The Folio Review

Literary criticism for the curious reader.

Book reviews, author interviews, reading guides, and essays on the literary life.

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Why Percival Everett's James Is the Most Important American Novel in a Decade

A Pulitzer Prize winner that rewrites Huckleberry Finn from Jim's perspective — and in doing so, rewrites American literature's relationship with its own conscience.

Adaeze Okonkwo

Senior Literary Editor

May 10, 202612 min readRead article

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Author Interviews

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie on Writing Women Who Refuse to Be Explained

In conversation with Folio's editorial team, Adichie reflects on feminism, fiction, and the danger of the single story — a decade later.

Adaeze Okonkwo·14 min read

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Author Interviews

Murakami in Translation: What Gets Lost, What Gets Transformed

Philip Gabriel and Ted Goossen on the impossible art of carrying Murakami's particular silence into English.

Soren Lindqvist

9 min

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Reading Guides

The 2026 Folio Reading Challenge: 52 Books, 52 Weeks

Our annual reading challenge returns with a new theme: books that changed the country they were written in.

Priya Nair

6 min

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Literary Culture

How to Read Slowly in a World That Wants You to Skim

The case for deep reading as a radical act — and five techniques that actually work for distracted minds.

James Okafor

8 min

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Book Reviews

The Best Debut Novels of 2026 (So Far)

Eight first novels that announced new literary voices with the confidence of veterans.

Lena Hofmann

11 min

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Reading Guides

A Reading Guide to Sally Rooney's Intermezzo

Discussion questions, thematic analysis, and context for Rooney's most structurally ambitious novel yet.

Sarah Chen

7 min