Ellroy and Me

By Nathan Ashman It was 2006 and James Ellroy was in the midst of penning the much anticipated third volume in his ‘Underworld USA Trilogy’, an epic criminal history of post-war America. I, meanwhile, was just about to begin my…

Normal People and the strangeness of other people

Towards the end of Sally Rooney’s acclaimed novel Normal People, the two main characters, Connell and Marianne, talk sleepily one morning about whether it’s possible ever really to know another person. ‘I guess everyone is a mystery in a way’,…

Gothic Novel or Grad School?: A Quiz

By Anna Williams Directions: read the plots below and determine whether they describe a Gothic novel or grad school. A young woman finds herself irreparably distanced from her family and loved ones, holed up in a once-glorious edifice that’s now…