MEMETERIA by Thomas May

Arts & Culture Stories from NPR

• Pain Drives The Creation Of A Sanctuary In 'Remembrance'
  Rita Woods' ambitious novel spans 200 years and multiple storylines — it's a complex story of loss and survival that doesn't always work. But Woods creates memorable characters readers can relate to.
• 'Interior Chinatown' Puts That Guy In The Background Front And Center
  Charles Yu's new novel follows a TV actor who often gets stuck playing generic Asian men. Yu says he was inspired by shows that set episodes in Chinatown — but keep Asian actors in the background.
• 'Night Theater' Is An Intriguing But Uneven Drama
  Vikram Paralkar's novel takes place over one eventful night at a clinic in a small Indian village, where three murdered people confront a doctor; if he can treat their wounds, they'll live again.
• Sketch Artist Captures 'Something Unusual' At Senate Trial
  Art Lien, a courtroom artist who normally covers the Supreme Court, has been sketching the Senate proceedings. "I'm looking for color," he says — such as sleeping senators and fidget spinners.
• Latinx Critics Speak Out Against 'American Dirt'; Jeanine Cummins Responds
  Latinx writers and critics are speaking out against Jeanine Cummins' new book American Dirt, calling its depiction of the migrant experience inauthentic and harmful. We asked Cummins to respond.
• Actress Annabella Sciorra Testifies That Harvey Weinstein Raped Her
  She is the first of six women expected to testify at his trial that Weinstein raped or sexually assaulted them. "I said, 'No, no,' but there was not much I could do at that point," Sciorra said.
• A Drug Kingpin Worries Over His Imminent Regicide In 'The Gentlemen'
  Guy Ritchie returns to the genre he made his bones on, and the film's "rigorous and largely circular" plot is fun; more fun than McConaughey's undercooked performance, anyway.
• 'Zombi Child': When The Real Horror Is Colonialism
  Writer-director Bertrand Bonello uses the tale of a Haitian zombie to explore intergenerational racial trauma in this quiet, moody film.
• No Love, Little Craft In Pulpy Body-Horror Flick 'Color Out Of Space'
  In this loose, grisly adaptation of an H.P. Lovecraft story, a family undergoes a series of mutations while Nicolas Cage gets increasingly unhinged; the result is "a gory mess."
• 'First, Last And Always, I Am A Fan': Michael Chabon Steers Latest 'Star Trek'
  The Pulitzer prize-winning author says he never had the "chutzpah" to dream of writing for Star Trek. But now, he's showrunner and executive producer on Star Trek: Picard on CBS All Access.