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“The Hairdresser’s Son” by Gerbrand Bakker and “In het oog (Eyes on you)” by Marijke Schermer explore three of the main concerns in contemporary Dutch society, translated roughly as “prudification,” “existential security,” and “boundary-crossing behavior.”

What Keeps the Dutch Up at Night? - Public BooksAlthough the novels’ protagonists are fascinating, even magnetic characters, they are eerie—all the more so because their unsettling behavior forces the reader to confront what most worries the…www.publicbooks.org

What’s on our nightstands this month? Our co–editor in chief @njdames.bsky.social is reading Frederic Prokosch’s “Voices: A Memoir” (or is it?) from @nyrb-imprints.bsky.social.

On Our Nightstands: July 2026 - Public BooksAt “Public Books,” our editorial staff and contributors are hard at work to provide readers with thought-provoking articles. But when the workday is done, what is actually on our nightstands? Here we…www.publicbooks.org

“What we have up until now is more than enough to see animals in this new light.” New at PB: We don’t need to do more research involving animals, argues David Peña-Guzmán. We already know they deserve to have rights.

The Wonderful Capacities of Other Animals - Public Books“As dogs, cats, horses, and probably all the higher animals, even birds have vivid dreams, we must admit that they possess some power of imagination.”www.publicbooks.org

For the latest On Our Nightstands, our editors @njdames.bsky.social, Benjamin R. Cohen, @megancummins.bsky.social, @taoleighgoffe.bsky.social, Leah Price, @becquer.bsky.social, and Gustavus Stadler share what they’re reading. Recs here →

On Our Nightstands: July 2026 - Public BooksAt “Public Books,” our editorial staff and contributors are hard at work to provide readers with thought-provoking articles. But when the workday is done, what is actually on our nightstands? Here we…www.publicbooks.org

“Their unsettling behavior forces the reader to confront three of the main concerns that keep the Netherlands up at night.”

What Keeps the Dutch Up at Night? - Public BooksAlthough the novels’ protagonists are fascinating, even magnetic characters, they are eerie—all the more so because their unsettling behavior forces the reader to confront what most worries the…www.publicbooks.org

At Public Books, our editorial staff and contributors are hard at work to provide readers with thought-provoking articles. But when the workday is done, what is actually on our nightstands?

On Our Nightstands: July 2026 - Public BooksAt “Public Books,” our editorial staff and contributors are hard at work to provide readers with thought-provoking articles. But when the workday is done, what is actually on our nightstands? Here we…www.publicbooks.org

“I use dreaming, which is a fascinating thing that brains, and nervous systems, and organisms do, as a window into the minds of other animals that share this capacity with us.”

The Wonderful Capacities of Other Animals - Public Books“As dogs, cats, horses, and probably all the higher animals, even birds have vivid dreams, we must admit that they possess some power of imagination.”www.publicbooks.org

“The book is an exploration of animal consciousness that presents animals as what I call ‘world builders.’” New at PB: David Peña-Guzmán in conversation with John Plotz.

The Wonderful Capacities of Other Animals - Public Books“As dogs, cats, horses, and probably all the higher animals, even birds have vivid dreams, we must admit that they possess some power of imagination.”www.publicbooks.org

“As cultural and political shifts have fueled new anxieties, collective self-confidence in the Netherlands has crumbled.” In a review of two recent works of Dutch fiction, @sebasfaber.bsky.social explores the anxieties confronting contemporary Netherlands.

What Keeps the Dutch Up at Night? - Public BooksAlthough the novels’ protagonists are fascinating, even magnetic characters, they are eerie—all the more so because their unsettling behavior forces the reader to confront what most worries the…www.publicbooks.org

For @RecallThisBook, author David Peña-Guzmán talks with John Plotz about his book “When Animals Dream” (@princetonupress.bsky.social). The book’s thinking, argues Peña-Guzmán, “foregrounds animals as complete subjects.”

The Wonderful Capacities of Other Animals - Public Books“As dogs, cats, horses, and probably all the higher animals, even birds have vivid dreams, we must admit that they possess some power of imagination.”www.publicbooks.org

“This disoriented, anxiety-ridden version of the Netherlands is the backdrop to the two novels under review.”

What Keeps the Dutch Up at Night? - Public BooksAlthough the novels’ protagonists are fascinating, even magnetic characters, they are eerie—all the more so because their unsettling behavior forces the reader to confront what most worries the…www.publicbooks.org

@sebasfaber.bsky.social reviews 2 recent works of Dutch fiction: “The Hairdresser’s Son” by Gerbrand Bakker (tr.David Colmer) & “In het oog (Eyes on you)” by Marijke Schermer. Both books “confront three of the main concerns that keep the Netherlands up at night.”

What Keeps the Dutch Up at Night? - Public BooksAlthough the novels’ protagonists are fascinating, even magnetic characters, they are eerie—all the more so because their unsettling behavior forces the reader to confront what most worries the…www.publicbooks.org

“The seemingly innocuous transportation of goods like ice and perishables requires the exploitation and extraction of land and people and ultimately ‘finesses absurdities and normalizes destruction’ as we click the ‘Buy Now’ function on Deliveroo.”

You Have Nothing to Lose But Your Supply Chains! - Public Books“Logistics,” warns Susan Zieger, “reveals how the illicit economy is the legitimate economy: the nature of free trade prevents the two from ever being separated.”www.publicbooks.org

“Teruel was the perfect person to write a biography of Martín Gaite, combining literary studies, archival research, multiple editions of critically significant Spanish writers, and examination of epistolary production and traditions in this generation.”

Toward the Next Century of Carmen Martín Gaite - Public BooksA literary genius who remained in Fascist Franco Spain, she created new, hybrid literary genres, even while fluidly moving from fiction to nonfiction and back.www.publicbooks.org

“The centennial of ‘Carmiña’ and her biography in particular remind us why a life of letters matters so much.” New at PB: Ellen Mayock on Carmen Martín Gaite.

Toward the Next Century of Carmen Martín Gaite - Public BooksA literary genius who remained in Fascist Franco Spain, she created new, hybrid literary genres, even while fluidly moving from fiction to nonfiction and back.www.publicbooks.org

“Zieger’s genealogy of logistical nightmare is a way of making the underpinning colonial violence of logistics legible.”

You Have Nothing to Lose But Your Supply Chains! - Public Books“Logistics,” warns Susan Zieger, “reveals how the illicit economy is the legitimate economy: the nature of free trade prevents the two from ever being separated.”www.publicbooks.org

“As I have read more and more of Martín Gaite’s works over the years, I have been struck by her innovative style, which incorporates her profound knowledge of the international literary landscape in all genres.”

Toward the Next Century of Carmen Martín Gaite - Public BooksA literary genius who remained in Fascist Franco Spain, she created new, hybrid literary genres, even while fluidly moving from fiction to nonfiction and back.www.publicbooks.org

“When I ask people to describe a liberal, their description usually has nothing to do with liberals themselves.”

“As Good As It Gets”: Talking Liberalism with Kevin Schultz - Public Books“Up until Franklin Delano Roosevelt, very few Americans actually called themselves liberals or embraced anything that was called ‘liberalism.’”www.publicbooks.org

“The terms that may not seem obvious at first blush cut to the core of how logistics have structured and sutured an immanent imaginary of connectivity.”

You Have Nothing to Lose But Your Supply Chains! - Public Books“Logistics,” warns Susan Zieger, “reveals how the illicit economy is the legitimate economy: the nature of free trade prevents the two from ever being separated.”www.publicbooks.org

“You enter her world & immediately start a journey of quixotic wonderings.” Carmen Martín Gaite is a writer Ellen Mayock constantly recommends. Read her review of José Teruel’s biography (@tusquetseditores.bsky.social), new at PB:

Toward the Next Century of Carmen Martín Gaite - Public BooksA literary genius who remained in Fascist Franco Spain, she created new, hybrid literary genres, even while fluidly moving from fiction to nonfiction and back.www.publicbooks.org