RaveHarvard ReviewReaders familiar with Washington’s work will recognize the unadorned, authentic prose style of Memorial. It is stripped down, so much so that the appearance of an adjective like beatific—used in one of the novel’s final moments—carries the lyrical weight that a word like beatific should ... At first glance, these similarities might indicate that Benson and Mike are flat characters. The truth is that, while Benson and Mike do narrate in an almost identical style, their shared idioms and outlooks illustrate the many, often ineffable ways a long-term relationship with another person—romantic or familial—can condition how we think and feel ... As in Washington’s short fiction, no one character is beyond forgiveness. Still, I’m not convinced that this is a happy or uplifting novel. The story is too measured for that, and things are no less complicated by its end. Instead, I’m convinced by Washington’s candor, his characters, and the openness with which he approaches them.
László Krasznahorkai, Trans. by George Szirtes, Ottilie Mulzet & John Batki
PositiveThe Millions\"The World Goes On is an achievement, but not standard literary fare. Krasznahorkai nimbly maps the climate of modern obsession and languor, approaches his peculiar brand of storytelling with philosophical, psychological, and emotional nuance ... In a literary landscape sometimes over-reliant on motion and plot, Krasznahorkai pauses to consider the actual mechanics of motion, its directions, the components of its moving, the traveler’s relation to the mover. He almost never names his travelers, though, and never deigns to give them a home.\
