Zoe Guttenplan is a book designer and student of English literature. She lives in London.
Vinson Cunningham’s debut novel, Great Expectations, follows a staffer working for a magnetic young black senator making a bid for the US presidency. It’s a book about the emptiness of political symbols and the comforts and dangers of blind faith.
A new translation of Homer’s Iliad attempts to combine the lyricism of the original Greek with direct and modern language. With a few exceptions, it hits both notes perfectly, making the epic poem feel dramatic and fresh.