The Novel Life

There’s a trite observation to be made, in times like these, that reality seems to outstrip fiction. The novelist’s lament is that he can’t keep up—too many characters, too many twists, too many absurdities. And, occasionally, thrills. Though I’ve been sure of the outcome for several months, the events can still take on the heft of hyperreality; Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani is, indeed, a sentence I can now type.