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New York Times
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- New York Times
Molly Recommends 2 Very Male New Novels
By Molly Young Dear readers, In a startling break with tradition, we're examining two new (not antique) books today, both of which happen to offer glimpses into the male psyche. Feeling frisky and contemporary as summer approaches! We'll be back to regular programming in coming editions; in the meantime, please enjoy this detour into the present. —Molly PS: Read Like the Wind will be on hiatus for the next few weeks, but will return in July. 'Flesh,' by David Szalay Fiction, 2025 After finishing 'Flesh' in under 48 hours I tried to figure out how it worked, why it moved so quickly, what it was doing. Came up with a few possible answers but nothing conclusive, and would welcome any hypotheses from readers who felt similarly catapulted through its pages. 'Flesh' is the story of a Hungarian man born in (probably) the early or mid-1980s, with each chapter excavating a meaningful period in his life. Then the chapter ends and a silence is imposed, and the following chapter picks up a few years later. A reader interpolates what has occurred during the elided time. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
New York Times
11-05-2025
- New York Times
The Sunday Read: ‘My Miserable Week in the 'Happiest Country on Earth'''
For eight years running, Finland has been rated the happiest country in the world by a peculiar United Nations-backed project called the World Happiness Report, started in 2012. Soon after Finland shot to the top of the list, its government set up a 'happiness tourism' initiative, which now offers itineraries highlighting the cultural elements that ostensibly contribute to its status: foraging, fresh air, trees, lakes, sustainably produced meals and, perhaps above all else, saunas. Instead of adhering to one of these optimal itineraries or visiting Finland at the rosiest time of year (any time except the dead of winter), Molly Young arrived with few plans at all during one of the bleakest months. Would the happiest country on earth still be so mirthful at its gloomiest?
