{"product_id":"waiting-for-the-barbarians-essays-from-the-classics-to-pop-culture-9781590177136","title":"Waiting for the Barbarians: Essays from the Classics to Pop Culture","description":"FINALIST FOR THE NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE AWARD \u003cbr\u003eAND THE PEN ART OF THE ESSAY AWARD \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eOver the past decade and a half, Daniel Mendelsohn's reviews for \u003ci\u003eThe New York Review of Books\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe New Yorker\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eThe New York Times Book Review\u003c\/i\u003e have earned him a reputation as \"one of the greatest critics of our time\" (\u003ci\u003ePoets \u0026amp; Writers\u003c\/i\u003e). In \u003ci\u003eWaiting for the Barbarians\u003c\/i\u003e, he brings together twenty-four of his recent essays--each one glinting with \"verve and sparkle,\" \"acumen and passion\"--on a wide range of subjects, from \u003ci\u003eAvatar\u003c\/i\u003e to the poems of Arthur Rimbaud, from our inexhaustible fascination with the \u003ci\u003eTitanic\u003c\/i\u003e to Susan Sontag's \u003ci\u003eJournals\u003c\/i\u003e. Trained as a classicist, author of two internationally best-selling memoirs, Mendelsohn moves easily from penetrating considerations of the ways in which the classics continue to make themselves felt in contemporary life and letters (Greek myth in the \u003ci\u003eSpider-Man\u003c\/i\u003e musical, Anne Carson's translations of Sappho) to trenchant takes on pop spectacles--none more explosively controversial than his dissection of \u003ci\u003eMad Men\u003c\/i\u003e. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Also gathered here are essays devoted to the art of fiction, from Jonathan Littell's Holocaust blockbuster \u003ci\u003eThe Kindly Ones\u003c\/i\u003e to forgotten gems like the novels of Theodor Fontane. In a final section, \"Private Lives,\" prefaced by Mendelsohn's \u003ci\u003eNew Yorker\u003c\/i\u003e essay on fake memoirs, he considers the lives and work of writers as disparate as Leo Lerman, No l Coward, and Jonathan Franzen. \u003ci\u003eWaiting for the Barbarians\u003c\/i\u003e once again demonstrates that Mendelsohn's \"sweep as a cultural critic is as impressive as his depth.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e New York Review of Books\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 03\/04\/2014\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781590177136\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 432\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.10lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.32h x 5.51w x 0.93d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eReview Citations: \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003ci\u003eNew York Times Book Review\u003c\/i\u003e 04\/27\/2014 pg. 32\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Daniel Mendelsohn","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43544192712885,"sku":"9781590177136","price":16.96,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0473\/0804\/6492\/files\/img_68cbfb6b-3b0b-4a7d-acfc-77d13bd94604.jpg?v=1706119639","url":"https:\/\/pastforward.org\/products\/waiting-for-the-barbarians-essays-from-the-classics-to-pop-culture-9781590177136","provider":"Past Forward","version":"1.0","type":"link"}