
of Emmett
Diggs
is with
posginning
to worry
about what
to do
Out
by So
thefarbedrolls,
Hoke
ing
problems.
the
formula
has
Emmett Diggs.
brushed
down thenineteen-sixties
horses.
been consistent:
bad

Grady
setheinous
up the stew
potwinds
and set
guyTwo
commits
crimes,
up
thousand
one hundred
and sevto
kindling
a
fire.
He
piled
the
firea
in
solitary
in
Attica,
travels
through
enty-five dollars: this she remembers
higher
as the
kid brought
more wood.
rift in the
space-time
and
exactly.
After
the job iscontinuum,
done, she will
The
big
man
dropped
two ofNew
the
pops
up
in
present-day
upstate
write out the entire amount and the
long-legged
and
scoop-eared
rabbits
York,
he continues
his crime
feel
of where
the check
tearing crisply
along
peculiar
to he
that
part ofdown
the country
spree
until
is
tracked
andsilly
apthe perforated line will be a small,
next
to the by
fire.a Grady
triedteam
not to
prehended
top-secret
of
thing that pleases her. Thank you so
look
as agents.
he prepared
them.
special
Which
the
network
says
much! For the first time since moving
they like; which has worked just fine
until now; so why, on the first episode
hes been assigned to write, are they

into the house, she is not worrying


There were never any shots when
every minute about money. She is going
the big man went out hunting, and
to the gym again. She is washing
the rabbits had no injuries. They
her car on a regular basis. In her clean
were just dead.
car, in her damp gym clothes, she
That night the kid had first
drives through the bright-blue mornwatch, and the others fell asleep as he
ing, feeling calm. Shes going to be right
hummed in that same clear tone.
on time.

He tips back in his chair and looks


The kid found a streamlet the next
at the whiteboard, where the story beats
morning, and whooped as he cleaned
for Act I have been written in streaky
himself. Grady and the big man
black marker. Theyre only two days
walked over to join, but Hoke stayed
into breaking the episode and already
with the horses.
the character of Emmett Diggs is posClean or not, they all filled their
ing problems. So far the formula has
canteens before setting out.
been consistent: nineteen-sixties bad
It was a long morning, and Hoke
guy commits heinous crimes, winds up
muttered and cursed from his saddle.
in solitary in Attica, travels through a
This goddamned dust. It doesnt
rift in the space-time continuum, and
grind your throat raw then it half
pops up in present-day upstate New
blinds you. He covered his face with
York, where he continues his crime
his hat.
spree until he is tracked down and apprehended by a top-secret team of
special agents. Which the network says
they like; which has worked just fine
until now; so why, on the first episode
hes been assigned to write, are they
trying something different?

The back yard is a mess. Weeds up


to his waist, cracked concrete. A tarp
slung over a pile of stuff pushed up
against the garage door. From the front,
otherhouse
question,
asked
only
by the
husthe
looked
nice.
Neat.
Green
band,
and
only
in
his
head:
How
does
lawn. Front door painted a glossy bright
A good piece
an up
hour
passed
a science-fiction
guyof
end
writing
rared.
But back here
its
different.
Flatbefore
Hokes
horse
stumbled
and
cial
melodrama?
Also:
How
do
I
write
tened cardboard boxes, dusty grill.
bumped
Gradys
horse.
He him
grabbed
this character
without
making
Plastic
playhouse
bleaching
in theseem
sun.
Hoke
hard
at
the
shoulders.
like all the lumps
other decent,
Shrunken
of shit long-sufferall over the
thataccused
hat off and
look
where
ing,Take
wrongly
black
men
who
dead
grass. He
hesitates,
then
thinks
youre
going.
have
shown
up
onscreen
over
the
years?
of the cars that pulled out of the driveI wont. This dust bothers me
way: a Prius, a Mini Cooper. There will
more
than
you do.
Spit.
Spraying
across
glass. The
definitely
be Apple
gear the
inside.
Grady
hit him.
A formless
barking sudden
and
loud.
A
blackgasp
dog
Hokes hat
escaped
through
asfrom
he
at the
back
door,
lunging
at
him
On one side of the board, possible
hunched
over,
braced
against
his
the other side
of the window
the
backstories
for Emmett
Diggs: in
1. Arcantle.
door.
It
looks
big,
maybe
seventy-five
thritic gardeners son, recently home
He took
slow
breaths
foreyebrows
a time,
pounds.
looks
from
its light
from
theItArmy;
2. Head
chef
in the
while
Grady
looked
as
far
down
as if it might
some
Rottweiler
kitchen
of localhave
country
club;
3. Memthe
road
as
he
could.
Hoke
slowly
mixed
in. The
door shakes
the
ber
of the
maintenance
staffwhen
at Miss
straightened
up.
dog
launches
itself,
its
nails
scrabbling
So-and-Sos School. Behind each of
Damned
sund cook
awindow,
cow where
on the
glass. Through
bethese
possibilities
is thethe
question:
How
ityond
stands,
said
Hoke.
He
put
his
hat
the
dog,
he
can
see
the
washer
does a black man in 1961 gain entry to
back
on hishe
head,
and
gently held and
his
and spaces
dryer,
canrich
see sweatshirts
the
where
white girls live,
stomach.
He
took
two
bullets
out
of
jackets
hanging
hooks,
so
that he
can fallfrom
in love
withcleaning
one, get
asupplies
pouch lined
on hisuphip
and
held
them
in
a shelf.
too
secretly engaged, along
and then
be Not
accused
his
hand.
As
he
looked
at
the
faces
farmurder
from the
todead,
the raped
shelf,
of
whenback
she isdoor
found
hed
carved innothe
softthan
lead,the
his length
smile
the
distance
more
and mutilated, on a golf course? Anof his arm, outstretched. And the dog,
now that hes had a minute to look at65
THE NEU JORKER, JUNE 20, 2016
it? Not as big as its bark makes it sound.

other
band,
a scien
cial m
this ch
like a
ing, w
have s

Sp
barkin
at the
the o
door.
pound
as if i
mixed
dog la
on the
yond
and d
jacket
suppli
far fr
the di
of his
now t
it? No

At
She d
And t
theres
ing C
and w
She is
cupied
sort o
weeks
ting s
kid ne
in her
Voder
ate fr
board
prope
of D
should
for he
think
persti
show
sodes,
back y

We
the da
roll aw
lic in

THE NE

around the block, careful not to step her car on a regular basis. In her clean
Trieste
in ainseries
visual throbs
next to them. All of the huts seventy- Gulf
emptygym
downstairs,
on of
the
cracks
the of
sidewalk.
From thought
car, inwas
herthe
damp
clothes,and
she
effect.
Zoom! Totothe
Alice! like
the
unabashedly
orgasmic
build
of
nine
bedsBang!
were expected
be moon,
filled, and,
disappearing
into
the
woods.
Later,mornonother houses come the sounds of dogs drives through the bright-blue
eep,
Shesome
knows
hesdrinking
not going
to dogoing
it.
that
Eichmann
his
Rilkes
poems.
In 1912,
wrote
a line,
with
serious
already
barking,
and from
otherhe
yards
theto
noise
ing,I discovered
feeling calm.
Shes
going toand
be right
I did
Hoke had
ate the
extra
dinner.
S.S.
guards
stayed
at
the
inn
while
We
are
in
the
karst,
and
the
hardon in the dining room,
this was begin- friend,
of lawnmowers and leaf blowers. Con- on time.
e me
of himNight
in this ened
mountains
forgo the effeminacy
ning Something
to strike meisasrequired
problematic.
struction
is happening
somewhere fleeing U.S. troops at the end of the war.
ne, I
moment,
he be
knows.
Someone
is scared ofdown
coins
buried
the
any vegetation.
Theres
actually
quite
was
going to
a challenge;
morning
the street. After completing
the GoldHe
tipsthat
backthey
in his
chairunder
and looks
Next
morning
Grady
was
updug
before
and needs his help. Whats confusing a lap
huts
in
the
meadow
had
been
up
lot he
of vegetation
around
the
castle
gruesome.
looks up at the clock on top of at the whiteboard, where the story beats
t, aleveryone. He
slapped over
the the
dustyears.
from
isI the
question
of who.
Eventothough
decided
that the
only way
han- (and
occasionally
only
Rilke
could
have
the Catholic church the next block over: for Act I have been written in streaky
Fooss
his clothes andI had
yanked
the saddle
the
boy to
is get
looming
her immeand has imagined
toonly
choose
dle
it was
myselfover
to sleep
the He
gentle
slopes
nine-forty.
walks
up the driveway black marker.IfTheyre
twoa fadays
arely
onto
his
horse.
He
tucked
his
cameo
his fistand
cocked,
theyout
both
look
to him
vorite
stretch
from
my
samdiately,
to clear
first
thing
in nearby
to
be
mountains),
purposefully and pushes through the into breaking the episode and already
ning
brooch intopling
the kids
like
theyre Iinhad
trouble.
of thepossibles.
Via,
it would
the
morning.
a sleeping pill in my but
the path
itselfgate,
is pure
white
wooden
a high gate that, the character
of Emmett
Diggs
is posatory
Thick
clouds
drooped
down
from
be
the
part
of
the
Blue
trail
glasses case, where Id also stowed my karst:
fantastical
waterhe noticed yesterday, doesnt have ing problems. So far the formula
has
yeurthe
sky
that
morning,
hiding
the
sun.
Arm raised,
hand clenched,
sees eroded
that passes
through the
contact-lens
container.
A minorhe
misa lock.stone, fissured into
been consistent:
nineteen-sixties
bad
ecall
As they rode,
Hoke
covered
his
face
it then,
thinks
hes twist.
a joke. what geologists call clints
Walser
villages
of the
Piedhap
gave clearly:
the day she
a final
farcical
guy commits
heinous
crimes,
winds
up
ss of
with
his
hat.
His
horse
bumped
into
He sees
it inlens
the stubborn
holds and Ecola?
Thetravels
landscape
was a
Some
of the
solution way
had she
leaked,
grykesblocks
and at the inter- in solitary mont.
Orkin? Idling
in Attica,
through
king
one of the others.forested, with Chiher body, the blank
look, thenarcotic.
total ab- cracksand
half-dissolving
my precious
fluted
like
section, she cant
remember
for a mo- rift in the thickly
space-time continuum, and
was
Was that you, Grady?
Sorry,
I
sencewas
of fear.
Hes a lightweight.
A joker.
crags
and
There
no alternative
but to lick
the cake
icing
pinched
into
ment
theorname
of the
company she is pops up innese-looking
present-day upstate
New
got
my
hat
over
my
face
again,
he
Hes not
going
to do
it. Actually,
thinks, rigid
The villages
residue
out.
I was
doing
this, myhe
tongue
waves
on her
way like
homeantoarrested
meet. In ocean.
the past knolls
York,scarved
whereinhefog.
continues
his were
crime
rgin
said. There
was only of
silence.
yes I deep
am. in the cases plush interior,
miraculous
specimens
an
ingenious,
buried
I
then
headed
north
into
Austria,
and
week three men came through the spree until he is tracked down and apafter
I know
it riles you up.
culture.
were miniawhen the door opened
Purple
trail.
One low-impact
and the Swiss resumed
house,following
one afterthe
the
other,
wearing
prehended
by a There
top-secret
team of
MediGrady
said
nothing. in
Hokes
hat
Bam!
Pow!
Right
in the
eye.folShe stretch
ture
funiculars
for
bringing
supplies
couple
came
in. An
awkward
pause
of
it
passes
near
the
Altaussee
jumpsuits and slipping disposable boo- special agents. Which the network
says
rainwent
back
on
his
head.
stumbles
backward,
nearly
fallingbeon salt
streets
too steep
and narrow
lowed,
in which
I decided
it would
the Nazis
some
of (the
tiesmine,
over where
their shoes,
threehid
men
on their
they
like;are
which
has worked
justfor
fine
speThey
rode
on untilvehicles
early eveher butt,
go of theThey
bag.stared their
cars),
Richard
Scarry-like
on
hopeless
toletting
try to explain.
stolen
art.
I
dropped
down
from
hands and knees in the attic, creaking until now; so why, on the first episode
edge
You deserve to
be dead!
ning, when
Hoke
his horse
for nudged
the
garbage
for a moment, evidently
reappraising
pristine
meadowsstill
emerald green

overhead,
tapping inquisitively
at the caterpillar
hes beentreads
assigned
to write,
areand
they
Poughkeepsie!
girls.
to
the
side
of
the
trail
and
called
out.
nd
car their
into
the
house,
she
is
not
worrying
other
question,
asked
only
by
the
husLenny
brightens.
Actually,asIve
been inbeams.
heavy
lifting,
stone
houses
caged
in
high-minded
roommate
some
Augustand
looked
at
the
old
After collecting all the estimates, trying something different?
t
his
He
needed
to
relieve
himself.
Grady
ay and kind
every
minute
about
money.
She
is
going
band,
and
only
in
his
head:
How
does
thinking
about that!
Andspecialized
heres where railbeds,
wooden
balconies,
scythes
lying
on
the
of cokehead
or very
with
salt
crystals
glittering
along
she consulted with her husband, who

stopped,
but the kid
w lap deviant,
to can
thebefore
gymbeating
again.
is Iwashing
a science-fiction
guy end up writing
ra- and the big man
in- thehad
we
introduce
some
really
dark,
chimneys
aShe
retreat.
passed
tunnels
and to
a subterranean
chapel
only this
say: Trust your
gut. stone-covered
The backroofs,
yard is
a mess. shingled
Weeds up
rvice,
didnt.
o step out,
her
car
on
a
regular
basis.
In
her
clean
cial
melodrama?
Also:
How
do
I
write
teresting
stuffquickly,
in thetoBthe
story.
houses.
The schist-rich
local
mercifully
dimYouve
roar dedicated
to St. Barbara,
the
patron
OhGreenleaf!
Thats
the
name.saint
They like
to tiny
his waist,
cracked
concrete. A
tarp
ed
Look
whos
gotbutt!
himselfmadly
in a hurFrom ofseen
car,
in
herManchurian
damp gym
clothes,
she ofthis
character
without
making
him
seem rock he
The
Candidate,
The
emperor
is
nakedand
has
a
flabby
made
everything
glitter
Slovenian
drinking
songs,
and left
miners.
Years-old
swags
of
fir
hung
cost the
most,
but
sheHe
liked
the man
slung over a pile of stuff pushedinup
sen
the
single-story
Manor
House
Motel
clinic,
where
she
lived.
opened
the
pital
ry sunshine.
now, saidThe
Hoke.
f dogs before
drivesdaybreak
through
the
bright-blue
mornlike
the smelling
other decent,
long-sufferright?
O.K.,
sothe
what
Im
thinking
is: onand,
the
were
next
morning.
theall
walls,
asliterature,
if theyd
just
according
to the
they
the garageWalsers
door. From
theGerfront,
bent
the
tracks
his tears had
left
on door
Different
my
ass.black
I betmen
theythe
fit against
thefeeling
site of
his laboratory
years
earto
my room,
switched
on
Grady
rode
towardand
themigrants
kid withefield
noise asthe
ing,
calm.
Shes
going
to
be
right
ing,
wrongly
accused
who
warden
has
been
doing
some crazy been
Just
beyond
the
hut,
I
saw
something
man-speaking
refugees
cut,
the
salt
air
keeping
them
unuse perfect.
one-hundred-per-cent-organic
the house looked nice. Neat. Green
hisbecause
dusty face.

you
lier
it
had
a
pitched
roofhigh
air-conditioner,
and
put
down
my
lugrably
out spread
a glance at Hoke.
. Con- moving
on time.
have shown
psychological
experiments
in the gray
light below on
me:the
a naturally
fresh.up onscreen over the years? who
through
the Alps
materials.
lawn. Front south
door painted
a glossy
bright
Those
arent
my
boots.
Grady
upright
across
gage,
saying
that
he
would
collect
me
day, enough for him to walk
He
caught
up
toimprovising
the bykid
and
where
horns.
isatnot
e watches
the Itsecond
into the
house,
she
worrying
inmates.
Including
Emmett
Diggs.
other
question,
asked
only
theFlathusevening,
I stayed
Blaa-Alm,
shaggy
animal
with big
was
ancar That
during
the
Middle
Ages,
a
red. But back here its different.
to dinner.
headed
down
the
trail.
Hoke
sighed,
the
attic
floorwhich
would
make
it
in
an
hour
to
go
out
After
evels
grabbed
him.
ng the ibex,
He
tips
back
in
his
chair
and
looks
Spit.
Spraying
across
the
glass.
The
back
outinto
ofitthe
driveway
andanthe
every
minute
about
money.
She
is
going
upon
being
asked
by
a
female
officer
hallway
until
he
arrives
at
the
elTheyve
made
him
an
assassin
and
band,
and
only
in
his
head:
How
does
inn
along
the
trail.
The
owners,
who
d
though
in
profile
looked
like
a
life
style
on
the
high
terrain
where
noThe
husband
isback
late and
tohand
work.
the tened cardboard boxes, dusty grill.
Mountain
walls,
too farhis
todream
reachofin that,
bouncing
the
foot
from
toAs
possible
for him
to realize
we can
come
ahand.
litm,
What
are
topheof slightly
at the
whiteboard,
where
the
beats
barking
sudden
and
loud.
Atake
black
dog body
then
makes
slow
laptold
tome
the
gym
She
is
washing
as
load
heryou
the
ambulance,
evator,
which
he
takes
to
the
lobby.
he
doesnt
evenhe
know
it!
Using,
you
a they
science-fiction
guy
end
rathey
wereagain.
going
toto
be
gone
for
disreputable
unicorn.
I astory
took
out
else
farmed
orinto
lived.
Itup
was
a fruelevator
carries
him
up
the
offices,
Plastic
playhouse
bleaching
inwriting
the
sun.
a daysa ride,
penned
them
intointo
this tle
The
kid
and
the
big
man
turned
creating
viewing
platform
to
peer
tour
of
the
attic,
he
said.
at
he
The
kid
fell in
loose-limbed
out
of
k over: my
for
Act
I
have
been
written
in
streaky
at
the
back
door,
lunging
at
him
from
around
the
block,
careful
not
to stepthe
her
car
on
a
regular
basis.
In
her
clean
Now,
were
you
any
other
way
asAfter
nodding
at
the
security
guard,
know,
radical
brainwashing
techniques,
cial
melodrama?
Also:
How
do
I
write
night,
left
my
room
key
in
the
enphone
and
filmed
it
as
it
ambled
gal
life
style,
constrained
by
the
deheAfter
is thinking
aboutI Emmett
Byron Shrunken lumps of shit all over the
basin.
Most
days
they saw little but down
the
trail.
the
guest
rooms
below.
I unpacked,
began
making
ound
his
Grady
didnt
notice
when
veway across
black
marker.
Theyre
only
days
the
other
side
of the
window
in He
the
on athe
cracksscree.
the
sidewalk.
From
car,
inAttica
her
gym
clothes,
shemands
saulted?
will
feel
forbut
the
first
time
he
pushes
through
glass
doors.
like
mixture
ofinwhat
theyI two
do in
thissaddle.
character
without
making
him
seem
It
was
andamp
old
wooden
building
lunar
When
look
atA trance.
of
basic
survival,
there
were
Diggs,
inmate
No.
243.
Diggs
dead
grass.
He
hesitates,
then
thinks
those
walls, stunted
plants,
and
each notes
Hoke
followed.
He
bought
the
property
for
a
hunof
my
impressions
of
Gerald
Foos.
t,
alHoke
joined
him.
He
saw
only
the
gh the the
into
breaking
the
episode
and
already
door.
It
looks
big,
maybe
seventy-five
other
houses
come
the electric-shock
sounds
of dogsinstands
drives
through
the
bright-blue
mornafraid,
or
that
the
dog,
after
attacking
on
the
empty
sidewalk,
squintClockwork
Orange
plus
like
all
the
other
decent,
long-sufferthe
Tyrolian
style,
deep
in
the
midfootage
now,
it
seems
the
perfect
enough
grace
notes
to
make
you
feel
willinterest
be the
innocent
man
to
ap- of the cars that pulled out of the driveother.
today thousand
they sawdollars.
a cart My
The
old
man
shrugged
and
urged
dred
andBut
forty-five
infirst
him
wasitsnot
dependent
kid,
dead
and
already
cold,
without
a
eould
that, emblem
the
character
of
Emmett
Diggs
is
pospounds.
It
looks
from
light
eyebrows
barking,
and
from
other
yards
thecome
noisedle
ing,
feeling
calm.When
Shes
going
to be rightthat
away:
U.P.S.
delivery
driver,
will
be
taken
ing
the
sunlight,
barely
registering
therapy
plus
hypnosis?
So what
we
ing,
accused
black
men
who
ofinsilent
countryside,
with
flowerof
that
place:
wild
and dreamtheawrongly
inhabitants
enjoyed
their
exispear
on
the
show.
the
showrunPrius,
a Mini
Cooper.
There
will
pulled by
two happy
mules.about giving up on
his
mules
onward.
wasnt
having
access
to his some
attic.
IRottweiler
was
hopd have
spy Donna
mark
on
him.
ing
problems.
So
far
the
formula
has
as
if
it
might
have
lawnmowers
leaf blowers.
Con-hung
onbalconies
time.
to
a rescue
organization
up
north
that
the
traffic
Then
slowly
toofand
realize
is what and
triggers
him is white
have
up
onscreen
over
the years?
like
marvellous.
looking
out
on a he
meadow
Inshown
a little
museum
Alagna,
I
ner
himgoing
on
theby.episode,
I tence.
definitely
be
Apple
gearin
inside.
They and
led their
horses
the path ing
house
living
in theoff
managers
toput
getin.
his
permission
to readhe
thesaid,
hunlow- our
It took
most
of theshepherds,
evening
for
been
consistent:
nineteen-sixties
bad full
mixed
The
door
shakes
when
the admired
struction
is happening
somewhere
specializes
in
Australian
or
rotates
to
face
the
building.
The
secuwomen
Abruptly
the husband
pushes
of
small
farm
buildings,
and
I
seemed
a
teaspoon
carved
with
a
hand

dontofwant
you
to he
think
that to
Imhave
ask
while the
cartmotel,
passed,Foos
andsaid.
said But
their dreds
of the
pages
that
claimed
made quarters
Grady
and
Hokehaving
to
bury
him.
They
guy
commits
heinous
crimes,
winds
up
dog
launches
itself,
its
nails
scrabbling
down
thethe
street.
After
completing
thetority
He
tips
back
in
his
chair
and
looks
that
the
daughter,
been
told
that
guard
moves
to
open
the
door
for
away
from
the
table,
his
chairAlpina
squealSpit.
Spraying
across
the
glass.
The
iking
entire
Via
have
it
entirely
to
myself.
A
wooden
holding
a
rose.
ing you
to write
thisfifteen
one
just
because
On one side of the board, possible
hellos
to the
driver,
shortbuy
andanother
old and written
They
camped
after
dark.
The
promised
her
that wed
during
theagain
past
years,
with
onna.
of
anything
say
afinter- I ing
in
solitary
in
travels
through
on
glass.
thebedroom
window,
be- hadnt
lap
he looks
up
at the
clock
onrising
top aofstaircase
at the
whiteboard,
where
the
beats
against
theAttica,
floor.
He
stands,
her
mother
tripped
at
the
gym
and
him,
but
theupThrough
husband
shakes
his
head,
barking
sudden
and
loud.
Ato
black
dog
Its
thethought
looping
continuum
of
the
trail
would
take
years,
so
after
leaving
led
a large
in
the
character
istoblack,
and
hestory
replied,
backstories
for
Emmett
Diggs:
1.
Arwith as
more
mules
than
teeth.
The
cart the
kid
gathered
wood
for
the
fire.
Hoke
house
soon
as
we
could
afford
it.
result
that
he
would
one
day
allow
da her
terward
so
they
stood
with
their
hats
mo- Triglav
rift
in
the
space-time
continuum,
and
yond
the
dog,
he
can
see
the
washer
church
the
next
block
over:which
for
Act
I
have
been
written
in
streaky
tothe
hisCatholic
full height,
the
sight
of
which
split
her
eyebrow
open
on
a
barbell,
pulls
his
car
keys
from
his
pocket,
and
at
the
back
door,
lunging
at
him
from
that
makes
the
Via
Alpina
what
it
is.
It
National
Park
I
got
into
a
car
the
walls,
ceiling,
and
every
other
I to
dont
think
that.
But
now he
be- thritic gardeners son, recently home
was
covered
with
canvas.
managed
the
horses.
Foos
pulled
into athe
parking
areaNew
of me
write
about
him.
Isweatshirts
knew
thatis he
wer,
crushed
inlong
their
hands.
When
the
she is and
pops
up
inother
present-day
upstate
and
dryer,
hethe
can
see
and
nine-forty.
He
walks
the
black
marker.
Theyre
only
two
daysdoesnt
makes
Lenny
pause
andupshoot
a trail.
quick surface,
will
whenever
the in
woman
turns
toward
parking
garage.
The
thegrow
other
side
the
window
the
take
toof
lose
yourself
the
drove
to
sections
of
thedriveway
including
the
light-switch
cover,
ginning
to worry
about
what
tofront
do
with
from
thenervous
Army;
2.
Head
chef
inin
the
Whats
in the
cart?
said the
kid. viewed
A
pile
of
kindling
sat
in
of sun
the
Manor
House
Motel,
a
brick
buildhimself
as
a
sex
researcher
along
and.
touched
the
horizon,
the
big
man
he past Moving
York,
where
he
continues
his
crime
jackets
hanging
from
hooks,
cleaning
purposefully
andI crossed
pushesEverything
through
thehad
into
breaking
the
episode
and
already
glance
at the showrunner.
puts
on
exercise
clotheshe
somehow
only
place
he
wants
to
go
right
now
door.
It
looks
big,
maybe
seventy-five
rhythms
of
mountain
travel:
the
mornsouthwest,
into
Italy,
been
intricately
panelled
in
the
same
Emmett
Diggs.
kitchen of local country club; 3. MemBodies,
the white,
old man.
Some
Grady,
who
hadnt
spoken
the
ing
painted
green
and
with
orthe
lines of
Alfred
Kinsey,
I since
assumed
penrode
up to
h the where
spree
until
hea said
is
tracked
down
and
ap- butter-colored
lined
up
along
aand
shelf.
too ing
white
wooden
gate,
athe
high
gate
that,
the
character
of Emmett
Diggs
is posO.K.,
buddy?
the
showrunner
asks.
issupplies
home.
senses
regardless
ofitsthe
blood
and
pounds.
Itthem.
looks
light
eyebrows
climb
and
longfrom
afternoon
descent,
Icame
began
walk
on
Karst
Plawood.
veryNot
comber
of that
the
maintenance
staff
at Miss
It was
folksdoors
to town into
and caused
troucart.
He
started
the
fire
and
fed
it,
ange
leading
each
of
its
that
his
account
centered
on
what
exall
He
tucked
his
pigging
string
earing teau,
prehended
by
a
top-secret
team
of
far
from
the
back
door
to
the
shelf,
hea husband
noticed
yesterday,
doesnt
havefortable,
ing
problems.
So
far
the
formula
has
The
looks
atpockmarked
him evenly.
Yes,
tears
his
attention
should
be
focussed
as
if
it
might
have
some
Rottweiler
rocky
landscape
with
the
dependably
undependable
weather,
even
luxurious,
if
a
touch
sar
Two
one
and
sevSo-and-Sos School. Behind each of
ble. Now theyre
leaving.
keeping
his
head
down
when
the
big back
twenty-one
guest
rooms.
He parked
cited
himthousand
sexually,
buthundred
itthan
wasthe
possible
every
into
the
britchin
of
his
saddle,
e boo- caves
special
Which
the
distance
noon
more
length
a says.
lock.
been
consistent:
nineteen-sixties
badthe
Emmett
hangs
back
for remembers
a moment,
he
Im
just
getting
anetwork
Coke.
elsewhere.
The
sound
of
the
front
door
mixed
in.
Theknowing
door
shakes
when
the
andagents.
sinkholes,
andtheended
up says
at cophagal.
never
quite
what
youre
I sat
out
the
balcony,
watchenty-five
dollars:
this
she
these
possibilities
is the
question:
How
Grady
snuck building
a look consisting
under the that
man
walked
up.
He
closed
his
eyes
next
to
an
adjacent
he
noted
things
that
existed
beyond
urse.
then
swept
his
hand
back
toward
the
n their Duino
they Castle.
like; which
has
worked
just
fine
of
his
arm,
outstretched.
And
the
dog,
walking along ing
guy
commits
heinous
crimes,
winds
up
surveying
the
scene.
On
one
hand,
he
opening
softly
makes
him
look
at
the
dog
launches
itself,
its
nails
scrabbling
It
was
here,
going
to
see
over
the
crest
of
the
next
night
fall
and
feeling
as
though
I
d

exactly.
the the
job
is
done, she
will
does a black man in 1961 gain entry to
then and
backed
away.
Hisquarters.
face was his
when
heAfter
heard
rabbits
hit
the
an office
theon
family
desires.
A
voyeur
isa motivated
by
animes ofcover,
Alittle
breeze
kicked
upwearing
a vicious
eaking
until
now;
so
why,
the
first
episode
now
that
hes
had
minute
tothrough
look
at trail.
Ecola?
Orkin?
Idling
atAdriatic,
the
inter-landed
in solitary
in the
Attica,
travels
Theres
more
blood
than
he
expected.
wants
toago
to
woman,
who
is arsobboy
(a
heavyset,
still
the
onpass
the
glass.
Through
the
window,
bethe
cliff-top
path
above
thefearlike
or
whos
going
emerge
from
inout
folktale
about
a traveller
write
the
entire
amount
and
theahigh
the
spaces
where
richto
white
girls
live,
pale, his
eyesblue-eyed
wide with
a ticipation;
ground.
Donna,
a
short
blond
woman
he
invests
endless
hours
in
the
tatwas
spray
of
dust
that
made
Grady
and
the that
hes
been
assigned
to
write,
are
they
it?
Not
as
big
as
its
bark
makes
it
sound.
section,
she
cant
remember
for
a the
mo-riving
rift
in
the
space-time
continuum,
and
The
ladyclaimed
is holding
herheard
eye with
bing
disbelief
and
dripping
blood
satchel
slung
over
his
shoulder),
but
yond
the
dog,
he
can
see
the
washer
Rilke
to
have
a
voice
the
mist
along
the
trailthough,
unlike
in
a
household
under
some
powfeel of
ofseeing
the
check
tearing
crisply
so that he can fall in love with one, get
horsey. a nurses uniform, greeted us hope
He
forced
toto look
wearing
whathimself
he
wishes
see.along
Yetat Hoke
aged
flinch
away.
The
dustand
settled,
mates, speak
trying
something
will
ment
the
name
ofdifferent?
the
company
pops
up
in present-day
upstate
New
hand
that
was
on the
messenger
bag,she
andiserful
on
the
floor.
But
even
though
he silly
has tzi,
before
hecan
canbe
the
room
reach
andyou
dryer,
hecross
canand
see
sweatshirts
and
the
opening
line
of said
what
became
fairly
sure
the
stranger
enchantment.
the
perforated
linechest
be
a small,
secretly
engaged,
then
be
accused
Look
atShe
thiswas
one!
Hoke.
He for
the
rabbits.
His
felt
tight
and
in
the
office.
heading
to
the
every
erotic
episode
he
witnesses
he
saw.
and
the
big
man
was
still
there.
Its
At
the
stop
sign,
she
counts
to
five.
d, who the
Who,
hersee
way
homecoming
to meet.
In
the her
past no
York,
where
he
continues
his
crime
heon
can
blood
through
way
of
knowing
that
a
very
good
him,
before
he
can
open
his
mouth
and
jackets
hanging
from
hooks,
cleaning
There
was
nothing
sinister,
exactly,
Duino
Elegies:
if
I
cried,
isnt
going
to
kill
you.
He
might
even
thing
that
pleases
you so of murder when she is found dead, raped
lifted the
foot of
one of
the corpses ishe
spat.
Wanted
toher.
yell.Thank
grabbed
hospital,
to
work
a night
shift.
also
privy
to
hundreds
ofHe
mundane
time
tobego,
hefriend.
said.
She
doesnt
want
to
get
ticket.
r gut. would
The
back
yard
a mess.
Weeds
up
week
three
menis
came
through
thethough
spree
until
he first
is
tracked
down
and
ap-want
fingers.
In
her from
other
hand
shes
still
holdplastic
surgeon
sewanother
up her
eyesay,
Hey,
brother,
boy
has Not
closed
supplies
lined
up
a course?
shelf.
too
the
tall
firwill
trees
around
the
hear
me
among
the
Angels
to
your
Weve
come
that
much!
For
the
time
since
moving
and
mutilated,
onalong
athe
golf
Anout
past
the
canvas.
Aint Foos
these told
your moments
each
rabbit,
twisted
its
head,
snapped
our
On
the
way
to
my
room,
representing
the
ordinary
daily
And
then
waits
a
little
more,
because
. They orders?
to
his
waist,
cracked
concrete.
A
tarp
house,
one
after The
the
other,
wearing
ing
theThe
telephone.
person
on
the meadow
prehended
by top-secret
team

brow
with
twenty-two
stitches,
or thatoffarthe
door
behind
him
and
gone.
far
from
the
back
door
shelf,
tois the
were
forbidding
in
the
dusk,
Sentiero
Rilke,
as
the
Italsince
the
Bronze
Age.
And
they
rode
on.
boots?
the
neck.
His her
backneighbor,
rounded
andwalkthe
drove
that over
their son
wasofa freshman
at theup human
routinepeople
channel-surfing,
theres
Jessica,
out
e man me
slung
a pile
stuff
pushed
jumpsuits
and
slipping
disposable
other
end seems
to have
finally
hungbooup. her
special
agents.despite
Which the
says the distance no more than the length
husband,
his network
first
show
No, School
those of
areMines,
his boots.
Im snoring,
breath
fell
out of
him.
and
that
urinating,
primping,
andher
doing THE NEW YORKER, APRIL 11, 2016
ing
Cocoa.
gives
a worked
tap
e,sing
they Colorado
against
thetheir
garage
door.
From
theon
front,
ties over
shoes,
men
their being
they
like; She
which
has
justhorn
fine of his arm, outstretched. And the39
cancelled,
will
go
on on
to write
for
dog,
three
wearing
my boots.
All
through
dinner
his
plate
sat NEWYORKER.COM
es,
a
their
daughter,
who
was
born
with
a
other
things
too
tediously
real
for
realand
waves:
Go
ahead,
cross
the
street.
rganic the
house
looked
nice.
Neat.
Green
hands
and kneeswalks
in theright
attic,past
creaking
The husband
the a until
now; popular
so why, on
the first episode
relatively
supernatural
po- NEUJORKER.COM
now
that
hes
had
a
minute
to
look
at
Sarah
Shun-lien
Bynum
on
stories
that
dont
Thats
the boots
you
lostout
gamuntouched.
He hurry,
wentand
to shes
bed preocearly,
d an res
television.
piratory
had to
of ity
She
isnt
in assigned
any
lawn.
Frontailment,
door
adrop
glossy
bright
Landers
on
small
talk
withitfriends
overhead,
tapping
inquisitively
at the lice
office
kitchen
andpainted
keeps
heading
down
hesprocedural,
been
to write,
are they Pat
or that
the woman,
Not
as
big
as
its
bark
makes
sound.
goit?
according
to making
plan.
bling.
Remember?
said the
wasintrigued
asleep
before
the
kid started
cho- high
I was
by theand
notion
of the
school
to be
treated
at akid.
special
of friends.
cupied
a relaxing
anticipatory
red.
But
back
here
its
different.
Flat- and
beams.
After
collecting
all the estimates,
tryingwith
something
different?

No. Those were different boots. humming.


THE NEW YORKER, APRIL 11, 2016
73
sort
of
arithmetic.
How
many
more
As the tened
cardboard
boxes,
dusty
grill.
At the stop sign, she counts to five.
she consulted with her husband, who THE NEW YORKER, APRIL 11, 2016
43
weeks
before
they
can
talk
about
getoffices, Plastic
playhouse
bleaching
in
the
sun.
had only this to say: Trust your gut.
The back yard is a mess. Weeds up She doesnt want to get another ticket.
66
THE NEU JORKER, JUNE 20, 2016
some
bidscracked
on the concrete.
roof ? Also,
Byron Shrunken
lumps
of shitthe
allname.
over They
the ting
OhGreenleaf!
Thats
to his
waist,
A the
tarp And then waits a little more, because

cial m
this ch
like a
ing, w
have s

Sp
barkin
at the
the o
door.
pound
as if i
mixed
dog la
on the
yond
and d
jacket
suppli
far fro
the di
of his
now t
it? No

At
She d
And t
theres
ing C
and w
She is
cupied
sort o
weeks
ting s
kid ne
in her
Voder
ate fr
board
prope
of De
should
for he
think
persti
show
sodes,
back y

We
the da
roll aw
lic in

THE NE

THE CRITICS
THE CURRENT CINEMA
BOOKS

FUN AND GAMES

ROUND AND ROUND


Everybody Wants Some!! and Miles Ahead.
A debut novel mines the political, both personal and national
BY ANTHONY LANE

ILLUSTRATION BY KEVIN ALVIR

habited, or infested, solely by members


of the baseball team. His roommate is
Billy (Will Brittain), a country boy
mocked for his hickhood by the others.
They include Roper (Ryan Guzman),
another comely fellow, who spends an
entire scene lauding his own ass in the
mirror; the mustached McReynolds
(Tyler Hoechlin), who loathes losing,
even at Ping-Pong; Niles ( Juston Street),
the resident jerk, who claims to have
thrown a pitch at ninety-five miles an
hour; and Dale ( J. Quinton Johnson),
the only black guy in the house, not that
anyone notices or cares. There are multiple flash points in this society, mostly
to do with sporting smarts or carnal braggadocio, but racial bias isnt one of them.
In his limber and leisurely fashion, Linklater is glancing at a golden age.
His most cheering gift, and maybe
the reason that he calls this movie a spiritual sequel to Dazed and Confused,
is an itch to populate the frame. At his
best, he doesnt really direct a film so
much as host itkeeping all his characters involved, rescuing the wallflowers,
making sure that everyone is plied with
lines and bits of stage business, as if he
were topping up drinks. The obvious
comparison is with Hail, Caesar!, in
which the Coens introduced a crew of
promising
andThe
thenbus
let them
throb in figures
his eyes.
eased slide,
right
around the
snowy
New
half-used;
the
result
leftHampshire
audiencescul-degazgroping at the pavement through the
ingsac,
around
at the end and asking, Is that
melting ice. Inside the cavernous universiit?ty,To
Linklater,
one away
is disposable.
the candidates no
shuffled
their preTake
Nesbit
(Austin
Amelio),
whoshaking
tends
debate
jitters
like huskies
softly
theirbets,
fur. for
Anda as
took the
to snow
placefrom
unwise
fewthey
dollars,
on
stage, Harrison brought his bus to a stop.
fruitless
daily activities; Plummer (TemCarefully, tentatively, the bus and Harrison
plemade
Baker),
love.who is just off the pace whenever jokes are flying about; or Willoughby
(Wyatt Russell), the in-house hippie. In

his first scene, he holds up a copy of Carl


Hailed
as a and
Lolita
theChappost
Sagan
s Cosmos
says for
to Jake,
Citizens
world,
Keifers
ter 9. ItllUnited
blow your
mind.
Thatnovmoel
explores
intersections
ment
ignitesthe
ourstrange
sense of
him, and it
of
politics
and
But
a world
burns
through
thelust.
rest of
thein
film,
reachwhere
the sexual
proclivities
of presing a smoky
fruition
as he proves
to be
idents
and senators
the undisputed
masterare
ofplucked
the bong.from
theBest
OvalofOffice
and truckplayed
stop bathall is Finnegan,
with
rooms
andcharm
splashed
onto
the pages
a runaway
by Glen
Powell.
Finn,
of
the
most prestigious
newspapers,
as he
is known,
is the eloquent
one, spoolthe
novelist
mustriffs
digindeeper.
Hands
ing out
his verbal
a bid not
just
on
the Wheel
is a to
wonderful
to catch
girls but
boost the exploradramatic
tion
dash of
of the
the unorthodox
proceedings.love
Webetween
all take
aturns
manbeing
and chumps
a bus and
sacrifices
around
here, hethey
exmust
By the
endchumpification,
of the novel,
plains.make.
You accept
your
the
reader
wonders
whether
it
and astute
move on.
Excellent
advice,
in any
is
stranger
than the
modern
field
of endeavor,
andworld
a key toofthe
lovely
primary
politics.
note of comic
humility with which the
Kiefers book
comes after
much
natural-born
bumptiousness
of the
stuanticipation.
Theand
publishing
world
dents is tempered
soothed, and
the
has
been delighted
with into
the
movielong
prevented
from coarsening
origin
of the
Hands
the Wheel:
a brawl.story
Jake and
otheron
newbies
must,
riding
a bus
into
New
York City,
of course,
expect
a dose
of hazing,
and
Kiefer
inspired
trip
they arewas
duly so
fastened
withby
ducthis
tape
to
that
he fence,
immediately
sped
outdown,
400
a border
one of them
upside
pages
in a fitwith
of hyperproductivity.
and peppered
baseballs struck by
A
substantial
majority
of theI pages
their
bat-wielding
teammates.
guess
proved
unusable,
Kiefer
mused
thats part
of the deal,
yet the
tale asina
an
interview
year in thisis magawhole,
though last
filthy-mouthed,
lenient
zine,
but the
of a were
bus harmed
as the
and humane.
Noidea
freshmen
vehicle
for narrative,
it stuck in my
in the making
of this film.
craw,
autopilot
was
It isassetitinwere.
1980, aThe
crossroads
for muset
novel.
sicaltotrends
both coming and going. We
Kiefers
character,
get the
dregs main
of disco,
Blondies HarriHeart
son
Lincoln,
is carefully
Thea
of Glass,
the Cars,
Cheap drawn.
Trick, and
most
revelations
ofPop
his
burst ofinteresting
pustular punk.
We get Ms
character
cometothrough
hisI bus
log
Muzik, which
my horror
remementries.
Beginning
simple
recordber, in pitiless
detail,asfrom
1979.
And,
ing
of space
and
time, the
logswe
soon
courtesy
of the
Sugarhill
Gang,
get
become
romantic
and in
personal
Rappersmore
Delight,
chanted
angelic
as
Harrison
and the buss sexual
relachorus,
consonant-perfect,
by Roper,
Finn, Plummer, Dale, and Jake as they

ly. CNN flashbulbs popped in the night

around Linklaters
the bus and Harrison
felt each
Jason college.
Kiefer At
oers
lookheunder
hooddirect
of a bus
drivers
unorthodox
Richard
new movie
is setoneat a Texas
his abest,
doesntthe
really
a film
so much
as host it. aair.
74

THE NEW YORKER, APRIL 11, 2016

THE NEU JORKER, JUNE 20, 2016

67

ABOVE: GUIDO SCARABOTTOLO

BY JAMES FOLTA

f you cant think of a good way to


kick off your movie, how about this?
Take a handsome young buck, put him
at the wheel of an Oldsmobile coupe,
and have him whip along a Texas highway to the sound of My Sharona, by
the Knack. That is what Richard Linklater does in his latest film, Everybody
Wants Some!!, and its hard to think
of a brighter start. The buck in question is Jake (Blake Jenner), and by the
end of the song weve already grasped
the unfolding shape of his life. He glides
past groups of girls his age and parks in
front of a house on a pleasant street. He
has a shy smile and a box of LPs in his
arms. Sunlight pours down like a benediction. Hes ready for anything.
Linklater has long been a champion
of beginnings and ends. Dazed and
Confused (1993) hung out with a bunch
of kids on their final day of high school;
Boyhood (2014), having tracked its
hero, Mason, for many years, bid him
farewell on his first day of higher education, at once bewildered and blissed
out. Jake, too, is at that pivotal point. A
freshman at an unnamed college in
southeast Texas (otherwise known, to
moviegoers, as Linklaterland), he is more
of a jock than Mason, and less of a
wounded soul; whatever his past may
MOMENT
in Hands
have HERES
been, weAlearn
very little
about on
it.
(Melville
House),
the
Hes the
likeWheel
a passenger
boarding
a ship
shimmering
debut novel
by Jason
with
a single suitcase.
What matters
is
Kiefer,
when
the
surging
tideprotagonist
of the now,Harrison
and the
Lincolnfollows
remarks
oneagerly
the awakening
camera
him
into the
of his intimate
to the
housetaking
its connection
cue from a snaking
presidential
campaign
thatto an
he
hose,
which runs
from thebus
garden
drives for
a living:where a water bed is
upstairs
bedroom,
slowly being
filled. Its that kind of place.
The bus purred beneath him. His
Jake
is
a
pitcher,
and the
house slightis inhands gripped the wheel,
sweating

Havent you heard? Inanity is the new sophistication.

.
tionship blossoms. This log, from an
early trip in Iowa, is so stark that it
verges on found poetry but crackles
with lust: January 19th. 6:15 AM:
left Marriott Motor Inn; 6:45 AM:
arrive Applejack Diner. Gas and
fluids refilled, the bus laps them up
hungrily. Weather grey, roads slick.
Harrison is drawn to the one
constant in his life, his campaign
bus. A strong and stoic former
Greyhound Bus, the vehicle seems
to listen when Harrison speaks to
it, late at night when the rest of the
staff is asleep or somnambulantly
at work. And certainly anyone who
has driven a large vehicle can understand the connection, the way the
weight can sensuously resist a turn
of the wheel, the way car and driver
can together understand and navigate a road. These moments in the
novel are so relatably put, that the
astute readers will find themselves
wondering how lustful is their relationship to cars.
Senator Tom Dash, whom Harrison works for, is a principled man
loosely modeled on a Gary Hart or a
Joe Biden. Having cut his teeth as a
68

THE NEU JORKER, JUNE 20, 2016

.
young staffer with the transformative McGovern campaign of 72, the
senator struggles with the discovery
of Harrisons love. It is a fascinating investigation of the curdling of
the sexual revolution of the Sixties
in the older age of the baby boomers. Senator Dash recognizes that as

a younger man, his mind would have


been more open to his bus drivers
love, but as a presidential candidate
and an older man, he must think
pragmatically. Harrison and Dashs
conversations are a tug of war been
younger mens souls fighting against
older mens minds.

Kiefer, keen to bring us close


to Harrisons lust for the bus, lavishes his prose upon the details of
engines, axles and grinding gears.
The details are delightfully correct, giving the reader an unadulterated look into the filthy hands and
stained undersides of vehicles of a
puerile Springsteen-meets-middleAmerica car culture. In one memorable passage, careful descriptions of
Harrison cleaning the bus exhaust
system mingle with overheard conversation between the senator and
his staff as they pore over the details
of a policy paper. Is building a functional tax system much different
than building an engine? Kiefer certainly gives the astute reader much
to chew on.
Educated at the exclusive Idaho
Writing Retreat, Kiefer learned to
craft sentences with the unambiguous zip that demonstrates their evident merit. His sentences snap but
never crackle; they rush but never
exceed the speed limit. His prose is
its trimmest in dialogue, when the
characters speak like people around
us might, verging on the mundane.
But Kiefer time and again proves
adept at stepping carefully along
what we might call the Baumbach
line, making sure his sparsity implies depth while displaying banality. Take this exchange between
Harrison and Dash:
The road opened out before them
in straight lines, extending out across the
Midwestern plains into unseen distances.
Harrison stared so long that the horizon
seemed to become just another of the roads.
Straight roads out here, eh Harrison?
Yes sir. Straight and true.
True as well, eh? The senators voice
trailed up an octave.
Sure. You could trust these roads. I
mean look. Harrison took his hands off
of the steering wheel, slowly raising them
above his head. The bus, his bus, continued
driving along the road, only ever wobbling
slightly off of course.
Well Ill be, remarked the senator, I
guess some things still are true.
Sir, youve been in politics too long.
The senator surprised himself with a laugh
at Harrison.
Ah, Harrison, too true. I have been in
the game too long. A statement as true as
this road. He groped in his jacket for some
piece of loose paper. It didnt much matter
which, he needed something to occupy his
hand.

effect.
Bang! Zoom!
To the
moon,like
Alice!
the unabashedly orgasmic build of disappearing into the woods. Later, onnine beds were
expected
to be filled,
and,
She
knows
hes
not
going
to
do
it.
with some serious drinking already going Rilkes poems. In 1912, he wrote to a line, I discovered that Eichmann and his
begin- friend, We are in the karst, and the hard- S.S. guards had stayed at the inn while
n in the dining room, this was
Kiefer
isis required
to be
ofparticularly
himened
in thismountains forgo the effeminacy fleeing U.S. troops at the end of the war.
ning to strikeSomething
me
as problematic.
Night
lauded
for
his
rigorous
process.
moment,
he
knows.
Someone
is
scared
was going to be a challenge; morning of any vegetation. Theres actually quite Gold coins that they buried under the
Traveling
on ahelp.
generous
from
needs his
Whatsgrant
confusing
a lot
of vegetation around the castle huts in the meadow had been dug up
ruesome.and
the
University
of
Texas
at
Austins
is
the
question
of
who.
Even
though
I decided that the only way to han- (and only Rilke could have
occasionally over the years.
Center
for
Innovative
Bus
boy
is looming
her Writing,
and
has the gentle slopes
If I had to choose a fadle it was the
to
get
myself
to sleepover
immeimagined
thetofist
young
author
was
visit
his
cocked,
they thing
bothable
look
to
him to be mountains),
vorite stretch from my samdiately, and
clear
out
first
in to
nearby
an Iimpressive
number
like
theyre
in trouble.
pling of the Via, it would
he morning.
had a sleeping
pill inof
myMidwestbut the path itself is pure
ern
diners
over
a
summer.
thefantastical water
be the part of the Blue trail
lasses case, where Id also stowed
my And
karst:
research
shines
in clenched,
hismisattention
to stone, fissured into
Arm
raised,
he
sees
that passes through the
ontact-lens
container.
Ahand
minor
eroded
detailing
of
plates
and
itthe
then,
clearly:
shecutlery,
thinks
hes what
a joke.
Walser villages of the Piedhap gave the
day
a final farcical
twist.
geologists call clints
menus.
The
run
He
sees itsolution
in thedescriptions
stubborn
wayoften
sheand
holds
mont. The landscape was
Some of the
lens
had leaked,
grykesblocks and
pages
andthe
pages
at narcotic.
alook,
time,
doling
out
her
body,
blank
the
total
abthickly forested, with Chihalf-dissolving
my
precious
cracksand
fluted like
specifics
in Hes
heaping
portions:
cofof fear.
lightweight.
joker.
nese-looking crags and
There wassence
no alternative
butato
lick
the A
cake
icing or pinched into
fee
thedoing
colortothis,
and
taste
of he
oldrigid
steelwaves like an arrested ocean. knolls scarved in fog. The villages were
He
not
going
do
it.
thinks,
esidue out.
I swas
myActually,
tongue
beams,
pancakes
teetering to IBayes
am.cases
buried deep
inI the
plush interior,
then headed north into Austria, and miraculous specimens of an ingenious,
bel
heights,
and
short
order
eggs following the Purple trail. One low-impact culture. There were miniawhen the door opened and the Swiss
resumed
arrived
fastRight
that
they
to of it passes near the Altaussee ture funiculars for bringing in supplies
Bam!
Pow!
in foltheseemed
eye.
She
ouple came
in.
Anso
awkward
pause
stretch
be
cracked
from
their
shells
already
stumbles
backward,
nearly
falling
on
owed, in which I decided it would be salt mine, where the Nazis hid some of (the streets are too steep and narrow for
over-easy.
TheThey
tourtheir
is as
her
letting
goculinary
of stared
the bag.
hopeless to
trybutt,
to explain.
stolen art. I dropped down from cars), Richard Scarry-like vehicles on
good
as
any
other
food
writing
and meadowsstill emerald green caterpillar treads for the garbage and

or a moment, evidently reappraising


pristine
theLenny
sections
are a joy
peruse.
brightens.
Actually,
Ive
heir high-minded
roommate
as to
some
inbeen
Augustand looked at the old heavy lifting, stone houses caged in
I
felt
the
authors
hand
reaching
thinking
about
that!
And
heres
where with salt crystals glittering along
woodenisbalconies,
scythes lying on the
ind of cokehead or very specialized railbeds,
The kitchen
fantastic.
for can
abeating
crutch
the
moments
ofthe
Harwe
introduce
some
really dark,
indeviant, before
ain
retreat.
I passed
tunnels and a subterranean chapel stone-covered roofs, chimneys shingled
risons
quiet
reflection
teresting
stuff
story.walking
Youve to St. Barbara, the patron saint like tiny houses. The schist-rich local
ut, mercifully
quickly,
to in
thethe
dimBwhile
roar
dedicated
alone
musing
on
the
bus
he
comes
seen
The
Manchurian
Candidate,
Theofemperor
he has a flabby
butt! in
rock made everything
glitter madly
f Slovenian drinking songs, and left of
miners. Years-old swags
fir hungis nakedand
to
love.
The
sections
captivate
and
right?
O.K.,
so
what
Im
thinking
is:
before daybreak the next morning.
on the walls, smelling as if theyd just the sunshine. The Walsers were Gerinspire,
buthas
a doing
tendency
lose
the
warden
been
someto
crazy
Just beyond
the hut,
Ihave
saw
something
been
cut, the salt air keeping them un- man-speaking

refugees and migrants


steam.
They
are
thrilling
when
he fresh.
psychological
experiments
on
the
moving in the gray light below me: a naturally
who spread south through the Alps
is mentally
composing
he evening,
inmates.
Including
remarks,
well,at Blaa-Alm,
Harry, whatduring
is a theground
That
I stayed
haggy animal
with big
horns. ItEmmett
was speeches
an Diggs.
Middle on
Ages,
improvising
a terms.
the
books own
would
give,
admissions
he
would
upon
being
asked
byany
a female
the
hallway
until
he aarrives
the the
el- on
Theyve
made
him
into
an
assassin
and
woman
to The
do
when
mandisatnot
the
trail.
owners,
who
bex, though in profile it looked like a an inn along
life
style
the high
terrain
where
noBecause
what
can
of us officer
hope
make,
or sonnets
to
recite
to his
as
they
load
ambulance,
evator,
which
hebetakes
to
lobby.
he
doesnt
even know
it!out
Using,
you
man
who
she thought
him
at first
to
toldbus.
me they
were
going
to
gone
forthe
lightly disreputable
unicorn.
I took
body
else to
farmed
lived.
Itinto
was the
a frufind or
in
anyher
romantic
relationship
But
sections
to break
down
Now,
weresex
youand
in
other
way asnodding
at doubt
thethe
security
guard,
radical
brainwashing
techniques,
be?
There
is key
no
in thegal
mind
the
night,After
left my
room
in
enmy phoneknow,
andthe
filmed
it as tend
it ambled
life style,
byaany
the
debut
aconstrained
little
little
sympathy?
when
Kiefer
has
to
find
his
way
back
saulted?
will
feel
for
the
first
time
he
pushes
through
the
glass
doors.
He
like
a
mixture
of
what
they
do
in
A
of the
readerbuilding
when he mands
or she of basicAnd
an astute
old wooden
cross the lunar scree. When I look at trance. It was
survival,
butwatch
there were
as we
our airwaves
to
the
fact
that
Harrison
is
standing
afraid,
or
that
the
dog,
after
attacking
stands
on
the
empty
sidewalk,
squintClockwork
Orange
plus
electric-shock
exhales
thedeep
smallinsigh
recognizing
style,
the of
midhe footage now, it seems the perfect in the Tyrolian
enough grace
notes
to make you
feel
become
increasingly
thickened
with
alone
inplus
an hypnosis?
empty
oftenwe
ignora U.P.S. delivery
driver,
will
be taken
ing
in the
barely
registering
So what
come
humor
thatsunlight,
we with
are in
the presence
of inhabitants
dle
of silent
countryside,
flowermblem oftherapy
that place:
wild
andfield,
dreamthat the
enjoyed
their exispolitics,
they
become
so weighed
ingrealize
the campaign
staff searching
for
tolittle
a rescue
organization
up
that
the
traffic
going
Then he tence.
slowlyIn adown
to
is what triggers
him ishung
white
an ace
humorist.
ike and marvellous.
balconies
looking
out onby.
a meadow
museum
in Alagna,
Inorth
that
the rhetoric
and
trickery
him. These
transitions
are as
unspecializes
in
Australian
shepherds,
or
rotates
to
face
the
building.
The
secuwomen
Abruptly
the husband
pushes
full of small farm buildings, and I seemed admired abecomes
teaspoon carved
with a hand
normalized.
The calculagainly
as
they
are
unnecessary.
The
that
the
daughter,
having
been
told
that
rity
guard
moves
to
open
the
door
for
away
from
the
table,
his
chair
squealiking the entire Via Alpina to have it entirely to myself. A wooden holding a tions,
rose. horse-trading and ad homione
saving
grace
mightstaircase
be at led
ing
against
He
stands,
rising
her
mother
tripped
at the
him,
husband
shakes
Its the nem
looping
continuum
the
trail
would
take
years,the
so floor.
afterhere
leaving
upbut
to the
a large
bedroom
in his head,
attacks
feel ofjust
partgym
of and
our
the
books
apt
ending,
when
a
wanto
his
full
height,
the
sight
of
which
split
her
eyebrow
open
on
a
barbell,
pulls
his
car
keys
from
his
pocket,
and
the packaged
Via Alpinaand
whatslick,
it is. Itpart of a
Triglav National Park I got into a car which the walls, ceiling, and every other that makesday,
dering
Harrison
and
Kiefers
Lenny
pause
and
shoot knowlasurface,
quick including
willlong
grow
whenever
woman
turns toward
the parking
garage.
The take
doesnt
tonervous
lose
yourself
in
thethe
nd drovemakes
to other
sections
of
the
trail.
the light-switch
cover,
balanced
breakfast.
Any
thinking
edge
of
Fort
Green
Park
artfully
glance
at
the
showrunner.
Everything
puts
on
exercise
clotheshe
somehow
only
place
he
wants
to
go
right
now
mountainistravel:
the mornMoving southwest, I crossed into Italy, had been intricately panelled in the same rhythms ofAmerican
advised
to step on the
situates
a firecracker
ofPlaa set piece.
O.K.,
buddy?
theKarst
showrunner
asks. is home.
senses
thatafternoon
regardlessdescent,
of theand
bloodHarand
and with
long
where I began
a walk
on the
butter-colored
wood. It was very com- ing climb bus
Senator
Dash
Much
hay
has
been
made
in
the
The
husband
looks
at
him
evenly.
Yes,
tears
his
attention
should
be
focussed

eau, a rocky landscape pockmarked with fortable, even luxurious, if a touch


sar- the dependably
rison, undependable
to prowl theweather,
political streets
publishing
world
overup
Kiefers
repu- I satEmmett
hangs
back
for a moment,
says. Imand
justended
getting
a at
Coke.
elsewhere.
The
sound
of
the front
door
aves andhe
sinkholes,
the neverwith
quitethem.
knowing
whatbrings
youre
cophagal.
out on the
balcony,
watchKiefer
us inside
tation
as
a
sad
and
dour
young
man.
surveying
the
scene.
On
one
hand,
he
opening
softly
makes
him
look
at
the
along ing night fall and feeling as though Id going to see
Duino Castle. It was here, walking
the crestreorienting
of the next the potheover
machine,
But
this
book
is
a
brilliant
sign
post
Theres
more
blood
than
he
expected.
wants
to
go
to
the
woman,
who
is
sobboy
(a
little
heavyset,
still
wearing
the
he cliff-top path above the Adriatic, landed in a folktale about a traveller ar- high pass or
whosprocess
going to back
emergetofrom
litical
the strange
for
fans
who
know
to
brutalladyto
ishave
holding
her
eyebewith
thein abing
in disbelief
and dripping
blood
satchel
shoulder),
but
hat Rilke The
claimed
heardhim
a voice
mist along
the
trailthough,
unlike
riving
household
under some
pow- the
place
it slung
shouldover
be. his
Kiefers
intimate
ly
funny.
There
is
no
doubt
reading
hand
that
was
on
the
messenger
bag,
and
on
the
floor.
But
even
though
he
has
before
he
can
cross
the
room
and
reach
peak the opening line of what became erful enchantment.
tzi, you can
be fairly
sure the
stranger
portrayal
shows
us that
the political
Hands
on the
Wheel
he
is downcan see
blood
coming
through
her was
no way
of knowing
a veryisnt
good
him,
before
heHe
canmight
open even
his mouth
and
There
nothing
sinister, that
exactly,
he Duinohe
Elegies:
Who,
if that
I cried,
goingprocess
to kill
you.
is as
simultaneously
strange
right
hilarious.
This
is
clear
in
secfingers.
In
her
other
hand
shes
still
holdplastic
surgeon
will
sew
up
her
eyesay,
Hey,
brother,
the
boy
has
closed
Thefirtriumph
of good
trees around
the fiction
would hear me from among the Angels though the tall
want is
to beand
yourrelatable
friend. Weve
comeathat
as, well,
man having
tions
when asHarrisons
ing
thelike
telephone.
The
on the were
brow
withus
twenty-two
oropen
that
theBronze
door abehind
to allow
to in
empathize,
meadow
forbidding
the stitches,
dusk, tofar
rders? The
Sentiero
Rilke,
the person
Ital- mother
since the
Age.
sex
with
bus. him and is gone.
excitedly
attends
one finally
of thehung
Senaother
end seems
to have
up. her
husband,
despite
his first
a curious
door.
Harrison
andshow
the
THE NEW
APRIL 11, 2016
39
tors rallies, only to realize halfway being
cancelled,
will
go
on
to
write
for YORKER,
bus are a relationship we find
ourNEWYORKER.COM
through
that shewalks
has right
confused
the aselves
The husband
past the
relatively
popular
supernatural
poNEUJORKER.COM
frowning on, but it is not Sarah Shun-lien Bynum on stories that dont
Folta blogs
about vlogs.
candidate
with
opponent.
As a lice
office
kitchen
andhis
keeps
heading down
thatsocietys.
the woman,
go according
to plan.
our procedural,
own frown,orbut
The James
mortified Harrison tries to smooth astute reader struggles to find his
73
his mothers confusion, she loudly or her own smile, to find common THE NEW YORKER, APRIL 11, 2016

THE NEU JORKER, JUNE 20, 2016

69

BRIEFLY NOTED
The
New
York Times,
Authors (Other
(Self-published).
At the
Existentialist
Cafby
, byVarious
Sarah Bakewell
Press). This
A
meandering
plotexistentialist
that follows
hundredsmakes
of characters,
lively
history of the
movement
a strong, if
each
in thedisorienting,
critical moment
their
saddest, least
fascisometimes
case forofthe
inextricability
of philosonating
It embedding
takes major
intellectual
jumps astobeing,
conphy andexploit.
biography,
dense
conceptssuch
sume
this bookand
in bad
its entirety,
andthe
even
morelives
timeand
to mido
nothingness,
faithin
colorful
so.
anddebated
perhaps
more
damningly,
it lacks
the
lieusMoreover,
of those who
them.
Though
the book
is in many
trappings
of any
bearing abyphysiways a group
study,actual
dottedbook,
with including
cameo appearances
Albert
cal
likeness
to any
book IveMaurice
seen. ItMerleau-Ponty,
is impossible and
to read
Camus,
Simone
de Beauvoir,
oththis
and on
keep
the pagesand
together
the correct
order.as
ers, itbook
focusses
Heidegger
Sartre. in
Heidegger
appears
Its
triumph
of course
is leaving the
reader
with an overoracular,
hermetic,
and Nazi-tainted;
Sartre
as intellectually
prowhelming
sense
of doom. For now,Their
one thing
I can
say for
miscuous and
Soviet-sympathizing.
divergent
characters
The
New York reputations
Times: tonally,
is very consistent.
New
and checkered
lenditcredence
to BakewellsThe
view
that
York
is better than
you. The
Times
ideasTimes
are interesting,
but people
areNew
vastlyYork
more
so. is right.
A
Tough
Maze,
WullGarrels
Shootz(Farrar,
(Ringlings,
&
Putin
Country
, bybyAnne
StrausBarnums
& Giroux).
Baileys).
Start. Down.
Right.
Up.inside
Second
Down.
Most reporting
on Russia
is done
theRight.
Moscow
Ring
Right.
Down.
Right.equivalent
Down. Left.
Up. Left.
Up.
Road; the
American
wouldRight.
be midtown
ManhatLeft.
Right.precincts
Down. Left.
Left. Down.
First
Right.
tan orRight.
the official
of Washington,
D.C.
But
GarDown.
Down.
Left. reporter
Up. Left.
Down.
Left.
rels, whoLeft.
has been
a superb
forDown.
NPR and
ABC,
sets
Up.
Up. Right.
Left. Down.
Up.the
Down.
Left.city
Right.
Up.
her quiet
but excellent
book in
provincial
of CheLeft.
Up.just
Left.
Right.the
Right.
Down. Down.
Left.border
Right.of
lyabinsk,
beyond
Ural Mountains,
on the
Up.
Left.and
Up.
Left.
Right.
Left. isLeft.
Up.
Europe
Asia,
where
theRight.
glitz ofDown.
the capital
nowhere
Left.
Down.Her
Left.
Left.sympathetic
Down. Right.
Quick
Up.
to be found.
clear,Up.
patient,
portraits
of teachRight.
Up. Right.
Down.doctorsthe
Right. Down.
Right.
Right.
ers, children,
prostitutes,
whole
raftUp.
of Russian
Up.
Left. Up. (Spoilera Alert!)
Right.
Done! and an underhumanityprovide
pointillist
landscape

standing of the country, and its mentalities, that eludes many

New
for People
more York
overtlyCity
political
books. Who Dont Get It, by Josh
Whiteguy (BuzzFeed). Few writers have attempted to distill
essence
New
CityIleinto
a novel,
consumAndthe
After
ManyofDays
, byYork
Jowhor
(Tim
Duggan
Books).
able
by people
dontdbut
live here
so that
they might
At the
openingwho
of this
novel,
the teen-age
sonhave
of a
something
to aspire
to. Reminiscent,
course, His
of Fitzgerlocal magistrate
in coastal
Nigeria goesofmissing.
younger
alds
Theexamines
Great Gatsby
in its that
criticism
of thecontributed
upper class,
brother
the events
may have
to
which
also brings to
mind
Whartons
The
Age of Innocence
the disappearance,
and
the story
unfolds
in flashbacks
across
and
Plaths
Theinhabitants
Bell Jar. This
is undoubtedly
like
The
decades.
The
ofnovel
the familys
ancestral
village
Catcher
in the Rye
Tree they
Grows
in Brooklyn,
in that
are in conflict
withand
an A
entity
refer
to as Company,
New
City farms
also acts
and bear
me for
on this,
a
whichYork
destroys
andas,
homes
whilewith
drilling
oil and
character
in thetobook.
Drum Slowly,
The
of
later attempts
buildBang
gas the
pipelines
through
theHouse
region.
Mirth,
American
Psycho,
Breakfast
at Tiffanys:
these novels
The standoff
slowly
builds
to violence,
culminating
in the
are
alldisappearance.
summoned to mind
in comparison;
but what
a rare
boys
This structure
undermines
suspense
beast
to read
a novel aboutforNew
York City.
but creates
opportunities
ominous
foreshadowingfor

instance, in the magistrates habit of asking his children,

The
Who Hit the Moon, by Donna Tartt (Penguin
Are Boy
you there?
Random House). Like many of the men who have traveled
to
the moon
and beyond,
this is(Europa).
the tale This
of a dreamer.
A
Winter
, by Christopher
Nicholson
understated,
boy,
ournovel
heroimagines
Tony, purchases
of the Hardys
eggs in town.
On
tender
an elderlyallThomas
unrequited
afascination
clear night,
hisBugler,
parentstheand
sisterwhose
have mother
drifted was
to
withafter
Gertie
woman
sleep,
Tony carries
hisheroine
cartonsofonto
theofroof
of his house
the inspiration
for the
Tess
the dUrbervilles.
and,
withsecond,
all of his
might,
he lobs
towards
thethe
moon.
Hardys
much
younger
wife,them
Florence,
forms
other
He
tonot-quite
sleep, confident
that The
the plot
thumps
he heard
pointdrifts
of this
love triangle.
concerns
a thewere
eggs hitting
moon,
and not
hundreds
of lead.
eggsFlorpilatre production
of the
Tess
in which
Gertie
plays the
ing
on his
neighbors
roof.writing
We aredreams
invitedand
to enjoy
ence,upwho
is thwarted
in her
acts asthe
her
navet
of asecretary,
young boy,
whilehis
sharing
in the with
tragedy
of theI
husbands
watches
infatuation
despair.
town
waking years
to find
areisno
am forty-five
oldthat
andthere
my life
inomelets.
tatters, she laments.
Caroline
Although the books pace is unhurried and
its actionSchaper
sparse,

Nicholson has created an entrancing piece of fiction.

70

THE NEU JORKER, JUNE 20, 2016

THE NEW
YORKER,
APRIL
11, 2016BY ALEX CHEN
77
PHOTOGRAPH BY JAMES
FOLTA,
BOOK
COVERS

THE CRITICS
THE ART WORLD

NEARINGTHE
THE
ASYMPTOTE
CURRENT CINEMA
One womans superlative ugliness, and her sons destiny to paint it

FUN AND GAMES


BY KATHLEEN JORDAN

Everybody Wants Some!! and Miles Ahead.


BY ANTHONY LANE
tures now on display at the Luhring
f you cant think of a good way to habited, or infested, solely by members his first scene, he holds up a copy of Carl
Augustine Gallery. Since the openkick off your movie, how about this? of the baseball team. His roommate is Sagans Cosmos and says to Jake, Chaping of the exhibit last weekend, the
Take a handsome young buck, put him Billy (Will Brittain), a country boy ter 9. Itll blow your mind. That moChelsea gallery been packed; the
at the wheel of an Oldsmobile coupe, mocked for his hickhood by the others. ment ignites our sense of him, and it
line of art critics and wealthy buyand have him whip along a Texas high- They include Roper (Ryan Guzman), burns through the rest of the film, reachers encircles the block like one of
way to the sound of My Sharona, by another comely fellow, who spends an ing a smoky fruition as he proves to be
Fergsteins mothers thick curling
the Knack. That is what Richard Link- entire scene lauding his own ass in the the undisputed master of the bong.
arm hairs.
Best of all is Finnegan, played with
later does in his latest film, Everybody mirror; the mustached McReynolds
The collection, more than thirty
Wants Some!!, and its hard to think (Tyler Hoechlin), who loathes losing, a runaway charm by Glen Powell. Finn,
years in the making, tracks Fergof a brighter start. The buck in ques- even at Ping-Pong; Niles ( Juston Street), as he is known, is the eloquent one, spoolsteins attempt to document his
tion is Jake (Blake Jenner), and by the the resident jerk, who claims to have ing out his verbal riffs in a bid not just
mother Gerts unfortunate appearend of the song weve already grasped thrown a pitch at ninety-five miles an to catch girls but to boost the dramatic
ance as he lives in her garage apartthe unfolding shape of his life. He glides hour; and Dale ( J. Quinton Johnson), dash of the proceedings. We all take
ment in Terrytown, New Jersey. His
past groups of girls his age and parks in the only black guy in the house, not that turns being chumps around here, he exmotivation is at once magical and
front of a house on a pleasant street. He anyone notices or cares. There are mul- plains. You accept your chumpification,
heartbreaking: he wishes to depict
has a shy smile and a box of LPs in his tiple flash points in this society, mostly and move on. Excellent advice, in any
the true depths of her grotesquearms. Sunlight pours down like a ben- to do with sporting smarts or carnal brag- field of endeavor, and a key to the lovely
ness, and, by his own measure, falls
gadocio, but racial bias isnt one of them. note of comic humility with which the
ediction. Hes ready for anything.
short with each piece; luckily for his
Linklater has long been a champion In his limber and leisurely fashion, Link- natural-born bumptiousness of the stufans, Fergstein feels he may never
dents is tempered and soothed, and the
of beginnings and ends. Dazed and later is glancing at a golden age.
capture Gerts truest ugliness, and
His most cheering gift, and maybe movie prevented from coarsening into
Confused (1993) hung out with a bunch
so he must trudge on. Every time
of kids on their final day of high school; the reason that he calls this movie a spir- a brawl. Jake and the other newbies must,
I complete a painting, I think This!
Boyhood (2014), having tracked its itual sequel to Dazed and Confused, of course, expect a dose of hazing, and
This is how ugly my mother is. But
hero, Mason, for many years, bid him is an itch to populate the frame. At his they are duly fastened with duct tape to
then I see her at breakfast, and perfarewell on his first day of higher edu- best, he doesnt really direct a film so a border fence, one of them upside down,
haps the light catches her nose in a
cation, at once bewildered and blissed much as host itkeeping all his charac- and peppered with baseballs struck by
new ungodly angle, and I know then
out. Jake, too, is at that pivotal point. A ters involved, rescuing the wallflowers, their bat-wielding teammates. I guess
that my work is not complete, the
freshman at an unnamed college in making sure that everyone is plied with thats part of the deal, yet the tale as a
artist said, sighing around a canap.
southeast Texas (otherwise known, to lines and bits of stage business, as if he whole, though filthy-mouthed, is lenient
Its quite depressing.
were(Middle
toppingPleistocene
up drinks. The
obvious
and humane. No freshmen were harmed
moviegoers,
as Linklaterland),
he isplan
more kind
era by
the
Tell me,
what is it you
His initial email to me pitching
comparison
is
with
Hail,
Caesar!,
in
in the making of this film.
of a jock than Mason, and less of a most
reputable accounts). Much to the
to do with your one wild and
opening and describing the colIt is set in 1980, a crossroads for muwhich
the Coensartistic
introduced
a crew
wounded soul; whatever his past may Zane
Fergsteins
chagrin,
hisof lection
was filled with so many horprecious
life?

sical
trends both coming and going. We
promising
figures
and
then
let
them
slide,
have been, we learn very little about it. mothers
answer to Olivers question rific superlatives
about his mothers
Mary Oliver
resultand
left audiences
gaz- get the dregs of disco, Blondies Heart
Hes like a passenger boarding a ship is,half-used;
To getthe
uglier
uglier with
appearancethe foulest looking
ing around
the end and asking, Is that of Glass, the Cars, Cheap Trick, and a
with a single suitcase. What matters is each
passingatyear.
woman alive, greasier than a plate
of pustular punk. We get Ms Pop
To referring,
Linklater, of
no course,
one is disposable.
the surging tide of the now, and the it?Im
to Zane ofburst
blue cheese french fries, a horrid
Muzik,
which to my horror I rememTake Nesbit
(Austin
Amelio),
who
tends
camera follows him eagerly into the Fergsteins
Nearing the Asymptote: human swamp,that
reasonably, I
F COURSE, ANY well-read
ber,
in
pitiless
from 1979. And,
to place
unwise
bets,
for
a
few
dollars,
on
housetaking
its cue from a snaking One
Mother, Fouler Still, a series had to questiondetail,
his credibility. But
adult is completely sick of
hose, which runs from the garden to an fruitless daily activities; Plummer (Tem- courtesy of the Sugarhill Gang, we get
Mary Olivers work, but this one of mixed media paintings and sculp- then I arrived. Indeed, the collecupstairs bedroom, where a water bed is ple Baker), who is just off the pace when- Rappers Delight, chanted in angelic
line from one poem is perfect and
slowly being filled. Its that kind of place. ever jokes are flying about; or Willoughby chorus, consonant-perfect, by Roper,
poses a question so essential to our
Jake is a pitcher, and the house is in- (Wyatt Russell), the in-house hippie. In Finn, Plummer, Dale, and Jake as they
being that it is as if the poem has
existed since the dawn of human- Fergstein self-describes as a son tortured by the horrible presence of his mother.
Richard Linklaters new movie is set at a Texas college. At his best, he doesnt really direct a film so much as host it.

O
74

THE NEW YORKER, APRIL 11, 2016

THE NEU JORKER, JUNE 20, 2016

71

ABOVE: GUIDO SCARABOTTOLO

IMAGE BY JESSE BENJAMIN

She knowswith
hessome
not serious
going to
do it. already going Rilkes poems. In 1912, he wrote to a line, I discovered that Eichmann and h
drinking
on in the dining room, this was begin- friend, We are in the karst, and the hard- S.S. guards had stayed at the inn whil
Something
of as
him
in this
ningistorequired
strike me
problematic.
Night ened mountains forgo the effeminacy fleeing U.S. troops at the end of the wa
moment, he
is scared morning of any vegetation. Theres actually
coins
that they
quite
wasknows.
goingSomeone
to be a challenge;
half
of theGold
purses
contents
is buried
crum- under th
and needsgruesome.
his help. Whats confusing
huts inPapaya
the meadow
had been dug u
a lot of vegetation around thepled
castle
up Grays
wrappers.
is the question
of who.that
Even
I decided
the though
only way to han- (and only Rilke could have
occasionally
over the year
Upon first glance,
the pieces
the boy isdle
looming
over
andtohas
I had to choose a fa
it was to
get her
myself
sleep imme- imagined the gentle slopes
in the collection possessIf hereditary
his fist cocked,
they
look out
to him
vorite stretchwad
from my sam
diately,
andboth
to clear
first thing in nearby to be mountains),
but not genetic similaritiesa
like theyrethe
inmorning.
trouble. I had a sleeping pill in my but the path itself is pure
pling of
the Via,
of dead hair here mirrors
a wad
of it woul
where Id also stowed my karst: fantastical watertheelements,
part of the Blue tra
glasses case,
dead hair there, but bethe
Arm raised,
hand clenched,
he A
sees
thatarchitecture
passes through th
contact-lens
container.
minor mis- eroded stone, fissured into
the building blocks, the
it then, clearly:
she the
thinks
a joke.
Walser
hap gave
dayhes
a final
farcical twist. what geologists call clints
feel entirely uniqueof,
andvillages
repre-of the Pied
He sees it in
the stubborn
waysolution
she holds
mont.
landscape
wa
Some
of the lens
had leaked, and grykesblocks and
senting, a new being in
eachThe
work.
I
her body, the
blank look, the
ab- narcotic. cracksand fluted like
thickly to
forested,
half-dissolving
my total
precious
mentioned this observation
Ferg- with Chi
sence of fear.
Heswas
a lightweight.
A joker.
There
no alternative
but to lick the cake icing or pinched into
stein over a tiny hamnese-looking
sandwich wecrags an
Hes not going
to do out.
it. Actually,
he thinks,
scarved
in fog. Theand
villages wer
residue
I was doing
this, my tongue rigid waves like an arrested shared
ocean. in knolls
line for
the bathroom,
yes I am. buried deep in the cases plush interior,
miraculous
specimens
an ingeniou
I then headed north into Austria,
his and
response
was, I hope
each of
piece
There
were minia
when the door opened and the Swiss resumed following the Purple trail.
One
feels
like low-impact
its from a culture.
new artist
and
Bam! Pow!
eye. She pause fol- stretch of it passes near the Altaussee
ture funiculars
coupleRight
camein
in.the
An awkward
of a new subject
becauseforinbringing
essence,in supplie
stumbles backward,
nearlyI falling
too steep
andanarrow fo
lowed, in which
decidedon
it would be salt mine, where the Nazis hid some
they of
are. (the
Eachstreets
day are
I wake
up in
her butt, letting
goto
oftry
thetobag.
cars),
hopeless
explain. They stared their stolen art. I dropped down
fromwith
house
my Richard
mother,Scarry-like
I feel anewvehicles o

caterpillar
treads
for themy
garbage an
for a moment,
evidently reappraising pristine meadowsstill emeraldwith
greendisgust
and rage
because
Lenny brightens.
Actually,roommate
Ive been as some in Augustand looked at the
heavy lifting,
stone
their high-minded
old continues
mother
to find
newhouses
ways caged i
thinking about
that!
And heres
wherespecialized railbeds, with salt crystals glittering
balconies,
scythes
lying on th
kind of
cokehead
or very
toalong
be the wooden
worst thing
Ive ever
seen.
we can introduce
dark,
in- I passed the tunnels and a subterraneanIchapel
stone-covered
roofs,take
chimneys
deviant,some
beforereally
beating
a retreat.
want each
piece to fully
on shingle
teresting stuff
in the B Can
story. you
Youve
tiny houses.
The
schist-rich
loca
out, mercifully
quickly,
to the
roar dedicated to St. Barbara, the patron
thesaint
agonylike
of that.
Each day
I shed
a
keepdim
a secret?
seen TheofManchurian
Candidate,
emperor
is nakedand
heand
has each
a flabby
butt!
rock
made
everything
Slovenian drinking
songs, and left of The
miners.
Years-old
swags of fir
hung
skin,
day she
puts on aglitter
new madly i
right? O.K.,
so what
Im thinking
is:
the sunshine.
The Walsers
before
daybreak
the next morning.
on the walls, smelling as if theyd
just onelike
smellier
a cardigan
pulledwere Ger
the warden has
doing
Justbeen
beyond
thesome
hut, Icrazy
saw something been cut, the salt air keeping
man-speaking
refugees
them
unfrom
a
garbage
dump
outside
ofand
a migrant

psychological
experiments
on the
moving
in the gray light
below me: a naturally fresh.
who spread south through the Alp
Chinese restaurant.
inmates. shaggy
Including
Emmett
That evening, I stayed at Blaa-Alm,
animal
with bigDiggs.
horns. It was an
the Middle
Ages, improvising
The during
collection
is Fergsteins
upon
by the
a afemale
officer
hallway
he arrives
atThe
the owners,
el- firstthough
Theyve made
into in
an profile
assassinitand
inn along
the trail.
whodbeing
ibex,him
though
lookedthe
like
a an until
lifeasked
style
on
high
terrain
using
word
like where no
as
they
load
her
into
the
ambulance,
evator,
which
he
takes
to
the
lobby.
he
doesnt
even
know
it!
Using,
you
told
me
they
were
going
to
be
gone
for
slightly
disreputable
unicorn.
I
took
out
body
else
farmed
or
lived.
It
first
might
suggest
that
there
is was a fru
tions visceral impact on the nervous like a flaccid tilde, a symbol which is
Now,
were
you
in
any
other
way
asAfter
nodding
at
the
security
guard,
know,
radical
brainwashing
techniques,
the
night,
left
my
room
key
in
the
enmy
phone
and
filmed
it
as
it
ambled
gal
life
style,
constrained
by the de
more
to
come.
That,
like
so
much
in
system is significantbreathtaking. placed over the letter n in certain
saulted?
will
feel
for
the
first
time
he
pushes
through
the
glass
doors.
He
like Fergsteins
a mixture
what
they
do
in
A
trance.
It
was
an
old
wooden
building
acrossofbody
the
lunar
scree.
When
I
look
at
mands
of
basic
survival,
but
there wer
our
small
and
inconsequential
lives,
of work covers words in Spanish.
afraid,
or
that
the
dog,
after
attacking
stands
on
the
empty
sidewalk,
squintClockwork
Orange
plus
electric-shock
in
the
Tyrolian
style,
deep
in
the
midthe
footage
now,
it
seems
the
perfect
enough
grace
notes
to
make
you fee
is
a
false
suggestion.
Fergstein
has
the Luring Augustines walls and
One piece generated a lot of ata
U.P.S.
delivery
driver,
will
be
taken
ing
in
the
sunlight,
barely
registering
therapy
plus
hypnosis?
So
what
we
come
dle
of
silent
countryside,
with
floweremblem
of
that
place:
wild
and
dreamthat
the
inhabitants
enjoyed
their
exis
made
it
very
clear
that
this
will
be
floors in a tactfully overwhelm- tention at the opening night of the
to
a
rescue
organization
up
north
that
the
traffic
going
by.
Then
he
slowly
to
realize
is
what
triggers
him
is
white
like
and
marvellous.
hung
balconies
looking
out
on
a
meadow
tence.
In
a
little
museum
in
Alagna,
his
only
collection
because
he
does
ing composition: various large exhibit, and it sold to investment
specializes
in Australian
or
faceofthe
building.
The secuwomen
pushes rotates to full
small
farm buildings,
and I seemed
admired
aas
teaspoon
carved
with a han
not
self-describe
anshepherds,
artist.
He
canvasses,Abruptly
a seriestheofhusband
increasingly
that
the
daughter,
having
been
told
that
rity
guard
moves
to
open
the
door
for
away
from
the
table,
his
chair
squealiking
the
entire
Via
Alpina
to
have
it
entirely
to
myself.
A
wooden
holding
a
rose.
self-describes
as
a
son
tortured
by
nauseating sketches of her neck, a
ing
against the
floor.
He
rising
her mother
tripped
at of
thehis
gym
and of the tra
but the
husband
head,
Its
the looping
continuum
takestands,
years,
so after him,
leaving
staircase
ledshakes
up to ahis
large
bedroom
in
the
horrible
presence
moththree-foot
by would
three-foot
touchable
to
his
full
height,
the
sight
of
which
split
her
eyebrow
open
on
a
barbell,
pulls
his
car
keys
from
his
pocket,
and
that
makes
the
Via
Alpina
what it is. I
Triglav
National
Park
I
got
into
a
car
which
the
walls,
ceiling,
and
every
other
er
in
his
life,
and
that
horror
must
polyurethane mole with real horse
makes
Lenny
pause
and
shoot
a
quick
will
grow
nervous
whenever
the
woman
turns
toward
the
parking
garage.
The
doesnt
take
long
to
lose
yourself
in th
and
drove
to
other
sections
of
the
trail.
surface,
including
the
light-switch
cover,
sublimate
into
art,
lest
it
cause
his
hairs protruding. Any one piece of
glance
at
the
showrunner.
Everything
puts
on
exercise
clotheshe
somehow
only
place
he
wants
to
go
right
now
rhythms
of
mountain
travel:
the
morn
Moving
southwest,
I
crossed
into
Italy,
had
been
intricately
panelled
in
the
same
organs
to
rot
inside
his
body.
art is enough to make it clear that
O.K.,
the
showrunner
is home.
thatcollection
regardless
of the
blood
and descen
ing
climb and
long
afternoon
where
I began
a walk
onasks.
the
Pla- butter-colored wood. It was verysenses
comThe
was
discovered
Gert isbuddy?
the
single
ugliest
person
toKarst
The
husband
looks
at
him
evenly.
Yes,
tears
his
attention
should
be
focussed

teau,
a
rocky
landscape
pockmarked
with
the
dependably
undependable
weathe
fortable,
even
luxurious,
if
a
touch
sarby
famed
gallerist
Maren
Chapwalk the Earthand yet our appeEmmett
hangs
back
for
a
moment,
he
says.
Im
just
getting
a
Coke.
elsewhere.
The
sound
of
the
front
door
caves
and
sinkholes,
and
ended
up
at
the
never
quite
knowing
what
your
cophagal.
I
sat
out
on
the
balcony,
watchman,
who
came
across
the
collectites are insatiable. At entrance to
surveying
the
scene.
On
one
hand,
he
opening
softly
makes
him
look
at
the

Duino
Castle.
It
was
here,
walking
along
going
to
see
over
the
crest
of
the
nex
ing
night
fall
and
feeling
as
though
I
d
tion
in
Fergsteins
Terrytown
barn
the gallery, flanked on both sides by
Theres
more
blood
than
he
expected.
wants
to
go
to
the
woman,
who
is
sobboy
(a
little
heavyset,
still
wearing
the
the
cliff-top
path
above
the
Adriatic,
high
pass
or
whos
going
to
emerge
from
landed
in
a
folktale
about
a
traveller
arwhile
looking
for
a
place
to
leave
a
grotesque profiles of the hag, is the
The
iswas
holding
her eyetowith
in disbelief
drippingunder
bloodsome
satchel
slung
overhimself
his shoulder),
but
Rilke
claimed
have
heardbing
a voice
the mist
along
thewas
trailthough,
unlik
riving inand
a household
pow- Fergstein
puppy.
happy
worklady
thatthat
the germination
of the
the
hand
that
was
on
the
messenger
bag,
and
on
the
floor.
But
even
though
he
has
before
he
can
cross
the
room
and
reach
speak
the
opening
line
of
what
became
tzi,
you
can
be
fairly
sure
the
strange
erful
enchantment.
to
have
the
collection
trucked
away.
entire series: an oil painting portrait
he
seethe
blood
through
her if Inocried,
way of knowing
thatnothing
a very sinister,
good It
him,
before
he can
and
There was
exactly,
Duino
Elegies:
Who,
isnt
going
to his
killmouth
you.
might eve
really
hurts
heropen
feelings,
he He
said,
of can
Gert.
We
seecoming
a thin-lipped
lizfingers.
In
her
other
hand
shes
still
holdplastic
surgeon
will
sew
up
her
eyesay,
Hey,
brother,
the
boy
has
closed
though
the
tall
fir
trees
around
the
would
hear
me
from
among
the
Angels
want
to
be
your
friend.
Weve
come tha
nibbling
on
an
apricot
crudit.
And
ard woman with hair greased to the banker Ali Massoud for $520k withing
the
telephone.
The
person
on
the

brow
with
twenty-two
stitches,
or
that
the
door
behind
him
and
is
gone.

meadow
were
forbidding
in
the
dusk,
orders?
The
Sentiero
Rilke,
as
the
Italfar
since
the
Bronze
Age.
shes
even
uglier
when
she
cries.
skull and then, where it gathers in in thirty minutes of doors opening.
other
end seems
to have
finallyoutward,
hung up. her
first show
the back,
instantly
frizzing
Its ahusband,
portrait despite
of Gert his
crouching
on
THE NEW YORKER, APRIL 11, 2016
3
being
cancelled,
will
go
on
to
write
for NEWYORKER.COM

as if it must escape from her head or the ground cleaning out her
purse.
The
husband
walks
past that
the aAsrelatively
supernatural
po- NEUJORKER.COM
Sarah Shun-lien Bynum on stories that dont
else
drown
in the
slickright
oil spill
she holdspopular
her wretched
body over
Kathleen
Jordan
reads this article in a
office
kitchen
and
keeps
heading
down
lice
procedural,
or
that
the
woman,
go according
to plan.
is her scalp. Her eyes are beady and the bag, the flesh around her hips cockney
accentand by the end its full-on
grey-brown, and her eyebrows are pops out over her white corduroys. THE
Australian.
NEW YORKER, APRIL 11, 2016
73
tattooed into what must have been That hip flesh looks like a drained
a very disappointing shapekind of cyst, floppy and empty. More than

72

THE NEU JORKER, JUNE 20, 2016

THE CRITICS

THE CURRENT CINEMA

KEEPING
THE FAITH
THE CURRENT CINEMA
The Slow Drown

FUN AND GAMES


BY MICHAEL YARSKY

BY ANTHONY LANE

f you cant think of a good way to

habited, or infested, solely by members


of the baseball team. His roommate is
Take a handsome young buck, put him Billy (Will Brittain), a country boy
at the wheel of an Oldsmobile coupe, mocked for his hickhood by the others.
and have him whip along a Texas high- They include Roper (Ryan Guzman),
way to the sound of My Sharona, by another comely fellow, who spends an
the Knack. That is what Richard Link- entire scene lauding his own ass in the
later does in his latest film, Everybody mirror; the mustached McReynolds
Wants Some!!, and its hard to think (Tyler Hoechlin), who loathes losing,
of a brighter start. The buck in ques- even at Ping-Pong; Niles ( Juston Street),
tion is Jake (Blake Jenner), and by the the resident jerk, who claims to have
end of the song weve already grasped thrown a pitch at ninety-five miles an
the unfolding shape of his life. He glides hour; and Dale ( J. Quinton Johnson),
past groups of girls his age and parks in the only black guy in the house, not that
front of a house on a pleasant street. He anyone notices or cares. There are mulhas a shy smile and a box of LPs in his tiple flash points in this society, mostly
arms. Sunlight pours down like a ben- to do with sporting smarts or carnal braggadocio, but racial bias isnt one of them.
ediction. Hes ready for anything.
Linklater has long been a champion In his limber and leisurely fashion, Linkof beginnings and ends. Dazed and later is glancing at a golden age.
His most cheering gift, and maybe
Confused (1993) hung out with a bunch
of kids on their final day of high school; the reason that he calls this movie a spirBoyhood (2014), having tracked its itual sequel to Dazed and Confused,
hero, Mason, for many years, bid him is an itch to populate the frame. At his
farewell on his first day of higher edu- best, he doesnt really direct a film so
cation, at once bewildered and blissed much as host itkeeping all his characout. Jake, too, is at that pivotal point. A ters involved, rescuing the wallflowers,
freshman at an unnamed college in making sure that everyone is plied with
southeast Texas (otherwise known, to lines and bits of stage business, as if he
moviegoers, as Linklaterland), he is more were topping up drinks. The obvious
of a jock than Mason, and less of a comparison is with Hail, Caesar!, in
wounded soul; whatever his past may which the Coens introduced a crew of
have been, we learn very little about it. promising figures and then let them slide,
half-used;
resulta left
audiences
gazHesERY
like a LIBERALLY
passenger boarding
a ship else.
Cage the
plays
mentally
trauADAP TED
ing
around
at
the
end
and
asking,
Is
that
withfrom
a single
suitcase.
What
matters
is
Mohamedou Ould Sla- matized, openly gay Sikh wrongly
it?
To
Linklater,
no
one
is
disposable.
the
surging
tide
of
the
now,
and
the
his Guantanamo Diary by the gen- detained at Guantanamo Bay. The
Take Nesbit (Austin
Amelio),
who tends
camerawho
follows
himthe
eagerly
into the protagonist
is never
identified
by
tleman
wrote
screenplays
to
place
unwise
bets,
for
a
few
dollars,
housetaking
its
cue
from
a
snaking
for Forrest Gump and The Curious name; all of the characters in theon
fruitless
activities;
Plummer
(Temhose,ofwhich
runs from
the garden
to an film
onlydaily
refer
to him
as Son.
Case
Benjamin
Button,
The Slow
ple
Baker),
who
is
just
off
the
pace
when- Rappers Delight, chanted in angelic
upstairs
bedroom,
where
a
water
bed
is
Drown seems perfectly calibrated
chorus, consonant-perfect, by Roper,
ever
jokes
are
flying
about;
or
Willoughby
slowly
being
filled.
Its
that
kind
of
place.
as a showcase for Nicolas Cages
Jake
is
a
pitcher,
and
the
house
is
inFinn, Plummer, Dale, and Jake as they
(Wyatt
Russell),
the
in-house
hippie.
In
more, ahem, exuberant talents as
Nicolas
Cage
goes
all-in
for
another
Oscar
bid
in the role of Son.
an actor, but strangely offers little
Richard Linklaters new movie is set at a Texas college. At his best, he doesnt really direct a film so much as host it.

I kick off your movie, how about this?

ILLUSTRATION BY DARIEL FILOMENO

In a surreal and haunting opening


scene, the word Son is repeatedly
his first scene, he holds up a copy of Carl
said by his torturers as he is laid
Sagans Cosmos and says to Jake, Chapflat on a tilted wooden board, arms
ter 9. Itll blow your mind. That moextended outward and restrained
ment ignites our sense of him, and it
while his feet are bound crossing at
burns through the rest of the film, reachthe ankle. He remains in this posing a smoky fruition as he proves to be
ture as he is methodically waterthe undisputed master of the bong.
boarded by his interrogators. The
Best of all is Finnegan, played with
Christ-like imagery in the films
a runaway charm by Glen Powell. Finn,
opening scene, while perhaps a bit
as he is known, is the eloquent one, spoolbaffling considering the Sons own
ing out his verbal riffs in a bid not just
Sikhism, surely evokes some conto catch girls but to boost the dramatic
troversial yet wholly illuminating
dash of the proceedings. We all take
contours of thought: For example,
turns being chumps around here, he exis this the films plea to recognize
plains. You accept your chumpification,
the commonalities between major
and move on. Excellent advice, in any
religions? In these troubled times
field of endeavor, and a key to the lovely
of our country where religious
note of comic humility with which the
strife is being wrought to the most
natural-born bumptiousness of the stucynical of political ends, is this
dents is tempered and soothed, and the
edgy and nuanced portrayal of a
movie prevented from coarsening into
Christ-like Sikh meant to amea brawl. Jake and the other newbies must,
liorate the enmities in the name
of course, expect a dose of hazing, and
of common ground? Is it possible
they are duly fastened with duct tape to
to believe that the captors of our
a border fence, one of them upside down,
protagonist would chant his name
and peppered with baseballs struck by
as opposed to remain quiet and fotheir bat-wielding teammates. I guess
cused during the torturing process?
thats part of the deal, yet the tale as a
Or is it just that Cage kind of alwhole, though filthy-mouthed, is lenient
ways has to do something Jesus-y
and humane. No freshmen were harmed
in his movies? Regardless, Cage is
in the making of this film.
surprisingly convincing as a waterIt is set in 1980, a crossroads for muboarded, mentally traumatized gay
sical trends both coming and going. We
Sikh, giving a performance as a waget the dregs of disco, Blondies Heart
terboarding victim reminiscent of
of Glass, the Cars, Cheap Trick, and a
Christopher Hitchens. (Ironically,
burst of pustular punk. We get Ms Pop
Hitchenss actual waterboarding
Muzik, which to my horror I rememwas wooden and unconvincing in
ber, in pitiless detail, from 1979. And,
comparison.)
courtesy of the Sugarhill Gang, we get
Son is placed promptly there-

74

THE NEW YORKER, APRIL 11, 2016

THE NEU JORKER, JUNE 20, 2016

73

ABOVE: GUIDO SCARABOTTOLO

Everybody Wants Some!! and Miles Ahead.

after in solitary confinement where


it seems the drowning effect that
waterboarding creates does impact
his cognitive functions even further, triggering a trauma-induced
hallucination as his decaying body
languishes in a lank, filthy cell. The
film is deftly directed by Christopher Nolan, who brings a muchneeded dark and gritty undertone
to the subject material. In the hallucination, Son reimagines himself
as a prisoner in Dachau talking to
a wise and surprisingly calm Viktor Frankllike figure named Vic
(played by the always welcome
Alan Alda). Vic is an undoubtedly
charming and charismatic presence
despite the circumstances, and the
cheery, precious dialogue could not
be more Eric Rothlike in execution. Their friendship had begun
to evolve into a clandestine love
affair when Vic is brutally exterminated. In this hallucination, Son
falls, in sheer grief with his arms
spread-eagled and his legs crossed,
into a random, really large pit.
Shortly thereafter, Son re-awakens
to the present day.
The sequence is staggering
although alarmingly long: this
flashback takes approximately 34
minutes out of the films 128-minute running time. Cage does give
a compelling portrayal of a hallucinating, emotionally broken, gay
Sikhs self-portrayal of a Jewish
WWII prisoner, but it seems the
film delved into this territory only
to demonstrate Cages desire to
do a Holocaust period drama under any circumstance whatsoever.
Rather than reflect further on the
ramifications of such a flashback,
maybe by clarifying why Christlike imagery is appropriate in a
Jewish concentration camp or
if this false ancestral memory
has anything to do with Christopher Nolans preoccupations with
space-time, the film instead grants
us the opportunity to watch Cage
nail what, I could only guess, is
what a Sikh-Jewish-gay accent
sounds like. It s possibly the case
that Cage was given such an impossibly specific accent that he
74

THE NEU JORKER, JUNE 20, 2016

could not fail.


It is fair to say that Sons narrative does not end well: while he is
released from solitary confinement,
what follows is a surreal mixture of
The Passion of the Christ and Oz.
Sons many hours spent in solitary
cause an inscrutable decay in cognitive capacity, thereby rendering
him developmentally disabled in a
character arc reminiscent of Flowers for Algernon. By the end of the
film, Son is still awaiting freedom
from prison, malnourished but still
holding onto humanity. He finds
solace in his writing and hopes to
write a diary, a Guantanamo Diary if you will, to tell my story. The

film becomes a passionate testimony for an artist s need to create


and to live with hope. If the film
does serve a purpose beyond giving Cage another opportunity to
play a hysterically specific character without any precedent in film,
the film should serve as a source
of inspiration for the wounded, developmentally disabled, wrongfully
imprisoned, gay Sikh memoirists
all over the world.
To the films credit, it offers a
refreshing perspective on recent,
wrongfully accused narratives
like Making A Murderer by demonstrating a blatant truth: similar
injustices have been committed
and propagated on American soil
for approximately fifteen years,
and we remain apathetic to it because it is people of color who suffer those injustices. While this is
a keen point, it is still the truth
that, because Son is a person of

color, we are indeed less invested


in his plight. Since Hollywood has
brutally whitewashed Jesus and to
a lesser extent Christianity itself,
the film tries to similarly whiteify Son by portraying him, in tableau after tableau, as a Christ-like
figure. And while Cages performance is virtuosic in how he has
sympathetically portrayed a highly
intersectional character, many will
be unsure as to how to go about
gauging the authenticity of his
portrayal. This may in part be because very few of us actually know
any developmentally disabled,
wrongfully imprisoned, hallucinating, Christ-like, gay Sikh memoirists. Furthermore, if we are unsure,
would we certainly put forth any
effort in discovering for sure? The
Slow Drown is a framework by
which Cage can do two things: (1)
display his talent and breadth of
range by competently mastering
developmental disability, World
War II, and playing across races,
or (2) play a role where we would
have no idea whether or not he is
actually portraying the role well
regardless. Cage is convincing if
only because the audience is blackmailed into not having any other
choice: it s simply wrong for its
mostly white audiences to call him
anything but inadequatenone of
us would be so gallingand yet it
feels so right to call him inadequate
because, and forgive the tautological reasoning, he is Nicolas Cage.
It is, from this angle, a truly Cageesque film. When Cage plays characters suffering innumerable layers
of physical and emotional pain, we
want to believe his talent for it has
become so masterful, but yet when
he tries to convey such a specific
mix of human experience, his portrayal once again becomes unrelatable. Is it possible that Cage is too
good for his own good? Or is he
too bad for his own good?
The aforementioned questions
are ones Cage himself seeks to
answer. It is no secret to the film
industry that Cage will fearlessly
inhabit the circumstances of his
characters regardless of personal

we can
introduce
some really
dark, Iinstone-covered
roofs,
chimneys
deviant,
before
a retreat.
passed
the tunnels
and
subterranean
chapel
pondering
where the
titans
go whenshingled
the
in detail
worthy of
anaItalian
giallo. He
Pessoa,
Borges
andbeating
Elizabeth
Bishop,
teresting
stuff in the
B story.
Youve
like
tiny
houses.
The
out,
mercifully
quickly,
to
the
dim
roar
dedicated
to
St.
Barbara,
the
patron
saint
an unusuallocal
and many others. But Seidel comes by has had, or fears he has had, or imag- dawn breaks. But it finds schist-rich
seenofThe
Manchurian
Candidate,
The
emperor
ishenakedand
herock
has
a flabby
butt!
made
everything
glitter
madly in
Slovenian
drinking
songs,
and left
of
Years-old
swags
of fir hung
marvelling
the fact
thatShort
more
inesdeprives
heminers.
has had,
thinks
theThe
notion
grew
up seePlimpton,
Mailer,at
Styron,
Bobby
ideahonestly.
that
theHe
self
doing
the
it of aitsstroke;
function.
What angle,
right?
O.K.,
so
what
Im
thinking
is: but
the
sunshine.
The
Walsers
were
before
daybreak
the
next
morning.
on
the
walls,
smelling
as
if
theyd
just
difficulty,
from
volunteering
to
be
and
real
life:
how
both
lives
blur,
ing
and
opportunistic
as
Cages
fellows,
have
ing his lastinname
on blue
trucks
didnt
dieanother
sooner,drink.
and wonder-Gerabout
his prostate;
perforspeaking
and coal
the self
it will
a verbal
talent his
thissexual
relentless
do of them
the
warden
haspoems
been
doing
some
crazy
Just
beyond
the
hut,
I
saw
something
man-speaking
refugees
and
migrants
been
cut,
the
salt
air
keeping
them
unwaterboarded
in
rehearsal
for
The
intersect,
and
how
one
can
simply
maneuvering
might
appear
insink.
this
to keepwas
drinking
or youd
circlingabout
the streets
St. Louis;
this without
spared:
mance suffers;
on one
occasion
(it
is ingYou
whyhadSeidel
speaks
areexperiments
twoofdistinct
characits target,
its owd
pal Fred
psychological
on watheme: inform
Smoking
fifty cigarettes
athrough
dayin
made
moving
in
the
gray
light
below
a
naturally
fresh.
who
spread
south
the
Alps
Slow
Drown
to
actually
being
the
other
especially
when
documentary
as
well
as
everyprepared
him for
the uncanny
expe- Seidel?
described in two poems) he ejacuters,
indentured
warily
to one another,
your
squid-ink
fingers
stink.
inmates.
Including
Emmett
Diggs.
Unlucky
people
born
with
the
alcoholic
gene
That
evening,
I
stayed
at
Blaa-Alm,
shaggy
animal
with
big
horns.
It
was
an
during
the
Middle
Ages,
improvising
a
terboarded
for
the
upcoming
Con
one
forces
them
to
look
as
simithing
he
does,
it
certainly
resonatrience
of walking
down
to Eightylates
blood and fears
the poems
worst. EnIncreasingly,
Seidels
is
not new:
it him
can into
be
found,
in variWere
likely
to
become
Life
is noupon
being
asked
byhigh
aalcoholics.
female
officer
the
hallway
untilthe
he
arrives
at
the are
el-whoed
Theyve
made
an assassin
and
an
inn
along
trail.
The
owners,
d
ibex,
though
in
profile
it
looked
like
a
life
style
on
the
terrain
where
Air
2.
However,
it
was
a
secret
to
lar
as
humanly
possible.
One
inmore
personally
than
the
notsecond
Street
/ To Barnes
Noble to about
croaching
death
gives some of
Seidels
Here
we have
Seidels
ubiambulance,
sunt poem,
old
age,
its
described
ous
forms,
in
Rimbaud
and&
Fernando
mean
as they
load
into or
the
evator,
which
heifindignities
takes
toisthe
lobby.
he
even
know
Using,
told
meathey
were
going
to
be
slightly
disreputable
unicorn.
I you
took out
body
elseher
farmed
lived.
It wasofa fruthedoesnt
film
industry
that it!
Cage
himself
deed
wonders
Cage
wearing
likely-to-happen-to-me
events
buy
my
own
bookthe
self-estrangeblasphemy
kind
of
ballsy
lan,
asgone
he for
pondering
the
titans
go
when
in
detail
worthy
of
an
Italian
giallo.
He
Pessoa,
Borges
and
Elizabeth
Bishop,
That way,where
because
others
who
drank
asthe
Now,
were
you
inconstrained
any
other
way
as- deAfter
nodding
at the
security
guard,
know,
radical
brainwashing
techniques,
the
night,
left
my
room
key
in
the
enmy
phone
and
filmed
it
as
it
ambled
gal
life
style,
the
would
release
a
documentary
that
a
masc
for
his
lover,
or
if
he
is
The
Slow
Drown.
Cage
is
abychaor more
didnt
mentmany
that others.
writersBut
feel Seidel
when their
own
putshad,
his mortal
money
where
his
out- dawn much
breaks.
But
it
finds
an
unusual
has
or
fears
he
has
had,
or
imagand
comes
by
saulted?
will
feel
for
the
first
time
he
pushes
through
the
glass
doors.
He meleonic...virtuso?...and
like
a mixture
of
what
they
doMethinI look
A at
trance.
It
was
an
old
wooden
building
across
the
lunar
scree.
When
mands
of
basic
survival,
but
there
were
outlines
all
of
the
traumatic,
truly
unleashing
his
inner
masc
his
films,
Succumb,
but justatkept
drinkingand
name
is thehonestly.
one on the
cover.
rageous
mouth
has
always been.
The angle,
marvelling
theon
fact
that
more
heonhas
had,
a stroke;
he squintthinks
the
notion
Heelectric-shock
grew up see- ines
afraid,
or thatgrace
the
dog,
after
attacking
stands
the
empty
sidewalk,
Clockwork
Orange
plus
didnt
in
the
Tyrolian
style,
deep
in
the
midthe
footage
now,
it
seems
the
perfect
enough
notes
to
make
you
od-inspired
endeavors
he
incurred
through
this
character.
both
fictional
and
not,
can
attest
Every
poet
creates
ablue
second
self
and about
horrorhis
in these
poems
seems
real,
not of them didnt die sooner, and wonder- feel
ing
his plus
last
name
on So
coalwe
trucks
prostate;
his
sexual
perforDo
cocaine,
and
didnt
getenjoyed
fucked
a U.P.S.
delivery
driver,
will
be
taken
ing in
the
sunlight,
barely
registering
therapy
hypnosis?
what
come
dle
of
silent
countryside,
with
floweremblem
of
that
place:
wild
and
dreamthat
the inhabitants
their
in
preparation
for
The
Slow
Drown.
What
does
become
compelling
that.
But
a films
ability
toup,
take existhen, watching
it thrive,
grows
to resent
hyped. And
Seidels
nastiness
seems,
circling
the
streets
of St.
Louis;
this mance
ing
why
was spared:
suffers;
onby.
one
occasion
(it in
is to
andSeidel
just
didnt!
to aextraordinary
rescue
organization
up in
north
that
the
traffic
going
Then
heon
slowly
to
realize
is what
triggers
him
isAnd
white
like
and
marvellous.
hung
balconies
looking
out
a
meadow
tence.
In
a
little
museum
in
Alagna,
I
The
dreadfully
titled
Sikh
Ye
during
these
proceedings
is
the
an
person
an
exit a little. The
surprise
is when, asexpewith this work, ainnecessary
defense
prepared
him
for the
two
poems)
he against
ejacuspecializes
in
Australian
shepherds,
or
rotates
to
face
the
building.
The
secuwomen
Abruptly
theuncanny
husband
pushes described
full
of
small
farm
buildings,
and
I
seemed
admired
a
teaspoon
carved
with
a
hand
Shall
Find
is
a
story
about
Cages
nature
of
the
love
story
between
traordinary
situation
and
make
an
Unlucky
born one
with the
alcoholic
gene
A nightpeople
like this
at Elaines
at
Seidel, of
this
other being
is to
made
to so lates
fear, rather
thanfears
a shock
tactic Enthat
rience
walking
down
Eightybloodmoves
and
thethe
worst.
thatWere
the
daughter,
having
been
told
that
rity
guard
to open
door
for ordinary
away
fromiking
table,
his
chair
squeallikely
become
alcoholics.
Life
is
the
entire
Via
Alpina
to have
entirely
to to
myself.
A wooden
holding
ato
rose.
attempt
tothe
preserve
theand
Son
charSonny
(a itreference
his
Son
person
identify
with
their

is
a
series
of
potential
deaths
any
bar
closely
resemble
the
first,
then
dishas
escalated
as
his
readers
interest
second
Street
To Barnes
& Noble
to croaching
death
gives shakes
some ofhis
Seidels
mean
ing
against
the/ floor.
stands,
rising
her mother
tripped
at
the gymofand
him,
but the
husband
head,
Its the
looping
continuum
the
take
years,
soold
after
leaving
staircase
led
upbetter
to awhile
large
in
acter
off-screen
in He
his
day-to-day
character)
and
itlonely
strugglesthat
is trail
successfully
evaded
until
timedrank
runsasout.
avowed
aswould
a fiction.
The
pitiful
man
has dwindled.
ItRichy:
is
tolan,
bebedroom
buy
my
own
bookthe
self-estrangeblasphemy
a
kind
of
ballsy
asmay
he extraordinary
That
way,
because
others
who
to
his
full height,
thePark
sight
of
which
split
her
eyebrow
open
onfeel
a barbell,
pulls
his
car
keys
from
his
pocket,
and
that
makes
the
Via
Alpina
what
it is. It
Triglav
National
I
got
into
a
car
which
the
walls,
ceiling,
and
every
other
life.
The
persecution
and
harassserve
as
research
for
the
dynamic
what
makes
film
critics
alive.
Life is
mean
because
at mythat
computer
pecking
away,
cooing
thanhis
to mortal
die: thismoney
is thewhere
bracing
much
or more
didntfate, in the form
ment
writers
feel
when
their
own puts
hisnews
outmakes
Lenny
pause
and
shoot
aofquick
will
grow
nervous
whenever
the
woman
turns
towardincluding
the
parking
garage.
The
doesnt
take
long
to
lose
yourself
in the
and
drove
to
other
sections
the
trail.
surface,
the
light-switch
cover,
ment
borne
by
Cage
are
unbearable
relationship
between
Son
and
I
saw
myself
in
Cages
virtuosity:
Succumb, butand
justaddiction,
kept on drinkingand
of alcoholism
rewards the
springisisthe
nevertheless
the rageous
these poems
deliver.
name
one
on theassembling
cover.
mouth
has always
been. now
The puts
glance
at the
showrunner.
Everything
on
exercise
clotheshe
somehow
only
place
heintricately
wants
to
go right
rhythms
of
mountain
travel:
the
mornMoving
southwest,
I
crossed
into
Italy,
had
been
panelled
in
the
same
to
watch:
he
is
consistently
mistak
Vic
in
The
Slow
DrownRichy
his
troubled
search
for
recognididnt and condemns the worthy.
Widening
Inequality
in- undeserving
voice
thatpoet
mocks
him,atalking
to himEvery
creates
second self
and horror
in theseIncome
poems seems
real, not
O.K.,
buddy?
theby
asks.
is
home.
senses
that
regardless
of
the
blood
Doing
cocaine,
and
didnt
get
fucked
up,and
climb
and
long
descent,
where
I he
began
ashowrunner
walk
onbigots;
the Karst
Itmaleone
wasasvery
comen for
a Muslim
sheer
he Plais
anbutter-colored
older,
bald, wood.
white
tion,
authenticity,
and
perhaps
his
cludes
many
occasional
poems,
well
Seidels
elegy
has
some
ofafternoon
the plastered
self
again
as
strolls
down
Broadway
then,
watchinglooks
it thrive,
grows
to resent
hyped. And Seidels nastiness seems, in tears his
and
just didnt!
The
husband
at him
evenly.
Yes,
attention
should
be
focussed

teau,
a
rocky
landscape
pockmarked
with
the
dependably
undependable
weather,
fortable,
even
luxurious,
if
a
touch
saris
consistently
mistaken
for
a
Sikh
cant
help
but
feel
enchanted
by
battle
against
loneliness,
and
I
was
as poems
toand
mainly sweetness of a woozy toast. His rhymes
inathe
rain,
talking to
Fred Seidel,
it
little.
Theorjust
surprise
is when,
as with this
work, adedicated
necessary
defense
against
Emmett
hangs
back
for
moment,
he
Im
getting
aand
Coke.
elsewhere.
The
sound
of the front
door
caves
and
sinkholes,
endedin
the
quite
knowing
what
youre
cophagal.
I sat
out
on
theabalcony,
watchby says.
friends
and
family
who
know
itup at
Sons
charm,
borne
from
a seemby
the
experience
indeed.
intelligible
tofamous
friends.
But
it flattered
locate
usnever
temporally,
punctuating
lines
who
invites
him
to
his
own
funeral,
A night
like
this
one
at Elaines
at
Seidel, this other being is made to so fear,
ratherthethan
a shock
tactic
that
surveying
scene.
On
one
hand,
he ISikh
opening
softly
makes
him
look of
at
the

Duino
Castle.
It
was
here,
walking
along
going
to
see
over
the
crest
the
ing
night
fall
and
feeling
as
though
d
is
an
act
but
hes
just
Cage-y
enough
ingly
Sikh-like
compassion
for
all
And
Ye
Shall
Find
is
wonderful
doesescalated
have one truly
moving
poem,
Re- any
that, like
thea nights
they
describe,
lack next
a poemresemble
written in
kind
ofthen
bubbleis
series of
potential
deaths
closely
thethe
first,
and
dis- has
as his
readers
interest
Theres
more
blood
than
he
expected.
wants
tothings
go in
to athe
woman,
who
isspirisob- arboy bar
(a
little
heavyset,
still
wearing
thefrom
the
cliff-top
path
above
the
Adriatic,
high
pass
or
whos
going
to
emerge
landed
folktale
about
a
traveller
to
pull
it
off;
he
suffers
the
outraliving
and
a
sense
of
therapy
for
those
who
long
to
projmembering
Elaines,
about
the
leg- successfully
an internal evaded
imperative
to
come
an
gum Yorkshire
dialect
that suggests
a has
until
time
runstoout.
avowed
as is
a fiction.
The
pitiful
man
dwindled.
It isand
better
to be
lonely
The
lady
holding
her
eye old
with
the
bing
in
disbelief
dripping
blood
satchel
slung
over
his
shoulder),
but
that
Rilke
claimed
to
have
heard
a
voice
the
mist
along
the
trailthough,
unlike
riving
in
a
household
under
some
powgeous
bigotry
on
his
Grindr
profile
tual
unity
among
them.
And
yet
ect
themselves,
or
find
a
semblance
endary
Upper
East
Side
hot
spot.
At
end.
Seidels
poems
often
employ
this
rural
ditty:
Life
ishe
mean
because
fate,
inand
the reach
form
at
mythat
computer
pecking
away,bag,
cooing
than
tofloor.
die: this
is
thethough
bracinghenews
hand
was
the
and
on
the
But
even
has of
before
can
cross
the
room
speak
theon
opening
line of what
became
tzi,
you
can
be
fairly
sure
the
stranger
erful
enchantment.
as he
attempts
tomessenger
discreetly
hook
this,
too,
is
a
performative
aspect
themselves,
in
the
lives
of
the
his best,
Seidel
reminds me of a poet of
combination
of strong
rhyme
and loose
alcoholism
addiction,
rewards
the
spring
iswur
nevertheless
assembling
the these
poems
deliver.
itsee
a funeral,
he
can
blood
coming
through
no
way
of self:
knowing
that
a sinister,
very good
him,
before
heand
can
open
hisus,
mouth
and
There
was
nothing
exactly,
the
Duino
Elegies:
if her
I cried,
isnt
going
to among
killIts
you.
Heregardmight
up An
with
men;
he
falls Who,
in
loveor,
of
Cages
is his
compassion
for
more
successful
who
sounds
nothing
like
him,
Frank
or
nonexistent
meter.
a
method
thateven
Widening
Income
Inequality
inundeserving
and
condemns
the
worthy.
voice
that
him,
talking
to
himIt wur
a mocks
grand funeral,
fingers.
Indoes
her
other
shes still
holdsurgeon
will
sew
up her
eyesay, Hey,
brother,
the
boy
hastalents.
closed
though
the
tallpoets
fir trees
around
would
hear
mehand
from
the
Angels
want
to
be
your
friend.
Weve
come
rather
character
in plastic
his
partner
a are
performance,
and
if the
less
of how
we
assess
their
Thur
wur
what
laffdown
damong
oerBroadway
hisfall
grave
OHara.
Both
of the
New
non-poets
use
when
called
upon
for
an that
cludes
many
occasional
poems,
as
well
Seidels
elegy
has
some
of
the
plastered
self
again
assum
hehis
strolls
ing
the
telephone.
The
person
on
the

brow
with
twenty-two
stitches,
or
that
the
door
behind
him
and
is
gone.

meadow
were
forbidding
in
the
dusk,
orders?
The
Sentiero
Rilke,
as
the
Italfar
since
the
Bronze
Age.
love?with
a
tolerant
and
masc
4
so,
is
this
something
we
can
surTruly
a
film
critics
fodder.
Andrain,
sum wot
danced oer
his grave,
York
night;
both aretoand
name-droppers
impromptu
that
feel
poems
dedicated
sweetness
of apoem,
woozyone
toast.
Hiscan
rhymes
in
the
or talking
tofinally
Fred
Seidel,
other
seems
toeyes
haveout
hung
up. as
her
husband,
despite
his firstmainly
show
Butend
Iolder
scriked
me
oer
grave
masc
gentleman
who
is unmise
about
the
relationships
in
our
and coterietofamous
poets. The natural
drift
of
like aTHE
stunt.
But
theres
grief
in it,lines
and 39
friends.
Butfor
it locate
usNEW
temporally,
punctuating
who
him
to his
own funeral, in intelligible
YORKER, APRIL
11, 2016
Ofinvites
me
pal Fred
cancelled,
will go
on
to write
Seidel.secret: that being
aware
ofowd
Sons
deepest
own
lives?
Is our
so-called
unity
NEWYORKER.COM
such
talents
tends
toward
elegy,
as
their
mortal
comedy,
and
a
covert
humandoes
have one
truly moving
poem, Rethat, like the nights they describe, lack
a poem
written inwalks
the kind
of past
bubblehusband
right
relatively
popular
supernatural
po- NEUJORKER.COM
Sarah
Shun-lien
Bynum
on stories that dont
he The
is,isin
Nicolas
Cage.
Itthe
is awith
world
something
we, too,
This
oldfact,
York
grieving
for New
circle the
of interlocutors
and
secret-sharisminternal
doused
inon
vinegar:
membering
Elaines,
about
the
legan
imperative
come
to an
gum
Yorkshire
dialect
that
suggests
a
Michael
Yarsky
what heto
would
(and
office
kitchen
and
keeps
heading
down lice
procedural,
or that the
woman,
go according
to plan.
stunning
to
watch
Cage
disappear
claim
about
ourselves
but
utilize
ers shrinks
overEast
time:
York:ditty:
the imagination, freed from the endary
do forpoems
a Klondike
bar.
Upper
Side hot spot. At wouldnt)
end.
Seidels
often
employ
rural
once protested to Elaine thatthis
his
into his craft
and
fully
the
only as a means to achieve recog- THEAldrich
constraints
of the
body
andabide
history,
is his
NEW
YORKER,
APRIL was
11, rhyme
2016
73
best,
Seidel
reminds
me
of
a
poet
combination
of strong
and loose
bill
for
the
night
too high.
Many
distinguished
dead
were
there
An it governing
wur a funeral, his professional nition elsewhere? As disorientterms
a country
bumpkin,
nothing
likefragrant
him, Frank
or nonexistent
meter.
Itswas
a method
that
She showed him
his tab
for seventeen
At sounds
one of the
front tables,
talk
It wur a grand
funeral,the subject of a who
Scotches
he started
cry. for
everywhere.
an
lord
or wur
duke
whose
death
Thur
sum
what laff
d oerliberates
his grave it OHara.
Both are poets of the New non-poets
useand
when
called to
upon
And sum wot danced oer his grave,
York night; both are name-droppers impromptu poem, one that can feel
scrikedISme
eyes out oer
grave OF ADVANCE
THEBut
NEWIYORKER
A REGISTERED
TRADEMARK
INC. COPYRIGHT 2016 COND NAST. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. PRINTED IN THE U.S.A.
andMAGAZINE
coterie PUBLISHERS
poets. The
natural drift of like a stunt. But theres grief in it, and
OfNEU
meXCII,
owd
pal Fred
Seidel.
THE
JORKER
IS A
TRADEMARK
OF
ADVANCED
AND
OVERTHOUGHT
BITS
INC.
COPYRIGHT
13,2016
CAND
VOLUME
NO. 1, February
8REGISTERED
& 15, 2016. THE NEW
YORKER
(ISSN
0028
792X)
is
published
weekly
(except
for five combined
issues:
February
8&
15, June
6&
Julyhuman11
& 18, Ausuch
talents
tends
toward
elegy,
as their
mortal
comedy,
and
a covert
NASTY.
RITES19RESERVED.
IN THE
U.S.A.Magazine Publishers Inc. PRINCIPAL OFFICE: Cond Nast, 1 World Trade Center, New York, NY 10007.
gust
8 & 15, ALL
and December
& 26) by Cond E-PRINTED
Nast, which is a division
of Advance
This
old publisher,
York chief
grieving
for Beth
New
circle publisher
of interlocutors
and
secret-sharism
in vinegar:
Elizabethis
Hughes,
revenue officer;
Lusko, associate
advertising; James
Guilfoyle,
director of finance
anddoused
business operations;
Fabio Bertoni, general counsel.
VOLUME
NO 95, June
20,
2016.
THE
NEUH.JORKER
(ISSN
07041776USA)
is Jr.,
published
probably
just this
one
time
since it chief
is sofinancial
much officer;
damn
Cond
Nast:
I. Newhouse,
Jr., chairman
emeritus;
Charles
Townsend,
chairman;
Robert
A. Sauerberg,
president &
chief executive
officer;
David
E. Geithner,
ers shrinks
over
time:
York:
theS.95
imagination,
freed
from
the
work
(except
by some miracle
some money
comes
way
to do
alladditional
again) by
Cand
Nasty,
whichGoods
is aAldrich
division
of Tax
Advanced
andto
OElaine
verthought
once
protested
that Bits
his
Jill
Bright,
chief if
administrative
officer. Periodicals
postage
paid our
at New
York,
NY,this
and at
mailing
offices.
Canadian
and Services
Registration
No.
123242885-RT0001.
constraints
of the
body15and
Inc. PRINCIPAL
OFFICE:
Ruehistory,
des Faux is
Franais,Many
Paris, distinguished
TX. Yurt Tent,dead
publisher,
Cymbal
Cheddars, chief
revenue
officer;
Hack
E.high.
Byte, associbill
for
the
night
was
too
were
there
SEND
ADDRESS
CHANGES
TO THE
NEW YORKER,
P.O.and
Box 37684,
Boone,
IA 50037 0684.
FOR SUBSCRIPTIONS,
ADDRESS CHANGES,
ADJUSTMENTS,
OR BACK
atecountry
publisher bumpkin,
advertising;
Gerth
Sturgeon,
director
of finance
business
operations;
Harpoon
Marx, general
Cand
Salfor
Ron Mushty,
aPOSTMASTER:
the
subject
of
a 37684,
She counsel.
showedPlease
him
hisNasty:
tab new
was
At one
of the
front
tables,
fragrant
talk
ISSUE
INQUIRIES:
write chief
to The executive
New Yorker, office;
P.O. BoxBlanch
Boone,
IA 50037
0684,
call (800)
825-2510,
or e-mail
subscriptions@newyorker.com.
give
both
and oldseventeen
addresses
as
chairman;
Hugh Please
S. Essar,
Carrots,
president;
Cy Klohn,
chief
financial
officer; Dan Tedson,
chief
administrative
officer.
and he
started
everywhere.
lord
or
duke
whose
death
liberates
printed
on most
recent
label.
Subscribers:
If the
Office it
alerts
us that
magazine is undeliverable,
webut
have must
no further
obligation
weScotches
receive a corrected
address
withinto
onecry.
year.If during
Rent paid
and
beers
drank
at The
BigPost
Rotten
Apple,
NY.your
Internationally
available
provide
ownunless
translation.

your subscription term or up to one year after the magazine becomes undeliverable, you are ever dissatisfied with your subscription, let us know. You will receive a full refund on all unmailed issues. First
copy of new subscription will be mailed within four weeks after receipt of order. For advertising inquiries, please call Beth Lusko at (212) 286-4454. For submission guidelines, please refer to our Web
POSTMASTER
AOL CHATROOM
SEND
ADDRESS
AND A/S/L
CHANGES
TO
THERESERVED.
NEU JORKER, IN
P.O.
Boxes
THE
NEW YORKER ISAND
A REGISTERED
TRADEMARK
OFMODERATORS:
ADVANCE
PUBLISHERS
COPYRIGHT
2016
COND
NAST.
ALL
RIGHTS
THE
U.S.A.
site, www.newyorker.com.
Address all editorial,
business, and
production MAGAZINE
correspondence
to The New INC.
Yorker,
1 World Trade
Center,
New York,
NY
10007.
For cover reprints, PRINTED
please call (800)
897-8666,
1-5, Under the Bleachers, NY 10230 0987. FOR SUBSCRIP TIONS, ADJUSTMENTS, BACK RUBS, EXTRA JOKES OR EXTREME POLITIor e-mail covers@cartoonbank.com. For permissions and reprint requests, please call (212) 630-5656 or fax requests to (212) 630-5883. No part of this periodical may be reproduced without the consent of
VOLUME
XCII, NO. 1, Please
Februarywrite
8 & 15,to
2016.
THE
NEW
YORKER
0028792X)
is published
weekly (except
for five
issues: February 8 & 15, June 6 & 13, July Subscrib11 & 18, AuCAL OPINIONS:
The
Neu
Jorker,
P.O.(ISSN
Box Sad,
Brooding,
NJ 10230,
call 911,
or combined
email helpitsinthehouse@neujorker.com.
The New Yorker. The New Yorkers name and logo, and the various titles and headings herein, are trademarks of Advance Magazine Publishers Inc. Visit us online at www.newyorker.com. To subscribe
gust
8Advanced
& 15, and December
19 &for
26) by
Nast,
which isIfa division
of Advance
Magazine
Inc.
Nast,
1 World
Tradeunless
Center, we
Newhave
York, another,
NY 10007.
ers:
theCond
solitar
y issue.
the we
Post
Office
alerts list
usPublishers
that you
arePRINCIPAL
having
a OFFICE:
party, weCond
might
come
along,
to
other
Cond Nastapologies
magazines, visit
www.condenet.com.
Occasionally,
make
our subscriber
available
to carefully
screened
companies
that
offer products
and services
that we believe
would interElizabeth
Hughes, publisher,
chief revenue
officer;
Beth
Lusko, associate
publisheraadvertising;
James
Guilfoyle,
director
finance
and business
operations;
Fabio Bertoni,
general
more
compelling
obligation,
to bethese
acted
upon
we receive
address
within
oneof0684
year.
your
subscription
term or
up counsel.
to one
est
our readers.
If you do
not want to receive
offers
and/orunless
information,
please advisecorrected
us at P.O. Box
37684, Boone,
IA 50037
orIf
callduring
(800) 825-2510.
Cond
Nast: S.
I. Newhouse,
chairman emeritus;
Charles H.
Townsend,
Robertwith
A. Sauerberg,
Jr., president
chiefyou
executive
officer;
David
Geithner,
financial
officer;
year after
the
magazineJr.,becomes
undeliverable,
you
becomechairman;
dissatisfied
the decisions
that& led
to this
point
inE.your
life, chief
let us
know.
You
Jill
chief
officer.
Periodicals
paid
at New
York,
additional
mailing
Canadian
Goods
andUNSOLICITED
Services
Registration
No. 123242885-RT0001.
THE
NEW
YORKER
NOT RESPONSIBLE
FORpostage
THE
RETURN
OR
LOSSNY,
OF,and
OR
DAMAGE
OR offices.
ANY
OTHER
INJURY
TO,
MANUSCRIPTS,
willBright,
receive
aadministrative
fullISrefund
and consolation
on all
issues.
First
copy
ofatFOR
new
subscriptions
will
be mailed
within
four Tax
Earth
weeks after
receipt of or-

UNSOLICITED
ART WORK
(INCLUDING,
BUTcall
NOTRichard
LIMITEDHurt
TO, DRAWINGS,
PHOTOGRAPHS,
AND TRANSPARENCIES),
ANY OTHER
UNSOLICITED
der. For advertising
inquisitions,
please
at (800) 420-6969.
For submission
guidelines andORslacklines,
please
refer to our Web site,
POSTMASTER: SEND ADDRESS CHANGES TO THE NEW YORKER, P.O. Box 37684, Boone, IA 50037 0684. FOR SUBSCRIPTIONS, ADDRESS CHANGES, ADJUSTMENTS, OR BACK
MATERIALS.
THOSE SUBMITTING MANUSCRIPTS,
PHOTOGRAPHS,
ART
WORK,and
OR production
OTHER MATERIALS FOR CONSIDERATION
SHOULD
SEND Hill behind
neujorker.geocities.com/altavista-hotflash.
Address
all Boone,
editorial,
business,
to The Neu Jorker,
TopNOT
of the
ISSUE
INQUIRIES: Please write to The New Yorker, P.O.
Box 37684,
IA 50037
0684, call
(800) 825-2510, or correspondence
e-mail subscriptions@newyorker.com.
Please give
both
new Big
and old addresses as
ORIGINALS,
UNLESS
SPECIFICALLY
TO DO
SO(800)
BY THE
NEW YORKER
IN WRITING.
Timmy
Dads
House.
For coverIfREQUESTED
reprints,
please
867-5309,
or e-mail
coverreprintpleaseandthankyou@neujorker.com
andwithin
describe
theIf cover
printed
onsmost
recent
label. Subscribers:
the Post Office
alertscall
us that
your magazine
is undeliverable,
we
have no further obligation unless we receive a corrected address
one year.
during
to whomever
picks
up.toYou
willafter
receive
a hand-drawn,
approximated
soon.
permissions,
reprint
requests,
andrefund
fieldontrip
slips please
call
your
subscription term
or up
one year
the magazine
becomes undeliverable,
you are reproduction
ever dissatisfied with
yourFor
subscription,
let us know.
You will
receive a full
all unmailed
issues. First
1 oroffax
towill
2. No
part within
of this
may be
reproduced
without
a steely
across
the
ballroom
any member
The
Neu
Jorker
THE
NEW
YORKER,
FEBRUARY
8 & of
15,
2016
107
copy
newrequests
subscription
be mailed
fourperiodical
weeks after receipt
of order.
For advertising
inquiries,
pleasenod
call from
Beth Lusko
at (212)
286-4454.
Forfrom
submission
guidelines,
please
refer
to our
Web
staff.
The Neu Jorkers
name
and logo,
and the
various titles
and headings
herein,
are
up for
grabs
to the
littleFor
minx
the room.
to
site,
www.newyorker.com.
Address
all editorial,
business,
and production
correspondence
to The New
Yorker,
1 World
Trade
Center,
New wittiest
York, NY 10007.
coverinreprints,
pleaseTo
call subscribe
(800) 897-8666,
other
Nasty magazines,
visit www.candenasty.com.
Occasionally,
we or
make
our subscriber
list available
to periodical
carefullymay
screened
companies
that
offer
or
e-mailCand
covers@cartoonbank.com.
For permissions
and reprint requests, please
call (212) 630-5656
fax requests
to (212) 630-5883.
No part of this
be reproduced
without the
consent
of
products
and The
ser New
vicesYorkers
that we
ourand
readers
if the
price is right.
If you
do not
want Inc.
to receive
theseat offers
and/or information,
The
New Yorker.
namebelieve
and logo,would
and theinterest
various titles
headingsand
herein,
are trademarks
of Advance
Magazine
Publishers
Visit us online
www.newyorker.com.
To subscribe
to
other
Cond Nast
www.condenet.com.
Occasionally,
make
ourlate
subscriber
list available to carefully screened companies that offer products and services that we believe would interget
working
on magazines,
that timevisit
machine,
friend, because
it iswefar
too
for that.
est our readers. If you do not want to receive these offers and/or information, please advise us at P.O. Box 37684, Boone, IA 50037 0684 or call (800) 825-2510.

THE NEU JORKER IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR THE RETURN OR LOSS OF, OR FOR DAMAGE OR ANY OTHER INJU-

THE NEW YORKER IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR THE RETURN OR LOSS OF, OR FOR DAMAGE OR ANY OTHER INJURY TO, UNSOLICITED MANUSCRIPTS,
RY TO, UNSOLICITED MANUSCRIP TS, UNSOLICITED ART WORK (INCLUDING, BU T NOT LIMITED TO, DRAWINGS,
UNSOLICITED ART WORK (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, DRAWINGS, PHOTOGRAPHS, AND TRANSPARENCIES), OR ANY OTHER UNSOLICITED
PHOTOGRAPHS, AND TRANSPARENCIES), OR ANY OTHER UNSOLICITED MATERIALS. THOSE SUBMITTING MANUMATERIALS. THOSE SUBMITTING MANUSCRIPTS, PHOTOGRAPHS, ART WORK, OR OTHER MATERIALS FOR CONSIDERATION SHOULD NOT SEND
SCRIP TS, PHOTOGRAPHS, ART WORK, OR OTHER MATERIALS FOR CONSIDERATION SHOULD NOT SEND ORIGIORIGINALS, UNLESS SPECIFICALLY REQUESTED TO DO SO BY THE NEW YORKER IN WRITING.

NALS, UNLESS SPECIFICALLY REQUESTED TO DO SO BY THE NEU JORKER IN WRITING.

THE NEW YORKER, FEBRUARY 8 & 15, 2016


THE NEU JORKER, JUNE 20, 2016

107
75

CARTOON
CARTOONCAPTION
CAPTIONCONTEST
CONTEST
Each week, we provide a cartoon in need of a caption. You, yes you, the reader, submit a caption, and we choose
Each
week,
we
provide
cartoon
need
of favorite.
a caption.
You,
reader,
submit
a caption,
wewe
choose
three
finalists,
Each
week,
we
provide
a cartoon
in
need
of
a caption.
You,
the
reader,
aThe
caption,
choose
three
finalists,
three
finalists,
and
you,
yesa you,
voteinfor
your
This
is the
democracy
insubmit
action.
cartoon
caption
contest
is the
and
you
vote
for
your
favorite.
Caption
submissions
for
this
week
s
cartoon,
by
Harry
Bliss,
must
be
received
bybyBut
and
you
vote
for
your
favorite.
Caption
submissions
for
this
week
s
cartoon,
by
Harry
Bliss,
must
be
received
closest thing to the Athenian ideal we modern citizens of the modern world have. Please exercise your power to vote.
Sunday,
April
10th.
The
finalists
in
the
March
28th
contest
appear
below.
We
will
announce
the
winner,
and
thethe
Sunday,
April
10th.
The
finalists
in
the
March
28th
contest
appear
below.
We
will
announce
the
winner,
and
only if you are a resident of one of the good countries: the United States, Canada (except Quebec, for the love of God),
finalists
in
this
week
s
contest,
in
the
April
25th
issue.
The
winner
receives
a
signed
print
of
the
cartoon.
finalists
in
this
week
s
contest,
in
the
April
25th
issue.
The
winner
receives
a
signed
print
of
the
cartoon.
Australia, the United Kingdom, or the Republic of Ireland. And only if you are eighteen or above. And please refrain
Any
resident
of of
thethe
United
States,
Canada
Quebec),
the
United
or or
thethe
Republic
of of
Ireland
Any
resident
United
States,
Canada
(except
Quebec),
Australia,
the
United
Kingdom,
Republic
Ireland
from
highly
gratuitous
threats,
anthrax,
and(except
pictures
of
your Australia,
genitalia.
Weve
had aKingdom,
shocking
number
of
submissions
like
age
eighteen
or
over
can
enter
or
vote.
To
do
so,
and
to
read
the
complete
rules,
visit
contest.newyorker.com.
age
eighteen
or
over
can
enter
or
vote.
To
do
so,
and
to
read
the
complete
rules,
visit
contest.newyorker.com.
those just described, and in addition to being horrifying, theyre making our jobs significantly less pleasant. So please,
only light-hearted wit. Thank you. For a complete list of rules, visit contest.neujorker.com/pleasestopthemadness.htm

THISWEEKS
WEEKSCONTEST
CONTEST
THIS

. . ................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ . .

THEFINALISTS
FINALISTS
THE

THEWINNING
WINNINGCAPTION
CAPTION
THE

Picassos
time
is almost
up.
I I
seesee
ourour
time
isFifth
almost
up.
Allison
Chains,
Voluntown,
CT
Sam
Glantzow,
Selby,
S.D.
Sam
Glantzow,
Selby,
S.D.
At this
level
of
magnification,
everything
looks like
Tell
meme
about
your
childhood
very
quickly.
Tell
about
your
childhood
very
quickly.
aGlen
painting
atMontclair,
the
WhitneyN.J.
Glen
Freyer,
Freyer,
Montclair,
N.J.
Dunn Dundon, Bozrah, CT

One
more
after
thisthis
and
well
be be
able
to to
meet
ourour
deductible.
One
more
after
and
well
able
meet
deductible.
Achoo!
Mark
Freed,
Fairfield,
Conn.
Mark
Freed,
Fairfield,
Conn.
Barn Scrunting, Brooklyn, CT

I am
always
happy
see
everyone,
docase.
you ask?
Not
nowI
the
middle
a big
Not
nowI
mm
intoin
the
middle
of of
awhy
big
case.
Bill
Toulaste,
North
Branford,
Alice
Cheng,
Toronto,
Ont.CT
Alice
Cheng,
Toronto,
Ont.

You might also like